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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham
Showing posts with label antiques. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antiques. Show all posts

Market on Chapel Hill, Alabama

Friday, October 9, 2015

Do you fantasize about vintage furniture, white stoneware, or repurposed metal pieces?  White sugar bowls, oversized pitchers, irregular-shaped plates, zinc-topped tables, adorable wooden carousel horses...   Do you daydream about attending well-known antique fairs?  Lucketts Antique Market, Round Top Texas Antiques, Country Living Fairs, The Market on Chapel Hill...


Yes?  Then we could be shopping friends.

However, most of my shopping is really virtual shopping on blog sites, not real shopping where I can actually buy any of the wares.  My latest obsession was with Miss Mustard Seed's posts this past month where she showed the items she was taking to the October 3, 2015, market in Pike Road, Alabama.... The Market On Chapel Hill.


Keep reading for tips for shopping an antique fair IN PERSON.

Source:  Miss Mustard Seed - Market on Chapel Hill
The two white stoneware sugar bowls missing lids just kept me going back repeatedly to look at Miss Mustard Seed's post.  Paperwhite narcissi at Christmas time are some of my favorite Christmas flowers, and I love planting them in white containers.  Visions of Ziva paperwhites in these sugar bowls kept appearing in my mind.  How I would love to buy both of these sugar bowls.  But, Pike Road, Alabama is a L O N G way from north Texas, about 656 miles.



Maybe you can imagine how excited I became when, all-of-a-sudden, I realized my trip back to north Alabama was Sept. 29 - Oct. 7, and The Market on Chapel Hill was happening during that time!  North Alabama to Pike Road, Alabama takes about 3.5 hours over 222 miles, the closest I ever was going to be to Miss Mustard Seed in my life.  Texas, my home, to Pennsylvania, Miss Mustard Seed's home, is 1,345 miles.  The closest chance I would have at actually buying her white stoneware sugar bowls was in Pike Road, Alabama. 


My sister-in-law and another friend were game to drive to Pike Road.  We got up 4:00-4:30 a.m., and left north Alabama at 5:00 a.m. thinking we would arrive at The Market by 8:30 a.m. before the doors opened at 9:00 a.m.  The last time I remember getting up that early, except for work, was to see the sunrise over the Grand Canyon.  I was pretty excited hoping to meet Miss Mustard Seed. 


When we arrived in Pike Road we couldn't find the subdivision where the antique show was located and drove around for several minutes looking for it.  Finally, I reached someone at Chapel Hill by phone and got directions.  We arrived inside the Chapel Market around 9:30 a.m. 



My heart sank as I looked from display to display in Miss Mustard Seed's booth.  



All these cabinets had been filled with white stoneware.  You can see how they looked at missmustardseed.com/2015/09/market-on-chapel-hill/   Now they were stripped bare.  



There were a few white bowls and some transferware in this cabinet, but none of these were on my wish list.  

Wait...  the blue and white wooden horse was on my wish list.  There he sits above the nearly empty cabinet.  As I walked closer and closer to him, I was hoping he was in my price range. 



Yes, that is a SOLD sign, but not sold to me.  He was already sold before I got there.  Sigh...  
At least I got to see him in person and up close. 


Still, it was a good day.  

Miss Mustard Seed, Marion, is just as gracious in person as she is on her blog.  She cheerfully posed with a big smile for a photo with me.  Others asked and also had their photos made with her, always with a big smile.  Even if I did not buy anything from her, it was a real treat to get to meet her.  Did I forget to tell you it was a rainy day?  My hair was limply stuck to my head from all the moisture and humidity.  So, you don't get to see the photo.  A really bad hair day! Marion, on the other hand, was cute as a button with perky hair. 


Did I go home empty-handed?  No.  In a few days, I'll show you some of what I found at another vendor's booth.  

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Here are a few suggestions for anyone who plans to attend ANY antique fair to shop. 

1.  If possible, spend the night before in the area of the antique fair so you can arrive very early on the day of the antique fair. 

2.  Then, arrive very early at the antique fair.  Shoppers lined up as early as 7:30 a.m. for the 9:00 a.m. opening time at the Market on Chapel Hill. 

