Retro hutch redo

Part of my apartment re-do entailed jazzing up my teak hutch, which I love but quite frankly has never suited my style. I tend to like more curvy lines and though they tell you to mix styles, I'm not sure this piece mixes well with my other furniture.

My strategy: don't fight the modern lines.


In other words I decorated the hutch with retro modern objects, then added a dash of glam. Grouping similar items together (like the retro coloured glass pieces and stacks of bright-hued decorating books) can create a real impact, especially when they pop against the black of the velvet scarf (thrifted) that I'm using here as a runner.

Add some spray-painted lamps with classy black and silver shades - placed in a symmetrical arrangement for maximum glam appeal - and toss in a thrifted gold mirror, and the look is retro modern chic with a touch of elegance.


Some of my fave pieces here: the flat green Venetian dish on top of the books, given to me by my best friend after she went to Venice; the green and gold decanter that she also gave me, which used to belong to her parents; the black sculpture thrifted for a few bucks; the retro orange blown glass vase with a 'made in Canada' sticker still on it, thrifted for $10.

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Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club

Yesterday I went to the first ever sale by the Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club.

There was heaps of vintage and retro bling there, but my eye caught this 1970s carpet bag the moment I walked in the room, and it was love at first site.

I'm showing it to you here sideways so you can see the texture.

Yes, it matches my couch.

I had the pleasure of meeting the owner of one of my fave shops in Toronto, Bead Goes On (see my Top 10 Toronto Thrift Shops below) - funnily enough where I bought my first carpet bag. She and I and her pal went for brunch after and had a great time.

I'm thinking of joining this jewellery club, btw. It's only a $30 annual membership and they have monthly events. I'd like to learn how to value all the signed pieces I find at thrift shops!

They don't have a website but you can always email them at tvcjclub@hotmail.com.

Happy Monday!

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Grouping oddballs that are just like the other

Remember that old Sesame Street song, "One of these things is not like the other"?

Well all these knic-knacs ARE like the other, and I never really knew what to do with them display wise as they disn't really mesh with my colours.

Well duh, turns out the decor mags are right: group similar items together - who would have thought eh?

The pointy orange blown glass vase still has a Made in Canada sticker on it - I found it for $10 at a thrift shop.

The Star Trek looking decanter was a gift from my best pal Denise - it came with 6 shot glasses and once belonged to her parents.

She also brought me the flat green dish to the far right - from Venice, Italy.

The candlesticks were new. I put navy candles in them for a bit of cheek.

Next time you're unsure of how to group oddball elements that don't necessarily go with your overall look, look for similarities - it could be colour, style or something more thematic - and group 'em en masse; create your own collection!

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Deco Nostalgia: a look back

As you can maybe guess by new new banner up top, I'm feeling nostalgic tonight for some looks I've created in the past.

I normally don't mourn what's done on the decor front; I just move on to the next look as I'm constantly craving change in my space.

But as you know, nostalgia plays a huge role in my Grunge Queen philosophy. It's only by exploring where you've been and what moors you to this earth that you can begin to express yourself and your style through your decor.

Looking back and revisiting ideas or looks isn't unimaginative; it's celebrating the essential 'you' and can lead to a more refined style.

On the subject of looking back, I'm wondering if the impulse to collect a particular item - like I collect jewellery or head vases - isn't on some level a re-living of that initial moment of love-dom.

It paints a rather compulsive picture of collecting, but there ya go: my deep thought for the eve.

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Gold, silver & gold

I'm not a huge fan of brass nor am I a clock collector, but I loved this clock by H. Samuel made in West Germany.

I found it in my local thrift shop for $5.99.

It looks very Old World when positioned in front of some of my old books.










Though I love glittery things, I also like old, worn and tarnished pieces that used to gleam and glisten.

This silver jug has a nicer look when oxidized, I think, than it would all shiny and new looking.

I bought it at the same thrift store in Toronto, Stretch Thrift, for $3.99. I tried to fit a plant into it but it didn't work, so it's just on its own for now.

