Introducing
Dorian Briggs, my lovely friend co-worker, fellow retrophile. With her superb eye for all things vintage and quirky, Dorian is the girl who seems to find all the catches at garage sales and thrift shops while the rest of us are swimming in a sea of smelly old furniture and bad polyester.
I asked Dorian to share with me some of her favorite pieces and this small slice of her furniture collection has reaffirmed my wish for her to take charge of decorating my next apartment. Enjoy the photos below, along with a little background in Dorian's own words.
After weeks of searching for the perfect piece of furniture to display my overflowing collection of books, it seemed as if the universe conspired to bring me this antique two-tiered mahogany table. I found this piece driving past a yard sale in my hometown of Damascus. A trip to Home Depot for some sandpaper and the perfect shade of glossy turquoise turned an ordinary Sunday into one of my favorite DIY projects.
With a little love, lots of spray paint, and a gorgeous heavy duty fabric, I turned a rusty iron garden chair into a beautiful chair for my two tiered table. I had a few yards of Oriental fabric from last year's Halloween costume (I went as a Geisha and used the fabric for my Obi) which I used for the seat, and for the price of a can of glossy white spray paint, (and $8.00 for the chair) I had a brand new piece of furniture for my reading room.
The Sutliff Tobacco Company (Richmond, Virginia) canister dates back to the mid 1800's. I bought it at Boonesboro Days, a craft festival in Maryland, for just under $6 bucks. It's the perfect size for stowing away tchotchkes, tea candles, soaps, etc. What I love about it is the sliding pry-lock, to preserve the tobacco (and my candles') scent.
The couch, an 18th century "Chippendale" style camel back sofa, was a sweet surprise on an afternoon visit to the Germantown, MD Salvation Army. Originally selling for $85.00, I was able to haggle the price down to a mere $60.00. It is composed of cattle hair, horse hair, and boar hair, which unlike the sofas of today gives it a comfortable, yet firm seat. I took the liberty of using the space under the couch as a place to store my books.
This antique China box was a delightful find from a neighborhood yard sale. It is made mostly of etched brass, with a hand-painted porcelain top and cherry wood inserts. I can't remember exactly where it was made, but the woman who sold it to me said it was a very expensive gift from China, and was reluctant to let it go.
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