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?