This silvery vase was $10 at a west end Toronto junk store. Sometimes I put flowers in it but more often than not it sits empty and hangs out with my other gold & silver stuff on my new dining table.

What I'd love to find, for super cheap natch: an old silver trophy, with the handles and everything.

Once I get an idea in my head about something I'd like, it tends to come to me. So I'm just putting the trophy thing out there.

Now, what about that rich & romantic man?

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Trifari choker could be worth something

My best friend bought me this lovely, almost pocket size hardcover book for my B-day, Shopping for Vintage: The Definitive Guide to Fashion.

In it there are beautiful colour illustrations of the creations of much coveted and collectible clothing and accessory designers, along with descriptions of their main looks and what to look for when shopping for them.

Needless to say most of the designers are pretty high end, their wares like nothing I'd see in the thrift shops.

But the book helped me realize a necklace I bought last summer for $10 in a junk store outside Morrisburg, Ontario could have way more value than I thought originally.

I knew Trifari jewellery was somewhat collectible, but it wasn't until I read the write up on it that I realized how much.

This pretty silver tone leaf choker is signed "Trifari", a signature which, according to the book's author Funmi Odulate, means the piece was made before 1923.

All Trifari pieces after that date are stamped "TFK", so if you find a bauble stamped "Trifari" or Trifari and Trifari", you'll likely have a more collectible piece.

I haven't figured out what the value is on this necklace but I don't care much: I'm just kinda thrilled to know the Grunge Queen did pick up something somewhat collectible - I loved it on sight so it's still just as meaningful to me.

I always look for signed jewellery pieces when I do the thrift dig, though a signature doesn't mean an item is worth gobs of money. Sarah Coventry jewellery is highly collectible and often signed but I don't think it fetches the big bucks as there were so many pieces made.

Sometimes signatures or stamps change over time, as Trifari's did, and that can help you identify which era the piece was made in and possibly its value.

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Obsolete tools

With the recent gift of a wood grainer, pictured here, I realized I have a little collection of industrial tools forming - all of which were given to me as gifts, come to think of it.

Mark Taaffe of World Headquarters at 2885 Dundas St. West in the Junction gave this wood grainer to me. I love it. It looks like there's a patent number and a 1911 date stamped on the handle on the back.

If you're like me and need some help figuring out how this would have been used, I'll tell you what Mark told me: this would have been run down the length of say, a cupboard that had been painted, to create a grainy effect.

Doug Killaly of Post & Beam Reclamation, another Junction gem at 2869 Dundas St. West specializing in architectural salvage, gave this to me a couple years ago.

Can you guess what it is?



It's a wood block floral pattern stamper, from Hungary if memory serves, and was used to stamp patterns on clothing.

I love that it's stained blue. Doug mounted it on a little stand, so now it's a decor object just like my wood grainer.

A man gave this to me many years ago as a Christmas gift - he found it in a Paris flea market and the tool generated much conversation around the holiday tree in the south of France that year ....

We never figured out what it was used for.

I think I'll be haunting the salvage and junk shops for other old artisan-type tools and implements such as these. Is there such a thing as feeling nostalgia for items you've never experienced before? Let's just say I appreciate their artisan handy bent and their history, known or not. And the tools make for neat decor groupings.

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Clutch Crutch

I don't know if I've shared one of my latest thrift obsessions: retro purses.

They're just so darn easy to buy - normally less than a fiver - and the 1950s and 60s ones are so dandy design-wise.



This silver lace one was only $3.99 at Sally Ann.


This pretty quilted silvery one, made in England, was about the same price at another thrift store (short metal strap not shown here).

Sadly I don't lead a glam enough life to warrant the purchase of all these purses, though you can bet I try to get as much mileage out of them as possible when invited to press events and cocktail parties.

I've had particular luck finding clutches with tags that read "Handmade in Canada by John Hort."

This spanky little red number, again with short strap hidden, was $14 at a shop in Kensington Market in Toronto - it's in mint condition too.

