My Office

No, not the garage :D  Although officially I suppose it is. I thought I'd share some pics of my little room that has FINALLY come to find some personality.  It's actually the formal dining room in our house (hence that awful chandelier I must do something about) but our life does not have a use for formal anything...so it became my office-slash-fancy-folding laundry room. hehe

Here is what it looked like when we first moved here, it was sort of a hodge-podge of all the smaller, odd sized pieces of furniture that had a place in our previous house in Seattle.  While it looked nice and I had no complaints about it, I really wanted to bring some light in and needed an excuse to keep some of these refinished pieces for myself ;)

 Very contemporary, very brown and not very me.

I first listed everything in here on Craigslist to sell, then used that $ to buy a used Ektorp loveseat, also found on Craigslist.  I bought a new slipcover (around $30) for it at Ikea and it looked good as new.  Around Christmas time,  we scored this awesome antique sconce while perusing 'Uncommon Objects', a wonderful place on Congress Avenue to find cool vintage treasures.   

Aaaah...much better already.

I found a pair of solid wood shelves on Craigs (where else), but they had some damage and holes in the backs so I just ripped them off, gave them a good white-washing and moved them in along the sides of the sofa.

Chair was a steal at Marshalls!  Luv luv luv that store-too much.

The trunk was a Round Top find, I might add some castors to the bottom to give it some more height but it holds my feet up and my coffee cup just fine for now :)

I've started collecting small vintage paintings of the sea, my Mom sends me one when she finds a good deal. Usually at a flea market or salvage store! I just pound them out of those funky frames they are always in and keep the canvas. I have some resting on the shelves and some I hang within them to layer things a bit.

We ordered a couple pairs of these wings for the shop but I just HAD to keep one set to myself.  They have the most awesome mix of taupe, teal and white peaking through the distressing in the feathers.  We'll be getting more in soon though so check back!  I have a different desk in here all the time, as one sells I just replace it with the next finished one until there is room in the shop space.  It keeps things interesting and I don't get bored.  I'm too busy putting everything away again!

A couple views of the other side of the room (and that awful chandelier!)

That bright pop of  pink is a paperweight my son made me in school :)

One last look.  Sorry for the lousy pictures.  I just got a new camera and am still learning how to use it.  Obviously I've got a long way to go but the manual is so intimidating :{  Every time I sit down to read it I start thinking I'd rather fold some laundry in my new room ;}
Hope you are having a great week!

Round Top, Texas

How is your weekend going?  Mine started out fine, but as this Saturday has worn on, it's getting a little
umm...character building ;)  My oldest son had a birthday party to attend that I was able to convince his Daddy to take him too, thinking it would enable me to take a little break while our younger kids took a nap...HA!  That madness started at 1:00 and it is now after 3 with both kids STILL getting up every 5 minutes;  'I hafta go potty again', and 'Is it time to get up yet?' are popular with 'Sleeping takes sooo long!' being the latest. :} Meanwhile my hubbie has been texting me pics from the serene pool party (kids are behind glass walls) he accompanied our oldest to.  Not exactly the vision I had when I made this arrangement :p

As I wait for my little monkeys to go to sleep, I decided I would revisit pics from the Round Top show that occurred last week here in central Texas. Find your happy place....

It's really odd but when you google info for 'Round Top Antique Festival' or any search terms like it, you don't get much.  There aren't many good current images or info other than the shows website itself which frankly, and I am all about frankness today-blows.  So I thought some might find it useful and insightful to see first hand what it looked like at the Spring show (it goes on twice a year).

I will say that the only great deals we found, were a little further down the road at the Warrenton part of it, Coles Antique Market being the best.  Within Round Top the main attraction is always Marburger Farms and that was just flat out ridiculous in its pricing.  If you are shopping for yourself, than by all means pay the $10 in parking and extra admission fees to attend, because it is gorgeous!  You will probably even spot a celebrity. The displays, inspirations and if you can afford it, the pieces are worth your time.  But for resale and bargain hunting-just stick to the Warrenton end of it.  Most of the pics below are of the Marburger Farms because it really is so spectacular to look at.  It's hard to take pics of what were the actual buying tents in Warrenton since it's kinda like a needle in a haystack when you are finding those deals - it doesn't make for as pretty a picture!

