Decorating with Avant Garde Podcast and Top Picks from Etsy

In my most recent podcast I talk about Avant Garde, just what it is and how to decorate and do it.  Mixing some color into your life may not be a bad idea.  I've always liked to break the decorating norms and glad to see other people doing it too. I like to discuss Avant Garde in my most recent podcast.  I apologize for the podcasting recording. I hope you learn something new!

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 In the meantime, please try these exciting finds on Etsy to Avant Garde up your life. 

Vintage books can really make a table pop. This stack $25 from RetroChalet

 1. Vintage books, in great colors look exciting stacked around your table!  Make a room pop with color and have a great display item. Not to mention a little color goes a long way.  Books can be reused for scrapbooking when done with them!

This hot pink radio is from RetroRadioFarm on Etsy! 

2.  Electronics, vintage style ones like this radio can really stand out on a table.  Notice how it pops on the white background!  RetroRadioFarm on Etsy has tons of radios in stock and this is a great way to add some color to a drab or discolored home!

Rainbow crocheted blanket will be a great addition to any home, find it at HappyInTheNest

3. Vintage afghans, handmade or retro blankets are another way to avant-garde up the home.  Adding color to a room is key by draping them over your favorite sofa or love seat is a great way to add color! AvantGarde up your bedroom!

Chalkware Pig Yellow Vintage would avant garde up the home at TheModWitch

4. Statues and figures can add color to your home.  Using a bright vintage chalkware statue you can make a statement on a table or bookshelf.  Use of color in the home is key when decorating for avant garde look. 

Kchoos offers this great chair, the pink colors would make any room POP!

5.  Kchoos shop offers this great mod chair with pink bubbles, a real victorian style chair has been repurposed with great retro fabric to add some avant garde into your home!  Using this chair or any furniture would be great for avant garde-ing up your life. 

Have a great day and make sure to subscribe to our podcast 

Retro Chalet : Living A Vintage Life (buzzsprout.com)

Vintage Retro French Artistic Stencils for Furniture DIY

DIY Shabby Clock : Join this special two part series as directions will appear on Design-Swag.com, posted tomorrow 4/4/17 so check for how to make this great item!   Pic:  ArtisticStencilDesigns.com

Artistic Stencils : DIY Vintage Furniture Products with Stencils

French cottage chic never goes out of style and and the furniture market is booming with  these mass produced chairs (below) ! As well, cheaply made-in-China cardboard clocks load the searches at We Heart It and Wish.com , and these items are JUNK!   I've even seen dressers with distressed looks that are simply pressed wood and going for six times the amount of a regular wood dresser. Ridiculous.   All are selling at high prices and are cheaply made .  Why not use some truly vintage objects (which we love) and furniture and duplicate the look yourself?  Go green and save the planet by up-cycling something , add some stencils and make it an attractive focal point for your home! Here are some suggestions!

We say NO! Please stop buying new products and instead, make own vintage style things with stencils!

Yes! We say upcycle and shabby your own chairs and adorn them with stencils

Upcycle Some Chairs

The chairs above are painted! Now some of you may think this breaks all the rules, but that is exactly the point ! Have fun shabbying up something old and making it new again.  In fact, now that I see this photo from Artistic Stencil's website  called "Artistic Stencil Designs " and  I am kicking myself for getting rid of my old mahoghany chairs. They don't make solid wood like that anymore, but the fact is I was not crazy about the brown. It never occurred to me to actually paint the entire chair! What a great idea.  

For the above look: you will need this stencil, $16 here.

So, Get a little crazy, find some vintage color paint or chalk paint, a solid color for the entire chair works nice as they have done. Grey and White mix is soft blend for any shabby cottage or Parisian decor. 

A little fresh fabric for cushion recovering and then voila, go to town with stencils. You can see by the looks of the design, how easy these stencils are to use. They are made of Mylar plastic so you can easily maneuver.  They came from ArtisticStencils on Etsy, a husband and wife team who sell these and have many designs in stock.

Stencils from ArtisticStencils on Etsy.