You can tell this one is handmade - love how it's not symmetrical - and the circle detail clasp is just darling.

Once I decided I loved these bags I was able to pick them out of a dusty thrift store case three feet away. This is another John Hort (slightly out of focus, sorry), found at Goodwill for $3.99. It has a long chain link strap, and you can see it has the same clasp detail.

By the way if anyone has information on John Hort I'd love to hear it - all I know is he was based in Vancouver in the 1950s and 60s and won something called the Judy Award for design. His bags aren't too hard to find in thrift stores or the Internet so he must have been pretty prolific.

Later this week I'll show you how I display all these purses.

TIPS: I always open the bag and smell it to make sure it's not to offensive, and I always look for tags inside. If the tag indicates it's handmade I always pick it up. I also look for purses made in Canada and England - have one gorgeous one from Belgium I'll share soon ....

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Platters Matter

Thrift shops are havens for silver-plated trays for super cheap (a few bucks), but the idea of using a tray or platter seems so outdated - like we should be dolling ourselves up and serving martinis to hubby when he comes home from work at 5:30 p.m.!

The good news: You can do all sorts of semi-crafty things with them that can work with your life and your aesthetic. Try hanging a bunch on the wall like plates. Or I've seen people glue them to small table bases so that they become glistening table tops.

Since I'm more of an opportunistic decorator than a crafty one, I use these pretty trays for display purposes. I never know how to display my perfumes. They tend to look better contained in one space, so why not serve 'em up on this oval shaped platter?

Or how about my collection of pill boxes? Scattered over a table they look just messy. But contained in this pretty tray they look pretty-glam and like a cohesive collection

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Accidental Collections

Yesterday's post has got me thinking about collections that just come together out of convenience or haphazardness.

A collection worthy of display can be anything you have in some number that you love - like these pebbles from the Mediterranean, bits of worn glass - even a very dated golden button from an vintage bolero I used to own, scattered across a worn wood surface....

The same idea, with a few pretty blue marbles thrown in and the pebbles contained in a silver bowl....

Speaking of, bowls can contain all sorts of on-the-fly collections. My mom used to have a button box (what mom in the 1970s didn't?) I used to revel in sifting through.


So why not treat those stray and fall-away buttons as pretty baubles? Having them visually apparent may help me remember to sew on the stray ones!


Collections can be made up of of bibs and bobs that separately don't pack much of a display punch but together create a sweet little vignette - like the semi-crappy candles and a pretty decorative box scattered over a small thrift store tray.


And can collections be comprised of sheer clutter, like the paper stuffed in this bowl?

For the grunge-queen, you bet your buttons.

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Karma Clusters: Box Groupings

Oftentimes collections can be accidental. Over the years I've accumulated a bunch of decorative boxes, many as gifts. For a long time I never knew how to display them. I'd try to incorporate them into my decor individually, and sometimes this would work. Recently I've discovered there's strength in numbers - and it's so much easier to just pile them artfully on top of eachother!

There is a little method to my display madness, though. As you see I've grouped solid-coloured boxes together in one tableau, and patterned or engraved ones together in another.

I call these box groupings Karma Clusters as I store little treasure from my past in them - everything from home-made Valentines and love letters to ticket stubs, my fave earrings from grade nine, a cork from France, and a bracelet from an old beau....

These box clusters emit mega happy rays, major nostalgia power that binds me to my past and invigorates my present in very self-affirming ways!

And it doesn't all have to be hidden. I get a quick Karma fix when I glance at this glass box and see an old spoon my childhood "Nanna" gave me as I loved it so; and a gold filter from a blue ciggy smoked in grade nine; and a skull and crossbones tag that was attached to some uber potent home-made beer my bro-in-law gave me in the 1990s; a bottle of perfume that used to belong to my best friend, her fave scent that reminds me of her .... btw I don't smoke any more so I can be nostalgic over my wild and carefree days of grade nine!

You can incorporate even the teeniest items into your decor. Remember there's no rule saying you can't surround yourself with the little bibs and bobs you love ....

