buckeystown | The Chartreuse Life

Posts Tagged ‘buckeystown’

Mid-century Modern Farmhouse

Posted in Inspiration, Tag Sale Updates, tagged antique, apartment style, barn sale, before & after, buckeystown, chairs, chartreuse, chartreuse & co, chartreuse and co, decor, decorating, decorating ideas, farrow & ball, farrow and ball, home, home decor, home furnishings, mid-century, occasional sale, paint color, renovation, tag sale, vintage, vintage furniture on February 16, 2015| 3 Comments »

The Farmhouse is getting a facelift!

Yes, that adorable little (heated) house has new residents: Barefoot Dwelling. These girls had a vision immediately. And what has inspired me so about this is that their vision was totally different from what mine had been.

I don’t know about you, but someone with a fabulous vision, totally outside my usual style, inspires me like little else can. It’s what invigorates me every time I travel, and to have such a vision unfold right here in front of me is exciting!

So here’s a little BEFORE & AFTER fun for you:

BEFORE, Room 1: Let’s start in the first room, which was the kitchen. You may recall how it looked when we first took possession of it in July 2012:

After removing the contact paper ‘wallpaper’ and vinyl ‘parquet’ floors:

Two and a half years ago, after applying Farrow & Ball’s Pavilion Grey :

Now, with a fresh vision comes fresh color! Using Farrow & Ball’s fabulous paint, Lisa and Mary, owners of Barefoot Dwelling, chose pure white, with contrast, feature walls.

AFTER, Room 1: In this first room, the color grabs you right away, it’s Farrow & Ball’s Charlotte’s Locks. Such a great punch with the fabulous mid-century pallet they’ve collected.

BEFORE, Room 2: Then on to the second room, as we found it 2 1/2 years ago:

After removing the rest of the contact paper covering the wanescoating, and more of the vinyl ‘parquet’ floor:

Then, after a fresh paint job (Farrow & Ball Pavilion Grey) in 2012:

AFTER, Room 2: Now with a a fresh white facelift, complemented by a contrast wall of Farrow & Ball’s Churlish Green (yes, that’s a paint name, don’t you just love it??!!)

And check out the sleek mid-century aesthetic.

This room has NEVER been so cool!

More great stuff is being added through the week, and you’re all invited to come take a look this weekend, February 20-22, Fri/Sat 9am-4pm, Sun noon-4pm. I hope you’ll find it as fresh, original, and inspiring as I do!

Thanks for reading,

Virginia

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Traveling Light

Posted in Inspiration, tagged barn sale, buckeystown, camper, camper remodel, camper renovation, camping, chartreuse, chartreuse & co, chartreuse and co, galavantin gal, market days, mid-century, renovation, vintage on September 9, 2014| 1 Comment »

If you were to hit the road, and really travel throughout this great country, how would you do it?

Lisa Kamin, The Galavantin’ Gal, participated in this past weekend’s Chartreuse & co Market Days. It was such fun when she arrived, and saw that she has created the most inviting nest-on-wheels ever. Come take a tour with me . . .

It’s an adorable mid-century, pull-behind camper in the most delightful shade of aqua blue.

Notice the funky, sphere exterior door lamp. And, of course, so much of her cool merchandise is from this same era and speaks to the 1950s/60s camp feel.

But, before we go inside, I want you to see these pictures of what Lisa’s spectacular camper was when she found it. She completely gutted the interior and lovingly restored the exterior.

So, now we go inside:

From the wood floors and bamboo rug, to the vintage dresser with its myriad knob details, this interior calls out the vintage girl.

Space is at a premium in this tiny traveling home, so this dresser is her sink, and all those little cubbies in the vintage cabinet above hold her essentials. Love the metal backsplash and the clever toothbrush holder.

The sink is vintage enamelware, and she just hooks it up to an outdoor hose! Such a great pink, too!

A few modern conveniences and some vintage touches round out her kitchen.

Just to the left of the sink is Lisa’s only full-sized storage – a vintage metal locker painted a soothing celery green. And, of course, enhanced with a graphic design.

I also love the vintage chenille bedspread and the delightfully feminine skirt which hides some more essential storage.

Don’t you just want to curl up here?! It’s every vintage girl’s dream!

The charming Americana she’s displayed on the shelf above the bed is a collection of favorite items.

Lisa’s even got a spot for you, should you drop in to visit for a while. Check out the distressed, pink board used to create yet another little nook for storage. And the derby-hat chandelier is adorable.

So that’s it. Should you get the traveling bug, you now have the inspiration you need to do it right!

Thanks for reading,

Virginia

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Snow!