See what I mean?  This is Marburger.

The Marburger Farms portion is under actual structural buildings, and barns whereas the rest of show is under portable white tents.

I apologize that I didn't take many of the Warrenton side of the show.  That is where the true buying begins so we weren't thinking to take pics.  But it is miles of white tents filled with treasures, you just have to hunt a little as they are not as 'artfully displayed' and obvious as at the Marburger Show.  At Warrenton we saw rustic, architectural pieces such as doors, tons of iron beds, old table legs, statuaries, lots of linens, collectibles and the like.  Think 'Picker Sisters' at a junkyard:)  But it's still a stretch to find things at good prices for resale purposes.  Here are the VERY few pics I got while we were there;

There are restaurants, saloons and beer gardens sprinkled throughout which was nice in 85 degree temps!

Rustic beauties

There were many huge doors, birdcages, window panes, salvage pieces, etc.  Very 'Restoration Hardware'.

Lamps made out of  all kinds of artifacts, corbels, etc.

Some pretty eccentric prints and upholstery pieces here and there too.

I know, my pics don't say much and I'm kicking myself for not taking the time to better document the deals because Warrenton is truly the resale persons better time spent-but hopefully you get a little idea of the difference. :)  I'm really looking forward to going again in the fall, if only for the beautiful displays and fun of it!
XOXO
Cameo

We are officially in business!!!!

Hello to Y'All :)
I just wanted to share some pics of our new space~we are up and running now! Yippee :D

As you can imagine, it's been a frenzied few weeks getting this all together and moving in.  Lucky for me, my Mom (who has more energy than I do!) flew in from the Seattle area to help me.  It has been U-Haul trucks, 'leverage loading', make-shift ramps, dollies, bruises, broken nails, and one injured knee-but never has it been more fun!  This is a partnership between us, with me covering the refinished furniture pieces and her shipping in the vintage/antique 'smalls'.  We have also incorporated lots of NEW pieces like home decor items and accessories, (check out the wings below for example) as I believe it's the mix of both that really creates a beautiful space. 

Currently we are hauling even more inventory back from the Round Top Antique Show that's happening here.  This show is just  MASSIVE,  miles and miles of white tents filled with gorgeous stuff and it's impossible to see it all in the week that it spans, but my-oh-my what treasures can be found!  This is the same show that Rachel Ashwell (of Shabby Chic fame) began, and continues her treasure hunting in.  She has now built a Bed and Breakfast there, called 'The Prairie'.  We haven't had time to see that yet, but we have more trips ahead.  My brother and his awesome girlfriend (who's done marketing for the likes of Restoration Hardware, Sephora, and William Sonoma Home) are flying in from San Francisco tomorrow to go back with us again. People fly in from all over the country for it, so I'm pretty lucky we live only an hour or so away.

My Mom went back to the show today in our minivan (I needed a break to catch up on laundry, dishes, and life around the house frankly) and she called to say she was done with walking it and decided to drive through the aisles instead...you know those scenes in movies when the confused tourists are in a small, foreign town and mistakenly drive through a narrow stone alley where the people are selling there goods to pedestrians or hanging out their laundry to dry? Then the crazy tourist's car comes crashing through and people and livestock are scurrying for their lives! That is the immediate mental picture I had....so I ran to check out insurance policy....I think we're good.

But honestly, I am just so grateful and fortunate for the support and help of my friends and family in this...I just couldn't do it otherwise.  I could keep doing etsy, craigslist, and custom orders, because I love all that (not to mention the slower pace), and still will but a shop space is an undertaking I've only dreamed about.  I am cherishing this wonderful chaos with all my heart.  Smooches :+

Visit our space if you can!
The Antique Gallery of Round Rock
1601 S I35
Round Rock, Texas · 78664
512-218-4290