Sofa Renovation: Part One

Years ago I found a matching antique sofa and chair set for which I paid $100.  The antique store owner told me the set had good bones but needed some TLC, so she just couldn't in good conscience ask for more than that.  It just so happened that I had $100 and plenty of TLC to spare, so I brought them home.  At that time we were in need of a new couch, ours had immediately given up the ghost even though we purchased it brand new only a few years before and paid top dollar hoping we were buying our forever couch.  No, like so much consumer goods today, it was expensive junk.

As I struggled to get the absurdly heavy cushions into my truck, the dealer told me that she thought they were stuffed with horsehair, which is why they were so heavy.  I was intrigued.

The upholstery was likely done in the 70s and was a black/red/gold paisley.  It was in perfect condition and something I thought I could work with as far as decorating.  However, the couch was trimmed in alligator faux leather which was crumbling and peeling. Years prior I read about painting fabric in a issue of Mary Jane's Farm.  I'd saved it and decided to revisit the idea since I had never done any major reupholstering before.  I started with the chair, painting the wood with chalk paint and using all-in-one for the fabric.  It was fairly easy to do and the effect was that my chair now looked and felt like vinyl.  It was great...for a while.

Although I attempted to scrape all the alligator vinyl off, once the paint soaked in, it began crumbling.  I frequently vacuumed up my chair crumbles and watched as it continued to disintegrate.  Crumbs aside this couch and chair were the most comfortable and durable I've ever owned, so I put up with the quirks.

Now, in our third summer of renovations, the house is finally starting to take shape.  We've ripped out carpet, torn down paneling and added on some rooms.  I had a clear vision of what I wanted from our living room and these pieces in either form, no longer fit.  I decided to take the plunge and reupholster them.  The chair needed the paint stripped and to be re-stained mission oak color, and I enlisted the help of a talented seamstress to help me cover the cushions.  Once I pulled all that old upholstery off, I discovered the original burgundy velvet underneath, and that the reason for the heavyweight cushions was not horsehair stuffing, but rather that each cushion had its own metal springs and frame!  The stuffing was actually cotton and straw.  Check out the completed work in my next Home Renovations post!

Business Whimsical

My daughter had a job interview coming up and the dress code was business/professional.  Having never worked a job like this before, she did not own anything in the way of business clothing.  I offered to let her borrow a few things from my closet for the interview.   The night before, I found her desperately rummaging through my clothes.  "Can I help you find something," I asked.  "Do you have any plain button down shirts,"  she replied.  "I have florals, stripes, and strawberries..., but no, no plain shirts."  She grabbed what she hoped was a plain white poplin button down, but let out an "Ugh!" when she saw that it had scalloped sleeves and collar embroidery.  "Why are all your clothes so whimsical?!"  ...I'm...sorry?  As much as I wanted to help, my clothes are anything but boring.  And while I do work in a professional setting, my style is decidedly business whimsical.

There is a range of business attire from Business Professional, which is the most formal and often involves suits and ties, to Business Casual, which is slacks, skirts, or well fitting dark wash jeans often paired with button down shirts and blazers, but allows more creativity in the form of bright colors, statement prints and jewelry.  Then there's my interpretation of it all. I prefer to wear multiple colors and prints, often with whimsical themes, outfits that say, Yeah, I'm working, but I'm having so much fun I hardly notice.  To that end, I thought I'd post photos of one of my favorite recent outfit compositions.  Nothing new in the mix, all old stuff that I put together and love for all its whimsy and office appropriateness.

Outfit Info:  Skirt is thrifted ModCloth, Top is old from Princess Highway, Bag is Ecosusi, Shoes are B.A.I.T. footwear, Cardigan is old from ModCloth. 

Crafting Project: New Life for Old Selkies

In 2022 I bought a Selkie Abbott Puff dress and altered it to fit in a way that is more flattering for me (click here to see that post).  Encouraged by the success of that project, I decided to tackle a few more problematic design features on my favorite Selkies including my Mucha Cottage Puff Dress (and click here for that one). 

  

At the end of each of those projects, I had a lot of left over (mostly organza) fabric.  Since the prints were so pretty, I decided to keep them in the hopes that one day I could use them on a different project.  As soon as I completed my first lampshade, (click here for that one) I knew exactly what I wanted to use all that extra lovely fabric for and the recent snow days presented me with plenty of time to sit down and really dig into the work.

I was gifted a pair of crystal globe lamps that had crumbling shades.  I removed the old shade outdoors so that the wind could carry away all the tiny crumbs. Then I wrapped the shades and selected four pretty ladies from the organza fabric of my Alphonse Mucha puff conversion and cut two of each.  

