Vintage Farmhouse Finds At Our Booth...

Happy May! I hope you're enjoying the beauty of spring, May flowers, and lots of sunshine! If not yet, hang in there - they're coming! 

Today I thought I'd share a few peeks into our shop space inside of M&M Antiques in Monroe, WA...

Our {Almost} Spring Farmhouse Porch

We spent most of the weekend in basketball gyms. Our 8th grader's team had and amazing championship win - it was SO exciting (think David vs. Goliath - or at least 4A vs.1A)! Many of these boys have been playing together since Kindergarten, so it was a special way to end their last regular season before high school. High School?! I can't even...

Speaking of basketball - or balls in general - they often end up on our porch. And they seem to multiply like rabbits. I cleaned up our porch last week, and I always forget how nice it feels.

We're ready for you, spring. You can come now.

Three Ways to Add Warmth to a Mostly White Farmhouse Living Room...

When we first walked through our house, just considering purchasing it, the living room was one of my favorite rooms. It has lots of windows and a set of french doors, so it almost feels like a sunroom. 

Once we lived here awhile, the living room just felt unsettled to me. I think most people have a room in their house that is just harder to figure out - whether it's deciding on furniture, colors, or just how to make it more welcoming.

Our January Farmhouse Shop Space

Hope your week is going well! I'm just stopping in to share a few pictures from our shop space inside of M&M Antiques in Monroe, Washington. We have some beautiful time-worn European dough bowls and a charming chippy white cabinet.

Chippy Bench Love And a Porch That's Seen it All...

This summer our porch has seen brothers and their buddies, popsicles and hot dogs. Cats and two labradors (though never at the same time!) - one lab fast as Sea Biscuit and one who walks like Eeyore. 

Our porch has served as a laboratory for impromptu science experiments and has patiently collected baseball gloves, soccer balls, nerf guns and light sabers. It's been there when we've greeted friends and when we've evaluated whether or not an injury would require a bandaid. It's heard laughter, tears, reprimands and all sorts of loud. We do loud well here. ;)

We recently found this bench with all its vintage chippy charm... 

The plan is for it to make its way to the shop in September... if we can part with it.

We shall see!

Thanks for visiting today,

Xo

Fall Reading Nook...

As the rain returned to Seattle, I brought an outdoor

chair inside for a cozy reading nook in our family room...

{DIY} Gray Barn Antiques Sign

I love old signs. The chippy, faded kinds. 

Ones that have hung from local businesses with pride, and weathered many storms. 

A little piece of history to hang on our four walls. Yes, please.

But, sometimes the right ones can be hard to find. And when you do find them, the price can be hard to swallow. 

So, I'm sharing a sign I recently made using found wood and paints that I had on-hand. The only thing I purchased was a new set of small paintbrushes for the lettering.  

You'll need a piece of wood. Start by painting it white, making sure NOT to cover it evenly. A quick coat will do. You want it to look weathered. (I went lighter near the edges.)

Next, type out your words. I used Word for Mac and the "Iowan Old Style Black" font in size 180. Print out the words on regular computer paper. Cut off excess paper so that you can position the words how you want them on the wood. 

Make sure your words are the right size to fit on your sign.

Turn the words over and use a pencil to scribble over the backside of the letters.

Turn them right side up and tape down into place. Pressing fairly hard, trace over each letter with a pencil, burnishing them onto the sign.

Use a small paintbrush with a pointed tip to carefully paint in each letter. I chose to use a gray paint for this sign. And remember, you don't need gray paint - just mix a few drops of your black craft paint in with your white craft paint. ;)

Once your sign dries completely, sand it as if your life depends upon it. 

And there you have it - - your vintage inspired sign!

This one is a gift... hope she likes it!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Xo

~ A {Mini} Side Porch Makeover ~

As much as I "willed" visitors to walk up the stone path to our FRONT porch, it only took us a year of living here to realize that most guests come to our SIDE porch and proceed to the front door. (I think it's because people tend to park in front of the garage or barn at the end of our driveway, rather than in front of our house.)

Not a big deal. 

Except that I try to keep our front porch inviting. In contrast, our little side porch - the guests' route of choice - was overflowing with bins of toys and garden odds-n-ends that people had to step over. 

I wish I had taken a before picture... just picture lots of junk stuff!

Well, I tackled it. And it wasn't that hard.  The toys are now in the garage and the garden tools are in the shed. Makes sense. 

This chippy chair with burlap seat looks at home in its new space.

It's funny how we can pass by certain areas (eyesores?) and almost not see them anymore. (Or is that just me?) It took guests, and lots of them, before I thought about changing things.

So now if you stop by, please feel free to come to the front 
or side porch without shaming me!

xo

Sharing with:
Coastal Charm
Stone Gable