Not what I had thought...

There is one truth that has been glaring me in the face lately, as I have embarked upon numerous renovation and design projects for our home over the last year.  Brace yourself:  it is a sad truth, and one that many of you may be avoiding in denial.  Or perhaps you have already realized it, and now you are wallowing in a deep design depression.

And here it is:  completing a project from design concept to final details never happens like it does on tv.  Darn you, HGTV, for making me think that a renovation or design project can be finished in a reasonable amount of time, with minimal mess.  You have real nerve to make me think I can pull it all together, including accessories, and find exactly what I'm looking for from two or three stores in a week and a half.  Of course I don't just blame HGTV - that would be very narrow of me.  I blame all design shows, and I blame my naivety and my unbridled sense of hope.

Antique Show Success

Yesterday my friend Frankie and I went to the Christie Antique Show. Before now, this show had not really been on my radar, but apparently I was the only one. Frankie and I were only there for a few hours, but the scores of people there when we arrived at 9 am and the traffic jams we witnessed as scads more were arriving as we left leave me to believe that this was the place to be.

While I wanted to bear witness to this great gathering of antique dealers and buyers, I was also hoping to find a small china or curio cabinet for my house. I felt a bit of sensory overload as we began walking up and down the aisles of the marketplace, and even more frustration as I soon realized that no one was planning on giving anything away (translation: the prices we saw were far beyond my budget). But suddenly, there it was: the diamond in the rough we were looking for. It even had the glass front and bottom drawer I had envisioned. When we looked at the price tag, Frankie asked me “do you think it is missing a zero?” I bought it for a song: literally, if it had been any cheaper, I would have asked to sing some sort of tune instead of exchanging monetary funds.

My plan is to paint it out the same colour as our trim and moldings, which incidentally are the same colour that I plan to paint our kitchen cupboards. I am also hoping to be able to wallpaper the back wall of the cabinet. I will post the pictures of the finished product when I get it done.

As a side note, Frankie and I saw Sarah Richardson and Tommy at the Antique Show, filming for some upcoming show. I had a funny feeling we would spot them or some other HGTV personality there. I desperately wished in that moment that I had some connection with them other than “hey, remember that episode when…?” Just to chat with them about design or some random current event even. They seemed like fun people.

Here is the cabinet I bought... Looks like this guy was interested in it as well. Sorry!