Posted in Inspiration, Musings, tagged buckeystown, Christmas, Holiday, snow, winter scene on December 10, 2013|

What better to put you in the Christmas spirit than a December snow? And we’re already on our second one here in Buckeystown, Maryland! I’ve lived in this area all my life (eg. a very long time . . .) and cannot recall a December with two early snows, especially over 6″ (the mid-Maryland definition of a decent snow).

So how am I celebrating this natural phenomenon? Sipping french vanilla coffee, in pajamas and slippers, ensconced in my down-cushioned sofa, watching the snow fall outside our wall of windows. Ahh, contentment . . .

What I awoke to this morning:

And a few images from Sunday’s snow:

I think the 14′ Christmas tree, which I struggled all month to decorate (and keep upright!), looks spectacular the way Nature has trimmed it. The ultimate flocking!

If you got some snow, I’d love to see pictures of it!

Thanks for reading,

Virginia

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In a Garden State of Mind

Posted in Inspiration, Tag Sale Updates, tagged buckeystown, chartreuse & co, decor, garden, home decor, patio, renovation, vintage on May 17, 2013| 2 Comments »

I’m totally in a garden state of mind. Our new landscaping is coming into full bloom, and it’s just been decorated with some great vintage treasures. Here’s few of my favorite images of it:

These sweet little chairs take on an sculptural appeal in the garden. The green chest adds just the right punch of color.

In the little spring house, which the new landscaping surrounds, has a fresh look, too. This pie chest and its topiaries are just the right balance for the weathered door and walls of this beautiful space.

Vintage trellis growing out of our boxwoods – which we planted in an old, concrete water trough.

I love how this vintage bottle reflects the soft light of the stone house

This exceptional, hybrid wisteria was just planted in March. It’s been trained to grow along the ‘new’ stone and brick wall – created as a ruin from salvaged, vintage materials.

These ‘ruins’ are brand new – just constructed in March. They comprise the main structure of our new patio area. This wall continues to the left to our outdoor fireplace.

Looking back at the stone house from the fireplace area, these vintage furnishings invite you to linger a while.

And yes, I just had to share this image one my time. I just love the magnolia playing off the rough, old silo.

Hope you enjoyed this look into our garden. What part is your favorite?

Thanks for reading,
Virginia

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Getting Ready for May’s Opening!

Posted in Tag Sale Updates, tagged antique, barn sale, buckeystown, chairs, charteruse, chartreuse & co, chartreuse and co, decor, home decor, home furnishings, mid-century, occasional sale, shopping, tag sale, vintage, vintage furniture on May 11, 2013| 4 Comments »

At last it’s warming up and flowers are blooming. Our new landscaping is showing us something different every day – our latest: wisteria will be in full bloom for our opening next week.

We’re getting ready, and so many fabulous things are already coming in. We have 2 new dealers to introduce: Squirrel Hill Designs (upstairs in the Main Barn) and The Spring House (in, you guessed it, the Spring House – with the water wheel).

And here’s some pictures of what’s already going on in and around the barns, as we get ready for you May 17-19:

I just loved these darling little 1920s shoes. They’re the perfect shade of sea shell pink.

Set of 4 Danish modern chairs – straight out of one of Leona Helmsley’s hotels. Love the fresh paint job.

Heather Grey Decor has an entire set of these vintage office clocks. This one was custom made for IBM.

The ultimate locker room chair, huh?

The perfect island/table for your beach-house crowd!

LOVE suitcases with their original tags.

Great selection of old metal globes this month.

Oh, that color!

Don’t you just love the contrast of the gilded glasses and the industrial bar cart?

Some great vintage concrete throughout the Chartreuse & co right now

This large cabinet is the perfect size for your mudroom supplies.

A couple of really cool, vintage, toy boats upstairs this month.

Jennifer, owner of Squirrel Hill Designs, just brought this armoir in – still has the hauling rope around it!

This pair of caned chairs is comfortable, and summer-ready.

Perfect softball accessories.

German Favorite Antiques and Bella Villa have moved from the Garden House into the upstairs of the main barn – under THE chandelier.

Love this magnolia against the rough silos.

I’d love to know which picture/item is your favorite so far . . .

Thanks for reading,

Virginia

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Great pictures of temporary dealers here this weekend –

Posted in Tag Sale Updates, tagged antique, barn sale, buckeystown, chartreuse, chartreuse & co, chartreuse and co, decor, flea market, home decor, home furnishings, market days, occasional sale, tag sale, vintage, vintage furniture on April 6, 2013| 2 Comments »

I just love the tent city that crops up here every Spring and Fall. Imagine how much fun you would have if the best vintage dealers you could find, all agreed to come to your house and put on a show? The BEST, right?

