Mirror transformation: Before and After

Decorating

Three years ago I purchased this vintage mirror at a yard sale, intending to use it in my girls’ room when our house was completed.  Well, we moved in, and it just didn’t fit the space.  So it’s sat in my basement for the last 2.5 years.  Until this week.  Here’s the before:

vintage mirror: before
A close up of some of the detail.

vintage mirror
Go ahead and say it:  totally gaudy and overdone.  But I always pictured it painted in a deep pink.  Enter this pillow:

pink ruffle pillow
I ran to Ace Hardware and picked up one of their little sample sized paints, called Paint Pods, in a color to match the pillow.  The one I chose was called cupid.  I’d always intended to spray paint this mirror for better coverage, but I couldn’t find a pink in the right shade.  So I settled for the headache of painting it by hand and having the coverage not be as good.

paint color: cupid
Anyway, 3 coats of paint later, here’s the final product:

vintage mirror pink
I must say, I’m thrilled with the result!  I really love it.  Now it’s a formal sort of mirror, but the pink makes it fun and happy, not to be taken too seriously.  Perfect!

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Vintage Tablecloth: Black and white lattice with flowers

Linens

I love the boldness of this tablecloth.  When I first saw it, I thought of Mary Engelbreit and her well-known illustrations (this cloth was obviously made long before ME was illustrating, and I found it long before she began designing fabric).  Black and white with touches of red will always be a classic color combination.

vintage tablecloth with black and white lattice
The cloth measures 47 inches by 44 inches.  It has a tag on it that identifies it as being produced by a company called Dunmoy.  This cloth is printed on linen, and it has a nice heavy weight, but no stiffness at all.  It drapes perfectly.


The border is checkerboard style, with red roses and white daisies alternating around the entire cloth.  I love that the lattice lines are set on the diagonal.

red, white and black vintage tablecloth
The cloth is in very good condition overall.  It does have a small run in the fabric in the center which creates a thin white line going through the lattice design, but it doesn’t detract from the boldness or the beauty of the piece.  The edges are still very white with just one spot that has some browning (which I might be able to soak out if I put my mind to it, but I also don’t want to make the black or red fade at all).

vintage tablecloth black white and red
It’s a really lovely tablecloth, and very unique.  I don’t have another one that’s at all like it.  So pretty!

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Lucky

Happy Finds

Sometimes things are purely a matter of  location and timing.  I was in TJ Maxx this week looking for something specific (that they DIDN’T have) when I came across a lovely cable knit blanket in the clearance section that had no tag on it.  On a whim, I took it to the registers with me to see if they could come up with a decent price.

cable knit blanket
Well, while I waited in line I noticed the manager talking to an employee about markdowns and moving merchandise and so forth.  He seemed a little anxious about it all.  When it was my turn to pay, I showed them the blanket, pointed out several snags in it but also acknowledged that it was very clean and much of it looks great.  Well, the cashier took it to the manager I’d overheard and asked him for a price…..

“Three dollars.”  he said.

I pretended like I wasn’t shocked it was so little and happily said I’d take it.  Three dollars!  It’s so pretty!  It’s really light weight, and I love the pattern on it.  My favorite thing, though, is the contrasting twill trim around the edges.  Seriously?  Three dollars?  It would have cost at least twice that if I’d found it at the thrift store!

cable knit blanket with contrasting twill trim
So my couch is now sporting a lovely new blanket that is a perfect weight for spring.  I’ve been thinking it would be nice to have a cream or white colored blanket.  Sure, it has some flaws, but that simply means I don’t have to feel so bugged when my children add to those flaws as soon as they notice its existence.  That’s the best use I’ve made of $3 in a long time!  Fun!

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