A New Decade is Dawning.....

...as the hundred year old schoolhouse maintains it's icy countenance, and stays frozen in time just a little longer....

Lamp for Laura

Not only does my brother take fabulous photos, he also makes magic out of driftwood. Hoping more will be forthcoming for our shop's spring opening.

Not so open

All furniture painting and primping was set aside to make room for giftwrap and scotch tape.....but soon....very soon the spray paint will be flying and the gluegun wielded.

My oldest fancies himself a Horatio Cain lookalike....

I don't see it....do you?

A Carrying On Place Christmas

No Sears photos for our family...they wouldn't have us! So we donned our best duds and nighties, and made our own festive snapshot. This'll bring the descendants to their knees when they trip upon it in 2085.

I'll just slip away....

There's nothing a cat hates more than a fuss! And there's nothing this season boasts more than - a fuss. So, while they're all ooooo-ing and ahhhh-ing and moaning about their full bellies, Tony, the self-respecting cat takes his leave.

...and with that, the carnage was complete....

Sometimes a weiner dog takes a long winters nap and wakes up to the moment having passed....all presents unwrapped, all people gone to the table, and life as he knew it returns to it's pre-Christmas routine.

It takes a village...

to raise the Christmas spirit of this family....and although the lights are indeed on, nobody is home.

Christmas Day

Today is the day we've all waited for....including the angel atop our tree....but she was unavailable for comment.

Silent Night

One look out our bedroom door and I know it's my favourite time of year!!! CHRAAAAASSSSSSSMASSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

Like the down of a thistle, up the chimney he rose....
Just spent the weekend with my three favourite wee ones!!! Sydney, Colin, and Nicholas....
When your own are grown, it's important to know people who have adorable children, especially at Christmastime.

here she is......

Probably just riding into town to pick her kids up at the hockey arena? I have such respect, such envy, and such a lot of questions.

Magnolia Pearl

If you like the unusual, revel in the used-to-be, you gotta see Magnolia Pearl....magnoliapearl.com
I can't, for the life of me, get this woman!!!! She's all about lace on EVERYTHING....EVEN HER HUSBAND....and she seems very ethereal, and very simplistic, but there's something about her that makes me check out her website/blog all the time. Could I ever wear- turn -of- the -century lace pantaloons to a picnic? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, not unless they were stuffed under my sweatpants - lately my daughter's ex-boyfriends sweatpants - it doesn't get any lower than that - or higher if we're counting pounds.
Who buys all the lace? What do they do with it? Is there a place we go before heaven, owned by Magnolia Pearl.
Gotta know!!!!

Runaway Summer

As we head towards Christmas I'm only left with remnants of our beautiful, and busy summer...one lone wicker tricycle heading to the shed for winter storage sans asparagus fern.
Polishing silver, digging for ribbon, picking greenery for various garlands...all being done with one eye on the sandpaper, newly acquired paints, and studio full of tables, mirrors, chairs, and shelves ready to take on new lives.

May your season be merry and bright....always looking ahead to the next big thing! ...wonder what Oprah's looking at right now....

this and that vignette

Today is a sunny autumn day in southern Ontario, not unlike the day this photo was shot, albeit a little more shadowy now as the days get shorter. Though this flowery stool has long since sold, I am working on another. The cabinet behind it is still in the workshop looking for new life, and alas, the geranium in a bucket is now only a bucket. The little side table was picked up as well, but as I type this, I am looking at three others in need of an imaginative finish. Winter projects that will eventually enjoy their time in the sun..all in good time...all in good time.

Wooden you like a sconce?

For all of his forward thinking, my brother, Jeff, had trouble conveying the importance of wooden sconces to passersby. They really are a thing of beauty, sanded and shaped and mounted. He thought the fire hazard may have been a concern. I think they just need the right person. His picture frames, on the other hand, are widely appreciated and selling like....well...picture frames. Each frame crafted with nature bits, somewhat like a jigsaw puzzle by the Swiss Family Robinson. Sconces are $25 each. Picture frame, $20.




***please scroll down...wayyyy down for rest of blog.....configuration error I couldn't figure out.

It was a sultry summer day.....

The day was splendid, and everything old was shining like a new penny! The two armchairs were appropriately assigned roadside with the pedestal table perched alongside and the red arborite furniture lined the driveway leading to more hidden treasures. It was the beginning of summer and the balloons were flying...Well, it's fall now and Decoragain has moved inside for a long winter's nap.
Some pieces were sold, others are enjoying a much needed rest and restore, readying for a spring opening.
You won't recognize them at all.
That is what we do....what was old is new again, and again, and again.

a rose is a rose is an....insulator?

