Lowry Hollow has been back to the auction block this week.  A great, but chilly, time was had and some fun finds were made!

Uhm…  can you tell it was mainly men?

The fun thing about auctions like this?  Well, yes, the finds – but also the food!  Some have   the most tasty food, while others have a choice of fried items that make you feel like taking a nap just looking at it.

Now, finally, to the goods.

Wouldn’t these make awesome headboards?

I love the vintage Igloo cooler – in incredible condition!  The metal milk can and wood crate from “T. Lusty Beverages” would be great conversation starters in anyone’s decor.  And we can’t wait to get started on the door.  Finally, that read bench.  Don’t you just love it?  The family story on this sweet piece is that the father had built it for his children (there were 7 of them) to sit around the dinner table over 50 years ago.

We hope to get a few of these items polished up and ready for you next week at Kane County!

So if you’ve been with us for longer than two weeks, you know my love for windows.  This week I found a new way to incorporate them into household décor (I believe I just heard my husband yell “NOOOOoooooo!”).  We made this sweet little end table to go anywhere in the home.

I love this gal.  So versatile – she could go in any room.  It’s white, yet we left the window roughed up.

The openness underneath combined with the light color and glass in the panes makes for a very airy feeling.

And here’s a bonus – you don’t need coasters for your glasses on here!!  (I imagine my Mom singing the Hallelujah Chorus here.)

And while I love how this looks and the feel that it adds to my décor - this one is going to market with us this spring. Sigh.  Maybe I could make another for myself?  (Did anyone just hear someone yell “NOOOooooo!”?}

Finally, we want to take a moment and thank you for your patience as we had to take a week off from posting to work on our website.  We appreciate our time with you and apologize for not being here, but things went from bad to worse and needed serious attention.  Thankfully, we are back up and running, with the exception of our Facebook “like” button (it kept flashing and made me feel like I was chasing a blue light special).  Hopefully we will have that going again in the next week as well.

Have a beautiful week!

Here are a few of the recent finds Lynn got at an auction from a high school that was closing.

I simply love all the color in the pieces, let alone the pieces themselves.  Who new a high school had such cool furniture?  I don’t remember it being that way while I was in school.

Don’t you love the color on this cart?  I’m guessing it was an a/v cart.  What could it be used for now – entry table?  Mini bar?  How about a nightstand?

This piece really stands out and the red color definitely helps it do just that.  I   can see this as an entertainment center, cool book shelf, kitchen island or as a foyer table.  Cool piece with endless possibilities.

We’re only showing you one of the lockers we have.  Thank goodness there are more, otherwise this would never make it to a market!  My husband actually got excited over this photo and began making plans for it.

If I brought this wood stand into my house, my daughters would be nervous. Their thoughts?  Another way for mom to deliver a teachable moment!  I love the shop stools behind the wood chair as well (did you spot the red one with the red cart above?).  Those stools can bring the industrial look into your home, along with a pop of color.

What a great haul of items from the auction.  We look forward to bringing these to you in the spring!

I’ve mentioned before my fascination with antique doors and windows.  One of Lynn’s is antique frames.  She loves them.  When we’re out picking together, she heads for frames while I’m making my way to windows.  I love how she can look at an old, empty frame and completely see it’s potential.  While I see an empty, beat up frame for a hole, she sees an entire completed project.  She can look at them and regardless of how dirty or ugly in color, see the lovliness of the intricate detail.  And when she’s finished with them, everyone can see how completely lovely they are.

I love these that she has finished!  The two in the middle are cork boards with fabric over top (although they’re so pretty, I would have a really hard time pushing a pin into them – but that’s just me).  The one on the left has a burlap insert and is ready for whatever you would like to encircle. (A popular idea is to paint the initial of your last name and put it on a burlap background.  Or an old black and white family photo would be gorgeous as well!)  The last one on the right has a lovely vintage bird print insert.  The beautiful finishes she gave to these frames are timeless.

This one is so fun!  The frame isn’t antique, but what’s inside is.  It is a vintage Thanksgiving card, postmarked from 1917.  I don’t know about you, but I never seem to have enough Thanksgiving or fall decorations.  I love the colors and the characters.  Too cute.

Here is another Thanksgiving card along with a piece of vintage sheet music, dated 1935, framed in an antique frame (how Lynn found the the perfect sized frame to fit the music, I’ll never know).  The pop of orange lends itself to the perfect fall decor.

This is just a small sampling of Lynn’s masterwork with frames.  I am continually amazed with what she can do with them.  All of these (and more) will be available at the upcoming 3rd Sunday Market, October 21st, in Bloomington, Illinois.  Less than a week to go!

We were so excited to find this classic enamel top table.  But sadly, it was not in the best condition.  At the bottom, the wood legs were incredibly chipped up and it was wobbly.  There was potential though – especially since the enamel top was in good condition.  So our answer to the leg problem?  Trim them off!  It is now the perfect coffee table height.

Oh, and did I tell you the drawer was also missing?

 After trimming the legs down and sanding the flaking paint, we really wanted that white enamel top to pop.  We chose Cool Cobalt by Glidden to paint the base.  Well, actually my daughter chose that color because, at the age of 10, she knows all about bright colors!  The blue really brought the top out and made it shine.  It was then sanded down to allow the white chippy underneath to shine through.  A drawer front was then made and attached.

We love how this turned out!  And here’s a fun fact: This table is an actual Hoosier table.  The metal tag on it reads “Coppes Cabinets of Napanee.”  For those who don’t know (I didn’t), Napanee is in Indiana.  For a history of the Coppes Cabinet Company, go here.  Oh, and if this doesn’t suit your style as a coffee table, how about as a child’s table?  Maybe to do crafts or for their own place to eat during those family gatherings?

And one final thing to think about – we have another one just like this in red!  Oh the decisions.