Swedish slagbord tables and simple Swedish style

Image from here

I can't believe how quickly the time has passed since loading our shipment in July!  We should be receiving it this week some time and I am very excited, particularly when I start to remember what we have coming. 

One of my very favourite pieces is an original c.1800 Swedish slagbord table that we were lucky enough to find, similar to the example above.  It was only yesterday that I was going through my latest Veranda issue and there was one featured in a beautiful American home.  These tables are oh so stylish as they are usually quite simplistic and straight in design.  As such, they can often be contrasted with more detailed or elaborate dining chairs. 

Here is our table.  I have since done a little research on these tables as I was unfamiliar with the term slagbord.  It literally translates to gateleg table and therefore refers to the folding construction.  The more desirable slagbords have a lime washed finish like ours, or those with some remnants of original paint.  You can also find reproduction versions, but why would you want a reproduction when you can have a piece with so much more charm and history?  Reproductions have a place I guess, just not in our store (or my home, for that matter!). 

Here is our table folded.  You can see why I was excited with it, not only is it gorgeous it fitted into the shipment easier because it folds up!  But this also makes it a more practical piece in the home, it can be folded away when not in use if space is tight. 

The hinges underneath the table show its age and character.

 

 

Image from here

Here is another Swedish slagbord table used more in a casual setting.  I love the chairs, by the way. 

For all my local customers and for any one else who may be considering visiting the store, we will be closed this coming Wednesday 5th September for around 10 days.  I will let you know when we reopen with all our exciting new goodies.  I am rubbing my hands together with anticipation, but that could also be from the cold! 

Have a wonderful week, and I will post sneak peak images as we are sorting...

 

new in store! cabbage and roses cushions and very very cute gift tags

Image from here

For a while now I have been quite a fan of Cabbages and Roses, an English based clothing, homewares and fabric store.  I am particularly drawn to their famous range of floral fabrics, usually depicting roses.  I think it is the muted tones and the country look that I like, they suit both formal and more relaxed settings. 

Image from here

The English fabric works so well on Louis French chairs as well as with shabby chairs such as these.  

Image from here

These cushions are available on the Cabbages and Roses website, and they also have a blog too! 

Whilst in a homewares store in Surrey, I happened upon a piece of Cabbage and Roses fabric in their roses and tulips design.  I couldn't resist bringing it home in my luggage to make cushions for the store!

The resulting cushions are now on a pair of French armchairs in our soft furnishings room.  There are two retangular and two square cushions available at the moment. 

The colours are beautiful, I love the soft blue colour of the background.  We have teamed it with a neutral linen and vintage buttons. 

And whilst I was away, Rachel was busy printing more gift tags and adding to our current range...

 

I adore her new butterfly gift tag, it is beautiful!

As is this cheeky squirrel eating a nut on a branch.  How cute! 

Rachel has also been busy creating these little gift cards including an envelope of hearts "lots of...love"

And "hugs and kisses" and "with love xxx" gift cards for loved ones. 

These are all hand pressed using our Adana letterpress machine.  There is definitely a lot of love in each card...

new in store...French linen cushions and vintage apothecary labels

You may recall last November I posted Zoe Hoare's amazing Hampton's home? And I admired these gorgeous blue checked cushions on her French day bed? I think they are so fresh and suit the relaxed Hampton's style...

If you would like to see more of Zoe's home click here.

Here are our versions of these cushions. They have been made from a vintage French harvest cloth, linen of course.

Two of these have vintage buttons on the front for detail. The other cushion has buttons on the reverse.

These handwoven grainsack linen cushions are also new into the store.

They are simply a gorgeously soft colour with vintage brown buttons.

And these are also made from vintage handwoven grainsack linen. They have a single red stripe down the centre.


I can't choose a favourite but I do like red. Look at the beautiful texture of the linen.


Also new in during the last week are these antique apothecary labels. They are delightful! We are selling them per each so they can be glued onto people's chemist's bottles. Or they are great displayed as they are.

Lavender water makes sense but there are some fairly unusual descriptions on some of the labels...

