Archive for the ‘flea market’ Category

RUGGY AGAIN

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

Hello new rug.

Goodbye old rug.

There are those few rarities that habitual Craigslist trollers like myself don’t expect to bump into on the c’list, one biggie being the legendarily elusive vintage Moroccan Beni Ourain rug. Finding one of these for a bargain feels about as possible as a unicorn farting out Kofod Larsen chairs while throwing wadded up hundred dollar bills at your face. So, when a post for a ‘white wool rug’ with a ‘subtle abstract design’ popped up, I hurriedly emailed the seller as well as a few friends and then sought out the wisdom of the internets to confirm if I was crazy or if a unicorn just knocked on the door.

Well.

I went. I saw. I bought for $150.

Not quite the perfect unicorn, but maybe this rug is like a Llama with a carrot strapped to it’s head showed up and was like, ‘hey, here’s a coupon book for all that stuff you like and a nice sandwich.’ I’m not really sure what exactly this rug is, but I like it like I like sandwiches. A bunch.

This puppy sits about 8′ x 12′ and is in great vintage condition – super thick, softly wooly and nicely hand woven. The pattern coloration of umber, ochers and black was an unexpected surprise, but luckily I’m a big fan of browntown. Considering all the uneasiness and anxiety the other colorful antique rug stirred up in me, this hot piece of minimalist tribal action slid into the room so easily that it’s almost like it’s always been here.

On an unrelated note, I finally hung up and slammed a pencil cactus in this giant geodesic planter I grabbed at the flea over a year ago. No big deal really, this huge planter has just been sitting awkwardly on the bedroom floor for most of that year…so…great job me.

*Slow design.

I also switched out the leather butterfly chairs for my black rocker.

The Eames rocker is a better fit for sure, but the coffee table is still is waiting to be exchanged and the fireplace is still calmly waiting to redone. Why? Because I’m a lazy jerk who buys rugs.

The seventies are exploding up in here. Hey now.

Time’s come to reign in this 70’s textured wackiness and bring out the industrial modernist shiny minimal bits. Plants would help as well, but I gotta start doing some real renovation projects instead of slapping a rug band-aid on everything. There’s just no willpower or energy in my body to start some big messy time consuming projects right now. I’m pooped.

Bring it on, longer days and more sunshine! Let’s do this. Let’s rip stuff out and renovate! Or maybe go source stuff on Craigslist? Shut up, lazy part of me.

What’s strange is that Craigslist has really been a wasteland of nothing but beat up Ikea chairs and gross stained mattresses for months now and then suddenly it was like, oh hey, good stuff and BOOM-rug and then BOOM-rug again and oh, what now? BOOM-rug in your face. I’ve been some kind of rug magnet and for whatever inane reason, I can’t manage to seal the deal on anything else.

At. All.

Besides rugs.

The big rug experiment has gotten pretty stupid at this point and now I’m feeling officially burnt-out on fibers and rugs and textiles in general, despite the fact that I just picked up another rug like some kind of goddamn hypocrite rug addict.

No more rugs. I’m done. This one’s a keeper.

I swear.

And this time I mean it, possibly.

Fare thee well, Shelf

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

A moment of overly dramatic silence please.

————-

Thank you.

BAM! We took the shelf down.

Well, not just down, but booted it out of the house for good. Which means this bad boy is gone FOREVER. It’s off to a better place, a place full of wonder and magic that will appreciate and love it for all its shelfy glory.

Iggy, lurker Gary and The Boy took it apart in about twenty minutes after I struggled to undo it by myself for about a day. Having many hands is a good tip to know if you happen to build one of these and eventually need to take it apart or sell it on Craigslist (which seems to be happening pretty frequently). Go team Coors Light.

Like a disheveled prom queen after a bender, this thing looks busted up.

In reality it’s just in pieces piled in with the rest of Emily Henderson’s giant array of swag from the Rose Bowl. Don’t worry, I gave them a picture to sort out how it all goes back together.

Hey! It’s Team Emily – Chris, Orlando and Emily as well as a super sweet fan who wanted her picture taken with the dream team. Sorry for horning in on your moment with my iPhone.

Nicer folks you do not know. Emily is adorable and has the shopping endurance of a seasoned pro, Chris and Orlando are fantastic and ever so helpful.

So, the shelf will be installed in Emily’s new ‘studio’ set on her soon to premiere show Secrets From a Stylist (February 26th home slice!). How excited are you guys for this show? Me? I’m very excited. Trust me, it is going to blow your mind into little design chunks.

In other words, it’s good. Real good.

Now I just need to figure out what’s next for that open wall space in the living room…

Rose Bowl Flea

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

On Sunday I headed out to Los Angeles to hit up the Rose Bowl Flea Market. It was a mash up of a day consisting of getting into girl reporter mode for a freelance gig, enjoying the company of super person and super deal hunter Sharon Montrose, as well as dropping off a very special piece of furniture (more on that later).

It was packed.

And hot.

And PACKED.

These might be my two favorite signs of the day. The latter possessing that special mix of condescending misogyny and humor that makes me giggle and then depressed.

I hate that I am currently searching (pretty hardcore) for a pair of mounted moose antlers to hang above the fireplace. I’ve been obsessing about them since seeing a great pair a the Long Beach Flea. I know, I sicken myself. These were the only pair I saw and they were far from ideal.

Super obsessing over these Mies Van Der Rohe for Stendig dining chairs. Obsessed to the max. I tongue kiss them them. Also, obsessed with vintage camera lenses. This is like a table full of heaven.

OK, maybe these were my favorite signs of the day. This ugly table is from “Hollywood!”

Wow. I’m not really sure who is impressed with that proclamation seeing that we are in Pasadena and most of Hollywood proper is a dump. It’s so vague, yet so enthusiastic, yet in such bad taste.

Speaking of, I was very enthusiastic about this painting since it pretty much resembles The Boy with his shirt off. The price (on a sticky note – $150) discretely hid his junk. Considering how wacky and out of proportion the rest of his anatomy was, it probably is best that there was a tidbit of mystery left to the imagination.

At the time I was not so into this giant lucite bench/sofa…but now…I kind of can’t get it out of my head. I have the perfect spot for it in the living room.

Loved this little table base and imagined it with a giant slab of round marble perched on top. The  best part was the gentle curve of the legs, it has that sort of slightly Danish mixed with a drop of Moroccan vibe I can slide right into. Tasty.

Also, there was something about these weirdo chairs that I dug. They were so strange and awkward, but I feel like the house they would fit into would be full of cocktails and caftans and key parties. I could dig it.

The Rose Bowl was a bit of a bust on the buying front. I showed tons of restraint and bought nothing. Shocker, right? I think I was so consumed with working and thoughts of the giant vintage explosion + lack of space at home that I couldn’t imagine adding one more thing to the pile. There is only so much hoarding I can do and keep my dignity – until I lost it all and immediately came home and bought stuff off Craigslist. Maybe the Rose Bowl just wasn’t that great this weekend.

Did you guys go? What did you think about the selection?