Dining Room Tour

 Eventually you will get to see the whole house.

But I am taking it one room each week or so.

And this week it is the dining room.

 I painted the china cabinet before we moved (click here for more details about that).

I knew the gold would go well with the 

"Magnolia Home" rug we bought for the room.

 I finally lead-tested my brown transferware,

so now I know I can use it to feed people.

Many of my white vases had to "move on"

because I don't have room for them --

these are the ones that made the cut.

 Original old oil painting on top of the cabinet.

Love it.

 

 Old wooden ladder my husband found --

 with great graphics on the side.

Almost sold our HEAVY oak buffet before moving.
I bought it about 30 years ago for $10, it was my first major furniture redo.
So glad I didn't sell it.  It fit into this little nook perfectly.
And has an awesome storage capacity.

Folk art oil painting above it.
My all-time favorite frame.
(And I do love frames.)

Ready To Show Off The Sun Room

Many of the rooms in our house are still "in transition". Over the last 5 months we literally stuffed our Ozarks garage to the rafters.  Every time we made a trip down from "up north" we brought a vanload and unloaded into the garage (while working on the interior of the house).  Now is the time to painfully go through the "stash" bit by bit. 

Which means, each day as I pull out tubs from the shop -- more stuff gets added or rearranged in each room.  So that is why I haven't taken any "reveal" pics of our vintage Ozark home. 

But the sun room is there, or almost there.  Whatever "there" is.  Since we took possession in March it has had a fresh coat of white paint, new curtains, and two new low-profile ceiling fans.

We knew that our vintage porch furniture would look great in here, 

and we were not disappointed.

As I sort through the garage items -- some get tossed, some get donated, some get relegated to the outdoors, some will be priced and sold, and a very few items will make the cut and be invited to come inside the house.  Looking for a piece of furniture for storage in this spot, we went out to the garage and found we already owned the perfect piece -- a perfectly pumpkiny dresser.

We used more "fun color" in this room than the subtle neutrals that we normally enjoy.  So the feeling is cheerful and bright.  The brighter pops of color were a good excuse to display my vintage Ozark Roadside Pottery collection.  Who knew that it would someday make it back to the Ozarks?

Master Bedroom At "Old House"

I love our bedroom, but as you know, our house is on the market.

Our bedroom in our "new" house will be very different,

so I want to remember this one. 

 Standing in the middle of the room, this is the east wall

I have enjoyed the cheerful color,

and I always hung my favorite antique gold frames on this wall.

 Northeast corner.

I did the specialized paint on the walls.

 Original OLD Longpre print.

I will have to find a place for it at our new house.

 Our queen size bed will be heading to the guestroom

at the new house.  I had to buy decorative pillows for the

bed to help "stage" because I am not a decorative pillow person.

I love this dresser.

It is like a piece of folk art.

I would love to know the history behind it.

Well, we had some people look at the house yesterday,

that seemed pretty interested.  

So I am crossing my fingers.

Local Folk Artist From The 1940s

I participated in an on-line auction a few weeks ago,

(see post here on my auctions wins).

 One of the things that I bid on, but did not win was this "altar".

The photos from this on-line auction service are always bad, but I could tell it had

some age on it, and that someone was very creative.  Not only do the

local on-line auctions have rotten pics, but their description was just "altar".

Nevertheless, I was very drawn to it .... and bid a whole $8 just to "bookmark" it.

But when I found out my grandchild was going to be induced on the "pick up"

date, I let the bid slide and someone bought it for just $12!

Well, it could not be helped.

One of the items I did win was this tiered shelf, made by the same artist.

AND I had a magazine from the 1940s with a page about the local

woodcarver artist.  Self taught, mostly made everything with a pocketknife.

The most interesting tidbit: it had a photo of the altar in the article!

It talked about how many hours it took him to carve the altar.

By this time I was sad I had not bid more, but life goes on......

Until I am talking to a friend of mine about the altar.

He asked the name of the guy, and I actually remembered.

He already owned several pieces of folk art  done by this gentlemen,

and was very interested in hearing more about the altar.

Then I showed him the 1940s magazine article...

besides showing the altar, it had a photo of the artist working on a 3D picture.

And this friend OWNED the carved picture!

So, I sold him the magazine and gave him enough info about the

on-line auction to get him started in tracking the altar down.

Happy Ending  -- this last pic is of the altar tucked safely in his basement,

awaiting a few minor repairs (with the magazine sitting on top).

William Henry Chandler Original Pastel Drawing

Have you ever seen "Fun With Flags" with Sheldon on the "Big Bang Theory" ?

I feel like I should call this the "Fun With Artists" or "Monthly Artist Spotlight".

Last month I posted on two Maxfield Parrish prints,

click here to read that post.

Last week I was a vendor at an antique show,

and I took this drawing to sell.  

 

I had purchased it 5-10 years ago

because I liked the frame. (Great, isn't it?)

 It has been hanging in our bedroom since then. We are getting rid of some of our

personal collection and this was something that landed on the "to go" side.

 While at the show, someone more knowledgeable

than myself commented that Chandler was a well-known artist

and that I should do more research on him.

So here it is....

