I was just thinking of posting a question for you as well... If you don't mind Tammy, can I hop on and ask...
Where do you find your inspiration? Are there books, magazine, sites, places...?
Just love your pretty home:)

kjmama, thanks for the kind words. My main inspiration has always actually been this very forum! I've learned so much here. I haven't been on it much in the last year or two as I started a blog, and then started reading other blogs, and all that takes a great deal of time. This forum is full of creative people with wonderful advice. I also look to magazines and books for inspiration. I'll post a link to my blog, and here's the names of some of my favorite blogs: Between Naps on the Porch, Designs By Gollum, Hyacinths for the Soul, Stone Gable, Southern Hospitality. I know that at least a couple of these ladies used to be members here.

Here is a link that might be useful: MaMaison

Hi Tammy,

Is it the lantern style? It's an incredible piece, and was a bargain from eBay a few years ago. I have it turned so the back faces the room, but it holds a candle and has pierced openings on the side for the light to shine through. There is no mark other than the Cauldon Ware, sorry to say. I have hunted to try to find more info on it, and was never able to. I've never seen another like it.

My3dogs,

Yes, it was the lantern style piece I was talking about. I love the black and white, and it was so unusual.

Your home is beautiful!

Pictures!!! Where are the pictures? :-D

Thanks so much, ladies! Here are 2 pics of the piece in question. I just took the first one in my living room, where it sits on top of a small Asian secretary desk from a consignment shop. To the left is a pic of my late Dad as a child, and to the right is an old lamp that his parents owned. The panels you see are ones that I made from $2.00 a yard fabric from eBay!

If asked where I find my inspiration...you'll be disappointed. I don't follow a single blog. I only go to them when friends send me links or I see them here. I love antiques and vintage items, and I have furnished the house with a lot of things from eBay, Craigslist and things I make myself, like the window treatments. I LOVE pattern on pattern, and many would probably call my style 'old lady decorating'.

It's so far from 'spa-like, or sleek and modern'. I love the patina of vintage wood, Oriental rugs, antique brass...

To show you how far I am from the current trends, the bottom pic is my latest project, in the untouched, very raw state. The painted cottage bureau, which I am fixing up - see the top drawer looks refreshed - was $30 from Craigslist a few years ago. The hall tree mirror resting on top of it is from my late in laws home in NY. I have had it for over 20 years! I have stripped the dirty old finish from it, re-stained it and finished it with tung oil. Those two pieces will become the vanity and mirror in a half bath in my unfinished cellar/basement. I am replacing a very rustic one there with a slightly better one. I bought a new Toto $600 toilet from a house flipping friend for $75, and that was the start of the project. If it turns out as I envision in my head, I'll post pics when it's done!

Ooh, I love that hall tree mirror. I'll bet you'll do something wonderful with that and the dresser once you start working on it.

:) It is great to see where you start on some of those wonderful spaces in your home. I'm sure it will be great, please do post!:)

My3, even though my style tends towards "spa-like, sleek and modern", and I probably wouldn't decorate my house the way you have, I still totally appreciate your house and think it's beautiful!

M3D If you have old lady decorating, then I want old lady decorating.

Cooperbailey, me too! My3dogs home is beautiful!

You all are so sweet! I can also appreciate other styles, like jockewing, just that I wouldn't do them in my house. I think the interior blends well with the exterior of the house here. Old house = 'old lady decorating'!

The mirror that looked so bad above looks great now, but is on its back on my DR table waiting for another coat of tung oil. I found some bargains on eBay and a plumbing overstock site for the tiny 'cellar bathroom'. This pic isn't great, but shows what will be going into it. Minka Aspen sconces that I got for about half price. The iron in them goes well with the American Standard faucet from their 'Dazzle' series (handle shown in pic) in Blackened Bronze. MSRP = $445; I paid $129 on eBay. You also see a cleaned up hook from the hall tree mirror, and a sample of the Santa Cecelia granite remnant that the Kohler Serif sink will drop into. That sink works well when converting bureaus to vanities as it has a fairly narrow cutout. Link to the sink is below. The Toto toilet is their bone color (off white) so the sink is Kohler's equivalent.

This tiny half bath will only be 3.5 x 8, and it'll be in the cellar, so it won't be a work of art. It'll be somewhat masculine, as it'll be used mostly when I have guys working on the house, as my carpenter friend is now. He approves the vanity conversion, despite the flowers on the drawers!

We plan to use 12x12 tiles laid on the diagonal to reflect the shape of the mirror and the X shape of the iron on the sconces. Once I told him about my thought of doing the tile diagonally, he agreed, saying that we really can't do it any other way. He's artistic like I am, and we're a good team, although I know drive him crazy at times.

:-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohler Serif K-2075-8

What granite is that My 3?

It's Santa Cecelia, but a bad photo. My remnant is beautiful, but this sample they had for me to take home is from another slab. Mine is more golden and goes beautifully with the drawer front and hardware.

I put a link below that is more representative of mine.

Here is a link that might be useful: Image of Santa Cecilia