BIRD’S ROOM DETAILS

So, here is a little bit more about the bird's room.

Above: Budge and his best friend. (Budgie doesn't seem to mind that he is made of plastic.)

This bird cage was supposed to be Budge's temporary home...until I found him a lovely and affordable antique cage. But he really seems to like it...and at this point I would feel bad switching it. So until I find something antique that is FAR superior I'm just going to live with this one. At least it's on a pretty vintage stand. ($25 from The Water Street Market in New Paltz.)

The window seats are storage boxes from Ikea that we had in our old apartment. They are a great place to stash all of my shoes that don't fit in the closet.

I covered the cushions with this vintage fabric I picked up at a garage sale years ago. I mean...a traditional toile hunting scene in a crazy pink and mustard color pallette?! What's not to love?

We picked up the folding screen at auction for $15. I hung some dainty lady things on it so that we could use it to cover up the tv. (Note: Our tv is NOT one of those flat-screen plasma jams. It's a big old BOXY jam. MAJOR eyesore).

And I found the antique wooden hangers at Boulevard Attic in Kingston. $1 each.

We got the big antique wardrobe for $90 from The Wayside Shop in NJ. It's perfect for hanging our nicer stuff and it has a great big mirror...which is great for getting dressed AND it makes the room look bigger.

AND you can lock the door with this skeleton key! (So if you were planning on stealing any of our evening wear...think again.)

The bed was a craigslist find. I think we paid $100 for the whole set -- frame and mattress.

The bedding came from the Saugerties Antique Center. It's hand embroidered silk and I don't think it was ever even used. The set came with a coverlet, 2 pillowcases (a large one and a small decorative one), and a slew of matching dresser scarves.

I love this lamp shade! I'm crazy about the pattern and colors and the way it's perfectly faded. I got a set of 5 for $25 at the Water Street Market in New Paltz. (The rest of them are on the sconces in the dining room.)

I also got this wall lamp there. It's some crazy homemade looking metal thing. I think it was intended for two small candelabra bulbs and no shades...but I wanted our guests to be able to use it as a reading lamp, which requires much brighter bulbs, so I threw these shades on. I'm not crazy about them. I think they are a little too white...and maybe I want a slightly different shape? I'm not sure.

The last bit of lighting I have to contend with is the ceiling fixture. I picked this chandelier up at garage sale in NJ years ago ($25!) and have been storing it in my parents' basement ever since. (See dad! I told you my junk collecting would come in handy at some point). I think it will look lovely the bird's room. Right?

THE BIRD’S ROOM

Finally. Photos from the other guest room in all its girly glory.

This room was a little bit more challenging than the other guest room because I had to accomodate the majority of our clothing. There is a SERIOUS lack of closet space in our house. (And by "lack of" I mean basically NO closet space.) We have one tiny coat closet downstairs...and two dressers and an armoire in our bedroom...but that's about it. So I had to devote one whole wall to clothing storage...which takes up a significant portion of the room.

We installed one of those heavy-duty adjustable closet systems from home depot because we wanted something sturdy and affordable. (The hanging racks the previous owners installed were NOT sturdy...and when we started hanging our stuff on them they fell on us and took half the wall with them. NOT FUN) For shoes and foldables we used some of the wooden ikea shelving from our old apartment.

Originally I planned on hanging a curtain in front of the closet. I pictured something floor length that stretched from the armoire to the wall to cover up all of the craziness...but then I realized that the clothes on the hanging racks stick out further than the armoire. Rats! So now I have to come up with something else. Or maybe just leave it open?

BOY’S ROOM DETAILS

Here's the low down on some of the stuff in the boy's room.

I got the lead soldiers at a yard sale for a dollar and the those are my mom's old Audubon Nature Encyclopedias.

The antique mission style desk was a craigslist find. We had to drive out to Westchester to pick it up...but it was only $70! It is made out of the most beautiful old wood with a striking grain pattern. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe tiger maple?

It has bookshelves on both sides. Perfect for storing little old leather bound books.

We picked up the old desk lamp at Barneche Design...a teeny tiny shop on Route 214 in Chichester.

And the wooden folding chair came from an estate sale in New Jersey ($5!)...

...which is also where we found this trunk....

...and the one at the foot of the bed. We paid $20 for each.

I plan on putting plants under the glass cloches and making little terrariums. I want them to look like old timey horticultural experiments!

We got the barrister bookcases at auction for $60. Usually they go for a lot more...but this set of three was all middle pieces with no real top or bottom...so we were able to snag it on the cheap.

