Tag Archives: antiques

Holiday Shopping at Potomac West Antiques

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Katie | 1 Comment

Potomac West Antiques along with their sister store Not Too Shabby Consignments is having their annual sale this Saturday, December 8 from 10am-6pm. With 10 percent off all merchandise, it should definitely be a stop for your holiday shopping and decorating needs. Leslie and I stopped by Potomac West last week to browse the merchandise. Here are some of our favorite finds.

For the tea lover on your list, check out this rustic wood caddy. Fill with different flavors of tea, add a bow, and you’re done. Pair with a homemade mug from A Show of Hands or Clay Queen Pottery just down the street. I could also see this used to store jewelry, loose change, business cards or desk accessories.

Vintage tins can be found throughout the shop — consider using one of these as a gift box (add a ribbon, no wrapping paper required) with a gift card inside for one of our many local restaurants and shops. The gift recipient can reuse the tin however they please, so it’s really two gifts in one.

Sports fan will enjoy vintage pennants and equipment (look carefully and you might even find one for your favorite team or destination). I know a few guys who would gladly welcome one of those well-worn baseball gloves to their collection.

Leslie and I debated if someone could safety use an old golf club, but one with this much character would be better on display than on the green.

This handsome clock will definitely make a statement in someone’s home or office. Right now you can find it by the front window, but walk around the shop because you’ll find more mid-century marvels upstairs and down.

Including lots of fun bar accessories — glasses, decanters, and swizzle sticks galore.

Tucked in the corner, Leslie found a couple more options for decanters. The one on the left is simple and elegant and has a top. While the one on the right doesn’t have a top, it does have a fabulously ornate pattern. My vote is for the one on the right. I’d probably use it as a bud vase.

Leslie also found a pristine set of bar tools. Shiny chrome will fit right in on a Mad Men-inspired bar cart.

I’m loving this set of four cocktail glasses. A toast on new Year’s Eve perhaps?

For your epicurean friends, I like the idea of giving a couple vintage cookbooks along with a new apron, crisp tea towels or other linens and kitchen gadgets.

Speaking of linens, this tablecloth is seasonally appropriate without being too holiday specific. If it’s too small for your table, it can be layered with a larger tablecloth, maybe using the red and green in the flowers.

Gold elephant bookends are handsome in a formal office or den, but wouldn’t they be darling on a child’s bookshelf flanking copies of Dumbo, Babar, Horton Hears a Who and other animal-friendly classics? You could spray paint them, but I think the gold color is good to go.

We spotted a few classic children’s books upstairs too. This copy of Alice in Wonderland has a little wear and tear, but I doubt my kids would even notice it’s not a “new” book.

Lots of books for the literary types on your list too including an eight-volume collection of classic short stories.

I’m really excited about these ornate sconces with shimmering crystals. They would look lovely in practically any room in the house.

It’s fun to compare the old film cameras to the digital ones today. And even if you don’t end of using them to take photos, they make nice decorative pieces.

And finally, globes! A classic educational tool that looks great in the home as well. I bought a globe last year at the sale and we love it in our home. This one is rather large, so make sure you measure your space first.

Potomac West is located at 1517 Mt. Vernon Avenue and Not Too Shabby is right next store at 1515 Mt. Vernon Avenue in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Va.

Do you go vintage for your holiday shopping? Will you be taking advantage of the sale this Saturday? Tell us what treasures you find!

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Posted in Del Ray Life, Favorite Finds, Holidays

Tagged antiques, gifts, potomac west, shopping

Telling Our Story Through Family Heirlooms

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Katie | 7 Comments

I love being able to incorporate family heirlooms in our home. Since this is the season for celebrating family, I thought I’d share the story of one our oldest and most meaningful pieces, my sons’ twin beds, purchased over 100 years ago.

Last year, my youngest son Calvin was ready to move out of his crib and into a bed. He and his older brother Jack share a bedroom, and Jack was using a bed we bought for $20 at a yard sale. It had seen better days. I purchased identical twin beds from Toys R Us for both boys. I loved the white color contrasting with the dark gray walls and the fact that we could bunk them later on. All was good, or so I thought.

This past summer (roughly one year after I purchased the beds), the beds started to fall apart. On Calvin’s bed, the side support that held the slats for the mattress broke away from the frame. I examined Jack’s bed and it too was about to crumble. Who knew cheap particle board would be so flimsy?

When we were at the beach over the Labor Day weekend, my parents mentioned all this extra furniture they had in storage that seemed like a waste of space. One of the items was the twin bed set my sister and I used as kids. Hey, I know someone who needs a bed!

My mom actually used one of the beds when she was a child, and they belonged to her parents before that. About a month later, my dad got the beds out of storage and brought them over to our house. They were a perfect fit.

Calvin has one side of the room.

And Jack has another.

Calvin has a little trouble climbing up, so he uses the footboard as a step.

Jack likes to decorate his side with posters of his favorite sports heroes.

In our old set-up, we could only fit one nightstand between the beds, but the frames for the “new” beds are narrower, so we can now fit two.

And like the old beds, there is plenty of room underneath for stashing extra blankets and toys. At nightime, we cushion the hard floor with blankets and pillows to protect against any falls.

It wasn’t until this past Thanksgiving that I found out from my mother that the original owners of the beds weren’t her parents, they were her grandparents. In the late 1800s, married couples slept in matching twin beds. It was considered “unsanitary” for two people to sleep in the same bed. My great-grandparents married in 1903, so we assume the beds were purchased around that time, making them over 100 years old. Take that, particle board!

The beds have held up well. I love the decorative curves on the headboard.

