Category: the carriage house.

Remember the green table I purchased a couple of weeks ago?

Pretty much everyone who commented voted for leaving the legs green.

You all spoke and I listened (not necessarily always the case, but this time it was).  But I did strip the ugly reddish stain off the top.  Once that was done I let my sister take over.  She sanded down the top and then she and I both stood back and studied the table.  We were in agreement to just add clear wax and keep the top rustic and pale.

Debbie also waxed the green legs just to clean them up a bit and give them a little protection from the elements.

I’ve decided that this table is the perfect size to use as the baked goods stand at our sale this weekend.  This year Debbie and Kris (my niece) are baking up a bunch of delicious fall goodies to sell.

I pulled the table out to do a dry run of how we’ll set it up on Saturday.

Of course it will be loaded with baked goods instead of these other things, but it was fun to play around with it some.

I’ll use my favorite wood crates to add height and display space.

I tucked a few things under the table for the photo, but they work so well with the green legs I may just have to display them this way for the sale too.

Some of these items on top of the table were just to fill in space for now, these spots will be filled with delicious baked goods by Saturday.

For now I’ll be hanging onto the green legged table, just because it’s such a convenient size.  I’m debating adding some casters to it so I can move it around more easily.  It would make a great work surface in my workshop.  Then again, things rarely hang around forever at my house!

Do you have a designated laundry day at your house?  Or do you constantly do laundry all week long?  As much as I hate to admit it, I am a creature of habit.  I almost always do my laundry on Sunday.  Especially in warmer weather when I can hang things on the line to dry.

Last Sunday was no exception, but this time I added in a load of vintage linens that were being prepped for the Carriage House Sale.  I like to soak my linens overnight in Oxyclean and then wash them on the delicate cycle.  I hang them on a bright and sunny day and leave them on the line all day.  Sunshine is a natural white brightener!

We’ve got a load of pretty linens this year for the sale, but please do not steal any of them!

I am a big fan of embroidered dish towels.  My mom used to make sets of these with the days of the week.  I like to use them, not just set them about for display.

Sue has been busy stitching up some fun things like these darling Christmas stockings made from an old tablecloth.  She’s only charging $6 each for these, I bet they will get snatched up in no time!

She also used embroidered table runners to dress up some pillows.

Isn’t the embroidery on these sweet?  I am always drawn to anything with bluebirds!

We also have some colorful 40’s tablecloths.  This one has definite ‘farmhouse’ appeal …

Funny, but the colors in it are very similar to the new line of Fusion paint colors.  I see Mustard, Cranberry and Bayberry.

And this sweet chenille baby blanket is totally adorable.

 

Prefer more earthy tones?  Maybe these are more your style …

All of these fabulous linens and more will be available on Saturday!  Will we see you there?

I’m starting to gear up for my fall sale.  That means I am focusing a little bit more on finishing up some small projects rather than just working on furniture.  These are the sorts of items that sell well at the Carriage House Sale.

I thought I’d share a few of them with you today starting with this little stool.  It’s obvious that this little stool had been painted at some point in its life.

Although the top of the seat had been completely stripped, there were patches of paint still clinging for dear life to the legs and bottom of the seat.  I’m always a little sad when I see things like this because I know I would have loved the patina of the original old paint.

I decided not to cover up those legs, but to try and replicate the paint layers on the seat.  I wasn’t quite as successful as I hoped, so in the end I added a stencil to give it a little more personality.

I’m glad I left the legs alone though.

I also painted this little stool at the same time, since I had some MMS Luckett’s Green already mixed up.

I worked on a couple of wooden totes too.  My sister and I each bought a few of these at a garage sale earlier this summer and we are dressing them up a bit for my sale.

This one got a paint job in MMS Flow Blue, followed by a stencil.

And this one got the French Market stencil, and I’m using it to create a Paris themed gift basket.

I added some stencils to the cute little ice cream parlor chairs that I picked up at MacGrove.

