Scott's Antique

Over the weekend our in-laws came for a last minute visit from Florida. They are Almost done building their beach house in Seagrove off of 30-A. Ry's mom called a week ago and said she was looking at her schedule and they were about to get really busy with their new house finishing up in the early spring so they wanted to pay a visit. Luckily we didn't have any plans except going to Scott's Antique and I finally had an excuse to call cleaners to come clean our house. :)

In true Bowden fashion, we relaxed, ate a ton of food at fabulous restaurants, watched football, and did some shopping at Scott's. Next time you want a great meal check out Horseradish Grill in the chastain area of Buckhead. I don't know why it took Ryan and I so long to visit this great place but it's a new fav. We also ate at Fox Brothers BBQ with my parents (ahmazzzing bbq), Corner Bakery (cafe adjoined to Maggianos-try their chopped salad, it'll change your life), West Egg (West Midtown), and Malaya (Collier Hills).

Enough about food, back to Scott's... this place was PACKED. I'm not sure if it was due to college football season being over, the long weekend, or the fact that market was going on this week but I haven't seen it this packed in forever. Luckily Ryan and I weren't looking for too much and honestly it felt picked over by the time we arrived Saturday. I ended up going home with an all-time spending RECORD! ...low that is. 3 hours and $8 later we left with an old coca-cola crate for my desk area in the kitchen. I had one but needed another... I did take a few pics, I'll take more next time, promise!



An armoire we found (in front of the North building) to possibly put in our Master, these babies were already sold but the vendor said he has these every month, so I plan on checking back with him.



The inside...



Don't worry if your spouse goes with you and starts to get tired there are plenty of interesting chairs to take a rest in...




A pic of my desk area (was a large pantry before we moved in) with my $8 coca-cola crates... (butcher block from Ikea, office filing cabinet and counter stool from Ballards outlet, baskets from homegoods, metal bins from Lowe's, cake plates from Juliska, Poterry Barn, and Homegoods)

After Scott's we hit up the Ballards Outlet near my house... All Christmas goodies 75% off, we are talking nice ribbon for $2-$3 but most of the Christmas goods were gone by the time we got there. I did however score the very LAST 3 foot pre-lit Christmas tree for $17.50!!!!!!! (Outlet price before xmas $150). I plan on using it on my skirted table in living room this next year and moving my big tree to the dining room in front of the bay window. Talk about a steal... One thing about living where we do, we get the best deals on home stuff with all the awesome stores near our house, so blessed!

High and Low

No, I'm not talking about uppers and downers... I'm talking about style. Whether it be your wardrobe, your shoe collection, or you house... I think it's all about mixing high-end style with low-end style. Maybe it doesn't even have to be super high end but it appears high end or fancy but on the flipside you pair it with some good 'ole comfort pieces.

Similarly, I feel like you can do a mixture of new and old with vintage things too. Whatever you love make it work but a good mixture of both will always add more interest and make for an inviting and cozy home.

Here are a few images via Pinterest that I love...



Love these Tolix chairs mixed with a farmhouse table and a crystal chandalier!
(Pic courtesy of Melissa Edelman, designer and owner of Antiquaire.)



If you are on Pinterest, you've probably seen this image. Who doesn't love exposed brick? Mix it with crisp white bedding, vintage or reclaimed side tables and a sparkly chandy, perfecto!

(Image courtesy of Country Living)



You've seen this pic before, it's my dining room. I'm aspiring to mix the high/low in here too... I found this farm table and loved it, then I fussied it up some with these Louis XVI French chairs which I reupholstered. Throw in a cowhide for a touch of SOCO (southern comfort) and a corner china cabinet. Next I am planning on a mirrored buffet like this one from Z Galleries for more sparkle in shine... rotate the mirror (vertical), add pretty buffet lamps, curtains, table linens, and BAM! I might be about done! Well, maybe...



(Image courtesy of Z Galleries)

All things Vintage...

This weekend is Scott's Antique Roadshow in Atlanta which comes once a month (always the 2nd weekend of each month). It is set up in 2 HUMONGOUS size warehouses located on opposite sides of the interstate just south of Atlanta. It cost $5 to get in ($4 with the coupon off the website) and it is the best $5 you've ever spent. There is soooooo much to look at, seriously, I think almost anyone could entertain themselves here, even my husband likes going (with the exception of fall months=football).

You walk in and it's vendors and booths set up all over the place with any and everything you can imagine. There's silver, vintage nic-nacs, vintage books, chairs, artwork, custom pillows, lamps, lighting, tables, chests, china, old doors, old shutters, old military nic-nacs, basically anything! The icing on the cake is that the food here is kinda like fair food, hub's favorite is the old fashioned donuts similar to funnel cakes. If you are on pinterest and obsessed with it like me then you seriously need to go to Scott's. So many times I'll see pins and I think to myself "gee this person needs to go to Scott's to get this..."

Scott's can be overwhelming the first time, so this is your warning but once you go and get acquainted you'll love it. Get ready to bargain too, these vendors will haggle with you back and forth which makes it a challenge but really fun, especially when you end up with a steal. One tip is that it opens to the public on Friday but really most of the vendors are set up on Thursday (even late Wednesday sometimes too) for decorators and designers and it runs until Sunday afternoon.

This weekend hubs and I are headed to Scott's we haven't been in a few months and I miss seeing all my dealer friends so I am looking forward to it. I will definitely try to take pictures.

