Here is a pic from Beach Cottage Living’s new booth in the Vintage Thymes Market-great soft colors and fun beachy stuff-now if only we could have some beach weather around here…

This Sunday, Todd Farm in Rowley is opening for the season, cold weather be damned!

For those of you unfamiliar with Todd Farm, it is like a smaller slice of Brimfield heaven on the north shore of Boston. Hundreds of vendors, selling everything from old furniture to vintage guitars and just loads of fun junk and stuff. Well worth the trip up Rte 1a, but better go early- they open at 5am and they are only open on Sundays!!

And lastly, the Guerilla Staging Competition at the Mill 77 Trading Company in Amesbury begins tomorrow!

Yours truly will be participating as a team member of “Mother Knows Best”. This is a first annual event to benefit ”Our Neighbors Table“, so it should be a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. 40 minutes to design a room using only the available props on hand is most definitely a challenge, but they do have some really nice props! I will be blogging and tweeting about it, unless of course, we come in last place : (

Have a great weekend everyone! Hope you “pick” something fun to do!! Susan

What is the secret to the popularity of antiques? Well for one it could be the sheer hand done craftsmanship that provided an everlasting uniqueness to the pieces. The quality of the craftsmanship cannot be denied and having even one piece of antique furniture in your home can make such a difference. Unlike the carbon copies that are churned out today, Victorian antique furniture are works of art. The sheer details make them an aesthetic pleasure to behold. However, that is not all, as these pieces have come through the centuries and proved their durability. They can be used today as they were at the time they were created.

For some the study of antique furniture goes beyond passion. Recognising a genuine piece such as William and Mary antique furniture can bring satisfaction beyond description. Nowadays, nearly everything is done by machinery or people with no passion for craft and it has become norm to copy the beauty of genuine antiques to create what is known as ‘modern antiques’. It is very important to be aware of the difference and read up on the feature of genuine antiques such as Queen Ann Antiques so as not to be duped.

Research on the different styles and what to look for in a genuine article, such as which period had the most ornate furniture, which period introduced the padding for more comfortable furniture, those with more splayed legs to prevent toppling. For instance William and Mary antique furniture chairs had more curved backs, while the Queen Anne furniture has a more delicate finish. Queen Anne antique furniture also reflect old England’s fascination with the orient and the use of walnut wood.

As auctions are a common way to obtain antique furniture it is vital to be knowledgeable on the different types so as to be able to recognize a genuine piece. However, it is always safer to buy your antique furniture from a reputed and recognized antique dealer to guarantee your purchase. With a reputed dealer you know that you will be the proud owner of a piece of furniture that has its origins in the 17th or 18th century and can be passed down through your family for generations to come.

Tooling around Westport, Mass., and Little Compton, Rhode Island last week I found myself with a little time on my hands after scouting houses. Sure, I could have just headed to my little hamlet in New Hampshire to start the weekend early, but what I really wanted to do was to check out Heir’s new digs on 231 Westmister Street in Providence. I had been a big fan of the Heir website (including the cool music selections), but had never had the opportunity to visit the original location on Eddy Street.

As luck would have it, owner Tyler Doran was behind the counter when I arrived. After I had a chance to fawn over some of the gorgeous mid-century modern furniture mixed with industrial, quirky, and beautiful antiques I introduced myself and explained what a fan I’ve been.

I like the style of Heir because it isn’t chategorizable (a word just coined to describe him). Taxidermied ducks, old rusted signs, sleek chairs, local jewelry, ornate architectural forms—it all lives together beautifully, like in an old Sussex country house with rambling stone walls and ramshackle barns where a modern art collector would live on weekends with his spaniels and model girlfriend. The elegance of it is that it simply doesn’t try to hard.

If you can’t make a visit to Providence, you can soak up the vibe at www.heirantiques.com or www.heirantiques.1stdibs.com.