And I also doctored up this little stool that I bought at MacGrove.

A little Prizewinner paint and a new faux grain sack upholstery job did wonders for it.

So as you can see I have been busy, busy, busy in my workshop.

How about you?  Got any small projects that you’ve been able to cross off your list?

A big thanks to everyone who came out to the sale!

After the dire forecast of heavy rain and flooding, we really only had a mild drizzle for most of the day on Thursday.  Normally I love a drizzly day.  They are perfect for sleeping in, or watching old movies.  They aren’t so great for setting up an occasional sale in your driveway though.  But, it was so much better than it could have been, and by the time of the sale it was only slightly drippy and it didn’t keep the shoppers away!  Friday dawned bright and sunny and was beautiful all day, we couldn’t have had a more fabulous day for day 2.

All of my plates with Cricut messages sold like hotcakes!

As did the vintage kitchen ware turned planters.

The furniture did not sell like hotcakes.  I didn’t sell a single large piece.  If anyone local is interested in any of the following pieces, let me know.

The wine bar – $275

The perfectly sweet armoire.

The garden bed.

The Bohemian desk .

The Union Jack desk.

Sue’s settee – $195

The cottage striped dresser.

We still have the two  one darling play size cupboards too!  (update:  the white one is sold)

We have some smaller stuff left as well, so if there was something you had your eye on, but you weren’t able to make it to the sale, just drop me an email at oakdalecarriagehouse@gmail.com and we’ll work something out (local only please, I’m not a fan of shipping).

Despite the lack of furniture sales, it was still a really awesome event!  Thanks again to everyone who came out.

I’m off to enjoy my weekend of rest!

I often struggle for words when someone asks me to describe my sale.  If they give me a blank look when I say “occasional sale” then I try to explain what that means.  Obviously, it’s a sale that is held only occasionally (or in our case, only twice a year).

But how do I describe my sale specifically?  Well, of course, it takes place in my Carriage House.

It’s not fancied up like a shop or anything.  99.9% of the year it is just my workshop and where I park my car.  Every year I tell myself that I should paint the walls inside, but I never actually do.  I try to vacuum up the cobwebs and wash the windows, but that’s about it.  Honestly, everyone is in and out so fast that it hardly seems worthwhile to paint those walls when I could be painting furniture.

Enough about the location, what about the stuff?

Of course, we have some painted furniture.  That’s a given, right?

We also have some straight-up vintage.  These yellow suitcases are only $6 each.

The clocks are $8.

We group our vintage wares by color, just because it looks so pretty that way.  If there is a particular color group that you are drawn to, remember this … green, yellow, blue, red, aqua is all on the left side of the Carriage House (as you’re facing it) …

Black, white, silver and earth tones are on the right side.  The black and white scale is $18, isn’t it fab?  I love the black and white combo.  No promises on this one guys, I may not be able to resist its siren’s call.

In some ways the sale is simply a curated collection of really fab vintage finds.  You don’t have to scour every Minneapolis neighborhood garage sale to find them yourself, we have them all right here.

And then we have some upcycled vintage, the Adventurer suitcase is $38.

How about some pretty vintage linens turned into throw pillows for $12 each?

We still have stacks of both white and floral vintage platters.  Consider buying a white one and adding your house number to it with a Cricut (or just number decals from Home Depot) like I did with mine.

At our June sale we also like to have lots of garden stuff including perennials.  For a reminder, Sue’s yard looks like this.

So as you can imagine, she has plenty of lovely perennials to divide.  I’ve potted up a couple myself too.  She’s also brought over some great vintage garden tools and other garden ornaments.

Or how about some painted pots to fill with annuals?

A chalkboard bucket for $8 to plant your herbs in.

Some lavender.

After I put together the vintage hose reel “sign” in my first picture, I almost decided I should keep it as future sale signage.

