Step Back in Time at the Vintage Bazaar

Oh hello!

The Ballroom in the Aragon.

My adventure back in time began with walking into the grand foyer of the  Aragon Entertainment Center http://aragon.com in the Chicago neighborhood of Uptown. The Aragon was originally built in 1926 with a Spanish palace courtyard style.  This building is amazing!  Every surface is painted and adorned.  In the midst of the building lays a beautiful ballroom were an approximate 50 million people have danced through the years spanning the 20s to the 40s! Now-a-days the space is used for special events, dances and concerts.

The pleasant and cordial Rose.

On the day I visited it was hosting the Vintage Bazaar http://www.thevintagebazaar.com. The Vintage Bazaar is a blog as well as a Pop-Up market focusing on vintage decor, fashion, and accessories. June's event was no exception to amazing finds and interesting characters. It was inspiring to see folks so excited about decor, fashion and relics of the past and giving them a new homes.  The event was so large, in addition to the dozen venders inside, there was 90 more outside! This was a great event.  Folks were buying, negotiating and bargaining.  While leaving I saw several cars packed full to the point of stuff hanging out of the windows and trunk!

Visiting the Vintage Bazaar was great!  I got to see a great space, visit with folks and get inspired!  The next Vintage Bazaar will be July 8th!  Will I see you there?    

A great little vignette setup by Karen Cooper.

Vintage Edison...Jim Ligon creates amazing lighting units using
recycled wine & liquor boxes and bottles!
Check him out at  www.vintageedison.com 

Chair and Pillow by our friend Nara!

Good Day

--D. Charles

Bringing Old Discarded Metal to Life!

Oh Hello!

Re-use and re-purpose are hot topics in today's culture.  I love the concept and principle of using items over again and giving them a new "purposeful life." One of my friends is doing that exact thing, however she is making art!

From the tin of old barns artisan Jennifer Rouston of Metal Girl is creating one-of-kind pieces for the home and lawn. She has been creating these pieces of art for only year, but she is already in high demand! Folks are going wild over her hand-painted designs.

After a shape and size is determined by Jennifer and/or her customer; she then gets out her paint and brushes.   Vivid colors, stripes and polka-dots are diligently hand-painted onto what some would consider as simply an old piece of metal.  Suddenly a design unfolds and a unique, fun inspired piece is created!

I love her whimsical designs and aesthetics.  It is amazing to see a piece of old discarded tin made into a piece of art that everyone enjoys!

Please have a look at the following pictures and be inspired.  If you would like to inquire with Jennifer regarding her creations for your home decor or yard please contact her at jen.metalgirl@yahoo.com.

Each piece begins as raw metal from barns.

After an undercoat application the piece is ready for color!

Good day,
--D. Charles

DIY - Bookcases with a Pop!

Oh Hello!

I was recently needing some bookcases. I didn't want to spend very much money and while visiting Target I saw these bookcases...only $20 each!  For convenience and time I picked up a couple of them.  They are very basic 3 shelve bookcases that are more functional than design.  However I was just needing a basic bookcase for storage.

I decided they needed a little pop!  So I found some great wrapping paper and picked up some spray adhesive from a local store.  I took the back off and applied the paper.  I trimmed the edges and nail the backing back on.   

After a little de-cluttering and dusting I now have two great little bookcases with just a touch of design.  This is a very easy 20 min project.  Sometimes in design it is just the litle, simple things that a can make a world of difference.  Give it try on your bookcases and send me your pics!  anothur.decor@gmail.com

I really liked this design!

I took the backing off and applied a spray adhesive

I lined up the upper right corner as my reference point.

Viola!

Good Day!
--D. Charles

A Dream Home and A Vintage Bazaar...what a weekend

Oh hello!

I am fully aware that tonight is Thursday; however I'm just now having the chance to sit down and blog for a minute.  Last weekend I had two really cool experiences here in Chicago.

My first adventure led me to the DreamHome exhibit at the Merchandise Mart.  First of all...the Merchandise Mart...whoa!  This is a designer's heaven!  They have some of the most exquisite showrooms and decor. http://www.merchandisemart.com   Anyway...they invited nine of Chicago's top designers to dream big and design specific rooms.  I was able to walk through the full exhibit and see some wonderful design up-close and personal.  Few things I noticed.

1. Scale--even though most of the rooms were small, many of designers went with large and bold decor  DRAMA!
2. Neutral palettes with splashes of color were used in almost every room.
3. Almost every wall had texture.

If you are visiting Chicago between now and December 9th, this has to be on your "To-Do" list.  If you are unable to visit Chicago during that time have a gander at the website.  There are great decor ideas and inspiration on every page!

http://www.merchandisemartdesigncenter.com/dreamhome/

Buckingham Interiors + Design

Frank Ponterio Interior Design

Michael Abrams Limited

Snaidero Chicago

I also attended a Vintage Bazaar!  What is a Vintage Bazaar?? Well it's a "pop-up flea market" obviously focusing on vintage clothes, furniture, nick-knacks and home decor. It was started by two lovely ladies, Katherine Raz and Libby Alexander. They also have a blog about vintage home decor, discussion and DIY projects.  This event was amazing!

They held the Bazaar in the old Congress Theater here in Chicago.  The theater itself is enough to blog about, with its ornate columns, sculpture and overwhelming ambiance. However, I was there for the vintage finds and the experience itself.  This event was a treasure chest of goodies! I saw everything from vintage dresses to vintage record players.  I love going to things like this because you find unique piece for your home decor...and it's like walking down memory lane for some folks (of course some have a longer "memory lane" to go down).

To read the blog or find out when and where the next Vintage Bazaar will be...visit their website.
http://www.thevintagebazaar.com/

Good Day
--D Charles

Re-Build It and They Will Come

Oh hello,

While adventuring through the Bucktown neighborhood in Chicago on a mid-summer's day I began to notice folks walking with fixtures, tables and chairs...oh my!  Where was this Land of Decor Oz??  Following the trial of people I discovered a mecca for refurbish-ers, Do-It-Yourself-ers and designers!

The ReBuilding Exchange (a project of Delta Institute www.delta-institute.org) is a not-for-profit re-use materials organization.  They received the majority of their materials from deconstruction projects as well as donations from the public sector.  They are housed in an enormous warehouse full of fixtures, doors, windows, cabinetry, bath tubes, sinks, wood, etc...  It was amazing to walk through and see all the reusable materials they have salvaged.  According to their website they have diverted 3000 tons of building materials from landfills!

Not only do they just sell material they have a great programs and workshops.  They have a department, RX Made, which will build custom pieces from their salvaged materials.

This is a great organization that is helping Chicago to be green.  With a dedication of helping the environment and helping people, this organization is true gem!

If you live in the Chicago-land area, you should check it out!  It's at the corner of Ashland and Webster (enter on  Webster).  For  readers who do not live in Chicago, I encourage you to look through ReBuilding Exchange's website.  It is inspiring for us all to be greener and possibly doing a little "re-purposing" ourselves!

Check it out!   www.rebuildingexchange.org

Good day!
--D Charles

Interesting Sun glare coming through the window.

Plus a great view of Downtown Chicago!