...I just had the greatest idea!..

I am going to show you pictures of our

......DAUGHTER AND SON IN LAWS ...

new home!...

Our son in law lived there for 6 months before they got married and 

after they got married one of their man friends was heard to say...

"well you can tell a girl lives here now!"

Any way our son in law doesn't seem to mind!

He was actually heard to say "pretty" the other day!

He saw our newest kitchen table and said to his new wife ...

"well this is a pretty table won't this one work @ our place?"

(they were told they could have whatever they wanted from our home)

and his new wife...said

"no..... I know what I want"

(what she wants is a round pedestal table painted black)...

so the hunt has been going on for a few weeks now and wouldn't you know it!..as soon as you need something ...it doesn't show up!

Well tomorrow we are going over to hang some pictures so we will take some pictures!

See you soon!...

Also please look at my newest 

"Worth taking A peek At"

Heather (I have mentioned her before) is the producer stylist I have been fortunate enough to work with on a few stories for magazines!

Her new blog is ...worth taking a peek at!

...

....These pretty pink vintage "Rosa"  dishes are going to a new home!.... 

They are leaving my "Dish Pantry"

 (As seen in previous posts......and in Canadian House and Home April 08)

.....And are now  going to live at my 

dear friend Carols home!

She has lovely Tea Parties so I know they will "get out" a lot there!

 Carol has a beautiful cabinet her talented husband  built and 

 they will be on display when not in service! 

So today I am off to deliver  these delightful dishes!.....

Maybe Carol will let me take a few pictures !

....Another look at one of the benches.....

They made the trip home to our back yard!

And now the cats can lounge on them in the sun!

...They are so pretty!...

These are the urns 

That were bracing the bridal couple...

While they said their vows!

Now I will have to sell the benches...

Maybe they will go to another wedding! 

....Or look wonderful at the end of a bed!....

...The Waiting Tent".......

.....These are pictures of the benches we did for the "Waiting Tent"
They are vintage ......and very pretty don't you think!
.... Lois our wedding decorator put up gauzy curtains...
to make it seem so much more important than the "beer" tent it was!
It ended up being a great spot
....Kelly, her Dad and attendants "waited" for their turn down the aisle
..the aunties & grandparents...75 years and up!...sat there and "waited" for the reception to start!
.....and then the bride and groom and attendants "waited" there for their entrance to the reception!..
These pictures are of our nieces daughter...the prettiest flower girl!
...Megan took the pictures and....
they totally capture the ....soft.....floaty.......feeling... of this special spot !

...killing time!

HI....I am sitting here.....(this is actually Jetta our cat) waiting for the wedding pics to be downloaded...
and then I will be sharing them!...
There are some pictures of the benches Bob and I did for the "waiting tent!"...
with the most adorable flowergirl...sitting on them!....
~........~

...Trying to catch up!

Hi Everyone....
I know I am terribly delinquent!...I will try to be more like the lovely Koralee @ Blue Bird Notes!...and keep things fresh!

Well ...we are getting ready for our beautiful daughter Kellys wedding and will have some lovely pics to share along the way...but for now I will just show some treasures!..

Hope this finds you all so very well...
& Thanks to Carol Sharon & Koralee for keeping me inspired!
...and motivated!

These lovely tables where painted for a charming cottage in Crescent Beach!
The cottage is going to be in Style At Home.....probably next spring or summer!
So very sweet !...

Country Living April 2009!
What a great story! And such pretty fabrics!
I had that fabric..an old tablecloth!...for a long time..many years...
just waiting for the right spot for it!
..so glad I waited and now I have found a little bit more!

