If you miss the old days of grandma's kitchen or your own mother's old fashioned cozy home, you can reconnect here and get a flavor for all things vintage, warm, cozy, special, and memorable!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

A Place for Everything, but Done Attractively!

You know from past blogs that I am a collector.  The beautiful and charming nik-naks and china collections I have acquired over the years are one of my prides in my old age.  When I was younger I would keep my doll collection upright in their stands, but I did not take the care to keep their respective boxes in good shape and lost the tissue and cardboard insets that came with them. I wish I had.  Well, I have learned more then about storage and keeping of treasures. I have also learned that displaying lovely things brings me great joy.  I am more likely to use and enjoy the memory-jogging items I have when I can see them and others can too. 

Recently I acquired two sets of china that I am so happy about.  I know that in my family there is no one who has a complete set.  I began to purchase china sets because their vintage designs and producers attracted me.  You know the names...Homer Laughlin...Noritake...Staffordshire.  Over the years I purchased most of my things from flea markets and thrift stores.  Then I discovered Craigslist.  Some people in the past five years have been forced to downsize and let go of their treasures or simply accept that they could no longer house items when they were losing their homes. Some people just got tired of having things they rarely or never used.   While my heart breaks for these individuals, I know that I will never sell my things, and they would be happy to know that they were now in the hands of someone who could truly appreciate them.  I will leave them to my  very large family of five sisters and one brother or their very large network of nieces and nephews that they have bestowed upon me..plus there is my own children to consider.  I decided early on in my collecting that I would make certain that my things ended up in the hands of those I love to pass on to future generations.  I would create the heirloom memories that have bound my loved ones together or bring back a happy time when families used to sit down together at a long endless line of tables decorated with vintage table clothes and displaying relish trays of olives and pickles..there for the taking before the main dish appeared.  These memories were, in my life, of Thanksgiving and other holiday dinners in my grandmother's basement, where me and my sisters would run around in our holiday best and watch the preparation of the meal, taking in all the wonderful aromas emanating from the kitchen.

My first recent acquisition was this service for eight set of Bretton Woods china, which also came with a covered vegetable and a tray and also a gravy boat and plate.  It cost me $85 and the seller couldn't have been happier to find a buyer. Only one plate had a chip on the edge which he tried to carefully repair. It was a clumsy repair, but the set was lovely enough with its perfect cream color shiny surfaces and 22 kt gold pattern with dark burgundy striped edge.  The teacups are so beautifully shaped.  I used them for a recent Saturday night dinner I had for my friends. Finally, too, I was able to use my gold plated flatware!  I have these dishes in my main dish cupboard in my kitchen and use them all the time now. They are like new and its a shame to keep them wrapped up in yesterday's newspaper and shoved in the back of a storage closet.

Next I purchased a service for 10 of a Noritake pattern of china called Greenbrier.  It's a more contemporary version of the design, not the "Occupied Japan" version.  Never used, wrapped up in paper dating back to 2002.  I felt a little guilty paying the owner for them..a nice early 30's gentleman whose marriage just didn't work out. He was more than pleased to give me the entire set of 10-5 piece place settings, with 6 crystal Mikasa wine glasses in the French Countryside pattern, 4 cereal/soup bowls to go with the service for 10, and 3 sets plus a hostess serving set of Oneida in the Morning Blossom pattern for an astonishing sum of $100!  This was the set I would be so happy to present to my first daughter in law! 


I have four cereal/soup bowls to go with the place settings. I look forward to finding 6 more to complete the set.The pattern is a lovely mint green with tiny bouquets of flowers, trimmed in the finest hint of silver around the edge of each piece.  It was evident from its unwrapping that none of the pieces had been used..not a fork, spoon or knife had yet touched the surface of any of the pieces.





The French Countryside pattern of these crystal glasses set off each place setting beautifully.  There are 4 more to purchase before I have one for each place setting. I may finisy the set, I have not yet decided.  It is evident that the bride who chose to register for the Noritake dinnerware and the accompanying Mikasa crystal glasses had fine taste
These Waterford Brookside Water glasses were hiding in a back cupboard till the Noritake and Mikasa pieces came into the house. Not anymore!


So here I was with this beautiful china for 10, lovely crystal stemware and my own Waterford glasses. I decided I had better come up with a strategy for getting them up and out into the light.  So, I set my sights on finding the perfect shelving or curio to do so.

I searched only for a week or so before I happened upon a wonderful french provincial mahogany china cabinet at my nearest Salvation Army.  I cannot say enough about how wonderful that place is!  I buy so many things there and have come upon so many values in the way of furniture and baking dishes and utensils and almost new clothing. Anyway, I visited this one particular day when I saw the china cabinet sitting there. It had been marked down from $99 to $79 and then to finally, $59.  With a 25% discount for moving it out that same say, I purchased the piece for only $47.94!  I did have to pay someone to get it to my location for $50 but it was worth every penny. 

I  struck gold when I found this cabinet in the nearest Salvation Army! And they supplied the name of a mover who came out immediately to get it into my place!  A little bit of Pledge and its shining!


Morning Blossom, by Oneida. I have 3 unopened sets plus a hostess set now!
The cabinet with its three drawers and two side cabinets with shelving, plus the four glass doors above with the groved plate holder was perfect for displaying my new china and glassware.  I had a functional piece that not only provided storage and safekeeping, but was easy on the eyes for my decor.  I could either repair the few scratches and years of light wear on the wood finish or I could sand it out one day and turn it into the shabby chic piece I envisioned I would own years ago.  The most wonderful part of this cabinet is that it coordinated nicely with my antique Bergere chairs that were placed nearby.

I found that the storage provided by the lower cupboards in the cabinet could be used to bring out other things I had shoved up in the closets of my place also. My sterling silver flatware could be housed in the drawers as well. I was able to bring out my vintage Heisey Orchid glassware and display that as well behind the glass doors. 

I had purchased this creamer and sugar at about the same time that I had bid on and won on an Ebay auction for a set of 8 Sherbert Heisey Orchid glasses.  What luck that now they did not have to stay behind closed doors any longer! 

I don't know if it is a bad thing to be able to enjoy things that may seem meaningless to others. I do not subscribe fully to the school of thought that material things are meaningless. Some things that we own and treasure are meanful to us and sometimes that is what counts.  Who cares if someone else doesn't appreciate this concept?  I know that for me life is meant to be enjoyed and if beautiful things put a smile on my face then they should be displayed attractively and with love. 

I hope that you discover what beautiful things you like and decide to put them out for all to see and enjoy.  Perhaps you will find a steal of a deal such as I did.  Life should be happy and provide solace and contentment.  Our surroundings ought to be a place where even in the busy busy worry world we can look at something lovely  and feel something that moves us.  Sometimes people cannot do that for us all the time. 

On your next outing, stop by a place where you can view what others decided were throw aways.  You may just find some way to display your collections and pretty things in a way to share them with everyone and most importantly, with yourself!
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