If it doesn’t sell, I might do just that.  But it will have a price tag on it.  It would be fantastic for a grad party, birthday party or garden wedding.  Or just put it in the garden with a happy message on it.  Jeesh, now I’m talking myself into keeping it again!

Nearly everything you’ve seen in these pictures is available at the sale.  I have to say ‘nearly’ because some of the staging items used in the furniture pics are not for sale. And of course my house number platter is not for sale, but you can create your own with one of our many platters.  Everything else will be there though, and I hope you will be there too!

As a reminder, the Carriage House sale takes place tomorrow evening and Friday during the day.

It looks like we are going to have rain, but I have several tents to keep things fairly dry.  And a little rain never hurt anybody, right?  Let’s all embrace our inner pluviophile.

Once it’s over, I plan to take a much needed break to dry out.  It will involve sleeping in, taking naps, reading a book, or perhaps just drinking a cocktail on the deck.  That should last about a day probably, but don’t panic if I don’t have any new posts for a bit.  Truly, I need a break.  But I’ll be back soon with some fun projects I have been saving up so I could devote some time to them.  Stay tuned!

Way back last year sometime I got this pair of mirrors from a friend.

They looked prettier in this picture than there were in person.  Of course, I painted them and then they looked like this.

But they were really heavy.  I wouldn’t have wanted to attempt to hang them on my plaster walls.  Not that I’m keeping them, but if I don’t want to hang them, I imagine no one else will either.  So I decided to remove the mirror and make them chalk boards instead.

I just have Ken cut some fiber board to size.  Then I paint it with chalk board paint (not to be confused with chalk paint), and secure it back in the frames.  Easy as can be.

Now they look like this.

And they are much lighter.

Now these I would be willing to hang on my wall.  I’m not going to, because I don’t have a spot for them, but you could!  They will be available at the Carriage House sale, as will the union jack suitcase.

A while back I promised to share a settee that my friend and Carriage House co-host, Sue, made over, and here it is.

Sue and her husband came by last night with all of her larger pieces for the sale.  If I had been thinking clearly, I would have gotten pictures of all of them before it got dark, but I missed the boat on that.

But I did get a few shots of the settee.

Don’t you just love that Cafe Paris fabric on the back?

The detail on this piece is amazing.

If you remember the tour I gave of Sue’s home last summer, you’ll remember that she is a big fan of white.  This is the buffet in her dining room.

So it was no surprise when she and her husband pulled up with a truck full of mostly white furniture (there was a little grey thrown in too).  It makes for a perfect combination with my somewhat more colorful pieces.

If you know me at all, then you will know I had to wipe away a little drool when I saw this little baby coming off the truck.

I really wanted to just walk this one straight in my front door.

This little darling is only about 33″ tall.  How cute would it be sitting on the counter top in a kitchen, or on top of a low dresser?

Did you notice the fab detail of that curved drawer?

You could also use it in a craft room and fill it up with crafting supplies.  Or hang it on the wall in your bathroom and fill it with toiletries.

I staged it with another little set of play china.

Both of these fabulous white pieces will be at the Carriage House sale, along with a few more.

Hope you can swing by and see them in person!

The Carriage House sale is just one week away!  I hope you’ve marked your calendars, scheduled a baby sitter, taken time off work, or whatever else it might take for you to be there!

Here is a sampling of some of the items that will be available.

The Oh Darling suitcase.

The Family and Friends chalkboard.

Storage with Style boxes.

Lucky is a State of Mind shelf.

Faux french hatboxes.

Painted shoe trees.

Orphaned hankie drawers.

The union jack desk.

The fun cupboard.

A pair of trashy chairs.

The bohemian rhapsody desk.

And so much more!  This is just the tip of the iceberg!

Take note:  no one, and I mean no one, gets in before 5 pm, but as soon as the clock strikes 5 it’s every man, woman and child for himself!  Also, we do not accept personal checks.  Credit cards are accepted for purchases over $50 only.  So hit the cash machine on your way over!