Cline’s Country Antiques is located at 11839 Hwy 49 North, Mt. Pleasant, NC. Open Thursday – Saturday only. Nothing is priced, but Don Cline remembers what he paid, where he found it, and assorted stories about everything on the 15,000 acre property. Bring a truck, and wear shoes appropriate for wading through gravel, long grass, trailers, and old barns.

Love, Love, Love this old blue drawer-turned-chalkboard. One of the easiest upcycling ideas I’ve seen PLUS totally useful PLUS way cool. Funky + Functional. Must make.

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen numerous incarnations of the very desk that once held this vintage drawer. Gotta say: improvement all the way around.

Chalkboard paint is widely available at craft stores or online. A couple of D-Rings on the back, sturdy wire for hanging, and a box of chalk. Go for it.

(Seen at The Cottage, Leesburg, Virginia)

When my husband and I made our first pass looking for a cabinet cool enough to make a statement in our soon-to-be-French kitchen, this happy a-little-too-yellow baby caught our eye. We loved the abundance of glass, the curved front, the little feet, and the odd (and oh-so-French) proportions. The entire thing was only six and a half feet tall, but hey, short is rather European, n’est-ce pas? It was reasonably priced, and well in the running with several others.

By the time we returned after some thorough scavenging, she was still there — and marked down by a third. Sold! We saddled her up and rode her home, and set about mellowing her yellow.

I loved the rough finish, the smattering of chips, scrapes, and bumps, and the uneven paint surface, so the only sanding I did was to remove a bit more paint, adding to the rustic look. I applied four colors, some with a brush and some with a rag — whatever felt good at the time. The bottom layer was similar to the shade of the new cabinets. I didn’t want to match, but I didn’t want her to scream in the night either. Second and third coats were grayed shades of green and then blue, followed by a top rub of the shade I like to call elephant, my all-purpose ager.

And then we hoisted her up on the counter. I’m not a fan of upper cabinets — too claustrophobic — but with her sundancing glass, she looks like a fancy window. Glass on top for the pretty things, and a cabinet at counter level for mugs and uglies. I couldn’t be more in love.

Paint colors used: First coat (yellowish cream) Behr Moonlight White 350E-1; Second coat (gray-green) Behr Contemplation 700E-3; Third coat (gray-blue) Behr Prelude 740E-3; Final coat (elephant) Ralph Lauren Indian Rhubarb NA63. Rub  a little on; rub a little off. Voila.

Bambi

between me and the average squirrel, I’m not quite sure what it might be. I love to run rampant, collect, scavenge, deconstruct, rearrange, discover, and devour. I have a messy nest, filled with all kinds of things that don’t necessarily “belong” there, but that I feel I need nonetheless. I hoard the lovely as avidly as the unloved, absolutely certain that the broken, the rusty, and the chipped have a place in my life. Not everyone loves these traits; thankfully, I am rarely shot at by neighborhood boys. Nutty? Maybe. Inspired? Always. I admit it: I live for Junk.

In these pages I’ll show photos of my finds and what I’ve done with them, as well as highlighting fabulous hunting grounds and kindred souls. A Subscribe Me! button can be found at the bottom of the page.