Another thing about Scott's that I failed to mention is that if you like vintage fashion sometimes there are great vintage booths with fun dresses and coats for not much $$ at all. Last time I found a lovely sparkly dress that was about $25, it was long and need some minor alterations but so cute and one of a kind! I also found a wool coat with fur trim collar and cuffs for $30. Plus there are tons of minks and fur coats and stoles in the fall and winter. One item I did walk away with last time was a great wool Pendleton Cape. For $40 it's so fun and Pendleton is totally making a comeback especially in the design world. I wore it to church the other day with a new outfit I put together. It might have been a tad matchy but I thought it was cute, why not? I'm not brave enough for solo shots of myself like other fabulous bloggers on the internet so here it is laid out...







(Mustard Yellow Corduroy Skirt- Anthropologie, Navy and white polka dot sweater- Old Navy, Red Belt- Gap, Red Shoes- Urban Outfitters, Bracelet- Loft, Cape- Pendleton from Scott's Antique)

Chairs: DONE.

Boy oh boy does it feel good to have these babies completed! You have no idea how many fabrics I looked at in person and online. Even though navy is quite trendy I have learned it is very hard to find 2 things in Navy: A) pretty Wallpaper and B) Upholstery grade fabric.

I found a few in lightweight cottons and in outdoor fabrics that were ok but none that were the right grade or the right shade of Navy. The Navy I was looking for has the slightest twinge of green in it. With some help from a fabulous decorator who I consult with from time to time we finally found it! Yes! She actually got it from another decorator who had it left over. It was definitely a sign from above that it was meant for me because there were 2.5 yards left to cover the front AND back of 4 french chairs. Amen, praise the lord, because there none left to spare but enough to cover :)

Without further adieu... (pardon the crappy iphone pics)



Navy chevron with Nailhead trim and coral velvet with double cording...





Anyways... I feel like this was a big hurdle to jump before I could complete the rest of my house. Now that these are done I feel much better and I can focus towards curtains and buffet! Which I think I found the perfect buffet at Z Galleries... thinking mirrored for some sparkle and shine! The perfect southern touch... :)

Missoni

A week ago Missoni went on sale for Target and all the sudden it was the hottest word/fashion/designer around... my husband kept asking me, what's that missoni stuff everyone is talking about... he then asked if it was expensive pasta... poor guy was clearly confused... I of course told him, yes, it is dear.

Before this buzz word and Missoni Mayhem started I already had my eye on Missoni or Missoni-esque items. We bought 4 french Louis XVI chairs for our dining room table and with a cowhide rug underneath and a bench on the other side Grandma's Upholstery just ain't gonna work. My chairs are dark wood but I was thinking that a colorful chevron or flamestitch pattern would be super fun, funky, and unexpected when paired with my traditional chairs and Royal Crown Derby China. This is what I had in mind:



Much to my dismay Missoni fabric was WAY expensive. Don't get me wrong I'm willing to drop a little more $$ if it's absolutely perfect and want I've dreamed of but a few grand definitely won't fly with hubs. I did however find this lovely Schumacher fabric that's in the Martyn Lawrence Bullard Collection



Quite "delicious" if you ask me. :) I've ordered a swatch so I'm interested to see how the colors look in person. If this doesn't work for my dining room chairs then I think it'd be perfect for my french arm chairs for my living room (which I'm still searching for....)

All in all, I was a little unsure what people would say about a Missoni type dining room chair but with all this Missoni for Target buzz I feel confident they'll be a hit whenever I find the perfect fabric. I myself did score some Missoni for Target but yesterday got super excited when Hautelook.com had Missoni on sale and I got a $425 REAL Missoni poncho for $100, if I don't like that maybe that can be my chair fabric.... until then my chairs will continue their life covered in vanilla muslin...

Third Time's a Charm...

Okay, so far I have been the most inconsistent blogger evvverrr.... Between getting married, settling, buying a house, moving, settling again, life has been crazzay! However, I really want to try and make a commitment to this...
With my new house everyone keeps asking me to post pics on facebook but I think a blog would be much better and attract less creepers...

Since my last post was 6 months ago there's a lot to catch up on... the first and most obvious... we bought a house...



This pic is from our close date 5 months ago... since we've done a good bit of work in the yard but we still have a long way to go...



I want to show you more but I have to save some stuff for next time... why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free... so until next time... see yall later!

My closet vs. My Home

Okay, if you know me, you know I love clothes. However, I am now presented with a challenge... I have to decide between clothes or decorating a house... I am starting to understand why Scarlett smartened up and used the green drapery fabric as both curtains and a new dress! I wonder if anyone would notice my Serena & Lily sheets as a sundress? Perhaps my Poterry Barn Duvet could pass as a cute spring skirt? Hmmm...good thing I don't sew.

Seriously though, maybe this is the first faze of becoming less selfish before I have kids and have no choice but to not be as selfish. This week I did some birthday shopping with my mom at Fab'rik Midtown (one of my faves) and a new boutique in Atlanta, Polished and Primped. Ultimately I asked for my mom to buy me a few cute new spring items and the rest of my birthday was put towards the new house decorating budget. Maybe one day I can have a closet like this picture on ounodesign blog, now this is the best of both world: design+beauty+art+fashion=big win

I did however get some really fun items for Spring and my trip to L.A. and Las Vegas for a bachlorette party. I will definitely post pics because the outfits are tooo flippin cute! The one thing I do absolutely need for spring is a tan, good thing those come pretty cheap :)