I'm still new to the idea of "going antiquing". I grew up in California, and somehow the idea of antiques wasn't one that got people excited. Our homes were all new(ish), modern, edgy, or beach casual, and while we may have admired things that looked like antiques, they were in all likelihood Pottery Barn quality antique. I'm sure I saw antique stores here and there growing up, but to be honest I can't recall any memories of them.
In contrast, living in a 161 year old house, antiques are now screaming out for us to find them and use them as decor. So a few weekends ago we went on an antique-driven road trip across the finger lakes. Our final destination was the "Bloomfield Antique Mile" just southeast of Rochester. We figured we'd hit a few stores on the way and enjoy the scenic drive along the top of the finger lake chain. We got to take a 5 minute detour to drive by the NY Wine and Culinary Center, which got me all sorts of excited about going back to take cooking classes and celebrate special occasions.
We started at the Auburn Flea Market/Antique Co-op. We did our best to pick through the piles of junk on the flea market side, but it was so overwhelming and felt like a hoarders house of broken, useless items that we both felt a little sick after walking around for 20 minutes. There were a few possibly promising items, but it wasn't worth standing in a pile of trash to make decisions about them. The Co-op however was organized and full of fantastic finds. In particular, an old water heater in great shape caught our eye. It was industrial yet funky looking and would certainly be an interesting piece of "art". It was even affordable at $30, but neither of us could think of exactly where it would belong in the house, so we moved on.
By the time we got to Bloomfield I had visions of finally finding my dream antique. I've been in search for an old Singer sewing table for awhile now (I plan to have a granite top cut to place over it and make it into a console table of sorts), and with the antique mile promising thousands of antiques I felt sure I'd finally find my table in good condition. Sadly, while we debated about two different sewing tables, neither had the exact right price, or was in good enough condition to bring home... so my search continues.
What we did take home were a few small items totaling $11. My find.... these old key hole plates with a pretty patina-like look to them. The pair was $5 and while we already have these on some of the interior doors in the house, my plan for this set will be as wall art. I plan to place large hooks in the door knob holes that will hold coats, purses, umbrellas, or whatever else hangs on a hook, so that they are functional but also pretty. I've always been confused by how to create wall art, so our homes have always been full of (ok, overloaded with) personal pictures, but touches like this help me get closer to my vision of mixing the two together.
Tom's find.... a 9 inch tall wooden telephone booth. Maybe not terribly "antique", but we've oddly been looking for a small telephone booth for our shelves for awhile so I was pretty excited that we scored this for $6. Upon checking out we noticed a crank on the bottom of the booth - surprise music box! We cranked it up.... and nothing. Not until we got home and opened the little door on the front did it start playing music. The best part, it plays "I just called to say I love you"... so sweet and unexpected.
No comments:
Post a Comment