Fabulous! Fireplace Fender! $35

Forever I have wanted and longed for a for a fireplace fender at a price within my budget. On a quick stop at Sally's Boutique I found it and well within my budget $35.It is all brass and has a fabulous French motif...what fun!

Another great surprise for me was that my granddaughter decided she would sit on the grand Victorian sofa I bought 2 years ago just for her and just her size. She also conducted a tea party at the little table I arranged for her to enjoy.What fun to be a grandma!

Back to Thrift Stores!

Sorry, I have recently deserted my main blog theme with all this traveling...Yesterday we were traveling to Costco in Avon,Mass. and there just happened to be a Salvation Army thrift store nearby.  Wow,wished I lived in Mass. ,the prices were phenomenal.I wish I had brought my camera to validate my finds. I really couldn't buy anything as my limited luggage space needs to be reserved for very special things.
.The following listing is the evidence of the great deals available here.
 Hurry over all you Bostonians..even my daughter (usually a non thrift store fan) got inspired.
an early 20's high chair...$15.00
a beautiful intact pump organ with a gorgeous mantel...$159.00..I paid $450.00 for mine in Los Angeles
a player piano ...$199.00
4 beautiful old oak dining chairs...$4.99 each
multple collectible and antique dishes at$.99 each
In our thrift stores in L.A. there is nothing for $.99..the lowest price you can find is $1.99 but if anything looks the least bit valuable,it jumps to $7.99.
So get out there guys, the bargains still abound!!!

Spice Up My Kitchen or Made For Each Other

For many years I have admired the lovely canisters Victorians used to keep spices, tea ,coffee, sugar, salt  etc. on their kitchen cabinets, making these frequently used ingredients readily accessible and also providing a delightful treat to the eye. They come in a numerous number  of canisters,along with salt and pepper shakers all lined up in order and decorated in various Victorian themes, usually floral. Their base color was generally of  an opalescent  glow. These, as are many of the Victorian items that I enjoy so much, seemed a bit cost prohibitive for me, usually well over $100.

While visiting folks at home I found 2 examples for a bargain and decided I could have at least these to enjoy. Later at the Salvation Army I eyed blue and white canisters of a similar genre ...well they really weren't similar to my first two canisters at all, but I  concluded that probably I could display them in a different area of my kitchen. At $30 I still  was reluctant to purchase them so I played the waiting game and prayed no one else would fancy them. Patience is a virtue and this time it paid off. The canisters eventually were greatly reduced and I carried them home for a song. Granted,they had a few chips and a crack or two,but I could envision  them contributing to my kitchen's Victorian ambiance.(besides at the rock bottom prices I usually pay, I never let scratches and cracks deter me.)
To my delight when I placed the two designs of canisters together, they really complimented each other! Hurray for serendipity!

note the lovely opalescent background,these canister sets are usually several in number

I saw one of these for over $100 in Old Town Orange

How to Cover that Ugly Vent

Our house has a large vent for the central heating and cooling. It is placed on the stair landing, right in a very prominent place readily visible as you enter my home and if you sit at certain places in my living room. Not really a very pleasing sight.
The problem is ,you can't block the vent as it will impede the flow of air. Other than the obvious, placing a piece of decorative material over it I was in a quandary what to do.
First I purchased a very tall narrow antique bird cage to obscure it's appearance. It would allow air flow and worked to a certain degree but it seemed awkward  and wasn't quite tall enough.
Then I remembered a hall tree that I had bought some time ago for $35 from the Salvation Army. It's back was very open and would look great in that spot.
It had carvings and brass poles across the top along with a few hooks to hang some of my collectibles.
I ventured again into my "Hoarders" garage dragged  my prize and put it in place and my problem was solved!

maybe some would say the vent looks better

The birdcage found it's way into my garden making a home for my$.99 store ceramic birds.

Mantel Mania

detail on mantel over fireplace, string inlay and circle fan inlay

fireplace lusters ,which
I use on my buffet 

This pair of fire place light expanding lusters was found in a thrift store less it's prisms for $45
Ecclesiastes 2:13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly,as far as light excelleth darkness.

This was  an irresistable shade from a luster because of it's ornate decoration I have married it with other than it's own base

Unfortunately I paid $300 for this pair of lusters back East as it was the cheapest I had ever seen and I needed a birthday gift anyway. Believe me, I saw one cracked ruby glass one for $300 at an estate sale. The prices for these beauties range from $900 up and more often $1200 up.

this is my guest bedroom mantel

various decorative qualities of the mantel

Victorian furniture left us with the unique and lovely heritage of the ornate mantel. They were usually mirrored and ensconced within a lovely carved frame with various sizes of shelves positioned in strategic positions on the lovely old wood. The mirrors were beveled which offers a clue if the mirror on a mantel has been replaced. Nevertheless replaced mirror or not the mantel can serve as a great multi use decorative item in the Victorian home or any home for that matter.
They were used on any number of furniture pieces. The most common mantel was used to bring importance and beauty to the fireplace,usually the focal point of the Victorian living room.The shelves were usually adorned with items that would reflect the warm light of the fire in the fireplace, as light was at a premium in the days before electricity. One of these most beautiful and most collectible items was a pair of crystal or glass candle holders of sorts that stood on each side of the fireplace mantel. They were called fireplace lusters.These were very lovely and ornate and bejeweled with crystal prisms to enhance their reflectability.
Another fireplace item was a porcelain figurine which really appears unfinished if found out of it's intended environment. They were very lovely on the front side but flat and undecorated on the back side.This allowed them to sit flat agsinst the mantle. Most avidly sought after are the familiar Staffordshire dogs,usually found in pairs.
The mantels were not only used as fireplace decor but also were found on dining room buffets,china closets,book cases,desks,dressers, or any another piece of furniture that would support them.
Today you find them in many different decors as wall decor, hallway mirrors fireplace decor, headboards. There are just a myriad of uses for these products of the Victorian sensibilities...and those ensconced in the antique mall store reflect their desirability. in their price tags.
Well, with the luck of the Irish, I recently found 2 such beauties ,one for $35 and one for $28...you guessed it from Goodwill and one from The Collectibles thrift store both in Canoga Park.
One I believe is very old with circular fan inlays., and the other definitely from the late 1800's.
They are serving me elegantly ,one over my fireplace and one in my guest bedroom.