Crash! Charming Antique Cape

In this, the second installment of "Crash!" I invaded the beautiful home of a former coworker from days of yore.

Susan, her husband Andy and their adorable daughters Jenny and Laura have called this home for just about 4 years.

Built in the 30s, each previous homeowner has added on to it a bit, leaving their personal stamp and making this house truly unique.  Cape style homes around here built 40s and after are pretty cookie cutter, so the distinct non-cookie-cutterness of this older cape is quite refreshing.

Susan, being an architect by profession, definitely has the architect's eye with a designer's touch.  Every piece feels like it's telling a story.

Does the china cabinet look familiar?  If you've ben reading here for a while it should- it's the very same china cabinet that I bought and painted for my dining room before realizing that it just didn't work.  I'm so glad that it found a perfect home in Susan's dining room!  And the yellow is far superior to it's interim gray- so cheery!

One of Susan's stamps on the home so far (aside from her awesome decor) has been to open up the kitchen to the sunken sunroom below.  The sunroom has much grander plans for the future so I won't be sharing that today, but it totally helps the kitchen feel ridiculously open and bright.

This home is a great example of how kids and their accompanying clutter don't have to dictate your style.  The IKEA expedit bookcase (now Kallax) really is ideal for this no matter your budget.  Susan uses the lower bins to hide all the Disney princesses within little hands' reach and draws the eye up to adult level with more sculptural elements on top.

It's the little details that most wouldn't notice that always catch my eye.  Isn't the striped carpet runner mitered at the landing a striking touch?

Even the girls' rooms have an adorably vintage flare.  And as we all know, I'm a sucker for built-ins.

Throughout the home, you'll also find beautiful collages made from vintage prints that Susan's artist mom creates.  This one from the master bedroom was my personal favorite.

I know I swoon over antiques regularly, and this home was no different.  A few of my favorite pieces of furniture were the bench and chair found in the master that had been passed down through her family.  Cool antiques just become even cooler when they have meaning behind them.

Thank you, Susan, so much for letting me into your gorgeous home!!!

Are you in the Boston area and want me to come Crash! your home?  Shoot me an e-mail here with a few photos and a little about your home.

Crash! Seed to Stem

I'm so excited to be announcing this new series!  Every month I'll be 'crashing' a home, shop, or studio and sharing the awesomeness with you. This first Crash! I happened upon by accident.  Hubby and I were pooped from trying to move a couch into Frankie (and movers we are NOT) and were ravenous for a late lunch.  After parking and making a beeline for a Diner, we passed a shop that made my head turn.  Food?  Who needs food, I see pretty things.

Seed to Stem is hard to describe (even by the owners Virginia and Candace).  Here's my assessment- if a posh botanical shop fell in love with a quirky antique shop, had an affair with a taxidermist and then a love child was born out of this little love triangle, you'd get Seed to Stem.  Confused yet?  It'll all make sense when you check this place out!

It was so nice of these lovely ladies to let my camera and me invade their shop and ask them a few questions!

When did you first open the shop?

"We started Seed to Stem about 3 years ago, and were just setting up booths at craft shows, selling terrariums or other nature-inspired art we had put together. Soon after, we decided we wanted to have some type of a brick and mortar store, and rented a small room in an antique mall, The cider mill, in Sterling Mass. We stayed there about 6 months, quickly outgrew the space, and found our new home on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester."

What inspired you to start your own business?

"We were inspired to start our own business because we truly love nature, design, art, creativity, style..... and we really like working for ourselves. We wanted to open a unique shop that can be an inspiration to people, and connect them with nature. We also love visual merchandising, and have a blast re-arranging the shop to present our products in a unique way."

How would you describe your shop's style?

"We sometimes have trouble describing our shop's style. We often call it a gift, curiosity, and botanical shop. Our clients have called the shop "like walking into Narnia", "a perfect juxtaposition between life and death", a "natural wonder shop" etc. etc.  Our shops style is a mix of old and new, of times gone past...antiques, skulls etc., mixed with living plants, modern hand blown glass, and more stylish home accents, with a nod to the Victorian era.  We also do fresh floral design and staging for weddings and events. Most couples that choose us love our style and want it reflected in the design."

What has been your biggest challenge in regards to the business? "Our biggest challenge in regards to the business is keeping up with non-creative tasks.... bookkeeping, banking, e-mails, cleaning etc. ....all while creating the botanical pieces in the shop, re-doing displays, and doing large scale weddings and events. We feel like for most creative people, the more structured parts of running a business can be quite challenging."

On behalf of other creatives- I agree!  It's so tough to focus on boring numbers when you have shiny and pretty things to distract!

His name is Rufus and he is not for sale.  Came you blame them- look at that face!  Bear hug anyone?

And speaking of adorable faces- meet their shop puppy, Poe.  The little sweetheart has the most piercing blue eyes and almost converted this crazy cat lady into a dog person.

Even if you look away from the curated vignettes and look down to the floor, you won't be lacking for eye candy- those rugs!

Thanks Seed to Stem and Virginia and Candace for letting me share your shop's story!

End of an Era {Mini Home Tour}

My parents have lived in the same house for almost 29 years, in the same town they grew up in, in the same town their parents grew up in.  Then both their daughters moved to Massachusetts.  See where this is going? It's official.  My parents are moving to MA!  My mom has a job (as an elementary school librarian) starting in the fall, they've listed my childhood home (already gotten a few offers), and even put in an offer on a house in between my sister and me.  The pieces are falling into place.

Before they uproot and put their stamp on a new house, I want to showcase some vignettes and vintage treasures surrounding them in the house my sister and I grew up in.

The chair in front was Handy Dad's $20 brimfield find last year. Looks amazing after being refinished and reupholstered, don't you think?

They picked up this desk on the side of the road, refinished it and made a new top for it.

Is my personality beginning to make sense?  I think my antiques/DIY gene lay dormant until I had a house of my own to fill.

Another trash to treasure side of the road find.

I realized when looking at this picture that the bench has evolved in my lifetime. When I was little, there was a heart cutout on the back. I have a feeling my mom commissioned Handy Dad to fashion a new back for it when she got sick of hearts.

Even the finished basement did not escape vintage treasures. This hope chest was my great grandmothers and the mirror is a recent tag sale purchase.

My parents are obviously fans of vintage fans. This one has been rewired and is 100% functional. The sewing machine (which is folded down into a compartment under the top) is also 100% functional and operates via foot pedal.

There will certainly be some awesome transformations once they move into a new house.  I'll be sure to share them all with you!