Living A Vintage Life: Bird and Birch

"Green" has been on our lips for years now and unlike many trends that inspire their own buzzwords, green isn't going away anytime soon. Vintageophiles* have an approach to green totally unlike environmental conservationists or traditional recyclers, rather we lovers of vintage take yesteryear's remnants and develope them into a passion. This passion drives us into both known and unknown territories in search of timeless morsels that amuse, excite, calm and express our personalities. Birch and Bird Vintage Home Interiors is one of those special places that every vintageophile should visit at least once (although I recommend regular visits). Their ideas exhibit how exciting it can be to live a vintage life!

Lily and Rachel, Birch and Bird proprietesses and bloggers, share their trips to wonderful antiques markets, decorating ideas and personal insights, all beautifully photographed. Many of their interiors tend towards comfort and calm punctuated with color. Unexpected touches like cuckoo clocks painted in green and blue hues, marry modern and vintage in inspiring ways. Even traditional settings bear their personal touch, as exhibited in their recent blog post Warm and Cozy Fireplaces; while their post on Bohemian style suggests the wide variety expressed by this timeless movement.

Be sure to scroll down through all the photos or else you will miss the herringbone floor made of reclaimed shipping pallets (hint: it's most of the way down the Home page); click on the "You might also like" at the end of each post to jump to more beautiful vignettes and amazing market adventures, and don't miss the tiny keywords (Posted in) beneath post titles to further your surfing through the blog.
Now, grab a glass of fresh apple cider, put on your favorite old holey sweater and settle in for a delightful afternoon with Birch and Bird.

*Vintageophile (vin-taj-o-phyle) - one who passionately embraces and is inspired by vintage goods to the point of changing their lifestyle.

Welcome New Member: Tipple & Snack

My first impression upon visiting Tipple & Snack was, "What an eye!" The inventory of this well-established Etsy vintage shop includes beautiful jewelry, silver, china, glass and kitchenware. But it's the industrial salvage and fascinating metal pieces that entice a new breed of vintage fans as well.

This rustic metal pharmacy script box is a perfect example. And if you're an artisan, crafter or steampunk aficionado, there are plenty of metal bits and bobs to inspire your creativity.

Everyone wants to know about the name, right? From her Profile: My shop name is taken from a little green book I found a few years ago at the 26th Street flea market in NYC. I love it's jaunty title: "Tipple and Snack". Published in 1931, it's a book full of "good things to eat, and better things to drink". It's written with a great sense of style and a touch of humor, both qualities I admire and aspire to. I just had to use the name for my Etsy shop.

We're so happy to have Tipple & Snack of Vermont join the Etsy Vintage Team. Welcome!

Postcards from France IV

Up this little driveway lies a chateau in Provence that dates to the XIVth century. This is vintage cubed - well outside the realm of vintage and well into antiques, I thought it would be nice to look at some age old design that may inspire us when we use our vintage pieces in décor.

This is the entrée to the chateau we commoners use. I'll bet there's a grander one elsewhere in the castle.

The use of two empty unglazed terra cotta vessels is so lovely on either side of the door.

I don't think there's much here that we can use in our homes, but I wanted to show you this amazing stone carved staircase.

The yellow painted walls are fantastic with all the rest of the room appointed in earth colors. The big floor vase with the large dried stems in front of the window is a great element, easy to replicate.

Here's another use of a bold splash of color in one part of the room contrasting to subdued colors covering the rest of the space.

This can be easily replicated and is a great look. This is not lit very well, but imagine it with a spot light on it. A vintage religious statue could be placed on a tiny wall shelf or simpy have a hook inserted into the back.

Something else we can't easily replicate - I just wanted to share the lovely silvery gray green hue of the olive trees on the grounds of the chateau.

Voilà, voilà. It's interesting how not that much has fundamentally changed in interior décor in the last several centuries.

If you make it to Provence, have a visit of the Chateau de Lourmarin. There are other terrific rooms to check out including the kitchen and bedrooms.