gorgeous English cottage and wonderful Turkish pots...

 

One of my favourite days on our buying trip was a stop at a gorgeous Sussex cottage.  It was early in the morning and we were collecting some items we had bought previously.  I took a few moments to appreciate the cuteness of the cottage and the garden.    

Look at the wonderful front entrance, with flowering vines growing over the front door!

And the staddle stones flanking the front path...these are a lovely garden feature in England, you see them from time to time. 

These staddle stones were originally used as supporting bases for granaries whereby the stones lifted the granaries above the ground protecting the stored grain from vermin and water.

 

Image from here.

 

Have a look at this granary in England which is raised  by what looks like ten or more staddle stones.  Amazing!  It doesn't look quite right from an engineering perspective, does it?  They are typically used for decorative purposes in gardens these days.   

 

 

Also decorative are these old Turkish oil pots, of which I managed to buy two from the cottage owners.  But alas, these happened to be one of the items I mentioned in my previous post that did not fit into the container!  And I was so happy to get such large decorative pots for the store, they are very Highgrove Garden. 

 

Not to worry, they will be waiting for our return and will be first thing into the next load! 

 

Until next time,

wonderful recycled English potting shed

During my recent antiques buying trip in the UK, I found this wonderfully recycled potting shed at the back of an antiques store in Sussex.  I couldn't help but take (many!) pictures as I instantly fell in love.  I think it shows that with a wee bit of imagination and clever recycling you can make something great out of almost worthless objects...

The walls are made from old fruit crates and the old door is missing glass.  But hey, it is a potting shed, not a house!  So who cares?

I love the old cart as well, potted with seedlings.  We bought a really sweet cart on the trip, I will try and remember to post a picture next time.  Actually, it almost didn't fit into the load as it was most awkward.  Luckily it was one of the last items to go in, I would have been sad to leave it behind.

Vintage garden tools are hung from the crate walls. 

I love stacks of vintage terracotta pots, as you may know if you have seen our garden room at the store.  Again, this shelf is made from recycled crates, perfect for air and water flow. 

I have always wanted a potting shed.  I once posted about the sophisticated potting shed in the film "It's Complicated" (click here for previous post) but I prefer this recycled version.  And you know what?  I have always wanted a little potting shed and now I am starting to think it may not be such a dream after all...

vintage garden gnomes...found!

I love Derbyshire and the Peak District, the rolling green hills and the history.  Oh, and Chatsworth House!  Not that I had time to visit Chatsworth, I was too busy trying to find more of the unusual and fabulous.  And look what I found!  Not one but two of these early 20th century gnomes.

I am not if these poor little gnomes know exactly what adventure awaits them...

mona market on the roof of the museum on Saturdays, Tasmania

If you are wanting something great to do this Saturday afternoon, you could perhaps visit the new market named MoMa at the famous MONA museum in Berriedale. I had a rare Saturday off last weekend so I took the opportunity to see what all the hype was about. I was not disappointed.

Large pink beanbags are scattered for sitting around and relaxing on the green near Mona's restaurant, Source. And the steps down to the market which is located on the rooftop of the museum revealed an area with a great market atmosphere. People were everywhere!

This stall was enormously popular, people were lining up to sample the cider and grill.

The stallholders were offering their customers free apples, from what I could see. They were displayed in this 19th century copper preserving pan.

Possibly the largest paella in the world? It was 20 minutes from being ready when I saw it and it smelled delicious.

The Agrarian Kitchen had a stall selling their wonderful preserves and produce.

It was all so beautifully displayed.

I love the antique French chopping board, and look at the colour of that tomato ketchup!

Agrarian Kitchen heirloom beetroots are displayed in a traditional English Sussex trug. I used a bunch of these beetroots in a roasted vegetable salad and they were so sweet.

Nearby was this stand named Harvest Feast. They had a great selection of local produce such as pumpkins, berries and also Jay's famous Pigeon Hole Bread, which I couldn't resist.