William Henry Chandler (1854-1928)
William Henry Chandler has come to be known as America's foremost pastel artist. This is due,in part, to the indisputable fact that Chandler is this country's most prolific pastel artist. No other artist is responsible for more pastel art than Chandler. Beautiful landscapes,winter landscapes,wonderful marine and seascapes, still life fruit and fowl. Chandler's work portrays the feel and essence of a bygone era untouched by the course of human progress.
Chandler was a popular artist in his own time. His style was frequently copied by other artists of the era.  He was greatly influenced by the Hudson River School of Art. In turn, it is said that his work influenced other artists, such as Maxfield Parrish.

Remember last month's "featured artist"?  Yeah, that's right.

None other than Max himself.

 I don't recall hearing about Chandler in any of my

Art History classes.  But to tell you the truth,

I was never real keen on pastels.

But now that I know that this original pastel might

be worth something, it is looking better and better.

Listing it on ebay soon.

My Booth At The Platte City MO Antique Show

 

Last weekend I was a vendor at the Platte City Antique Show.  It is a great show, I knew because I had done it a number of years ago.  I was thrilled to have an invitation extended to me to participate this year -- we are clearing out merchandise and some of our personal collections.

 I sold this antique oil painting (paid $5 for it, sold for $35) 

and the stone vase on the right 

(paid $5,sold for $18).

I wish I could make a list of the type of items that are selling

right now, but I am always surprised myself.

 I am selling my Chase's Candy Company collection.

This box did not sell, but two antique Chase's plates did.

The great chippy pot and pot holder on the left also sold.

 I think I will have to lower my prices on the transferware

and the 48 star flag.

 Jar, candle holder and walnut trunk they were sitting on, all sold.

Paid $1 for gallon jar in carrier, sold for $16.

Paid $2 for candleholder, sold for $14.

 In the past I have done very well with original art work.

Not so much this show.

 Mid-century lamp (paid $4, sold for $28, toy dresser (bought for $10, sold for $22)

and vintage chalkboard sold (paid $8, sold for $29).

I was very surprised to take home the garden bench,

part of my personal things I am clearing out.

Great garden cart (paid $25, sold for $105), green pie cabinet (paid $50, sold for $130),

and old trunk all sold.

Sold almost $1400 in merchandise.

Last Weekend's Vintage Finds -- TWO 1920s Maxfield Parrish Prints

I picked up TWO 1920s Maxfield Parrish prints last week.

I will be putting them on ebay, so I did a bit of research on them

and thought I would share some of it.

 In the 1920s an astonishing one out of four American households

had a copy of this Maxfield Parrish print "Daybreak" hanging in their houses.

He was known for using gorgeous blues in much of his artwork.

The standing girl was Parrish's own daughter,

the reclining girl is "Kitty" -- the granddaughter of William Jennings Bryan.

Kitty is also the model in the next print.

While you occasionally can find this print (because there were so many!)

many are faded and it is the vibrant color that makes them hold their value.

 This one is called "Wild Geese".

I don't know why.  

These were considered a fantasy genre,

 and he never volunteered a "story" behind any of his artwork.

He had a hard time being taken as a serious fine artist, so in later decades,

 he said he would never again paint "female figures on rocks".

I love that this little paper tag has survived almost 100 years

on the back of this print.

Both prints miraculously stayed in their original frames.

Sold for a combined amount of $257 on ebay,

Last Weekend's Vintage Auction Finds

We are still having a garage sale drought in our area, so I was thrilled to attend two auctions last weekend.  I only stayed about 1.5 hours at each, but got some good, sellable junk.  The first three items came from a monthly "Tiny Town" auction.

.

 The baby quilt has hand embroidered Mother Goose poems.

It was in good shape, and I thought it had some age.

It wasn't until I got home that I noticed the 1923 date on it.

So cute.

 Love this little blue wagon,

do you think the name of the wagon or the owner was Sherri?

 These last couple of items came from a Saturday morning auction.

I loved the frame on this painting even more than the painting.

An olive colored mason jar,

which I will be listing on ebay,

(Bought for $8, sold for $92 on ebay.)

And I picked up an old trunk at the same auction.

Stay tuned for a future post on it.

Local On-Line Auction Goodies

We are starting to have a few on-line auctions in our area.  I wish we had even more.
I LOVE laying in bed and bidding on an auction!  These are some items I picked up Saturday from an on-line auction that ended a few days before that.

Several frames / eight paper Japanese parasols /

a couple silverplate items.

All of these items I will be selling in my vintage booth.

This very large drawing (probably pastels) was a "bonus" --

any item that didn't receive a bid was sold for $1 on the

"pick up day".  Worst possible scenario -- I sell the frame.

The Japanese parasols were smaller (and more frail)

than ones I had seen before.

Both silverplate items had amazing designs.

This was definitely my best deal.

It is a circa 1910-15 "Easy Chair", with original upholstery.

Sometimes referred to as a Morris Chair.

I haven't decided if I will be marketing it through

ebay or Craig's List.

You pressed this little button on the arm and it

actually reclined.  Unfortunately the mechanism

is not working. 

 

But it still has this super cool, secret foot rest.

Lastly, my favorite item.

A Native American grinding stone set.

Probably selling through ebay.

  Paid $35, sold for $83.