3.  Some venues offer early-bird shopping at a higher entry fee.  If there are certain items you have your heart set on, take advantage of the early-bird shopping. 

4.  Double check directions the day before leaving for the event.  If possible, do a test drive to the site and locate parking spots. 

5.  Read tips and guides written by the antique show organizers and/or by the vendors.  Miss Mustard Seed posted her booth's layout on her blog the night before the show.  This helps you know where to find that special item you are looking to buy. 

6.  Browse smaller booths after visiting the well-known vendors' booths.  A small booth had something similar to the items I had been looking for at Miss Mustard Seed.  Since there was only one of the item, it could have been overlooked by other shoppers.

7.  Study how the vendors display their goods for ways to use antiques in your own decor.

8.  Enjoy the location, sights, and people.  Buying is just one part of the antique fair experience. The Market on Chapel Hill is located in The Waters subdivision comprised of new homes built in vintage styles around a lake.  Seeing the houses with the yards decorated for fall was an unexpected bonus.


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Please join me at these inspiring sites...

MONDAY
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home
Something To Talk About @ Karen's Up On the Hill

TUESDAY
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
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French Antiques Are Calling

Wednesday, September 9, 2015


French antiques always call to me, but lately I've been getting emails from French antiques... that is, emails from Marburger Farm at Round Top, Texas, one of biggest and best sites for French antiques. Marburger Farm also has dealers with antiques that are not French, but last fall there was an entire long tent filled with French antiques, including some dealers who come every year from France. 



Every three or four days I get another email tempting me, nagging me, enticing me to go to Round Top.  Here's one of the photos in a recent email from Marburger Farm.  The golden weathervane arrow seems to be pointing me towards Round Top, to the colossal antique show that happens every fall and spring.  The Marburger Farm site is so large... 43 acres!... that I wasn't able to see everything when I went for the first time in Fall 2014.



As I study the email's photo and read the details about dates, times, and entrance fees, I begin also to daydream about all the fabulous things I saw in 2014.  I daydream about everything I left behind, and begin to wonder what treasures will be there this year, like these antique papers and bowl. 

Marburger Farm is just one of hundreds of sites at the Round Top Antique Show.  Another one of my favorite sites is Blue Hills where I found antique French documents spilling out of an antique French iron bowl. 



The antique dealer with the French papers was packing up an order while I was in her booth. Someone had bought a set of twelve framed French antique documents.  Can't you just see a whole wall filled with these beautiful gold-framed, double-sided glass documents?  Yes, I bought some of the original antique French documents which have yet to be framed, but I left behind so many more.   


With each new email from Marburger Farm, I dream about all the French antiques, especially the ones that "got away."  I have no place in my house for this settee and had to restrain myself from buying it.  Common sense prevailed, and I left it there atop all those other beautiful finds... blue striped linens, glass cloches, white plates and pitcher...  But I still daydream about them. 



A dealer made me a great price for this beautiful three-drawer chest.  As I looked through my house in my mind, I saw it as an end table in the living room, as a night stand in a guest bedroom, as small chest in the bathroom..., but each place would have meant taking out something to make room for the chest.  Common sense... I had a strong dose of it last year.  This little chest was also left behind. Sigh! 



Not French, but a great Fall display using vintage pieces, helped me think of ways to put a little Fall into my own house.  Round Top is an incredible source for innovative ideas.  Every dealer is a master stylist making the trip worthwhile even if nothing is bought. 



Then there are always those whimsical items that add another layer of joie de vivre to the whole Round Top experience. 



Just 8 miles away from Marburger Farm is another place that keeps calling to me.  The Prairie by Rachel Ashwell is on my list of places to shop.  Another place that not's exactly French, but that also entices me.  So far, The Prairie hasn't been emailing me. 

As persuasive as the Marburger Farm emails are, there is no Round Top for me this Fall.  No, I already have a plane ticket on September 29 flying out of Texas.  But, Spring 2016 is definitely calling me.  Around Valentine's Day I expect to begin getting those emails from French antiques at Marburger Farm in Round Top.  

