 Among the stacks of moving boxes and piles of "where should this live" I sit on the floor with a plate in my lap. I recently moved and I'm in desperate need of a dining room table. November's "The Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest" Showstopping TOPS sponsored by "ETI Envirotex" came at the perfect time. Thanksgiving dinner picnic style was not an option I was willing to entertain.
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After a 3 month adventure in Rome I am back with some special treasures! Having to be selective on the items traveling back to San Francisco with me was hard. There is a massive amount of amazing finds and sadly my suitcase was only so big. Rome has markets everyday, the contents ranging from touristy trinkets to vintage treasures. My favorite was the Porta Portese Market that took place every Sunday outside of my apartment and was a wonderful 1.5 miles of Italian goodies! Read More  Another great week on the Road to Rome. We left "Sonni California" for the grey skies of Seattle and I am loving every minute of it! The countless antique stores, vintage shops and street fairs have produced so many goodies like this peachy bedazzled hat box! Read More  Furniture hardware can make or break your makeover project. Select the wrong style and your piece will look like it's going through a midlife crisis and the wrong size will fade into the background or take center stage. The goal is to accessorize with the right hardware that will take the piece to the next level. I am always on the look out for new hardware, whether or not I actually have a project in mind. So much so that I carry a screwdriver around in my purse. Some of my favorite hardware has come off of the abandoned furniture from the streets of San Francisco. When thrifting remember to not just looking at the furniture but to check out the hardware, if the furniture item isn't great but is a good price I will buy the item for the drawer pulls or knobs. Another great place to find unique hardware is at the Alameda Point Antique Faire, there are a few vendors that have a small selection but there is one gentleman that has an entire booth dedicated to vintage treasures! I have also found some wonderful pieces at many of the San Francisco thrift stores, Community Thrift and The Salvation Army in the Mission have a lot of furniture turnover so if you see something you like you have to get it when you see it or it won't be there tomorrow.  A few months ago while treasure hunting at the Alameda Antique Faire hidden behind piles of items I saw a lily pad base popping out and was instantly in love. I have seen this type of lamp before but never with an ornate shade base. They were beautiful and they needed to come home with me! Once home I did some thinking and decided that though they are lovely in their original form I wanted to update them. My first thought was Edison bulbs, industrial chic and modern. To do so the lamps needed to be rewired from a chandelier base to a standard socket. This is something I have never attempted before so I took them to a lamp expert only to be told it would cost $110...Eek! Not willing to drop that much cash on a couple of lamps I decided to give it a whirl myself...after all I changed all the electrical sockets and hardwired the ceiling pendants at the shop why was this any different. After digging through the lamp kit section at my neighborhood hardware store I found what I thought might do the trick!  1 of 2 Vintage Lily Pad Table Lamps  Chandelier base to be replaced with standard socket  Tools needed to complete transformation  Chandelier base First thing make sure your wiring works, if it does not you will need to use new wiring. Secondly make sure the lamp is unplugged and gather your tools. In this case my wiring was good all I needed was a small flat head screw driver and the new socket. While removing the chandelier socket I made sure to mark which wire went with which screw, as you can see in the photo below one is silver and one is gold. I used a purple sharpie and just scribbled on the wire to be connected to the silver screw. Slide your wires through the hole that attaches the socket to the lamp, bend the wires around the proper screw and tighten. Screw the socket back onto the lamp, add a lightbulb and hit the switch! It really is that easy!  New Standard Socket
 Final Product The lamp expert I spoke to said it was hard work and time consuming hence the hefty price tag. This took me 15 minutes and $9 to complete both lamps. I was a little weary after hearing how hard this could be and I didn't want to ruin such beautiful pieces, but when I plugged the lamps in and the light bulb lit up I was elated. I called Dad to tell him my story so proud of myself for accomplishing something new, but what really made me smile was what he said about the lamp expert, "He hasn't met a Stoecker"! Dad was right, as usual, you can do anything you put your mind to, have confidence in yourself and give it a whirl. Thanks Dad!
I have stocked the shop for the kick-off of the holiday shopping season! Give the gift that no one else will, all home decor accessories and furniture are one of a kind! Here are a few of my favorites! Shop the Small Business Saturday Sale! 10% Off Home Decor & 20% Off Furniture through Monday November 30th.
HOLIDAY HOURS: Wednesday-Sunday 10am - 7pm
The online shop went live on Monday and it has been a great week! All of the small decor items are available for shipping and are ready to find a new home! The larger pieces are also available for shipping but require a conversation to create a shipping quote personalized to your location. To do so shoot me an email or give me a call! Here is a look at a few of the pieces that are new to the site! Also added to the shop are a couple of wearable non home decor items. These beautiful headbands and scarves are hand crocheted and the company supports the ALS Association, a Great Holiday Gift Idea!   
 I'm back in San Francisco after a wonderful and inspiring trip to Austin, I am so excited to get into the workshop to start some new projects. Austin has so many antique stores and thrift shops to explore and I spent three days walking through dusty, jam packed shelves of treasures! After finding a great little coffee shop, Monkeys Nest, I headed to the first shop. Out of the Past is a small shop with items from floor to ceiling, everything is piled on top of everything and it is a place where you really have to dig but well worth it because I came out with a few treasures! The rest of the shops I visited were smaller in terms of inventory, more organized and didn't require hand sanitizer.
 There was so much to look at! Your classic shop finds like brass animals, odd ball items like baby doll mannequins, fine antique leather goods and of course furniture from beautifully restored to artistically painted! Thank you Austin for the treasures...I'll be back!
I am very excited to share some news with everyone today! Next month I will be a participating vendor at the Alameda Point Antique Faire! On Sunday October 4th the shop on Irving Street will be closed but you will be able to find Delightful Designs goodies at Alameda Booth D28. For more information including directions pop over to their website www.alamedapointantiquesfaire.com I have been attending this faire since I moved to the San Francisco area seven years ago! Whether you are looking for something particular or just want a fun way to spend a Sunday this is a great place to do either! As you enter the gates the familiar scent of kettle corn hits your nose... grab a bag and begin to wander the endless rows of treasures. Bring the family there are plenty of toys for little ones to take home! Don't forget to stop for lunch at one of the many food trucks! Here are some Before & After photos of Items I have found at the Alameda Faire!
If you are a resident of San Francisco you will welcome the change as you escape from Karl the Fog for a sunny adventure...take the ferry if you really want to up the adventure!
If you have been following along, and I hope you have, you probably noticed that I love all things colorful, shiny and sparkly! This month at the Alameda Antique Faire I was drawn to a certain metallic...can you guess which one? Metallics are very versatile, they can create an entire glamorous setting or enhance a more subtle look. After a fun day wandering the market I brought some amazing brass treasures home and began to polish them back to the original shiny state. Photos are before being polished.     After polishing brass some copper may rise to the surface resulting in pink spots. I am currently experimenting with a mixture of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide which is supposed to transform any brass piece back to its fabulous metallic state! I'll keep everyone posted as to the results! Trying to be environmentally friendly and avoid the chemical cleaners I made a paste from 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup white vinegar and added white flour until a paste was formed. I then painted the paste onto the brass items let is sit for a few minutes, rubbed it in with a cloth, washed them off with water and then one final polish with a clean and dry cloth.
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~ ABOUT ME ~
Creative Owner of Delightful Designs, a boutique where furniture is given a new colorfully chic life! Read more...
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