A Change in Scene

Having severe allergies and bedroom furniture with practically un-dustable grooves is not a particularly good combination. My wicker served me well for over a decade (after having done service for my parents and my sister before me). It fit in well with the garden theme that I had for several years, but I had been thinking recently that it didn't reflect my passion for all things antique and old-fashioned. My mom found three pieces of antique bedroom furniture (an Eastlake-style dresser, a washstand, and a highboy) through www.craigslist.com for an excellent price. Once we had seen the furniture, the decision was simple. My parents very kindly purchased it for me as an addition to my "Hope Chest." Ironically, I now need a new Hope Chest, since my wicker trunk was sold along with the other wicker furniture!

Without further ado, here are some "Before" pictures:








One of my tasks was to remove all of my books from the old bookshelf -- a task which left my bed covered a foot deep with books! Did I mention that I'm a bibliomaniac... Actually, this was a wonderful opportunity to reorganize my books. I'm finding that reorganizing books is one of those things that has to be done periodcially. Below you can see one of my favorites: a "pocket-sized" Confession of Faith from 1895.





As soon as we had cleared my room of the old furniture, we were ready to replace it with even older furniture!

My "new" dresser and bookshelf are in the same places as their predecessors:



A British lady at our church who shares my love of England and my love of poetry gave me a framed copy of "If," my favorite poem by Rudyard Kipling. The burgundy in the frame complements the lovely scene on the toile coffee pot that my mom found at a yard sale:




I love my little washstand -- handy drawers (check out the deep drawers on the left side!) and absolutely charming tear-drop drawer pulls. They're not "original," but I think they suit it very well.





My writing desk is almost identical in color to the washstand. A quill pen from Colonial Williamsburg and some sealing wax add the right touch, in my opinion.




Oh, the luxury of drawers! My highboy boasts five, bringing the grand total to eleven. I love the solid look of this piece of furniture. And the keyholes are too charming.





I found a delightful print of a grandfather and his grandaughter for $5 at a thrift store, but the frame and plexiglass were in terrible condition. Using a frame from another print that we have, I reframed it -- a process which unexpectedly resulted in two scraped fingers, a large slit just above the fingernail of my fourth finger, and approximately thirteen Band-Aids. You can see the full version in the picture of the highboy above, but here's a detail of it:




I love using a large stand metronome, even though it's not as accurate as my electronic one.













The vintage music magazines that I acquired recently at a library booksale are now sitting proudly by my closet.



And now a few pictures just for fun...

A hatpin given to me for graduation by a church friend:




A favorite tome (both for binding and content!) demanded to be displayed on the shelf above my bed:




My love for "Old Country Roses" has found its outlet in a single thrifted teacup that I found for $10 at a consignment shop. A friend gave me two dessert plates without knowing that I had the matching teacup -- perfect!




I am thoroughly enjoying my "new look." My old room was fine, but it felt cluttered -- besides giving the impression of having a split personality! Or perhaps it's just that I am impossibly biased in favor of antiques.