Santa takes a political stand.

This is a picture of my living room after “the holidays” last year.  Seriously.
 
image via green.thefuntimesguide.com

Not this year.  Nope, not gonna do it.  All due to Santa’s new “Committee on the Environment”.  That’s right, it’s all very bureaucratic, and there is a lot of bickering across party lines, but they managed to get at least something passed before the holiday recess.  The new pilot program is as follows.  If you put a stack of reusable bags next to the cookies and milk on Christmas Eve, presents from Santa will hence forth be delivered in said bags.  The efficacy of this program and it’s impact on the deficit will be up for review in 2015, but by then my kids will have outgrown it so I don’t care. So, in order to appeal to the public’s overwhelming support for a green option, Scavenger Home is now carrying Living Ethos Gift Bags.  Amazing patterns and colors for year round giving, ribbons made of recycled pop bottles (yeah, I say POP, what do you say?) and 4 sizes, to fit jewelry, wine, a new phone and a yummy, fuzzy, but NOT terry, robe.  Or, I guess other things of those approximate sizes, if you and I don’t have the exact same Christmas list. And in my usual fashion of being totally timely, I will mention that for those of us that do give gifts all 8 nights of Chanukah, might I recommend using the same bag every night!  I swear it’s brilliant, just throw a little something in the bag before you light the candles, and voila, your the Jewish equivalent of Martha.

The culmination of my obsession documented by a really crappy photographer…

Why can I not take good pictures?  Is it my composition? Is it my camera?  Obviously the lighting isn’t helping.  Whatever, now I just want a new camera.

So here is the damage done, to what, in person, actually looks pretty hot, if I do say so myself.

ONE WINDOW 
  SHOWROOM

WORKSHOP/OFFICE

BATHROOM

The bathroom is the most yummy shade of glossy navy, ah, you just can’t tell from this picture!  I will have to find someone to help me take decent pictures one day.

Come by and visit me!

WED/THURS: 11-6
FRI/SAT: 11-8

Grand Opening!

It just occurred to me that I didn't bother to post any of the info about my upcoming Grand Opening party. So come on by, have a glass of champagne and bask in the glory of me surviving this last month!

Tuesday, December 1st
7855 Gilman Street
Redmond, WA 98052
425-516-5626

What is Scavenger Home all about?

From Deluxe Apartment to Sophisticated Pied-a-Terre...
Scavenger Home has collected the perfect accessories and one of a kind vintage furniture to add personality and charm to your space. Whether you are in a rental apartment or a custom built home, surround yourself with pieces that speak to your individuality and character.

Stylish Design with an Ecological Mind...
Buying Vintage is the ultimate in recycling. Better quality, beautiful lines, timeless design. Imagine yourself in the pages of Elle Decor, not the Pottery Barn catalog. Learn ways to use your creativity, or borrow ours, to build the environment you want to live in, both personally and globally.

Warm, Friendly, Comfortable...
We want to be a shop that inspires. Come in for some hot tea on a rainy day and flip through our extensive backlog of Decor Magazines. Peruse our design books and look for ideas you can implement for yourself. Let's brainstorm about how you can recreate and reinvigorate pieces you already have, and add a few key touches without breaking the bank.

Hunt and Gather...
Can't find exactly what you are looking for? You don't have time to scour the earth searching for it? We do! Come in and we'll talk about your wants and needs (and dimensions) and then do the hunting for you. We can provide you with the "after", redone in the perfect color or fresh upholstery, or if you prefer, we can help you find the "before" and help you decide on colors and fabric to do it yourself.

Taking the plunge!!!

I am staring the current economic conditions right in the face and saying “HA!”!

Since only like 3 people read this, you probably already know that I am opening up my very own vintage furniture shop, Scavenger Home.  Since, again, you all know me, it would be fruitless to try to portray this endeavor as a graceful, calm, well oiled machine.  I am a basket case trying to  get it all done in time for a December 1st Grand Opening.  Can’t miss the Holiday Season, you know.

I intend to post pictures, and give a rundown of the process here on this little blog, but that will all have to come after the fact.  For now, you will have to settle with the artwork for the sign.  Like it?

Come and shop, or just hang out, browse, sip some hot tea, make it look like I have tons of customers, keep me company, maybe buy something if it catches your fancy, whatever you like… I’ll be there.