Golden Couch

Well ....this is a great couch that I have been wanting to recover!...(for those of you who think it looks great as is, the fabric is very nasty!)....I would like to do it in a grey or cafe brown velvet ((so if we decide to I could put it in the living room with the other brown velvet one!))...It is a great shape and size!...wonderful for my 6'1" husband Bob to take naps on!...I will paint the frame black and change the cushion arrangement to one large feather/foam one. We do this to all our redo's and it is so contemporary!....Wait for future postings ....I am off to pick up another couch now ...this next one is very Frenchy with lots of tufting!.......Colleen

Hi .....Country Living Magazine April edition is out!....go to page 122!...Our furniture looks great!...oh my goodness the photography is wonderful...wow Janis! and the way Heather has worked our furniture into her green house.... so pretty! ...and Jill's writing makes it seem like we are right there!.....Hmmmm.....Such a pretty story!....
Lots of thanks to all of you for you emails and support!...Colleen

Woops ...Forgot to say my newest article for Vintage Home is going to be out March 15th, in Country Living Magazine! It is out in the eastern U.S.A. already! It is a story about a greenhouse that was redone with our furniture!
We have already received calls & emails! Everyone is interested in different things about the story so it is sooo exciting!
Let me know what you think of the article!..Colleen
p.s. these are some of the cushions that are in the story!

HI.....I am just posting a picture of some great dishes Bob found this weekend "Rosa" by Meakin.
They are so pretty and have made it possible to add to a set that I am selling!!
Talk to you soon!...Colleen

Oh...to post a comment you need to have a google or otherwise account....Thank you everyone for your feed back!....Colleen

HI...Went looking for treasures today and ....had to get home before the snow!...yep snow!...Here's a little pic of our front hall...Thanks to Shelley for the lovely Cyclamen to bring some spring to the house!....... A few friends were over last week and they found some treasures!......Go to my "worth taking a peek @" to" Koralee " to see!...I have to learn to take pictures like Koralee!....see you soon...Colleen

P.S. ......Some of you have mentioned in your emails that you are not able to comment on my blog!...I will look into this ! Sorry ....talk soon .....Colleen

Good Morning!...It is so pretty out...Beautiful sparkling clear day!
The day after ValentinesDay!
I hope your day was fun!...We had horseback riding, YVR going, (for a friend from Winnipeg)! church and dinner out with friends!
7 girls and 1 boy came too..sitting in a different spot.....& I made Valentine treat bags for all (including our servers).
The food was great and the company the best!
Almost everyone came back for Bob decorated cupcakes, lattes or Passion Tea!
(I put espresso in the chocolate cupcakes and Bob made cream cheese icing!...I think I will deliver a few to G&T who had to go home!...if there are any left after breakfast!)

Today I have to go to Crecsant Beach ...yes again!..Love it there!
I need to choose paint colours for a cottage we are working on!
This charming place is hopefully going to be a before/after in a magazine article!
But regardless it is a sweet place at the beach....that is going to have a freshening up!
It is all about how to "get the look" with decorating and paint. No structural changes.
It was built over 80 years ago ...on the dirt..so it will eventually be a tear down!

I will take my girls and their friends (the one from Winnipeg has only flown over the ocean)...and we will go for a walk on the "wall", prommanade ...whatever it is called!
Such a great day for the beach ...or anywhere in the Valley! Sun!

Well this week I will be working on our new "Studio"!
The stylist I have been lucky enough to work with on the magazine articles says there may be a "story" there. You know ...where you work...where the magic happens!
Well..... you know where we work is........on the pingpong table, the freezer, the floor...anywhere there is a flat surface!...All places that are in the way!!!
And then every piece, before it goes to its new home, takes up residence in our front hall, dining room, bedroom....anywhere there is floor space!
And I am always bumping into, vaccuming around & shoveing about the pieces Bob beautifully stransforms!
Plus it is so hard to say goodbye to them when they are so sweet and so visible!
So....with the weather warming up...soon...I feel we can do this in the garage for now. Its full of "before" furniture anyway!...And itss easy access to anyone that wishes to take a peek!
So I will unpack those collectables that are taking up storage space and display those pretty cushions I make!
Well I guess I better get going...I have a lot to do!

......HAPPY VALETINES DAY!.......
......Tonight Bob I and friends along with 8 girls ages 17 - 20 are going to dinner....seperate tables ..they want a male waiter!..hahah!
.....Let me know what fun things you are doing today & tonight!............
This is a pretty picture of some Fire King White Dishes (as mentioned in Canadian House & Home April 2008)......I love the way everything looks great on white dishes......even little tiny cake decorating hearts!
And an old Victoria magazine! (yes I still have all my old ones..I love the clear pure photography)!
.......Hanging over a Linen chair is one of our many Vintage Linens ....this one with the initial "B" for Bob embroidered on it!......
Yesterday Bob and I went antiqueing and Cresant Beaching (work related)...what a beautiful day!..
We didn't find any treasures but had a great day......another time!

