Respect....the story.

Lessons....

We teach our kids lessons all the time.  How to be kind.  How to be honest.  The consequences of not doing what they should have done....like homework.  These are all lessons that as adults we get..we have been there done that.

The other day I was at an auction.  It was a GREAT one!  There were pieces I really wanted and I bid to win.

Victorian dresser with square nails......the antiquity and craftsmanship is lovely

I can get kind of geeeeeked at an auction.  If you have not been....well the energy is palatable. You can taste the competition.   I talk about this obsession in one of my posts...http://joanniedoors.blogspot.com/2012/05/hunt.html

Dont worry...I am not going to add more layers of paint...this guy needs to be stripped..cant wait to see what is under all that paint.

There was a sweet little victorian dresser that had great lines.  It was heavy and it needed me.  As I marked it I heard a conversation in hushed tones behind me.  I tried to ignore it but it was hard too because it was about me.

each drawer has a lock and key............sigh

The little dresser was at auction because a family was liquidating their grandmothers estate.  There was a gal on the phone from across the country who despiritely wanted that dresser.  She remembered it from when she was a child and could not bare to think of it being sold at auction.

This is how you know you have an old piece....always check out the back....thick solid barn type blanks....

I froze.    All these treasures were obviously someones at one time.  That is the whole point.  The idea that things can be repurposed and reused and loved again.  But the heartache...the memories that are infused into the table that you had tea at with your beloved grandmother.  The dresser that held the hand mirror that belonged to your mother.  This is real ....the stories are inside of each piece.  They maybe dusty or covered in layers and layers of old paint...but the stories live on in the treasures and in the hearts of those that loved them before.

Dove tail.............stay tuned on this one...it will be for sale ...Most likely $350, but I need to see how much fun I need to put into it.

I was taught a lesson at auction.....one that intuitively I thought that I knew.  But I really didn't.
So...I want to thank all those old pieces that I have repurposed and loved on....thank the folks that kept them so that I could do what I love....and thank the customers that always become friends for keeping the story going.....it is humbling and i promise to RESPECT THE STORIES......always.

Change is in the air.....

Fall is a favorite time of year for me.  The sun looks different..less intense and the colors are calming ..like things are getting ready to slow down.

Everything has a glow about it.

The kitchen is full of warm smells.  Everything seems to be getting closer, snuggly, more relaxed.

  I kiss my kids more...random hugs.  I dare say that I even linger while folding clothes...to see how much they have grown and neatly tuck their t-shirts in their drawers.  Marveling that each one of them is a gift.  ....and then I trip over the  lego box...but the moment is still precious.


This move has been an awesome gift to me.  Some moves like the last are proving grounds..we already talked about that one... but this one has landed me  in an inspired space.  My love for decorating and junking has been renewed. 


This house has a unique floor plan.  The master is on the main and I have never had that before.  It has been a challenge and I have pulled all my color mastery to determine how I wanted this new space to feel.

I am working on a color palette.  I want this house to feel like a French Cottage, relaxed and elegant.

I have had some help....and I can not wait to share with you.....