Sophisticated Vintage

I've been thinking a lot lately about style and what it means. No, that's not quite right. What I've been thinking about really is blending the lines or maybe defining them. When does a cutlery box go from being "country" to "modern"? Do we see things by genre and then pigeon hole them there? Or do we pause to look at the simple lines and take the opportunity to redefine it?

stripped to the wood, traces of red paint, straightforward. with a croquet ball of the one striped variety and a polka dot bowl. here's another shot

clean cut out handle

This has been my self-appointed task this past year as I've looked at all the pieces that make up my style - I swoon just as deeply at a worn painted sign as I do at a lucite obelisk. And I'm perfectly happy to be right there. But I keep returning to the pieces that marry the lines, looking at my most prized possession and asking what it was about them that made the cut through multiple bouts of downsizing. And the answer I keep coming back to is that something about them can bridge the gap between styles.

French faience turquoise plate, chalkware rabbit and mochaware pitcher

So look past the rabbit for a minute (uh, like that's going to happen) and look at the 19th century mochaware pitcher. If we slapped that pattern on a throw pillow there's be ladies at Home Goods fighting over it, guaranteed. It's not dated, it's not "old", it's as fresh as can be because. . .well, therein lies the question, and the basis for my modern style.

In my travels this week I found a great old dress form. I'm going to plunk her down on a black and white cowhide rug and see what happens. Stay tuned.

New discoveries always to be made in the Etsy shop SophisticatedFlorida