the Spring table....

Spring has been flirting with us here in southern Cali for the past few weeks and seems to be here to stay, even though the official first day of Spring is over a week away...today the sky is a brilliant blue , the air light, fragrant & crisp....everything is in bloom, butterflies are fluttering about & the birds are singing their song....idyllic & beautiful! Spring is a wonderful time to dine & entertain al fresco...I love Spring ham, fresh asparagus, strawberries & setting a table in the garden. My favorite Spring quote is from Rainer Marie Rilke... "Its Spring again...the earth is like a child who know the poems by heart"

Sharing with you my fave joys of Spring...

lunch in the courtyard at Rue 27 Maison

Spring asparagus tart from heatovento350...

Spring in the country...

simple white place setting

love these sweet pea cookies

Spring garden party via vestidoslindosatelier....

Spring country glazed ham via marthastewart

delicious blueberry marscapone tart via sugar and snapshots

Spring dining via my romantic lifestyles...

fresh asparagus & edible flowers from alessandrazecchini

Spring al fresco in provence...via my french country home

Southern sweet tea in the garden...

cutlery with spring flowers...

Lovely & fragrant...lilacs

Spring fete in France..

Spring  wedding dinner in the garden from southern weddings...

Until next time...hopefully Spring will reach all of you very soon...Cheers ♥

collecting....love of patina

Patina....when I googled the word, it came up, "a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use"  I have loved the look of true aged patina, ever since I began collecting antiques in my early twenties.....Patina is also a tarnish that forms on the surface of metals...a sheen on wood produced by age, wear and polishing or any acquired change of a surface through age and exposure. The ghosting of a mirror is a form of patina. Patinas can provide a protective layer to materials that would otherwise be damaged by corrosion or weathering and can also be aesthetically appealing. Most true collectors search for pieces with patina & treasure the look, that tells the age & wear of the piece. Aged patina has become very popular in the last few years, many new items are being made to have the aged look...and there are many diy's blogs, shows, etc. that show how to achieve the aging process, some are quite good. Most who have collected for many years still prefer a true aged piece and would never consider covering up the rust on an antique french urn or a worn area on the arm of a bergere, where a hand rested many times in the past. Sharing with you a few patina faves of mine...

love everything about this setting, beautiful aged gilt & a wonderful example of true patina on painted antiques...

beautiful french chest with aged patina...

gorgeous french setting from cote de texas..

antique french architectural angel fragment...

beautiful glowing patina on this antique library table...from electic revisited

beautiful aged gilt & mercury glass mirror

gorgeous patina...from jennings & gates

love the patina on the mirror & metal sconce from romancing the home...

beautiful patina...from Brooke Giannetti

Cheers...until next time  ♥

collecting....Toile de Jouy

As with most classic French decorating styles & arts, using toile seems to always be in style...to find an antique copper plated toile textile is a true joy, the colors are very intense and the scene or pattern is rarely seen in today's toile...I love toile, especially the antique & vintage pieces. When I can't find an older piece, I use tea or coffee to create the aged feel of an antique textile...just a couple hours of soaking the fabric usually works well..
"Toile de Jouy", sometimes abbreviated to simply "toile", is a type of decorating pattern consisting of a white or off-white background on which a repeated pattern depicting a fairly complex scene, generally of a pastoral theme such as a couple having a picnic by a lake or an arrangement of flowers. The pattern portion consists of a single color, most often black, dark red, or blue. Greens, greys, browns, and magenta toile patterns are less common, but not unheard of. Dark backgrounds with a single color, usually whites or cream is also considered toile. Toile is most associated with fabrics though toile wallpaper is also popular. Toile can also be used on teapots, beddings, clothing, plates, tote bags..etc. In upper-class northern European society, toile is often seen on dresses or aprons used at such events as country-themed garden parties or tea parties.

Toiles were originally produced in Ireland in the mid-18th Century and quickly became popular in Britain and France. The term, Toile de Jouy, originated in France in the late 18th century. In  the French language, the phrase literally means "cloth from Jouy-de- Josas", a town of north-central France. Sharing with you some of my fave ways to use toile...

love the toile in this dining room from Dominique Vorillon

purple tulips grace this toile flower stand at Rue 27 Maison this week...

brown toile is perfect for this natural burlap bergere...