Above:  Stencils make for easy projects. You can do shelves very easy by coating with solid paint and adding a stencil.  Just two colors and you are done with a great look in the home!   This stencil below was used in part for the shelf. 

French Stencil $20 here.

Below: DIY dresser was never easier. Shabby it up with some great Artistic Stencils and give a new look to old furniture!

Shabby DIY Dresser stencils from Artistic Stencils

Frenchy French dresser! Paint with love an then stencil it up! You will need to browse this selection of French stencils and go to down!   If your dresser is old , dented or less than perfect that's even better. You can't go wrong when turning something old into something shabby! Stenciling makes for a great  look and a new purpose for old things. 

Other Items of Interest (Clock Face DIY Wall Clock  Above)

Artistic Stencil Clock: For stencils Find them here, they come in different sizes

DIY TUTORIAL FOUND ON DESIGN-SWAG.COM ON 4/4/17

In the meantime, get some stencils:

On Etsy: 

ArtisticStencils

On the Web: 

https://www.artisticstencildesigns.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Artistic-Stencil-Designs

Thanks to our sponsor Artistic Stencils, but the ideas and tutorial is all our own. We liked them so much we are networking them to another blog, design-swag so people can learn how to make this great retro clock!

Catching up with TheIDConnection

Winter's here, this original ugly sweater is found at TheIDConnection on Etsy!

We are thrilled with the vintage selection found at TheIDConnection on Etsy. There are so many items and we don't know what we will find there. When we say so many, we mean THOUSANDS of items. Who has time to list that many ? This shop in Galveston, that's who. Wow.    We asked Roland and Monica, shop owners for a minute of their time,  for an interview, and here's what they said.

Rainbow Fish on Etsy found at TheIDConnection

Why and when did you start selling vintage? 

In 1996 we opened our antique store, and came online in October 2008!  We are always listing new items in our Etsy shop, TheIDConnection!

What your favorite vintage items are or what you collect? 

Vintage Clothes, Jewelry, & Paper.  We collect a bit of everything!

Gorgeous Antiques can be found at TheIDConnection

Anything currently in your shop with a great story? 

We have a large collection of Indonesian, Bali antiquities. We conducted an estate sale and the owners commissioned us to sell these items. Items that go back to the 60's and 70's. 


What item will you hate to see go and why? 

The apothecary cabinet.  (See below --- The cabinet is authentic 1900's Medical Chest of Drawers from the Rice Institute of Houston, Texas. Made of solid oak it holds twelve dove tailed drawers, ten of which have original locks.  The cabinet is expected to be circa 1914-1914 as the Rice Institute changed names to the Rice University in Houston, TX ).

This apothecary cabinet says it's from The Rice Institute 

  

Anything else you want folks to know? 

We have over 3000 items.  A huge selection of vintage and antique items.  Follow us on Twitter and Pinterest!

Find out more: 

Etsy Shop
Twitter
Pinterest

Boxes, Luggage and Trunks at TheGlossedAndFound

What a box, typography we love and this you can put your special things in. Only $25

How we love antique boxes, trunks and luggage! We found a great Etsy shop called TheGlossedAndFound which features trunks, luggage, bags, antiques, furniture and home decor!  We and had a chance to pull some of our favorite items while talking to the owner/curator Shelly from Boston Massachusetts.  Shelly is a transplant from Georgia and loves treasure hunting for the extroidniary !

 This way cool 9 is only 10 bucks that is, at TheGlossedAndFound

Q: How long have you been collecting vintage? 

A: I've been a treasure hunter since I could walk! I've always enjoyed seeing new and unusual things and it's really stuck with me. I have many fond memories of my great grandmother's house as a child. She was born in 1920 so you can imagine the wonderful decor in her Illinois home. I think that's where the wonder first began.

This farm trunk would make an interesting table.  GlossedandFound

Q: What are your favorite vintage things? 

A: I'm absolutely fascinated with steamer trunks. They're these gorgeous behemoths from the past that make fantastic coffee tables and storage chests. Then, once it's in your house, you imagine someone carrying this on a journey with them and being part of the industrial revolution... it just never gets old (no pun intended).

