A short trip, and "Where Bloggers Create 2013"

Getting ready for a short trip!

Hello from The Perch! I will not be posting this week as we are going to spend a few days up at Birdsong Cottage (you can see it here) ripping out the old carpeting and doing some general clean-up. I also plan to start painting the kitchen cabinets, as the insides are a mess. Hopefully, I will have some before-and-after photos to share when I return. In the meantime, above is a sweet vintage photo for your collection.

Reminder: Be sure to tune in on Friday, June 12th, as I will be participating in Where Bloggers Create 2013. More information can be found via the button towards the top of my sidebar.

I hope that you have a great week!

Chippy whites, "The Salvage Saloon" and an antique bread bowl...

Good morning friends! I hope that all is going well in your lives.

Before I throw them into  "The Salvage Saloon", I wanted to share with you a few pieces of chippy whites that I bought at an antiques mall when we were up in Brevard, NC. I have been there many times before, but now that we are "getaway-home-owners"  up there, I will no doubt become a frequent visitor! A large part of the mall is allocated to salvage, where they have everything from old wooden flooring and tin ceilings (and I mean complete ones that you could use if you were restoring an old house), to door knobs, old wood doors, chippy old windows, hinges, old lighting and pretty much anything else you could hope to find. It is a true haven for anyone who loves assemblage. Or even weirds like me who use this stuff in fabric art.

A chippy white cabinet cabinet door, a piece

of trim, and a couple of doorknob plates...

...now added to The Salvage Saloon.

Yup! I decided to use that big old wire basket for

assemblage materials rather than fabrics.

I thought it was too rusty to hold fabric, and since it is so big

it would have been too hard to get the fabrics out...

I really didn't have room for the basket

in the studio, so...

...I placed it next to the armoire in the upstairs guest room.

You walk through to get to my studio.

I think that the treasures add a little interest

to the room (which still needs a little decorating)...

Our great find in the other section of the mall was this

old bread bowl.

I placed it on the bed in the guest room just so that

you could see how long it is.

When I have some time I will fill it with something and it

will be placed on our dining room table...

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

Romantic Homes Magazine: The August issue...

Hello friends. I hope that your weekend has gotten off to a great start!

Yesterday I received the current issue of Romantic Homes magazine, and this issue is dedicated to flea marketing. Not that I ever do any of that. Ha! What a source of inspiration this one is. Below are a few glimpses into its pages.

The cover...

One of the featured blogs...

An article about someone who loves to flea... 

...and the treasures that she finds...

An article about the best romantic flea markets in America...

...where on the same page there are two that I have been to,

Raleigh and Renninger's!...

And an article about flea markets along I-75...

Plus a tutorial on a mannequin facelift...

And some ideas for small room and guest room decorating...

This is a great issue, and I think you will enjoy it!

Wishing you a wonderful July 4th holiday!

Wishing you and your families a wonderful July 4th celebration!

Whether you watch a parade, eat good food, or just take it easy,

let's remember what it's all about.

Following are a few goodies for your art.

An old postcard showing sweet children

enjoying their day...

...and a beautiful patriotic girl

in a photo booth...

Enjoy!

Welcome to Birdsong Cottage!

Good morning! Well, if you haven't guessed by now, we bought a little getaway place in the mountains while we were up there last week. Have you ever had a burning desire to buy a little home that needed some love and make it your own? Well, quite unexpectedly, that's what we did! We came upon this place for a steal, and couldn't resist the opportunity.  The area we bought it in is actually Hendersonville, NC (see my post of a few days ago), but we are actually right down the street from Flat Rock, featured in my post of yesterday. We love, love, love this area!

Birdsong Cottage is not really a cottage at all, but a humble little single-wide mobile home built in 1969. Heavens! I was still in college when this sweetie was born. Though old, she has been nicely cared for over the years, but we plan to update her and make her as pretty as possible. The mobile home park that she is in is well-maintained with strict covenants that ensure that it will stay that way. Most of the folks that live there are new retirees coming up for the summer and vacations. What we love is that it is quiet and peaceful with lots of old trees and the sound of birds everywhere, hence the name that we chose. Also, our lot rental fee pays for all maintenance of the grounds, so we don't have to worry about it when we are gone.

Following are some pictures.

The entrance to the community...

A view from the entrance...

A view from the clubhouse and pool...

Our street, with our "cottage" on the right...

Another view...

...and another...

A redeeming factor is white cabinets and neutral ceramic tile

 in the kitchen (and also in the bathroom)...

The table and four chairs came with it.

They will be "cottaged" up...

The living room looking into the kitchen.

We liked the fact that the breakfast bar could sit four.

Those things on the left side of the beams are amber

"mood" lights...the weirdest things in this place!

They will be saying goodbye.

The sleeper sofa and two side chairs came with it.

Not our taste, but they will get beige slipcovers...

Two sinks in the bathroom. Not bad!

The porch was recently re-done, except for the yucky

green indoor/outdoor carpet, which will have to go...

Beautiful hostas along the side, with a few daylilies and iris mixed in...

But the best part is this funky old sixties porch rocker with

a matching chair. Initial thought was to chuck it. After I

sat in it and realized how comfortable it is, I am thinking

paint the aluminum part and re-cover the cushions...

An example of how large the trees are...

We first plan on ripping out all of the carpeting, then painting, then installing laminate flooring. If you want to see what we are thinking in the way of decor, I have started a new Pinterest board titled "Creating our Cottage", which you can access on my sidebar. I will post the ongoing improvements to this blog.

Well, I guess if ladies can go "glamping" in their restored vintage travel trailers, we can go "cottaging" in our soon-to-be-restored vintage single wide trailer. After all, life is what you make it!!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day.