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Clutter Bug Art in Kitchen, Smart Art Finale

Arg, those four boring white walls my super insisted on painting my kitchen have been driving me crazy. So too have all those tiny mis-matched frames and photos I don't know what to do with .... wedding pics, diplomas, awards and other plaques, postcards and pics I love - what do do with them?

The most logical thing: put 'em all in the same place. My kitchen is now a bit clutter bug-ish, but it looks pretty funky. I figure I'll just keep adding things so until pics go up to the ceiling.

When you think of it it's a great way to display pics you don't want hiding in an album (you've probably gathered I'm a tactile person and not at all inclined towards digital frames).

The only thing I'd change is add a pop of drama and colour, like navy blue walls and that hot pink acrylic chandelier I've been admiring in a local shop ....

Consider this a work in progress ....

TIPS: Create your own collections by hanging all the stuff you love - why should it hide away in your drawer? Pictured here, by the coffee maker, a beloved cotton puff snowman pic made from my fave male orderly in the hospital while growing up - it's even signed "Bert." Postcards from my twin sis's art exhibits (that I've put in a retro wood frame); a fave black and white photo of my sis and I in Marseilles, France. Up top, photos of the nieces and nephews, and original art from pals.

Oh, and the clock, by Ingraham Clock Co? Found it in a local thrift shop for $13 - it's exactly like the clock I grew up with and looked at a dozen times a day for 20 years -- can you imagine being sentimental about a clock??

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Men and Thrift

I'll never forget one particularly nasty beau calling a coat I picked up at an Ottawa consignment shop my "Obi-Wan Kenobi" coat. It was a Hilary Radley wrap coat - ok yes, it was brownish, and it had a belt, and - well - it had a hood too. I thought it was chic beyond belief, but I let this guy ruin it for me ... every time I went to wear it thereafter, all I could think was that old fart Obi-Wan. Alas, the coat went in the donation pile recently after sitting in my closet unworn for years.

When my ex called a prized (second-hand) head vase (pictured here) Ichabod Crane, I was ok with it - primarily because it come from a place of fun and love. And I love head vases - they're the freakiest things: vases in the shape of heads, with little openings where the brains should be. This head vase was like nothing I'd ever seen - so elegant, not at all kitschy - and it was made in Spain, not exactly the head vase capital of the world. My feisty cat decapitated Ichabod one day when I was at work, but it was a clean cut, thank God, nothing a little mega glue couldn't cure. I smile every time I look at my elegant lady. She can be swishy - and she can still be Ichabod.

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Display Dismay

An easy way to spruce up your digs is to showcase your collections, but figuring out how to display your stuff can be daunting. I learned the hard way that putting too many items together can produce a cluttered, junky look. The best way to show off, say, my head vase collection, is to group (no more than five) items of similar colour or theme together in odd numbers - the experts say even numbers can be too symmetrical and I tend to agree.

But what if you don't have a collection per se? First off collections needn't be hoity toity Lampe Berger or Faberge eggs. They can be cheap 'n easy and exist in your home without your even knowing it. I found a collection I didn't even know I had recently - and digging it up solved the dilemma of how to display three separate items I always had displaying separately. Once I figured out I had three jugs - two thrift store finds and one a gift - I threw 'em together and voila, instant display. It helped they had similar colours - the soft hues and florals I associate with the "Shappy Chic" look popularized by Rachel Ashwell bring some continuity to the tableau while the different heights make it more interesting visually (they also pop against the black book they're sitting on).

TIPS:
1). Take a peep around your place and see what you have. Pebbles you've collected from the beach; mounds of letters from old lovers; hardcover art books - anything can be a collection.

2). Displaying a collection needn't entail fancy shmancy contraptions you see on the reality TV home decor shows. It can be as simple as plopping three jugs on a pile of books, or stacking coffee table books in an unexpected place like the floor.

3). Don't be scared to showcase an odd ball that doesn't fit into your collection on its own. If it truly is unlike anything you have, it'll stand on its own as a statement piece if you create a backdrop that showcases it well.

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