 Trunks like this are a passion of Shelly's. This one is for sale in her shop. 

Rare Asian Dowry Chest.  See it here. 

Q: What thing in your shop has the best story, or would you say is your greatest find ever?

A: We currently have a beautiful antique dowry chest, incredibly well-preserved, that was purchased in Southeast Asia over 50 years ago. Despite its near-perfect condition, this chest is estimated to be over 100 years old, sturdily crafted with daeng and teak and gilded with dovetail joints. The incredible craftsmanship and unique attributes of the piece, such as the hand-molded iron hardware, high quality materials and the unusual depictions of Buddha sitting lotus, suggest that it was produced in a remote locale by a wealthy groom’s family for his bride-to-be. 

 Simply Stunning and we must agree with Shelly, her Lacy Mannequin is our favorite thing too!

Q: What is your absolute favorite thing in your shop right now, the kind of thing that has a wonderful story and you will absolutely HATE to see go?  

A:  Oh gosh, I have that problem a lot. Right now I’m most in love with a lacy mannequin on an antique cast iron base. I’ve always wanted one for some reason!

Q: Anything special you want people to know? 

A: If there’s something in particular you’re looking for, let us know and we’ll do our best to locate it. We have new inventory weekly so be sure to check back often.

Authors Note:  We couldn't decide between featuring the awesome trunks and antique relics or the fashion items. Shelly has a lot of vintage handbags in her store, so if you are the true fashionista be sure to check them out!

 


Connect with Shelly:
On Etsy
Twitter
Facebook

Note: Updated 12.2.18 Shelly has closed her shop but her links above still remain. 

Modern Vintage Cushions Pillow Barkcloth Mod Pod

1970s Retro Barkcloth Cushion Cover, Organic Denim 16x16 approx $32

This is the best tip for decorating: turn your living room or bedroom into something totally different by changing up the throw pillows and accent rugs. The best place to shop for pillow covers or cushion covers is Retro68 on Etsy.   This shop features everything from Retro Cushions,  Retro Pillow Covers,  Japanese Kimono Cushions, Retro HouseWares and more. You'll find Vintage Glass, Vintage Ceramic, and Vintage Linens also.

Retro 1970s Mod Leafs Cotton & Organic Denim Cushion Cover at Retro68 on Etsy approx $37

As you can tell shop owner Mark selects his fabric for having a retro style or vintage look, and mid century modern vibe. This is so retro and a must have for any re-decorating in your home.   This shop is located in the UK, but a pillow case this size 17x17 is ranging around $37 USD and only a little over $6 for S/H more or less depending on the current exchange rate.  You can add a fluffy pillow to stuff it with for only a little more.  This is a great price for having such authentic quality retro style pillow to spice up your modern room! 

A wide selection of retro mid century modern look pillow covers and cushion covers are available!

Not to mention this shop uses eco friendly packaging, and fair trade denim/materials to reinforce the sides of the cushion or pillow covers! What's not to love?

Connect with Mark:
Retro68 on Etsy
Twitter @yukotrading
Facebook Page

Krrb for Vintage, Secondhand and Handmade Grassroots Shopping

This folding metal ruler is $15 listed on Krrb (pinned from Etsy and Apt Therapy Classifieds) see it here.

Buying Vintage and Secondhand on Krrb

Move over Craigslist, and hello Etsy lovers---this is for you. I am not sure if you've heard of Krrb.com, a hyperlocal grassroots type classifieds for the entire world!  Krrb is primarily for vintage, secondhand, handmade and small batch food producers, however you can offer just about anything as long as it is not mass produced.

If you haven't heard of Krrb yet, don't worry, you will. Currently they are super popular in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Paris France. However they are available in over 800 cities in the world.

Krrb is friendly, welcoming, and promotes goodwill and recycling-I think they are eco friendly if you ask me.

