Knock Knock! Vintage Door Knob Love

Hello friends! While we are busy bees redecorating and renovating our new (1920's) home, I'm going to spend the next few weeks doing some smaller posts highlighting my junk collections in a little more detail. Tonight is all about my vintage door knob obsession and I'll be throwing a few keys and hardware in for good measure. 

This post was unexpectedly inspired by some hashtags I played on Instagram. I put together some pictures of my collections and thought I should share here too.

Ahhh...the thrill of the hunt. And the thrill of the hoard!

What is it about vintage door knobs, keys, locks and antique hardware that fascinates so many of us? The attention to detail and artistry in each piece is just something that isn't found in modern homes.

There is something so insanely romantic and mysterious about each lock, key and door knob. I always imagine what gracious homes they adorned, and the people who lived there.

I've been collecting vintage for over twenty years and door knobs for about 10 years now and I love displaying them throughout my home in my "junky chic" style. 

Collecting door knobs led to key plates, keys and various other pieces of antique and vintage hardware. 

I always have  keys, locks, hinges, knobs and key plates tucked here and there. My neices like to hunt around Auntie Amber's home for these kinds of little treasures.

Key plates are a little harder to come by but when I find them---Joy! Rapture!

 

What I love best about flea market style is creating a unique look that simply can't be replicated in mass produced store bought decor. This is especially true with holiday decorating. I am always using old door knobs and keys holiday vignettes and year round. 

Crystal knobs work especially well

for icy winter displays.

These shabby pastel and white knobs mimic speckled bird eggs and the soft, muted colors of early spring.

Welcome My Pretties! Antique knobs and skeleton keys are hauntingly beautiful!

These vignettes are what I call, "Pretty" creepy!

Valentine's Day. Old junk holds the key to my heart!

I often craft with my keys and finds. Here are some of my handstitched shabby hearts using all vintage materials and antique skeleton keys.

Here I upcycled a vintage bisque frozen Charlotte with a vintage key "guitar."

Sometimes I just play around with creative ways to display my hardware hoards. You might find a single "specimen" in a vignette, like this lovely green lock.

Or looking fab in pairs or small groupings (Yeah, yeah, yeah)!

Or "displayed" in piles...because you know, everyone needs an old rusty birdcage full of door knobs... 

 Or maybe as eye candy on a tiered server?

Wherever I use them and whenever I find them they are definitely my bliss. What about you? Are you a door knob lover too?

Spring Finds and new Etsy listings!

Hello friends!  It's a beautiful day here in Eastern KY! I've been in a decorating and junking mood (when am I not?) I realized I hadn't posted in a while so I thought I'd catch up a little. The weather has been crazy with snow and frost and back to warmer temps, but I've managed to hit a few sales and pick up some new treasures. Today I've been busy listing found items in my etsy shop, Junky Chic Boutique. https://www.etsy.com/shop/thejunkychicboutique

Yesterday I found this lovely bird saucer  so perfect for spring. I thought about listing this one for about two seconds! It's my own. My precious...

Speaking of precious! These were purchased for Etsy but...I'm fostering them for a while...

Same story goes for this trio of vintage brass bells.

Okay so what am I listing?

I also found this sweet saucer and  I just listed it today. https://www.etsy.com/listing/276240392/vintage-blue-and-white-ironstone-saucer?ref=shop_home_listings

I am always intrigued by the different companies and stamps on vintage dishes. Really I'm just intrigued by vintage dishes and ironstone all together and can't pass it up.

Just take a look at this beauty! Gorgeous blue, green and yellow Art Nouveau type design around the edge. 

I haven't listed this one just yet. It seems to be rare and trying to research it just a bit, I do plan to list it. If interested, pm me.

Blues are trending again but of course blue dishes and China are timeless.

Crystal is also timeless. I listed this "instant collection" of creamers in the shop today as well as several other vintage crystal pieces. Be sure to check out my shop! 

Bring on the warmer weather, yard sales and gardens bursting forth with color! Who's with me???

Antique Organ

Hello everyone on this very snowy Saturday! I was tagged on Instagram to post a special furniture piece. I've been meaning to show you my organ so playing the hashtag gave me a reason to go ahead and do this post. 

As you can see I have a very lovely organ in my music office (I'm going be doing an official reveal post soon) which has been mine since I was about four years old. I am a music teacher and this piece is one of the earliest influences I had toward that career. 

My grandfather was a music major and taught me piano from an early age. He bought this organ in 1976, at the time it was almost 100 years old. When I took an interest in music my grandparents decided the organ would be mine one day. This picture is just one of many wonderful memories with my grandparents that took place right around the organ. And just look at their gorgeous carpet! I always loved it. My grandmother had pretty things and I can remember appreciating them at an early age. When she moved to assisted living this past spring she wanted me to bring the organ to our house but I wasn't really wanting it yet. We had just moved here last December and I already had a piano in the music office and we had intentions to add built in bookshelves on the remaining walls. Nevertheless,  I really didn't have any other space for the organ, so we moved it in.

Turns out it looks stunning in its new home, the dark wood perfectly matches the old trim in our home. The organ is a fun and interesting conversation piece for my students and guests, and it still plays well! It has never been refinished and not is still gorgeous!

Pretty but needs...

Vintage junk!

I've been blogging and posting a lot about incorporating shabby chic, romantic and Frenchy styles in our current house which has dark woodwork and traditional style. I "shabbied" the organ with lots of beautiful vintage pictures and trinkets and I just love it as a display piece. 

