INSPIRATION: ANTIQUE TEXTILES

I love the picture above that shows how fabulous old, worn textiles – like rugs can work layered with new rugs. I sometimes layer old rugs with a sisal underneath. I'm always searching for antique kilim rugs and here are a few more in my house. I'm now on the hunt for additional antique textiles to make into pillows, more on the results of that coming soon.

B & A: THIS SMALL BEDROOMS POTENTIAL REVEALED!

At DND, we always love a good Before & After. There is something magical about seeing the possibility of what a room could be. When I bought my old 1844 house, there were many rooms that felt a little tired and dated. When I saw this space I wanted to lighten and brighten it up.

BEFORE

AFTER

Hereʼs what happened:

– All new walls and ceilings, although it doesn't show up in the before picture, all of the old plaster in this room was cracked and heaving on the walls and in the ceiling. New drywall and paint really changed the look.

– White paint! One of my favourites, I painted the walls, ceiling, floors and trim in white. This truly transforms a room!

–  One way to instantly brighten up a space is to expose more of the windows. Removing the sheers and full length drapery panels and going to custom made linen roman shades in the windows allowed more natural light to flow in.

– Room layout: the furniture placement in the 'after' picture is very different. The bed is placed in front of the window instead of on the wall on the right. Creative space planning had to happen in this room to fit that large antique cabinet you can see in the first picture.

There are terrific water views out both these windows! Iʼm going to be switching around the furniture in this room to see if I can capture more of the view! I'll be sure to share those results on the blog later this summer.

UNIQUE ANTIQUE DISPLAY ITEMS

As I mentioned yesterday – this wooden antique cabinet might be something that came from a hotel – it's got numbered boxes where items can be stored. I've used some unique, small accessories in the compartments. Here are a few of my favourite little trinkets. In this picture, you can see the numbers, and an old key my grandmother gave me many years ago. It's a large, heavy key! Also some shells in the background.

An old book of matches from the Lord Nelson Hotel in Halifax, a friend gave me these because she thought I'd like something with NELSON on it – and of course I do!

A fave whale clip – made of brass. I like that it looks like this guy is smiling!

And here is the cabinet again and the post about it is here http://www.debnelsondesign.com/?p=2676:

ANTIQUE ACCESSORIES

In my own home, I like to use a lot of unique antique accessories to add character to rooms. I love going to antique shops and hunting around for small things that catch my eye. The old NS sign above was one of my favourite finds. It's an old sign that was used to indicate picnic table locations. I have quite a few favourites, but these are a few others!

Some kitchen items.

A wooden trug and old croquet set.

A giant old shell and basket.

My fave whale bone and antique Quebec farmhouse painting.