New Orleans toile from hazelnut...

love the large blue & white toile pillows...

beautifully detailed toile...

red toile from....This Joy House

simply perfect french grey toile...from stinemos uk

love the toile chairs in the garden for afternoon tea...

antique French copper plate purple toile...

Cheers....until next time ♥

collecting....antique & vintage silver

Ever since I can remember, I have had a love affair with old silver....goblets, trays, compotes, juleps, cutlery, bowls, napkin rings, trophies, boxes...I could go on & on :) I have been a collector for many years. I love searching for pieces that have a provenance, a story of their own. There are many clues, a piece gives us, most are marked with a makers mark, some hallmarks tell us the year, city, country and the maker...some let us know if the piece is silverplate, sterling, nickel, coin silver or quadraplate.  I am always searching for pieces with monograms, I love the fact someone took the time to personalize a special piece for themselves or for a special person in their life. I use my silver almost every day, as well as special occasions. I love the patina of the old pieces, for me, a beautiful piece of old sterling or silverplate never goes out of style but remains a classic, a timeless treasure, a reminder of well lived past days.

Sharing with you a few of my recent finds of old silver...

Rue 27 Maison

fabulous pair of monogram goblets, dated 1871 given for a 50th anniversary.. found with a written script of their family tree..

silver is difficult to photograph, the foto does not capture the beautiful hand monogramming & detailing...a work of art...truly beautiful!

beautiful pair of English Sheffield silver small nut dishes with glass cobalt liners...

antique English Sheffield biscuit jar & salt and pepper...

antique footed hand chased religious goblet...

vintage German knives found at Marché aux puces..

vintage silver trophy...

Cheers & happy hunting.....Until next time..♥

Spring is calling....vintage garden urns ~

Spring was teasing us in SoCal a few weeks ago and now in the last few days, it seems to have arrived in all its glory....daytime highs this week mid 70s with cool 50s at night....a slight warmish breeze with crystal clear brilliant blue skies....all this delightful weather, definitely gives me the gardening bug.  I have planted lavender, primrose, pansies & herbs this week. Our local garden spots are brimming over with blooming pots en masse. While I adore flowers, my true love in the garden is vintage & antique elements, especially rusty, chippy garden urns. Sharing with you a few of my faves for the garden....And for all my friends in colder areas, hopefully warmer days are ahead...♥

Vintage terra cotta urns...

love the patina...

perfect for the garden or the table...

antique urns with maidenhair ferns...

 

Rue 27 Maison.....Until next time....Cheers!

collecting.....Antique Gilt Wood, Water Gilt, Gold Leaf

 The first time I saw the difference between water gilding & gold or gilt leaf, I was in Parma, Italy at a large antique market. It was in the mid 1990s, a wonderful and very knowledgable antique merchant showed me the difference between the two different creations. While both are beautiful, a true antique water gilded object has a glow & a depth of gold that delights your eye. I know I fell in love with the art of water gilding that day, in Italy in the stall of an Italian merchant. I can still see his hands as he turned the carved water gilded frame to show me the differences & the beauty of the art. I would find many fabulous objects from this merchant, Mr. Antonio, he delighted me on each visit with his tales of growing up the son of an Italian art dealer, I always felt I had learned more from him than any art history course.

The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt", when applied over wood, it's called Gilt Wood.

If gilding is on wood, the surface was often first coated with gesso. "Gesso" is a substance made of finely ground gypsum or chalk mixed with glue. Once the coating of gesso had been applied, allowed to dry and smoothed, it was re-wet with a sizing made of  glue and water. Water gilding, which allows the surface to be subsequently burnished to a mirror-like finish, the gold leaf was layered on the gesso and left to dry. Water gilding in the Old World was quite an art and has a glow not achieved from simply applying gold leaf. Sharing with you a few examples of gilt wood...

Collection of mounted Antique Gilt Wood Crosses...

Fabulous setting from bellafayegarden

Antique Gilt Wood Altar Pricketts...

Beautiful Gilt Architectural Putto in Paris...

Gilt wood Sunburst Mirrors from alexmacarthurco.uk

Pair French Bergeres from Bella Cottage...

Beautiful French Gilt Wood Bench from Bella Cottage

Antique French Gilt Wood Mirrors from Antique Diva...

18th c Carved Gilt Wood Angel or Putto from 1st Dibs...

Cheers...until next time!