You will see a lot of lions in my post from time to time. Both my maiden and married names are Scottish and have a lion on the crests. Of course the Lyon name is traditionally associated with the lion as a symbol. Lions just give me something else to hunt for on my treasure hunts. 

Here's my parent's senior pictures. Love them.The little rose compact is in my Etsy shop if you fancy pretty things!

This organ is everything I love! Antique, a touch of medieval gothic style, music, and memories!

Can you even believe these pedals? Look at those roses and florals, not a rip or run and it's over 100 years old. And believe me, many times I played that thing and 

pedaled and pumped til I couldn't breath!

 I almost contemplated putting the organ in storage because I didn't think it would "go" with the house but my heart wouldn't let me. I can always find a way to make a piece work if I love it. In this case it fits my current decorating model "Unified simply by being old and beautiful." It's not so much about making your home fit a particular decor style but more about living with beautiful things you love. ❤️

 

Here are the Instagram hosts for the hashtag party. 

If you have an Instagram I invite you to follow me there along with these talented ladies. 

Have a great weekend!

Amber

Also playing at:

http://shabbyartboutique.com/2016/01/shabbilicious-friday-link-party-122.html

Old House Charm-It's All In The Details

Snow day!  I'm sharing a quick post highlighting some of the details that I love about our old home. I am an old door knob, key, and architectural salvage nut and what won me over about this house were lots of original details. The decor was dated but underneath the charm remained.

The knobs on EVERY interior door are original.  I mean how does that happen? You hardly ever see a 95 year old home that has all its original hardware. Also I was smitten by all the cast iron vents and returns and the discoloration and patina they had gotten over time. 

Here's a few photos I snapped today.

All of the door knobs on the bedrooms, closets, and two sets of French doors are original to the house, built between 1924-25. I've always loved the glass knobs and have several in my collections. 

The opposite side handle. Love the little keyholes! Old tarnished brass is beautiful, wouldn't you agree?

Even the little locks inside the closet are still intact.

It's like a step back in time, and you wonder why people ever took these off and put up cheap brass ones. Here you can also see the wallpaper we put up this past fall. It's a 1920's style paper and we feel it is perfect for this home. 

In addition to adding character with wallpaper, we added historic charm by painting the "antique copper" tiles in our music office. This is just a sneak peak of our music office reveal...

This ceiling! I'm still loving it every day.  Finding the right paint was the hard part. Actually it wasn't easy to paint either, but more about that in the upcoming post. This job and the wallpaper in the dining room were both pains, but more than worth the end result for the historic character they revived in the home. 

It's simply gorgeous looking up at night.

Looking down you can find more original beauty.

I absolutely love this. If I saw one of these thingys at a yard sale I would have bought it to use in some junky chic vignette or as a display piece in my booth. For it's primary purpose it's soooo warm to stand above! Old cast iron? I couldn't resist! Quick! Let's write an offer!!! I knew the outdated paint and carpet would be an easy fix but you can't always find these kinds of original details, a must have on my home wish list. And that's the hardwood floor that was under that carpet and we haven't done a thing to it.

These are the wall vents in every room. 

They are just the warmest and they really add charm to the rooms. 

You might be wondering about heat costs but somehow we almost tripled our square footage when we moved and our bill is less!

Love the butler door which swings from the kitchen to dining room. Here you can see the woodwork which isn't a perfect match but to be almost a century old and never painted, I'll take it! 

We loved the unpainted doors as well. Even when we were going to paint the trim we were going to leave the doors original. It took some getting used to, as I wanted to paint white everywhere originally. After we started moving in we realized the wood was just too pretty to paint, and since I had been doing the white thing for so long I was ready for a change, and we just couldn't destroy the integrity of the home. Don't get me wrong. I can definitely see this house all white and it might be "prettier" but it just seems wrong to do it.

Original French doors to dining room. I won't lie about keeping them clean, it's a chore. There are 60 panes of wonderful, wavy old glass between the two sets of doors, so it takes a day or two to get them sparkly but I do love them.

And this baby sealed the deal...

Look at the gorgeous woodwork and details on this mantel! Never painted, hardly a scratch. Alas, no white, but no regrets.

Original tilework

Yes, I do dream by the fire, of all the upcoming home decor projects on my wish list, traveling, spring gardening, and even right now I'm dreaming of the snow we are about to get. I love at least one big, magical snow each winter. Then give me tulips!

It wasn't hard to blend vintage, shabby chic style in this house after all. I came up with a motto for mixing decorating styles here: "Unified simply by being old and beautiful."  This lamp is a great example. It used to look perfect in a predominantly white room at our old cottage, but here it's even better. The details of the lamp seem to perfectly mirror the home details I've shown today.  

I love the soft light it casts in the evening. Perfect for a night like tonight as we keep

cozy while awaiting the predicted snowpocalypse that's supposed to hit between late tonight and tomorrow.

Stay warm and cozy dear friends!

Amber

parties:

http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/?m=1

http://jannolson.blogspot.com/2016/01/share-your-cup-thursday-181.html?m=1

http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/2016/01/feathered-nest-friday_21.html?m=1

http://www.adelightsomelife.com/2016/01/home-and-garden-thursday-132.html

http://lifewithlorelai.com/2016/01/21/home-matters-linky-party-70/