A New Look for Adirondack Style

I have the good fortune of living just about an hour and a half from one of the most amazing places on Earth. I have been drawn to the Adirondacks for decades, and never grow tired of its splendor.  Every season brings new delight, and breathtaking scenery, that just astounds me.  Its sights and smells are unique, and the people are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.  Every year my family and I travel to the Adirondacks for a family vacation.  It started out as tenting, but then one day I said, "My body is to old for this. I'm an adult, and I want a bed!" So, now we rent a cabin, and the experiance is ten times better!

When it came time to decorate my bedroom, it was just an obvious choice as to what I would decorate it with. Yep, you guessed it, an Adirondack theme.  I have quilts on the bed, which have bears, paw prints, evergreens, and maps.  There are moose, and fish, even a piece of fence for a head board.  We brought in tree limbs (white spruce), adhered them to the ceiling (with fishing line) and adorned them with fake leaves. It gave us the impression of sleeping outside, just in the comfort of our own bed.

Originally, I had picked this piece up to become and end table in my room.  I even started decorating it to match, but when I was done I thought, I can't keep this in my room, who will ever see it, or enjoy it, besides me?  So, I decided to sell it. I was hoping someone else would love "The Adirondacks" as much as I did and enjoy having it in their home.

Just a side note; I am always scouring the "OOPS" rack at any paint store/home improvement center we enter into.  I have found some great colors, that were someone else's mistake, but my gain.  The green in this project was actually just $.50!  Usually, a quart of paint sells for around $10-13 (I usually buy name brand paints, because it makes the piece and my work look better), and I got this can for just .50 cents!  I also, picked up 3 other colors that day, for .25 cents a piece! I was so excited! My daughter thought I'd lost my mind when I came home and told her about it.  She said, "Mom, get a grip! It's just paint. Who cares!" Teenagers.  If it had been a sale at Hollisters, she would have been the one screaming!  Sigh...That's why I blog, hopefully someone else will care! 

A Telephone Stand?

When I was growing up we had a phone, not a cellphone, but a real, plug in the wall! I can her the gasps from here! Its funny cause my children have never had a phone in their house, we all have cellphones! We even call each other from upstairs/downstairs, LOL! Which shows how lazy we all are! But how many of you, and I bet there are many, remember the good old rotary phone? They were so heavy!


When I designed this piece I kept that phone in mind.  I also love the Arts & Crafts designs of the 40's, so this little phone stand was inspired by the two.

I don't often buy a piece, outright, like in an actually "store". I love to upgrade things, plus its much more economical, but occasionally, I will stumble into my favorite "unfinished" wood store and pretty much wet myself over the possibilities.  There is something to be said for painting on beautiful, unfinished, untouched wood.  Sometimes with used things you have to be able to see through the grime, and brokenness. With new wood, its like a breath of fresh air, a clean slate.

So, on a recent visit to my store, looking for a piece for a client, I fell in love with this cute little stand.  I bought one for her (the pick/leopard print) and one to do to sell in my store.  The white one with the Arts & Crafts inspired top, is the one you'll see on my Etsy store www.etsy.com/shop/thedpb. I tweaked the design a bit, just to add a lil' of me to the piece (circles, embellishments etc...) so, its the 40's meets 2010!

These pieces can be ordered, so if you want something custom made, unique and personal, please contact me. Either at my Etsy store or by e-mail, thedpb@gmail.com