You can add a location and see what's for sale. So let's say you work in Pennsylvania (like I do), you can search that area (by zip, city, state, etc.) and then also have a home search too.  Just today I checked out some items close to my home, (Baltimore) here's a brief look of what I got:

Krrb is up and coming to a city and town near you. Don't see listings in your area? Be the first to put them on!

As you know I'm dying with all this cool retro antiques and mid century modern items. The prices are fab and it's easy to shop local and support your neighbor!   Now when I say you can't have mass produced as with anything, there is a loophole, let's say you have something that was mass produced but is used. This technically may fall under second hand, but the idea is not to have the site swamped with Made-In-China dollar store junk. So there is a great feel to this site and I love it.

I am finding the coolest stuff on Krrb. I so love this pink bike but items like this don't last long.

Selling on Krrb -  Good Exposure and How To Join for Free: 

You can learn more at Krrb - How it Works .  Bottom line, this site is gonna rock.  The folks over at Krrb just launched the classifieds for Apartment Therapy powered by Krrb. Since I just love Apartment Therapy this is great news for buyers and sellers.  I know that Krrb is definitely a site dedicated to people who are serious about home and furniture.

Signing up is easy, and free I just linked in my Facebook account. Heck, I figure if I sell something why not have it connected up to my Facebook for all my friends and family to see?   You can also link your twitter for maximum exposure.  Now you can just log in the regular way, but I wanted to earn some credits.

Selling is easy, the transactions are between you and your buyer, Krrb doesn't take any credit. However, there are credits used for listing an item to their classifieds. The easiest way to think of this is one credit = one listing. You earn credits for updating your profile, adding a photo, or for some other activity done on the site.  If you run out of credits you can buy them, but you may not have to if you earn them.  I just linked in my Facebook and I have 13 credits already, so I'm off to list some of my junk. Just remember, my trash is someone else's treasure.



Connect with them:

blog.krrb.com
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube
Pinterest

Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Modern Furniture

Photos courtesy VinceBravo.com

I just love the fifties and whole mid century modern era. Imagine my surprise when I found the Vince Bravo website who has found all this wonderful Heywood Wakefield (blond and more) modern era furniture! It is a retro diva's dream come true!  Can you say, honey, buy me blonde record cabinet for our anniversary?  Hello, here it is:

$995 and so very worth it, a very coveted piece at vincebravo.com

Truth be told Vince Bravo isn't all about Wakefield there's all kinds of mod pod things for the vintage home. Mid Century Modern is getting hard to find in this type condition because everyone is decorating their homes in a more modern decor.  I was checking out the facebook page for VinceBravo.com and it's nice to keep abreast of new additions.  I browsed the many listings of furniture, pottery, art, accessories, and one of my faves, lighting. Can you say LOVE THIS vintage jeweler's table lamp?

How rare is this? $595 at vincebravo.com, jeweler's table lamp.

How many of those survived? Are you a jewelry artisan? Put that on your want list before it gets nabbed up!  This and more are just waiting to be had at Vince Bravo. Your source for the eclectic and modern finds. 

What are you waiting for?

Shop Mid Century Modern with Vince Bravo.
Shop All Wakefield Furniture now. 
Connect on Facebook.

Industrial Furniture for Shabby, Farm or Mod Decor

OOAK unique upcycled reclaimed farm metal table at The Steel Fork

I really don't think you can go wrong having a bit of industrial furniture in your home. I for one wouldn't mind having a new piece for the sake of housing favorite collectibles or antiques.  I know some of us worry that something industrial won't "go" with the present decor, but perhaps you may need to break some rules. Out with the old "everything has to match " theory and in with the new "anything goes."

Library Card Catalog from Etsy, find this at VidaliasVintage

Sometimes the perfect decor happens when you throw something together that doesn't belong. The lest things you'd consider making a marriage of, try it out. Be daring, be unique, or if worse comes to worse, steal a few tips from Etsy!  One thing you must remember is that you don't HAVE to keep the same eras interlined.  Mid century modern can mix with the twenties if you let it!  You CAN break all the rules!  It's your style corner today!

French side tables painted red, look great against a shabby country decor wall. Get them at DrabtoFabVintage