Lastly I bought some mature seedlings from the stand named Hobart Kitchen Gardens including Chinese cabbage, broccoli and mustard greens. I couldn't wait to get home and plant my little plants. And at 50 cents each I thought I got a real bargain!

MoMa market is definitely a special place to visit for us locals stocking up on great local produce, but I can imagine visitors will have a great time too sampling all the wonderful Tasmania food and offerings.

For more, visit MONA website www.mona.net.au. MoMa will run every Saturday from 12.30 until 5pm until 14th April.

french antiques at cote provence in melbourne and a find for me!

I have just returned from a little break in Melbourne and am excited to share some of my images. The first few days were filled with deliveries for the store but once I got my work out of the way I decided to find inspiration at one of my favourite stores in Melbourne, Cote Provence (www.coteprovence.com.au). Whilst the shop front of Cote Provence is beautiful, I am actually more in love with the back of the shop, above, with its French doors opening to a brick courtyard. Here is where you will find tin tubs, watering cans, garden pots and the like.

Inside the store one can find French copper on shelving, and French grape picking baskets.

The owners cleverly mix old and new, usually utilitarian objects like these scrubbing brushes, above.

More copper to warm the heart.

They had some of these gorgeous little silver hotel ware dishes for serving. They seemed quite art deco in style, so they probably date from the 1920s. The silver platter is fantastic, too.

For the linen lover, the upstairs of the shop is filled with embroidered bed linens, both old and new, such as these pillow shams, above. How dreamy!

Vintage French shelving (I covet these shelves, terribly, you must know) displaying more French linen.

Look at this gorgeous embroidered pillow in the French basket. I almost want to change my name to suit the monogram!

This French iron day bed was downstairs, it is set up to suit a little girl's room. I love the red and beige linens together, and the checked bolster cushions work well against the iron.

Pigeon shelves filled with bits and pieces, including classic French enamel street numbers.

More rustic linens downstairs, with texture you can see!

French jars with original old tags inside.

A French oyster basket covering chemist's bottles makes a nice display.

A rack with many vintage French tea towels, these make the perfect gift especially at Christmas time, I think. They also make unique small table cloths or place mats.

I adore these blue drawers...a perfect way to store (or lose?) all your bits and pieces.

Now for my find. Later in the day I happened upon this English iron and glass garden terrarium on wheels! I once saw such a contraption on one of my overseas buying trips, but I felt it was a bit fragile to get home in the shipment. I sadly walked away at the time. So I couldn't believe my eyes when I came across this one, it honestly felt like it was meant to be! You must excuse the terrible image, I was so excited that I had to take a photo as it was loaded into the van. Here is a better photo...

On home soil in Tasmania. I can't wait to use it! Both of the angled roof parts open up and can be propped open for ventilation or for watering, or they can be flipped right over. It also has 2 fold down handles at the other end so that you can pick it up and wheel it around. I feel like a child at Christmas! Can you all see why I am so excited?

new in store...french grain sack, mercury bottle lamps, log basket, painted trunk and more!

We have only just had these French mercurised bottles converted to table lamps, I think they are fantastic and very unique.

They are silvered on the interior of the bottle and have muted gold French lettering. There are only 2 of these in the store.

Also new in this week is this decorative French grain sack, again with French lettering. This would date to the early 1900s.

This pine French orchard ladder arrived with our last shipment but we have only just had a chance to wax it. It has heaps of character.

This sea grass verandah chair has also just arrived. It is in such good condition for its age, and extremely comfortable. Lemonade, anyone?

I was excited to find this large wicker basket in Hobart during the week. It has rope handles and would make a great log basket. It has a wonderful weathered look to it, too. Baskets of this proportion are becoming increasingly hard to find.

A collection of tin buckets...

Some of which have maker's names impressed into them.

And last but not least we have all fallen in love with this 19th century trunk with original grey painted finish. The top is unpainted and makes a good contrast. It has a name lettered on the front...

I am not sure why this particular gentleman was "wanted". . . any ideas?