Things I could actually have if…

I weren’t too lazy to deal with driving to, walking through and standing in line at Ikea. 

We all love Ikea.  At least in theory.  If you could somehow go there and actually find what you need, in the size and color you want, well, that would be nice, if you like that sort of thing, I guess.

But anyhow, look at the pretty things…
IKEA PS Maskros Pendant

 IKEA PS Mikkel Banner

IKEA PS Spraka Spice Mill

INVENTORY UPDATE (part 1)... geez, it's about time!

Scavenger items galore.  You know the drill; bad pictures, good stuff.

Hello, Kitty. 
How darling is she?  She would be very sweet next to a fireplace, or in a little girls room.

Mod in Italy... oh, somebody stop me.  You may not believe me, but this is not just a table, it's a lamp too!  How fabulous is that?  You can turn on the top cluster of flowers or the bottom, or both, to get the perfect ambiance for your cocktail as it rests on the lovely little table top.  It has the tiniest little stamped metal tag that says MADE IN ITALY.

Mirror, mirrors....are better photographed on the wall.
You all have good taste, a creative flair; vision, if you will.  That is why I know you can look past this absurdly composed picture, and see this mirror in all it's glory.  Beautiful in it's fabulously vintage-y current condition, or in a high gloss white or some yummy color.  You decide.

You know what they say about the size of a lamps shade...
Ok, this lamp is HUGE.  22 1/2" to the top of the marble and 37" to the top of the shade.  Bad shade, ignore it.  Imagine peacock blue silk, or black with gold lining, or any number of lovely combinations.  So pretty!  circa 1960's 
 

Night night, night light.  (that will have to do, until I become more clever than I am)
Adorable is the first word that comes to mind.  In a totally eastern influence sort of way.  Is your kid too cool for Pottery Barn, but still needs a little ambient lighting for bedtime?  This emits a perfect warm glow and is about 12" high.

Tufting and brass together, what more can a girl ask for?
These are the sexiest legs I have ever seen.  This little bench is in perfect condition with the ever so charming original gold brocade fabric.  Very sweet.  It would , however, be smokin' in charcoal velvet or in black patent.  Oh my, imagine the possibilities!
15 1/2" tall, 49" long and 19"wide

I HEART Peacocks.
Don't they make a beautiful couple?  He doesn't have to flash his feathers, since he has already found his other half.   He has a bit of a fierce look in his eye, while she is just as demure and graceful as can be.  Don't tell anyone, but they're not metal (they're plastic, shh).  It doesn't make them any less lovely...but it does make them less expensive!

Ok, that's it for now.  There will be a part 2 soon.  Look for it in the next couple of days.

Eureka!

I am a scavenger by nature. I am willing to slog through piles of nothing to find that wonderful something. I have been trying to convince my husband of the value of this trait for some time, and I think I finally found the “something” that will do it.

Estate sales and auctions never fail to amaze me. You would assume that all the swarms of people that line up an hour in advance are quite skilled at spotting the diamond in the rough. Usually that makes me second guess my taste when all the things I think are fabulous are overlooked by all these seasoned pros. Not any more. I just got a big dose of confidence that I do, in fact, have some idea of what I am doing. (at least for the moment)

At a recent estate auction in Sammamish, of all places, I hit the proverbial “jackpot”! I found a pristine condition original Robert Deyber painting. As I am not an art collector, I must admit that I didn’t know exactly how spectacular a find this was, but I did have some idea that it was special. Turns out, I was right.

This amazing piece of surrealist art is titled “Killing Two Birds with One Stone”. I am embarrassed to show this picture as my camera and I basically butchered it, but hopefully you can get a sense of it.

I will not be so bold as to try to describe the art or the artist, except to say you would be well served to check out his work at the Martin Lawrence Gallery or at his own website, robertdeyber.com.

I am giddy with the thrill of a successful hunt, and hopefully will use this momentum to post more of my incredible recent finds. Look for the most amazing smoked glass 70’s crescent desk that I will be posting in the next day or two, as well as some other pieces that I’m sure you just can’t live without.