I spent so much time working on these shades, I developed callouses on my fingers.  And to be perfectly frank, because I am new to this game, the compositions aren't flowing naturally yet.  I spent a lot of time trying different fabrics and colors to see what looked best.  In the end I used an antique pink scarf topped with a floral applique for the center pieces to tie it all together and I am pleased with how this Mucha shade turned out.  

I'm going to put this little project under my home renovations tab although I don't intend to keep these shades for myself. I have recently inherited an abundance of antique lamps and fully intend to make new shades for them before gifting. I already have a taker for this set and look forward to blessing others from my abundance.

Strawberries & Stripes

I decided to do a No Buy to kick off 2026.  I actually started in December of 2025 and made it about 3 months without shopping or purchasing.  The only way for me to be really successful at this was to get off social media entirely and heavily restrict internet usage.  It went well until the stress piled up and I decided to scroll it away.  I ended up seeing stuff, wanting stuff, and then, yes, buying stuff.  

Specifically I bought this dress from Unique Vintage because it combines my love of dresses, vintage styles, and strawberries.  I waited a few weeks after purchasing this dress before taking photos, hoping that the flowers would start blooming and everything would be just as lovely and colorful as this dress, but nature does not always cooperate.  Never mind, I actually like these pretty orange grasses and dried flowers as a backdrop.

I am very pleasantly surprised by the quality of this dress.  Unique Vintage doesn't always have the quality to match the price tag on their dresses, but this one definitely was worth every penny. Only the top is lined, but the fabric is nice and thick and I added a petticoat for a fuller skirt.  My Strawberry Shortcake loving, little girl dreams all are coming true with this beauty.

Tryon for this dress is in the first 5 minutes of this video.

Outfit Info:  Strawberry and Stripe Swing Dress From Unique Vintage, Bag from Ecosusi, Strawberry Earrings from Etsy, Necklace is Vintage

Ocher & Sepia

Outfit posts are back!  I know it's only been a couple of weeks since I've done an outfit post, but it's actually been two and a half months since I went to take outfit photos.  I just really, really hate the cold, and I have been on a No Buy, which included very limited social media from the end of December '25 to the beginning of February '26.  

As you can see from the ochre and sepia hues of the background, Spring has not yet sprung.  I planted daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths in the autumn, and they are just poking their heads through the soil, but it's not quite time for all the rest of nature to show their Spring colors yet.  I figure if nature is holding on to her autumn palette for a while, I can too.  The old rule was to change over from brown accessories to white at Memorial Day and back again at Labor day, and while I don't exactly stick to those rules religiously, I can admit they exist for a reason in this part of the country.  It doesn't exactly look like the time for pastels and floral prints out here, so for today's post, I thought I'd share a thrifted find from 2025 that has become one of my favorite casual/office looks.

Outfit Info:  Bag is Ecosusi, Shoes are B.A.I.T., Maeve Bird Dress is Thrifted Anthropologie, Sweater is YeMak

Calling All Collectors: Lady Head Vases

It sounds rather macabre when you say it out loud: it's a woman's head that you stick flowers in as a planter or vase, but this niche collectible was surely inspired by fashionable ladies in full floral hats of the 1880s.  According to Discover Vintage America, that's when this odd little concept first appeared in Europe.  Gaining a foothold in America in the 1930s, the Lady Head Vase really took off in the 1940s as Japan began making beautiful pottery in its progress toward rebuilding industry and its economy after WWII.   

By the early 1950s these vases had found a popular muse in Lucille Ball and the "Lucy" vase dominated market silhouettes until styles began to change.  Lucy was never officially named as the inspiration for this style but it was obvious that she was a reference, and others like Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe would follow.  Florists loved these little vases to jazz up an arrangement on the cheap and they remained popular and in production, albeit with styles ever upgrading to current trends, until the 1970s.

Personally, I began collecting a few vases about three to five years ago after seeing a flea market flyer that featured a set.  During my search, I have learned a few things that I thought I might share.  First of all, these vases are shockingly expensive, selling at upwards of $100 per vase when they originally could be purchased as a set of six for about $1.00 at a nickel and dime store according to LovetoKnow.com.  The larger the piece and the better the condition, the more you can expect to pay.  

Common flaws include broken eyelashes, broken ears, and missing or broken jewelry.  If you can live with the flaws or feel comfortable making repairs yourself, it can lower the cost to go for less than perfect pieces.  As always, I find that it's anyone's guess whether you'll find a better bargain in-store or online.  I purchased two vases at an online auction, one in-store, and one I found while cleaning out the home of a deceased relative.  Apart from that last one, they all cost about the same, though you can certainly see sets emerging as you search this genre and you can focus your collection on a certain silhouette in various colors or just collect the pieces you like, as I have.

