Annual Allegan Antique Fair

 Can't believe it's that time of year again.....time for Allegan Antiques!  This past Sunday, we made the first of our monthly road trips down to Allegan to check out the vendors who've been stocking up on their wares all winter. This Antique show takes place on the last Sunday of every month from April to October. (8 AM -4:00 PM).

Gas-a-chinos in hand, empty van and full wallets ensured that Murphy's Law would be in full effect. We came back with nothin'! It was a swing and a miss!  We didn't even spot ONE garage sale on the way there or back (and truth be told, that's where we usually score).

Oh well, we still had fun looking and snapping a few pictures of our favorite booths.

 This was the booth where I snagged my big letter "B" last year that is hanging on the landing in our basement.

 Primitive dresser with original paint.

 Lots of vintage kitchen accessories and 'smalls'.

 Some of the booths are so beautiful. Staged to look like outdoor rooms. That's fun for me to see.

 I'm always drawn to wire baskets. I passed these up but thought they were neat for office shelves.

 Lots of mason jars in all sizes.

 I love architectural salvage pieces. This booth is always one of my favorites. Rubarb Reign.

 With Saturday being so gorgeous, we kinda pictured Sunday to pan out the same way. Not so much. It was wet and a little chilly but that didn't deter the crowds at all! 

It was a fun morning of browsing.  Saw a few of you Champs there too braving the elements. That's always a highlight as well.

Side table made out of a window. Might have to replicate this piece soon. :)

As always...shameless plug for my business this time of year. As you dig through your personal treasures while spring cleaning, or prepping for garage sales, please keep me in mind. I have been known to barter, buy or freely accept your cast offs! :)

(windows, barn wood, linens, doors, shutters, etc)

Or...if you don't want to part with any treasures, book a consult this spring to figure out how to give them new life. Now is the time to wrap up those lingering projects that have dragged on too long this winter. Let me know if you need a  productive kick in the pants to help you finish. :)

Email me at christyboeve@yahoo.com to schedule a home consult.

Happy Spring Cleaning!

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Painted Pieces In Place

Are you feelin' my pain with this rain?!

Trying to stay positive and focus on the benefits of all the wet. One upside is that the 'grass doesn't look greener on the other side of the fence' for once. Mine's looking pretty green right about now. :)

I AM  anxious, however to get outside and work on said green lawn but that ain't happenin' today.

Soooo, in the meantime, I'm keeping myself busy with home consultations, custom sign making, accessory buying for several of my wonderful clients and waiting for another bright, sunny day!

Last week, I met with a sister of a recent client of mine. (Did I mention how much I love getting to know you, your sisters, aunts, cousins, moms and friends?

This gig is all word of mouth, don'tcha know)? 

I had never been to her house before and she pulled me in for some advice regarding a main floor bathroom remodel. 

As we were walking from room to room, she began pointing out several pieces of furniture that I had previously painted for her. It was soooo fun to see the pieces in place, rather than in my dusty, dirty garage/workshop.

I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of the items so neatly displayed in her warm and welcoming home.

A vintage dresser that she repurposed into a changing table for her nursery was painted a cheery reddish-orange.

Turn around to the other side of the room and I spotted one of growth chart rulers that I sell in my booth at Not So Shabby.

I guess I painted this one too (below) she said. How sad is it that I barely remember that?

I'm getting so old. It's all becoming a blur. :)

I did recognize this accessory.I sold this in my booth last year. A rustic piece of wood with assorted knobs to hold jewelry. So glad these little pieces made with love find their way to good homes like this one!

This one below I just couldn't resist posting. This was another client of mine who moved into an old farmhouse last year and we went room to room updating each space with wall color and furniture suggestions.  This main floor bath was in desperate need of a face lift. I came back two weeks ago to see the progress she made and to help with accessorizing  and offering  suggestions for a small kitchen tweak. 

I couldn't believe the transformation of the main floor bath. I'm too impatient to wait for Jessica's 'before' pictures of this space- I just loved it so much, I had to post. This shower curtain just makes me happy on this gloomy day.

I'll leave you with another thought and a giggle to cheer you on this gloomy night. 

Off to get a sneak peek at my friend's garage sale. Til next time...

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Basic Burlap

Quick post tonight.

I spent every precious minute I could outside today enjoying the brief glimpse of Michigan sunshine, (can I get an Amen?) so not much time to write. (Gettin' another Amen for that too I suppose). :)

Hope you all got to get out, soak it in and let it fuel you for the week ahead. 

There seemed to be a consistent theme to the photos I was downloading to share this week.  And Burlap is where it's at. 

Some of the items I was prepping to bring to my booth at Not So Shabby included some extra burlap bags I had laying around from an estate sale last summer:

 Little metal buckets I bought from Target last year. 

 Cut, rip, wrap and go.

 Cute for gift buckets of candy:

 Or for holding plastic flatware for picnics!

Or fray the edges for a more casual look. (above)

Wrap a worn bulletin board with it.

Use for drapes:

Or a beat up looking outdated shade:

Or splurge on the real thing from Pottery Barn-(burlap pendant dining light):

 And now, just a quick sneak peek at the space that houses that pendant light. A project I've been working on with my new client and friend, Rebecca. We've had a blast this year designing and planning this new home for her and her young family. Not staged or quite finished yet-
(Missing barn door tracks and right side door and minus a lot of accessories, but we're getting there). I promise more pics when we're done.

Boys' Bath:

There'll be lots more where these came from soon. 

Happy Monday and happy SUN days ahead!!!

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Boxwood & Black

Quick update regarding my previous post...It's all Good! Babs and I got to chat through email and now we're buddies! I love this place. I love this job. And I love you Champs! See, I  bought a vowel, and changed the "U" to an "A" and voila! You are my champs forever and ever and the reason I love what I do. 

Moving on to the real reason you're here...to see what's new and fresh in the design world, or at least in our little neck of the woods.

I thought I'd give a shout out to Nancy today who is working on designing her new condo. She is so incredibly talented when it comes to colors and accessories and won't be needing my help at all with the project, but that doesn't stop me from niggling my way right in anyway. Subtly has never been my strong suit. 

I've talked about the site Joss & Main before-their email advertisements spam my inbox daily and I don't even mind. I am tempted to peek often and today I stumbled across their "Boxwood & Black" collection. Perfect for Nancy and the design direction toward which she was heading. Here are my faves from the grouping:












I have to comment on this wreath. I have six of these I bought from Target years ago. They've been displayed at my annual 'tag sales' just for decoration, NFS, but I have had countless people ask to purchase them. One lady even offered me $50/each!!! And I still wouldn't cave because I had never found something even close to them that weren't $80/each. This one is $35.95!!(on the right at 10inches) The one on the left is 16" and is $52.95.


Nanc,
 I know you're gonna pop the black and white with some green, which I love! Here's some fun accents from this same site. Am I being too pushy? :)





This one's for the cottage bunk room!
These too!


If "photo-bombing" is what teens call gettin' in the pic. without an invite. This certainly can be called "decor-bombing"! I feel like I just crashed your party Nancy ! :) Can't wait to see your space when you're done! 

You Champs better check out the beachy decor from Joss & Main too when you get a minute. I'll post my faves from that collection next time! See you back here soon! 


https://www.jossandmain.com/Beach-Boutique~E4073.html

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