I had a blast today chatting with everyone and oohing and aahing over their great stuff. Here are some of my favorites:

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Market Days are Coming!

Posted in Tag Sale Updates, tagged antique, apartment style, barn sale, buckeystown, chartreuse, decor, flea market, home, market days, occasional sale, shopping, style, tag sale, vintage, vintage furniture on April 5, 2013| 2 Comments »

Tents were going up all day today. Here are some shots of what caught my eye – inside the barn, and out.

Here’s some highlights from the temporary dealers’ tents:

And great stuff in the barns, too:

Hope to see you Saturday and/or Sunday!

Thanks for reading,
Virginia

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Springing Forward

Posted in Inspiration, tagged antique, architecture, barn sale, before & after, buckeystown, chartreuse, chartreuse & co, chartreuse and co, home, landscape, planting, renovation, spring, walled acres on March 12, 2013| 6 Comments »

Think about Spring and what comes to mind? Warm sunshine on your face. A breeze carrying that kiss of warmth and promise of summer. And gardens bursting into their own.

This Spring is bringing me the most spectacular garden I’ve ever had. And it’s been such a rewarding lesson in being faithful to a vision.

Here’s some befores, some durings, and you’ll just have to wait a little on the full-on afters:

Beginning the Monday after our February sale, Jared Herman and his team arrived and began the earth moving.

Beginning the Monday after our February sale, Jared Herman and his team from Old Towne Historic Landscapes arrived and began the earth moving.

As the footers were poured, I began to see Jared’s 2-dimensional design come to life.

I had tried over the years to create a pretty little shade garden along this wall. The only thing that thrived was poison ivy. Solution? A water feature!

The brick paving throughout is artwork, but what I really can’t wait to see is the water wheel that’s going to be hinged on the iron frame built into the pond’s coping.

The irrepressible crew, who worked through wind, rain, and snow to finish this huge job inside of a month.

The crumbling wall.

From inside the planting beds, accented with ‘windows’.

The crumbling walls on the north side of the entry.

The plants are coming in this week. Can’t wait to see! I’ll be shooting pictures all summer long . . .

This one’s of Jared, the mastermind and creative genius who saw our barns and could see the gardens they needed.

So there you have it. Our work in progress is becoming pretty spectacular. Jared’s planting a beautiful wisteria in that picture of him. He planted it and trained it’s branches over the ‘ruins’ and up the fireplace. The other plant he’s featuring? Hydrangeas. I almost cried when he told me. I absolutely LOVE them. And dogwoods, and magnolias. Historic, timeless plants to complete the vision.

But what do I love most about the whole construction? The stone and brick used in the walls and fireplace is all salvaged from toppling farm buildings right here in Frederick County, Maryland. So in our own little way, we’re preserving something of those other barns that couldn’t be saved.

Happy Spring! Hope you’re inspired to go out and create something wonderful in your yard.

Thanks for reading,

Virginia

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Spatial Relations 101

Posted in Musings, Tag Sale Updates, tagged antique, barn sale, buckeystown, cha, chartreuse, chartreuse & co, furniture, home decor, home depot, occasional sale, tag sale, vintage on January 10, 2013| 7 Comments »

I understand that many women are not good at spatial relations, that is, understanding how objects fit in and move through space. I offer myself as a case study:

Two days ago I made plans to pick up a large hutch that the owner told me was in two pieces, the larger of which was 5’3″ x 4’11” x 18″ deep. She didn’t think it would fit in my Suburban. “Of course it will,” I thought blithely.

But I was wrong.

So yesterday, upon returning without the hutch from her home, I ordered a rental truck from Home Depot. “I’ve got a 16-footer for you, mam,” replied the nice young man on the phone. “Oh, no. I just need a cargo van; I don’t want a box truck!”

Later that day, we made our second trip to pick up the hutch. It took engineering and muscle power that, honestly, neither the homeowner, my daughter, nor I had just to get the thing out of the house and to the back of the waiting van. With my dear daughter on one end, the very kind furniture-owner on the other, and me at the end, we realized that, in fact, I needed a box truck.

So, back to Home Depot we went. I would like to publicly acknowledge my gratitude to the young man who helped us. He was very efficient, and didn’t once say, “I told you so.”

On our third attempt to retrieve this hulking, impossibly heavy piece of furniture from it’s former residence, we finally succeeded. Plus, into that great big truck went an oak chest, a drop-leaf pedestal table, 3 wicker chairs, a desk, a vase and a can of paint.

Next time I’ll start with the box truck.

Here are some photos of what’s at Chartreuse & co right now (including the infamous hutch).