VINTAGE DECOR

If you are a Vintage fanatic and live in the Northern Massachusetts or Southern New Hampshire then you may already know about this used furniture/houseware store!  The PYCA Shop at 60 Parker Street in Gardner.  It is right at the light, there is only one traffic light on Parker street so you can't miss it!  :o) Free parking is available in the public parking lot across the street.  The store is huge and has two levels filled with treasures!! 
There is a wonderful woman in there, Regan, who is extremely helpful and knowledgeable.  She has a great eye for all things Vintage.  I love going in there and poking around at the vintage finds like lamps, purses, jewelry, trays, drawer knobs, glassware, radios, sewing items, shoes, 8 tracks, albums, clothing, fabric, typewriters, office items, suitcases, planters, a whole room of Christmas items, one of a kind and rare items, etc....  

I was in the other day and snapped a few photos.  This Conant Ball Dining table is amazing!  I love it and want it in my dining room desperately!

Isn't it beautiful!  The lines of the chairs and the table are awesome.  Although it needs some freshening up, I even love the color of the upholstery.  She is only asking $500 for the set.  It is Conant Ball furniture for only $500!!!









Below are a more photos of items in the store.    

 

If you plan on coming out to the store you should plan on spending at least and hour, most likely more, looking around.  And bring your largest vehicle so you will have plenty of room to load it up.  

PYCA Shop

60 Parker Street, Gardner, MA

Store Hours:
Thursday - 1 to 5 PM
Friday: 10 AM to 5 PM
Saturday - 10 AM to 2 PM
By chance or appointment - Call (978) 632-3294. 

HAPPY MONDAY!!

Spring is NOT in the air today.  Being from New England I roll with the punches but I have to tell you that this Winter has been ridiculously long and cold.  I have had enough.  Temperatures are supposed to warm up by the end of the week and hoping they stay up!  Still I am preparing for outdoor living, it's coming sooner or later.  :o)
Looking at some outdoor seating for the yard.  I am not looking for your basic picnic table, not my style, but more of a comfy low maintenance seating option.  These chairs created by Justin Brouillette of design studio SiteScapes are very unique.  Made from 90% + recycled materials they stand up to freezing temperatures and the heat and sun of Summer.  They have the appearance they will fall over backwards but are designed not to!  Very Mod.
                                                                 Barristro Outdoors

This seating area below looks very comfortable!  They are over sized so I could grab a pillow, put my feet up,  rest my head and fall asleep, which is what normally happens to me when I sit outside reading.  

Athens Deep Seating by Meadowcraft

And ohhh, these lounge chairs just look so welcoming!!  They come in different colors too!

Adirondack-MGP-Sling by Telescope Casual

But there is something about crescent shaped seating that I have always been attracted to! This is the one that I would love to make mine.  With a atomic style fabric would be perfection!!

Mayfair-Estate--Sectional

CHANGE IT UP!!

There is a new product that may become available, only is the test phase now.  GE Artisty Applicance line is exploring the idea of making a type of skin to go on your appliance to change it up. I personally think it is brilliant!  

Lou Lenzi of G.E. stated "before we fall into the trap of creating (and being blamed for) the next Harvest Gold, we thought we’d start with colors that might already be present in your kitchen - ginger, lime, cinnamon, aubergine (aka eggplant for the uninitiated), and lemon. Next, we considered a variety of finish scenarios. We started by bathing the entire appliance suite in color, then tried selected appliances as accent pieces within the suite, and finally landed on colored “skins” that could attach to the front of the refrigerator and/or dishwasher, which could be changed or swapped out for new colors, much like a smart phone case".

Click on the link below to view the color options they are considering.  I would prefer they offered Aquamarine but would probably go for the Harvest Gold, I mean "Ginger".   :o)

GE Artistry Series

IDEAS!

So I found this product on line and I have to have it but do not know where it would go in my home.  It is a company called Acurio Latticeworks.  The cut outs can be customized or you can pick one from their gallery.

This is Acurio's Roman design. 

This is their same Roman design used as interior shutters.

This design is called Metroopolis Circle.

This design is Reverse 4 point star.
Now can you see why I need to have this in my home somewhere.  Just trying to figure out where to use it is the tough part.  They make the panels in a durable PVC and sell them in different sizes.  LOVE THESE!!!
Here is a link to their website  http://acuriolattice.com/order.shtml

PET HAIR!!! 

I am sure that some of you have had your children bring home a pet and it ends up becoming yours.  My youngest daughter, Eva, brought home a Chihuahua puppy named Ellie.  Ellie has become my dog.

Shortly thereafter my eldest daughter, Raquel, felt it wasn't fair if Eva got a dog and she didn't so she brought home a Siberian Husky puppy, Luna, which has pretty much become my dog as well.