Hi Everyone..........Just a wee note to let you know what we have been up to!
Bob has gotten a lot of pieces ready for new homes and I am almost ready to post the pics!...
Until then here are some shots similar to the ones take for the April edition of
Canadian House & Home 2008.
This is a picture of our pantry....I think in a lot of houses of our vintage (not!..15 years only...maybe one day I will live in a old house!)..the pantry is used to house food!
Our pantry started out holding food, but then.......
One summer about 10 years ago I took the girls to my sisters in Tulameen for a few days... and came home to a new room!
Bob had taken all the food out of the pantry and
put in our every increasing collection of dishes!
Thanks Bob!
About 5 years ago my sister Carolyn and I redid the shelves so they where closer together!
Thanks Carolyn!
That made more room......hmmm .........so we could collect more!
Along the way pieces have been sold or given away.
Last year we had to spruce it up for the photo shoot...so it got painted!
I love the colour but it could have been a bit stronger...It is a muted grey.
Sometimes colour doesn't always show up well in the photos!
Then we (our eldest daughter and I ) and then Bob, organized the dishes for the shoot (they did some changes)........and we went down to the storage room and opened some boxes!
So out came the Jadeite, Lenox and Blue Pyrex.
But thats anotherBlog!

These pictures where taken by our eldest daughter...she is quite good!

HI!......I am excited to tell about my day!..
It was a beautiful sunny day and Bob and I went to Vancouver.
A few coffees, snacks and .......... thrift store shopping! This consisted of Bob quickly grabbing the car door handle and saying..."I'm just going to run in here...". Of course I was doing my super job of concentrating on the road and didn't even notice the stores! We found a few treasures and will now start the clean up!
I will put the photos up soon.

Just My Second Day!

I will be very sad to see this chair go .......it is so pretty! Bob painted it and then we had it reupholstered in 100% Natural Linen (from Natural Textiles in Vancouver).
....hmmm now that I look at the picture I realize I should take off the cushion and post a new picture! The cushion is made from an antique linen with a beautiful embroidered scalloped edge, I lined it with 100% cotton muslin to give it body and strength, the insert is feather.

Well.........I am at the end of my second day of "Blogging"!........I want to thank Megan, and my two girls for helping me get started ! I know I have a lot to learn but I will eventually be able to do this by myself...except maybe for a bit of prompting and of course visual input!
Our furniture and collectibles have been in a few magazines and each editor that I talk to asks if we have a web site or a blog. The web site will be coming! I want to thank Heather (stylist for the magazine articles) as she encouraged me to start a blog. And for my nieces Meaghan and Megan for paving the way.

Welcome to the Vintage Home Blog!

Over 30 years ago we both were collecting antiques ! Bob had a contemporary look with well appointed antiques, and I was primitive country.

Twenty years ago we married each other and our two styles happily melded together .
We then began to collect as a couple! Wonderful pine armoires warm every room in our suburban home. Everybody sleeps in an antique iron bed, and antique dressers make storage friendly bedside stands.

We began with pine country pieces that worked well with more current sofas and chairs. Then we started to purchase upholstered pieces ( I brought a 3 piece 40s overstuffed set to the marriage). Together we reupholstered my set and recovered a beautiful Duncan Phyfe couch. We decorated our home and helped many friends with theirs.
Then the garage got too full to park the cars, and our basement storage room held more than Christmas!.
So, we had to start selling. New styles had began to strike our fancy and curvy frames, french style dressers, armoires & chandeliers started to grace our rooms. They are all so very beautiful and hard to decide which piece to part with! There is a lot of shuffling of furniture these days as pieces are purchased, spruced up and sent to live in a new home!
We believe if you see our pieces and like them in the photos you will love them in a special place in your home!