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If French antiques are still calling to you, you may want to see last year's Round Top posts. 

French Fall Accents At Round Top
French Brocante At Round Top

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Please join me at these inspiring sites...

MONDAY
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home
Something To Talk About @ Karen's Up On the Hill

TUESDAY
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

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French Brocante at Round Top

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Round Top Antique Show has something for everyone. Spread out for 10 miles along Texas highway 237 and for 9 miles along Texas highway 1457, the semi-annual antiques show has multiple venues with wares ranging from early Americana to industrial vintage to European fine antiques with  everything in between.

Advertised as the largest antique show in the United States, Round Top is THE antique show for worldwide antiquers and is on many people's bucket list to experience the more than 2000 vendors over 17 days.  The best known sites are Marburger Farm, Blue Hills, Warrenton, the Original Round Top Antiques Fair, and Big Red Barn.  The dates this fall were September 19 - October 5, but most of these big sites were only open September 30 - October 4.

French Brocante at Round Top 


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French Fall Accents at Round Top

Friday, October 3, 2014

You know it's fall at the Round Top Antiques Show in south central Texas by the date,
not by the temperatures.

Today Round Top, Texas was sunny and HOT; 90° was the high,
apropos for Round Top that has a population of ... 90!
That is, until the semi-annual Antique Show extravaganza
swells the population to over 100,000.
It's even been reported to have 200,000 visitors some years,
but Texas is known for its tall tales.



An antique wooden wheel barrow filled with multi-colored and multi-textured pumpkins sets the stage for the fall displays that enhanced all the antiques throughout the antique fair.  Of course, French antiques are what I was looking for.  


French Fall Accents 
 ... some ideas for decorating my own home... 


... white and pale green pumpkins are very chic (elegant)
in gris (gray) and white French urns...



... French pottery direct from a French brocante (flea market)
filled with yellow lantana flowers...



... a large vintage terracotta bowl worn from use... 



... earthy tones of Provence blend beautifully 
with all the yellow and orange fall couleurs (colors)...  



... yellow mums in French pots de cuivre (copper pots)...



... various sizes and shapes of French yellow ware could hold fall flowers... 



... pumpkins with French circular wooden architectural salvage... 



... a French gray urn filled with a pumpkin holding a bird's nest... 



... a grapevine wreath as the base of a pumpkin in a French urn 
with unusually shaped gourds in a wooden box... 



... a row of various French urns filled with purple fall flowers...



... a vintage original water couleur of Paris in the fall... 

Which of these is your favorite idea for fall decorating with a French accent? 
Did you learn a new French word? 

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Please join me at these inspiring sites...
SUNDAY
Share It One More Time @ One More Time Events

MONDAY
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

TUESDAY
Anything Blue Friday @ The Dedicated House

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4 Ways To Be Cool at Round Top Antique Fair

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Another 90°- day at the 
Fall Round Top Antique Show 

Here are four ways not only to keep cool, but also to be cool at the 
Marburger Farm-Round Top Antique Show. 
After all, Round Top Antique Shows are the places 
to see and to be seen. 


  1. Buy an adorable blue and white paisley print straw cowgirl hat at a convenience store on Highway 290 in Carmine, Texas.  Get some of their delicious chicken salad from the deli while there. Then head south to Round Top. 
  2. Wear your sunglasses you brought from home with your new ultra-chic blue paisley cowgirl hat. While shading your head and eyes, wander through the thirteen buildings and nine giant tents that house 350 exhibitors at Marburger Farm Antique Show, one of my favorite antiquing sites along Highway 237 during the Round Top Antique Show. 
  3. Drink plenty of liquids to beat the heat while strolling from tent to tent.  A large glass of iced tea, sweet or unsweet, will cool anyone down quickly.  Marburger Farm has a large open-air covered area filled with long tables that sport red and white checked tablecloths for resting while eating and drinking. 
  4. Generate your own breeze by using a hand-held old-fashioned fan on a stick.  Marburger Farm supplies the cute advertising fans in the shape of a cowboy hat.... to go with your cute cowgirl hat from Carmine.  You supply the energy to wave the fan back and forth, being sure to share your breeze with whomever is standing near you.  Southern hospitality, you know. 
Four ways to beat the heat at the largest antique show in the USA...  
All the while looking chic and exuding Southern charm...  