True collectors will care about the manufacturer stamp on the bottom and knowing as much as possible.  I've just liked to buy the pieces I think are unique or pretty, and I think four is probably enough, but if you are interested in collecting in this field, I've included addition reading below to get you started.

References and further reading:

https://www.lovetoknow.com/home/antiques-collectibles/lady-head-vases

https://www.discovervintage.com/cover/a-head-above-the-rest-lady-head-vases-brought-touch-of-class-to-ones-home/

Homestyle: 3 Home Decor Inspirations From My Childhood.

They say that adulthood is just an attempt to fulfill childhood dreams; I agree.  Among the children I was closest to growing up, boys and girls alike, at some point all of them said something along the lines of "When I grow up, I'm going to have a house like that," or, "In my house, I'm going to have____."  We all had our tastes in style and decoration, even back then.  Personally, I wanted a Victorian home filled to the brim with knick-knacks, oddities, and wonder.  I wanted a home that was a feast for the eyes.  Perhaps that is why I was always drawn to books that featured homes like that.  

I spent hours pouring over all the details in beautifully illustrated books and imagining what it would be like to live there while also determining that I would live in a home like that one day.  I've recently been to the home of a childhood friend, one who had some very grand tastes, in fact was determined to live in a mansion complete with horse stables and in-ground pool when we were little.  Life happened, and her priorities shifted from material gain to financial freedom, but she has managed to perfectly blend her excellent style with a little cabin that she and her husband built themselves.  It's idyllic and I'm so happy for her that she is living out that dream.

As for myself, I too began to realize in my late 30s-early 40s that I would never be able to afford that Victorian mansion, and so purposed to make the home that I am in look as close to that dream as I possibly could without drowning in debt.  There were so many decisions to make about which direction to take our home as we were building and now decorating.  I based my kitchen on the kitchens of my grandmothers and those happy childhood memories as well as a certain cottage coziness that I couldn't put a name to.  As we are building our library, I'm going through old books and realizing how great an influence my childhood picture books had on my current style.  So, today I thought I'd share three of my favorite books that influenced my home's design.

1.  Martha's House. (1982).  By Edith Kunhardt.  Illustrated by Carolyn Bracken.

Not a single inch of of greige sadness or an open floor plan in sight.  Martha's house is really just a pretty picture book that explores each room.  Minimal wording, maximal style.  Each room is filled with colors and character.  There is a richness here that is lacking in every single modern home I've entered.  I truly believe that it's because back then, no one lived their lives in blandness out of the fear of lowering the dreaded resale value.  Homes are meant to be an intimate reflection of life and personal taste.

2. Hilary Knight's The Twelve Days of Christmas. (1981).

I received this book in elementary school as part of the Weekly Reader Book Club and it was an instant favorite that I kept and spent many hours pouring over in my childhood.  Eventually I began reading it to my own children every year at Christmastime.  Every page is filled with colors, prints, and oh so much activity.  Again, no sad beige minimalism or open floor plans here.  Each day of Christmas depicts a different room in the house and each room is its own little world.  My favorites were the bedroom with its floral quilt and rosy wallpaper, and the sewing room with an antique treadle machine and quilt on the wall.  This book always made me feel warm and cozy in the December chill, just as a home should.

3.  The Brambly Hedge.  (1980s).  Jill Barklem.

I hate to be that person, but children's books today are so basic and boring.  The 1980s truly brought us some illustrated works of art.  The Brambly Hedge is a series of books by Jill Barklem about a town of mice living in the countryside.  Every inch of these sweet little homes are covered in meaningful, purposeful items and Ms. Barklem illustrates them in such a way that they feel cozy and inviting rather than cluttered.  I particularly love the decorative use of dishes in so many unexpected rooms including the bathroom and the nursery (shown below).  This is maximalism at its finest.

 

Wild Rose & Sparrow

I spent years obsessing over this idea of a cream lace dress.  Years.  If there's one thing I have loved, it's obsessing, and this was a big one.  A cream lace dress, and cotton preferably; I could never turn one down.  At long last, I have found the perfect cream lace dress.  And it's cotton.  Corset back, plenty of details.  The search is over.  I waited for Black Friday before I finally bought it, but it was worth every penny and the (years long) wait.

 Outfit Info:  Fae Midi Dress from Wild Rose & Sparrow