Take into consideration I already own an eleven year old Pekingese, Gia.

The problem mostly lies with Luna, the Husky.  When you walk through my house, out of the corner of your eyes, you can see hair tumbleweeds blowing around in every corner.  I sweep, vacuum, lint roll, etc ....  It is endless.   They are not supposed to be on the furniture but see how well they listen?!

I always think like a Realtor so as I am sweeping dog hair I think "what would I do if I had my house for sale and had showings?  How crazy would this be to get all this hair cleaned up daily?"  So I decided to do some research! 
First I tried the shower squeegee on my furniture and it did not work.  So I purchased a small hand vac and the pet hair attachment worked well but it didn't hold a charge for long.  I used the lint rollers as well but there is so much hair that I had to keep purchasing the large rolls and is not cost efficient. 
But one thing that does work is good old fashioned household rubber gloves!  Your readily available, all American, been around forever, Playtex Living Gloves that you can buy at Walmart for a few dollars.  Just put the gloves on and wipe surface in one direction and hair will ball up to make it easy to pick up either by hand or vacuum!  Ta Da!  If anyone else has better ideas please let me know.   
Ellie is two years old, Luna is one,  I can guarantee that my daughters will be out on their own in a few years and the dogs and all their hair will still be here.  

Spring, Porches and $5 Benches

SPRING begins next week!!  If you live in the North East like me then you will surely agree that it doesn't feel like it. It was 16 degrees today.  This morning both my daughters couldn't open their frozen car doors so I drove them both in to School/College. Once home I grabbed an extension cord, a blow dryer and got busy heating the car doors until they would open.   But Spring is coming, sooner or later (not soon enough).

Think Spring think "front porch".  Who doesn't love a porch!?   Down South the style is to paint your porch ceiling a pale sky blue.  They call this haint blue.  The reason for this tradition are many and include keeping bugs away,  that it's good luck, makes the hot days of summer feel cooler to believing it will scare away evil spirits.  Whatever the reason doesn't matter because it is just absolutely gorgeous!! 

Selling your home or not, your porch should have a comfortable bench or seating area that includes a small table to set down your book and iced tea.  Fabric will always bring warmth to a porch and make it feel more welcoming so consider investing in weatherproof fabric covered cushions and pillows.   Potted or hanging plants will bring the landscape up onto the porch for additional appeal.

I was driving through a nearby town a few years back looking for a home I was going to list and took a wrong turn.  It was my lucky day because I came upon a home with a lot of items in the yard, the home owner was a collector for sure.  There sitting on the side of this homes driveway was a vintage 1950's gliding bench (throw in angelic music here).   Normally I wouldn't stop but I knew I would always regret not rescuing that retro bench from a slow sure death of rot and rust.  I asked the home owner if he would consider selling it and he replied "Just take it".  I didn't feel right just taking it and wanted to give him something for it and told him such.  He said "Give me $5 if it makes you feel better".  I whipped out that $5 so fast it would have made your head spin.  SOLD!  

After sanding it down I treated the metal with a rust inhibitor, I used SEM brand Rust Mort.  I found this product at my local auto parts supply store and it is available on Amazon as well.  I decided on a Rustoleum  brand Robins egg blue and Cream paint color combination. I taped off the sections with painters tape and newspaper and sprayed away! 

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Above is the Before and then the After photos.  Below right is how it looked a few weeks ago, not very welcoming surrounded by ice and snow now is it?!

Soon the cushions, pillows, plants, iced tea and myself will all be back on the bench.  I saved it's life and I love my $5 vintage bench.  

WORTH IT? OR NOT?

Photo Credit: Robin Ivy Photography http://www.robynivy.com/

Welcome to my blog Buy and Bye!  Whether you are buying a home or saying goodbye to the one you own there are tips to help you through all of it.  

Let's start with Home Inprovements:

When making improvements to your home there are some upgrades that are going to be worth the effort and money and some that aren't. 

HOME OFFICES - May be very convenient and seem like a great idea but the return on the investment to build one is less than half!

SWIMMING POOLS - The majority of people do not find a pool a positive feature.  They find it can only mean more work and maintenance around the home.  Your insurance rates increase as well.

SUN ROOMS - The expense of a Sun Room is quite extensive and the value it adds to the resale value of your home is less than half.  Especially in New England, where the room could be a bit chilly in Winter,  so it would be considered a three Season Porch. 

Looking to increase the value of your home?  Then consider adding outdoor living space such as a large deck or patio, remodeling your kitchen and/or bath, replacement windows and siding. Some of the simple low cost investments can make the biggest impact so consider some landscaping to add the all important curb appeal!  :o)