Hardware, kitchenalia and haberdashery.......you've got to love 'em!

I have always loved going into an "old - fashioned" hardware store. There is something about all those dusty shelves lined up with lotions and potions for goodness knows what, all kinds of paraphenalia hanging from the ceiling not to mention all that iron  and string and zinc. It totally fascinates me, and my mother was the same. I remember as a child watching "Westerns" where they always had the "General Store" ......well.....that's another league altogether, with huntin' shootin' fishin' stuff, and then all those rolls of Indian cotton and French silk, tassels, trimmings and ribbon,my how a girl would love to get her hands on all that stuff!

Paint, what can I say, I adore the stuff, it transforms, cleans, brightens things. I love this paint company especially, gorgeous heritage colours, lovely chalky texture.

My lovely old coffee grinder, which does work, but is a bit of a grind! (Sorry!) In the past I have had the great pleasure of going to auctions in "Country Houses", I love to look at all the fine things of course, but what got my heart racing was the contents of the servant's quarters and the kitchen and the greenhouse. Looking around blogland and the web and magazines, it seems I am not alone in my interest in these things. What gets me now though is the creativity which people show in their use of these old items, and some very clever types even use parts of things to create something new but with a "vintage" look, it's fantastic! It is all part of the re-cycling, up-cycling, make do and mend ethos, which I love.

This turqoise glass is very "in" at the moment. I love the way, in an all white scheme it really draws the eye in to the room, or on a table it seems to add an extra dimension to the flowers.

Who would have thought a load of crochet cotton and string would look so delicious in a big glass jar?

Now what on earth is a load of lurid green buckets doing amongst all these vintage images. What can Linda be thinking of...... watch this space!

I am sooo excited, I went to the flower wholesalers today and found artichokes. I have been asking for them for about a year, and always no,no, we can't get them. Well today, there they were, as bold as brass. I have been admiring the way the Dutch and Swedish use them in their interior design and on their tablescapes, so now I have some. Not quite sure how long they will last, if they will dry out or what, we will have to see. So I wish you all a very lovely weekend, love Linda x

Images via tumblr ,Little Greene and me.