I've always appreciated the shimmer, twinkle and colour of old insulator caps found in antique shops, and frankly, have found them wasted as doorstops....then.....I thought if watering a garden is a problem, wouldn't an arrangement of insulators shining in the summer sun provide an innovative and carefree addition to any rural threshold? Once Rob and I put them together, and 'planted' them in a sap bucket, my vision was realized. I must admit, I still prefer a bucket of sunflowers, but for a change.....an insulator bouquet is maintenance free, and dare I say...unique?
Forever yours for just $45!

A Little Embroidered Tablecloth With Your Strange Inuit Window?

This window was found under the schoolhouse when we bought it in 2005. I know nothing about it, except that is very old and just a little creepy...nothing a nice wicker box of table napkins can't cure...hey, I'm still learning.

Fool's Gold or from Junk to Treasure?

For years, this side table's dark oaky tones had practically grown invisible beside our couch, and it held a drink or a book just fine, but who wants an invisible table? First, I painted it light green....blech...so then I covered it lightly in white and coated it with gold, then with random sanding, it almost looked like a worn coin...with the green patina of time....gorgeous.
It was sold to a woman who was doing her cottage in a Victorian theme...hmm...not what I pictured, but that's the interpretive beauty found in renewing a tired table.
The tray of stones and votives was an afterthought, and remains so.

Earring Screen

I just spent a week on my favourite vacation couch in Winnipeg. A while back I solved an earring problem of mine by hanging a revamped old screen. My friend, Lori, mentioned that she had a plethera of earrings, which were easily seen hanging from her lampshade on my last trip.....soooooooooo.....with gold wash and spongebrush in hand, I fashioned her a screen of her own. The golden screen totally validated my need for a supersize suitcase, and Lori finally found a home for her favourite dangles.
Nothing is more soothing than lying in bed, selecting earrings before you choose your outfit for the day...unless, of course, you're doing so with Reid's Maple Walnut ice cream.

Red is the New Arborite!

As a kid, on the couch watching Truth or Consequences, it seemed to me that all that arborite surrounding me...coffee table, end tables...would look much better red!

Coffee table $50, end tables $30 each.

One man's fallen log is........

Another day at the beach for Jeff! Nice trim on a deck....$25

Fireflies Captured in Driftwood

Nature boy, my brother Jeff, at it again....found wood from North Beach and transformed into rustic votive candle holders....$10 each

A Checkered Past

My first attempt at reinventing t'was a circa 1973 coffee table...solid wood, well made, nice drawer in it, but heavy and originally fashioned to rest in front of the original sectional sofa - remember?

So, my friend, Carissa, said -'perfect for a games table'...and now it is!!! Co-ordinating seashells put a new spin on checkers.

This wooden beauty has gone 'beachy' and sits ready for a fireside chat in someone's cottage...priced at $75.

Hey, look what my brother made!

He's a wunderkind, with the patience of an oak tree...he sanded, he polished, he planted - he created...a small display bench, candles in driftwood, a milking stool, and his crowning glory....an occasional table with a plant inserted....nice indoors or out....now he's having trouble parting with it...but for around $400, he just may be convinced...aye, she's a thing of beauty!

Oh hellooooooooooooooooo......

A Table for Two...in Blue?

Garden....Chair

Bird Colony

like a new toy

This is my first day with my blog and it's like a new toy.
Toys can be re-vamped and re-tooled too. Sometimes little naked wooden cars or birdhouses from a hobby shop will see a better life with some vivid red or yellow paint applied.
Are they smiling?
Or like the Velveteen Rabbit, just happy to be brought down from the shelf.

colours

Recently, I was checking out Benjamin Moore's 'mis-tints' for paint colours to apply to an old chair, and I got to thinking, 'What makes something a mis-tint?'....All four cans I purchased (for $2 each) were gorgeous...butter yellow, an easy grey and a couple of others I can't quite remember.

Like forgotten children....little paint cans full of vibrant colour and labelled 'mis-tints'...This is when I know it's time to stop painting for a while.

My next couple of days will be better spent tracking down interesting wooden chairs that need new seats or a shiny lacquer applied...or maybe I should organize some inventory, create a vignette, and remember that this is supposed to become a business, not an island for mistint paints.

first time

This is my first venture into blogdom and after checking out 'Tongue in Cheek', I see that I have a long way to go before acquiring blog savvy.


I like old stuff. I love making old stuff look good....either through painting, roughing up, re-tooling, and often repurposing. It's fun. The most satisfying project is finding a little sumpin' roadside, and making it beautiful again....like we did with this night table.



It was such a little hobo, but we dusted if off, painted it antique white and put in a basket where it was missing a drawer...then I found one of my mom's antique handkerchiefs, and voila, it had a lined basket instead of a drawer. When the lady who bought it was thrilled to pay just $35 for our wee gem, and I saw her face light up as she chattered on about where it was going to live...I knew my work was done.


...for that day.