basement sale

long ago, in a land far, far away {or a few years ago, one town over from where i live now}, i started an etsy shop. it was mostly created to sell personal vintage belongings or otherwise curated vintage finds. i sold a whopping three items. then my dream of getting pregnant came true, and my shop fell by the wayside. so all those vintage things i owned and planned to sell sat in my basement, waiting for me and my camera to photograph them in pretty ways and make them more desirable out on the world wide web to etsy and/or vintage enthusiasts everywhere.

then life set in. isaac arrived. sleep was no longer ample. i became that tired mom who was lucky if i ever even washed the floor... let alone posted something of value online for selling, or even just peeked into a box on a shelf in that very distant basement two floors down where the vintage goods lay dormant.

that's why i started to expect that i'd never do the etsy thing again. but then, i never thought we'd buy a house, either. and here we are. so never say never.

now we have a new basement that is all to ourselves {no sharing with other tenants or landlords} and we can organize just exactly how we want to. and we can do so at our own pace.

so when i happened to be down in that basement a couple weeks ago, i decided then would be a good time to organize my etsy, garage sale, and craft/diy piles. picture countless bins, boxes, bags {and any other containers that start with 'b' that you can think of to keep that alliteration going}.

then something really cool happened.

i went shopping... in my own basement. {i'm thinking nate berkus or some other designer would be so proud!} i picked out a few fabulous free finds for myself. {how's that for alliteration? five in a row!} it was like hitting the jackpot!... one that had been there all along.

here's the thing. i have no idea why i tucked these few items away to sell for my shop when i first found them, instead of displaying them in my own home. i think it is likely because i realized i had no room for new things in my former home, even though i loved the style and they would have fit perfectly among the rest of my interior decor. or... maybe i was so desperate for some extra cash at the time that i was willing to part with them.

whatever the reason, now that we are in the new house and the architecture of this one is unmistakably mid-century modern, i did away with the eclectic feel of our last home, which was a mix of mostly mid-century modern style with a few other interior styles and periods mixed in.

wanting this new house to have a definitive, simple mid-century style and mood, i've weeded out most other styles. anything that got the boot now sits in those etsy or garage sale piles mentioned above, though they once held a place of esteem on some shelf or table-top in our living spaces.

blah blah blah. the whole point i am trying to get to is that i rescued some mid-century pieces that i would swoon over if i saw them on etsy in someone else's shop today. and then i'd probably scoff at the price and say something like, "they want what for that?"

but on this little shopping spree, i didn't have to pay a dime!.. not even shipping. unless you count the cost of wear and tear on my knees from walking up the basement stairs to plant them in my new living spaces.

anyway, would you like to see what i got at this awesome vintage basement sale?

what's that? you say "yes"? okay, then. here are three of my finds {i've yet to photograph the others}...

hmmm... as i add these photos in, i'm realizing my finds have a "come in twos" theme. the cool part about these all is that i forgot that i ever owned them. i don't even recall my finding them in a store and picking them up for my shop {except for a slight recollection of the bird find}. but that made it fun to re-discover these all over. it was like finding treasures for the first time!

i'm excited to incorporate them into my new place and its growing decor! they're slightly kitschy, but i'm one who believes there's room for a little kitsch in our lives, as it brings a sense of whimsy to our surroundings.

i'm not quite sure what kind of wood was used for the carving of the two birds. possibly teak? i hope so, because that would make them even more quintessential mid-century modern. whatever wood was used, the very tip of the beak has been broken off of both birds. i find that somewhat disappointing, but i'm hoping there is a way i can restore the beaks with some type of repair substance. if so, it wouldn't take much.

i like that these look like a mama bird with her child. sweet. 

i've got plans for them to live on some shelf in my office {the room in our house which is the farthest from finished!... meaning it will be a while before i can get pictures of them on display... thus the makeshift backdrop display i created, which will also serve as my "studio" for photographing actual etsy items... the few i didn't take back *wink*}.

as for the mugs, i'm not sure how old they actually are. something tells me they are newer. but they look vintage and appropriate for the mid-century era. in fact, they remind a little bit of recently found set of dishes with huge mid-century flare that i am swooning for {and hoping to purchase at some point}. i think it would be fun to find some complementary saucers and paint some sort of similar vintage design on my mugs...

painting them may render them useless, of course. but that's okay. i've been known to have an item or two in my collection of dishes that are just for show.

these carafes, however, i could see getting a lot of use out of.


again, i'm not sure how old these actually are. but i think there is a chance that they are from the middle of the century. if so, they are in great condition. they will come in handy soon when the weather warms up and i start making more salads... some incentive to start the vegetable garden i've always wanted to have!

well, there's my etsy save for today. like i said, i confiscated a couple more things, too. but those will probably blend into the landscape of my regular room-makeover photos... if i ever get to them.

tomorrow we paint the wall in the living room that surounds the fireplace. and if we're really feeling adventurous, we'll paint the soffits above the kitchen cabinets, too! then, maybe i can start getting around to some of those makeover photos. i'm one of those people that doesn't like to reveal in stages, but rather once the entire room is done. but realistically, there is not a single room in the house that will be truly done for quite some time. so i'm going to have to learn to let go and just ease up with that comfort level. if i can manage that, i expect there will soon start to be some room re-do posts around here. finally!