I have all of our vintage Penguin paperbacks inside and some of our Heritage Club Collection books on top. (We got a slew of these at a yard sale in New Jersey. They all have beautiful cloth covers and each comes in its own slipcase. Fancy!)

In front of the bookcase is Justin's Harvard chair....

...and a vintage camping stool turned footrest.

The blanket and the pillows are from a yard sale in Dallas. The woman selling them got them years ago in Peru and they are made from the softest alpaca wool. We were about to buy them...but it turned out that she was friends with Justin's mom and she insisted on giving us the set as a wedding present. So sweet!

The navajo rug is a hand-me-down from my dad.

The bedside table is actually an antique smoking stand. It has a hole in the top for an ashtray which is covered by the lamp, and smaller holes on both sides for storing pipes. I got it for $16 at The Wayside Antiques Shop in Pompton Plains, NJ. I'm a sucker for anything with a skeleton key.

I also got the lamp at the Wayside Shop. $20 for a set of two. The fiberglass shade is something I had kicking around. And the headboard was another craigslist find. Justin and I drove to pick it up, fully prepared to pay the $30 asking price, but when we got there the husband said we could just give him $15. You could tell that he thought we were CRAZY for for paying ANYTHING for a rusty headboard.

THE BOY’S ROOM

Here it is. The guest room / study. We call it the boy's room. I usually end up making things look pretty girly...but the dark wood mouldings in this room inspired me to go for a more manly vibe.

I delved into some new territory: the finishes are darker than usual, the pieces more well-worn, the textiles less flowery. But there's also some familiar ground: mismatched vintage finds, a hodge podge of framed things, and surprise, surprise...I painted it a shade of blue-green.

It's still a work in progress...and there's certainly more to be done.

First thing on my list is to paint the cabinet below the barrister bookshelves (you can see it in the photo above). It's part of a piece of Ikea furniture that we had in our old apartment that just happened to be almost the exact same dimensions as the barrister shelves we acquired. I took a hand saw and cut the top off so that I could use the bottom portion with the cabinets as a base for our 3 stackable cases. It's not the prettiest solution...but it works. And I think once I stain it the same color as the rest of the wood in the room it will just kinda blend in and disappear.

I also still have to paint the ceiling. And maybe the radiator? I'm not sure yet. Justin says he likes it white. I was originally planning on painting them both this color:

And then there is this wall...

I temporarily hung something there to fill the space...but I think I want one really big piece that fills the whole area. Like an old pull-down classroom map...or chart...or periodic table or something. I don't know. I haven't found it yet...but I'll know it when I see it.

OUTLOOK NOT SO GOOD

I think my laptop is finally calling it quits. I can get it to turn on every once in a while...but it refuses to admit that the internet exists...so even then it's fairly useless.

Needless to say, this puts a bit of a wrench in the works as far as posting is concerned.

And please note: If your computer starts to sound like it's brewing coffee...know that it's not long for this world. And if it starts to smell like melted crayons...say your goodbyes.

PROGRESS

So...Justin and I have taken a break from working on the house to enjoy our first summer upstate. But after a couple months off we're ready to dive back in.

We decided to start with the guest rooms. One is going to double as Justin's writing room, and I want it to feel kinda like the study of a nineteenth-century gentleman naturalist. Think: dark wood, old maps, bird prints, leather bound books. The other is going to double as our closet and I want it to feel like an old fashioned ladies' dressing room. Think: pastels, vintage fashion illustrations, embroidered silk bedspread, deco folding screen.

Over the past few months I've managed to gather some great pieces for each room from garage sales, craigslist, and some upstate junk shops. (All at bargain prices, of course!) And we've gotten back to work painting walls, arranging furniture, and hanging art (my favorite part!). Finally! Progress!

It's been a labor of love...and there are lots of little details from each of the rooms that I want to share with you. Too many to fit in one post. So I'm going to do it over the next few posts. Until then...you get a sneak peek at the color of the dressing room. A shade of minty green, of course. I'm so predictable!

FEELING NAUTICAL

Urban Outfitters has some sweet vintage looking sailor inspired outfits right now. And since I am officially a boat owner...now seems like the perfect time to expand this genre in my wardrobe.

Above: Pins and Needles piped sailor romper in white

Cooperative silk bow dress

Pins and Needles Peter Pan striped tunic

Pins and Needles piped sailor romper in navy

Oh...and I should mention that most of this stuff is on SALE! For under $40! Wait...does that mean that summer is almost over?!