One of them reads "Ipecacuanha Wine" which from my fading pharmaceutical knowledge (I used to be a pharmacist) would be to induce emesis, or vomiting. I think we will just stick to not knowing what they were for...after all, ignorance can be bliss.

large painted antique French cabinets

Image via Eclecchic

It is a gloomy and wet day here in Tasmania. Oh, and cold! I am sitting in the office at the store refusing to turn on the oil heater as surely it is not that time of year yet? Through the office door I can't help admiring the large French cabinet that we have at the front of the store. I am very sorry in advance, it has been sold and awaiting delivery, just in case you fall in love like everyone else who walks through our doors.

Anyway, it has got me thinking about the beauty of freestanding storage furniture. I am talking about cabinets, bookcases, cupboards, buffets and so on. Not only are they functional, you can take them with you to your next home! But for now, my brain is a little cold so I thought I would just focus on painted glazed cabinets...

Here is the French cabinet that we have sold. It is painted in a lovely soft grey colour and dates to the late part of the 19th century. It can fit so much inside! It would be fantastic in a large dining room where you can display all of your china and glassware. In fact, I am fairly certain that it will indeed go into the lucky owner's dining room. We currently have it filled with 19th cenury apothecary bottles and domes.
If you are wondering how we will move such a large piece, it actually comes apart in to several pieces. The French were very clever with furniture design in this respect. They had big Parisien appartments but the furniture had to go up flights of stairs, hence they made "flat pack" furniture.

Image via Cote Bastide

Here is another example of a beautiful cabinet, I am not sure whether it is antique, though.

Image via Chateau de Moissaic

And you may have seen this image before on my blog. I adore it! This is what I mean when I am talking about a dreamy dining room cabinet filled with white china and glassware.

Image via The Vintage Rose

And lastly, a cabinet for the living room. This one is filled with leather books. What I like about this example is the contrasting colour on the inside with the white exterior. Which is you favourite?

find Vogue living & Zoe Hoare Hamptons style in our store!

Zoe Hoare, Australian expat and daughter of renowned London antique dealer Appley Hoare now lives in this gorgeous cottage in the Hamptons. She found this pair of 1950s bikes at a local antiques fair in the Hamptons, just one example of her keen eye for unique treasures!

She displays her antiques with flair. These are French milliner's heads, similar to ones that I showed in a previous post, on an antique dresser.

She has an amazing arched window mirror in her dining room. The chandelier is wonderful, too. What a light and airy space, the peaked ceiling painted white is stunning.

This is a rare French iron arched window mirror that we have in the store at the moment. It is currently in the garden room as I can imagine it on a courtyard wall. But it would look equally as good in a dining room as Zoe has shown.

Zoe outside with her potting bench. Note the French flower jug and watering cans, and the flower bucket...

...all available in our store!

And her Gustavian settee?

Again, available in our store! The only difference is our settee is an 18th century version, Zoe's is a reproduction available from her partner, Chris Mead's store, English Country Antiques. To visit his store, click here. Well, in actual fact, our settee is still in storage. We bought it on our buying trip earlier in the year but we have not had room for it in our store as yet. It is soon to take prime position, however!

Barnacles and simple cushions are very relaxed Hamptons style, I think.

We only have two barnacle clumps left in store, they make great decorator items.

We will be adding checked linen cushions to our range shortly, in addition to our grainsack striped pillows (above). We have acquired some lovely antique French linen of a similar design to Zoe's cushions. Watch this space!

And the decoy duck on Zoe's shelf above the Gustavian settee?

A very similar model is currently in our garden room. These decoy ducks ooze with character and charm. Do you like Zoe Hoare's relaxed style? We certainly do. (For the full article on Zoe Hoare's Hamptons cottage, see Vogue Living Australia, Nov/Dec pages 142 - 151).

greige French market basket giveaway!

If you have not yet discovered Greige, now is a great time! As Christina is offering this lovely French market bag as a giveaway to one lucky reader... Below are some further images of inspiration from Greige. There is just something about books tied with string, isn't there? I also like the soft colours of the above objects. They look great all together.

This image of an industrial style kitchen is also from Greige. Do you see what I mean? A must visit blog...and one of my favourites!