If there is a Heaven, it would look like this

The Viceroy in Miami is officially, without question, the BEST place I have ever been in my life.  No matter where you look, you are surround by such divine luxury, that it's hard to breath.  My visit capped off a glorious day of visiting all the vintage and antique shops that Miami has to offer, a few glorious examples to be seen below.  How insane is that horse lamp!!!!!!

Trust me when I say that there is no better way to end a day than cocktails and a bite at The Viceroy.  I was the biggest dork snapping pictures like a tourist, but I didn't care.  These pictures can't even begin to explain the decadence.  

That fireplace is roughly 15' high, and why, exactly, don't I dip all my furniture in rubber!?  It's ingenious!

Can I get married again just so that I can have my wedding shower here?

I'd like another cocktail please, and can you just rub this sun block on my back?  Oh, it's time for my spa appointment?  Well, you know, a woman's work is never done...

This is the river of joy... what more can I say?  Well, this... that chandelier ~ no less than 15 FEET across and lemon yellow.

So, imagine, if you will, a day spent browsing some of the most phenomenally designed furniture of the last 60 years, having lunch with daytime wine,  more shopping, followed by this feast for the senses, yummy dinner, inspired cocktails and, let's not forget, riveting conversation the whole way through, provided by my fabulous MIL Rena!  Hey, Rena, when are we going to see that Taj Mahal Opera?

Do it again, ooh, ooh, do it again!

Would you know what I meant if....

...I said, "I wish my life more closely resembled Rachel Getting Married?  I mean, without the dead brother and the alcoholism and the fighting and the car accidents, of course. I want these guys to be playing "Here Comes the Bride" every time I leave my house to go to the grocery store.

And these guys to serenade me while I am doing the laundry (as infrequent as that may be) And lastly, I would like this cake every Sunday following brunch on the lawn with a ton of crazy people in jewel toned saris dancing and paper lanterns every where.

Is that too much to ask? 

Back in the day...

Bing Crosby with Phil Harris and Bob Littler listening to record player, Seattle, 1956
This lovely vintage chesterfield sofa is a piece of Seattle history. Littler's was an upscale clothier from 1931-1996. This is where you would sit to admire you gentlemen or lady friend as they tried on some of the finest attire Seattle had to offer. As the picture above clearly implies, it's entirely possible that Bing Crosby actually sat on this couch! What? You say that's a quite a stretch? Aah, what do you know.

It's such a shame that cigarettes are out of fashion, doesn't this lovely lounger make you want to relax in your silk peignior while sipping a manhattan and smoking a, why maybe, a Chesterfield?

(not that I condone smoking, bad dirty habit...)

Suburban Outfitters

So I follow Revival Home and Garden on twitter. (See how technologically advanced I have become? (twitter is new to me)) Anyhow, last night Leah, the owner, tweeted that she wondered about Urban Outfitters home, or rather apartment, decor items. As I have been a fan of finding the cheapest possible furniture available for quite some time, I do have a few of their peices in my house. I can't speak to the quality of their case pieces (probably crap), but the stuff I have, I really like.

The headboard, lamp and lampshade are from Urban. They are in my little Leah's bedroom.This is in Abigail and Leah's bathroom. I suck at taking pictures, but the mirror is Urban as well as the light fixture. Actually the light itself is some halogen junk from Ikea, but the "crystal" fixture around it is from Urban.By the way, Leah, if you didn't get my comment response to your comment on my blog, I am super flattered and thrilled that you have even seen my blog, let alone like my stuff. I love your store and can't wait till you get settled into your new location, where ever that may be. I am the dork that voted for Bellevue.

The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, this magazine and the chair.

and that's all I need.

I'm trying desperately to clean my house. Can't you tell how much cleaning I am able to get done while typing! It's such an overwhelming task. Until this month, I felt a compulsive need to keep EVERYTHING, in case I might need it one day, you know.

Well, one of my other personalities has decided to push it's way to the front after decades of being suffocated in the back by all the crap I surround myself with. Ooh, I'll have to come up with a name for this new personality... more on that later. Anyhow, now, for the first time ever I am purging. I mean seriously purging. If I came home and everything was gone, I wouldn't be upset. Well, except for my china. My china and my Fifi Soufois painting. My china and my Fifi Soufoiux painting and Jimmy Choos. My china and my Fifi Soufois painting and my Jimmy Choos and this chair...