Here’s a photo of my grandfather (right) and the person I believe to be my great-grandfather (left), the original purchaser of the beds. My mom never met her grandfather (left) but this man appears in several other old family photos so I can only assume he was a relative, most likely my grandfather’s father.

But there’s a little more to this story. In 1865, my great-great-grandparents (Charles and Mary Ruby) were sailing from New York to Savannah on a ship called the Star of the South when their son was born. They named him James Star Ruby, after the name of the ship. James Star Ruby also named his son James Star Ruby. When my mom was born, she was named after her grandmother, but when I came along, my parents gave me the middle name Star. My son Jack has the middle name Star as well.

Not only have we been able to pass down a family name from generation to generation, we have something tangible as well. We hope to continue this tradition for years to come.

Do you have any family heirlooms in your home? Are you named after a relative who lived many years ago? What other family traditions do you pass along to future generations?

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Posted in Bedrooms

Tagged antiques, family, heirlooms

Vintage Country Yard Sale: Wish You Were Here

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Leslie | 4 Comments

My husband’s Grandma is moving from the home her husband (who passed away in 2005) built in 1955 in western Pennsylvania to a smaller home, so the family held a gigantic yard sale last weekend after consigning furniture and other larger items. Grandma wasn’t a hoarder but she hung on to just about anything with any sentimental value or usefulness, which means we displayed wares from the midcentury and every decade since.

For starters, she had over 300 Ball, Atlas, and a few Kerr Mason Jars in the garage in pint and quart sizes.

Matt and I bought a set of the classic blue jars, which Matt plans to DIY into a chandelier.

She still had these old apple cider jugs.

We had many collectors come early to pick out treasures like this almond joy box….

…classic storage tins.

…some old roller skates.

A sweet cookie jar that served countless batches of cookies to little reaching hands.

An assortment of vintage sewing patterns and vibrantly colored spools of thread. Grandma’s sisters stopped by and picked out a few patterns and bags of thread for their own projects.

Trucking and other lawn and automobile supplies that emerged from the depths of the garage.

Other inscrutable (to me) cooking utensils that are certainly antiques but probably very useful even now, if you can figure out what they’re for.

A wagon that found a new home for Matt’s cousin with twins and an old tricycle that Matt and his brother Brian played with when they were little. My girls enjoyed pedaling down the big driveway on it during the sale. (They even tumbled off one time just like Matt and Brian did.)

I love these vintage laundry baskets that Grandma still uses and, as with her other possessions, has kept in mint condition.

I couldn’t resist buying these old cameras from Grandma whether they work or not.

I took this box of Life magazines home too so I could make a more lucrative sale for Grandma. Plus, I want to look through them!

Before the sale started, Grandma gave me a beautiful collection of barrettes that my mother-in-law and her sisters wore when they were little. She thought Ana and Nadja may enjoy wearing them, but they’re so likely to get lost that instead, I think I’ll have them framed like butterfly specimens. That way, we’ll remember them as a keepsake from their own Grandmother’s childhood.

My girls will so miss spending time in their Great-Grandma’s house having “adventures” in the attic that their Grandma shared with her two sisters and exploring the sprawling three-plus acres just like their Grandma did growing up. I hope the house goes to a nice family who will keep it up as well as Grandma and Papap did all those years.

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Posted in Favorite Finds

Tagged antiques, apple cider jugs, ball jars, life magazine, mason jars, tins, vintage, vintage barrettes, vintage sewing patterns, yard sale

Caring for Antique and Vintage Furniture and Accessories

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Katie | 4 Comments

As I get older, I find I’m phasing out some of my cheaper furniture for nicer vintage or antique pieces with more character. I’d like to make sure my investments last a long time so for some tried and true cleaning and care tips, I sat down with our local antique and vintage experts at Potomac West Antiques and Interiors. They shared the following tips which they use on pieces that come in the shop and on their personal pieces at home.

Restoring/Repairing Furniture

For scratches, small nicks, uneven coloring or surface damage, use #0000 Super Fine steel wool with Howard Restor-A-Finish and wipe it down. Follow the instructions on the Restor-A-Finish packaging carefully and make sure to wear rubber gloves. Don’t let the product sit on the wood for too long (about 5-10 minutes) before wiping the excess off.
For bubbled veneer, place a damp cloth over bubbled area and apply a hot iron over cloth for few seconds.

Cleaning Furniture

Use the following mixture to clean finished and unfinished wood. Wipe with clean cloth.

1/3 linseed oil
1/3 white vinegar
1/3 turpentine

Waxing/Shining Furniture (regular maintenance)

Do not use products like Pledge or Endust. They can discolor as well as damage wood.
Do use a wax product like The Original Bees Wax for weekly/regular cleaning or a product like Briwax. These help to protect and preserve the wood. You can use these products as you are dusting/cleaning your house regularly.

Upholstered Fabric Furniture and Rugs

Keep dust free.
Do not keep in direct sunlight as the fabric will fade and discolor.

China/Crystal/Stemware

Always wash china, crystal and stemware in lukewarm water with mild dish soap or detergent. Take special care with china that has gold plate around the edge.

Sterling Silver

Do not store silver plate or sterling silver flatware mixed in with stainless steel flatware as it will cause the silver to tarnish and discolor.
Polish sterling silver using Cape Cod Metal Polishing Cloths — they come pre-packaged in sets of two cloths. The cloths clean and polish silver (Potomac West’s resident metal smith, David Sisson owner of Metal Magic, swears by them).
Polish silver when tarnished or in need of a cleaning. The more often you clean and polish, the easier the job will be.

Many of the cleaning products mentioned here can be purchased at Potomac West Antiques and Interiors at 1517 Mt. Vernon Avenue. And, their staff is super helpful if you ever have specific questions.