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Please join me at these inspiring sites...
SUNDAY
Share It One More Time @ One More Time Events

MONDAY
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

TUESDAY
Anything Blue Friday @ The Dedicated House


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Southern Architectural Accents

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Being born and reared in the Deep South, 
I have always been drawn to architectural accents 
that are wood, stone, glass, or any natural design that has character. 

No sleek, modern stark interiors for me.
I like looking at them, but cannot live in them. 

Think antebellum mansions with two-story massive columns, 
wrap-around porches, curved staircases, ten-twelve foot ceilings, 
raised wood panel walls, glass transoms over doors, and iron railings.
No, I did not live in such a house while growing up,
but I did live in a very shabby old dorm for four years while in college. 


While visiting my mother this summer, my brother, sister-in-law, sister, mother,
and I took a little road trip to an architectural salvage store in Cullman, Alabama. 


Southern Accents Architectural Antiques
Southern Accents Architectural Antiques describes itself as having the largest 
collection of architectural antiques in the South, selling both from their 
brick and mortar store in Cullman and from an online store. 



A collection of antique doors and chandeliers in the main floor showroom 
are just a glimpse of all that is to be found on multi-levels, inside and out, 
and in multiple buildings with entrances from more than one city street. 



Need an antique deadbolt lock to go with your new antique door? 



How about porch columns, interior columns, or stair newel posts? 



Would you like an ornate capital for your antique column or 
to repurpose as a plant, book, or cloche stand? 



Room after room all began as a small collection in 1969 in the garage of the owner 
who has turned over the day-to-day operations to his son with the help of twelve employees. 
Do you see the chandeliers?  How about that door-size carved mirror? 

And there it is, a transom window over a door! 
It reminds me of my college dorm room's transom. 
Yes, my dorm was a three-story red brick building with 
the entrance in a central turret, flanked on either side with a half-walled 
second-story terrace onto which my three huge windows opened. 
The ten-foot ceilings in the room rose above a very worn 
wood planked floor.  When the terrace windows and the transom 
were opened at the same time, a nice breeze cooled the room. 
For heat, there was a steam radiator. 
No air-conditioning or central heating system. 

But, I don't have memories of being hot or cold 
in O'Neil Hall at Florence State University, Alabama. 
Now known as the University of North Alabama,
the school's beginnings were in 1830, and it became 
the first state teacher's college south of the Ohio River. 

Many of these architectural salvage pieces could have 
come from O'Neil Hall with its wide curved banister staircases. 



One of my favorite finds was the old fireplace surround with the fleur-de-lis. 
No, it didn't come home with me, but I kept going back to look at it one more time. 
It was badly damaged with part of the iron broken to the right of the fleur-de-lis. 



Nothing like finding the very exact Old Chicago brass gooseneck faucet that was in 
your current house for over twenty years to make you feel like a relic yourself. 
My old gooseneck faucet is now in the garden shed, 
replaced by a newer, non-leaking faucet for the kitchen sink. 



There were so many one-of-a-kind beautiful old pieces everywhere. 
These were lying on the floor amidst many other plainer pieces. 
One of these, and its matching mate found after rummaging around 
on a nearby shelf, came home with me.  

Now that I look at my photos again, 
I'm wishing I had bought another piece in this photo. 

Looking at these photos also makes me excited to get to go 
the Round Top Antiques Fair in south Texas September 28-October 1. 
Once again, it is going to be hard to choose what to buy. 
Things I will be looking for are a French mirror, old iron fencing, 
and a blue seltzer bottle from France. 

Plus, I will be keeping my eyes open for unexpected treasures. 

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Please join me at these inspiring sites...
SUNDAY
Share It One More Time @ One More Time Events

MONDAY
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

TUESDAY
Anything Blue Friday @ The Dedicated House
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