I hope that everyone is enjoying their holiday. Simone is still on vacation and will be returning sometime during the week. I am looking forward to seeing the photos from her vacation. I suspect that she will prepare a special viewing for us on popcorn Friday, for now – let’s talk garage sales.
I spent the greater part of this weekend browsing the numerous garage sales in VanKleek Hill. For some unknown reason, garage sales seem to be a weekend ritual in this town. There were at least 30 of them in a five- mile radius of our first stop. Fifteen minutes from our home, north of Montreal, Canada, this small Ontario town is famous for its’ weekend garage sales and “gingerbread” style homes.
According to Wikepedia; “Vankleek Hill was named Ontario’s Gingerbread Capital in 2003. Gingerbread is the woodwork that adds architectural detail to building exteriors and interiors. The porches, windows, gables, and roof-lines of over 250 homes in Vankleek Hill contain Victorian era decorative gingerbread elements. The backdrop for these homes are red brick, a hallmark of Vankleek Hill Victorian and Edwardian period buildings.
My husband and I have always had a love for antiques and for truly “odd” things. We often spend Saturdays during the summer visiting neighbouring towns scouring garage sales for that special “treasured” piece. We never expected that the treasure we would find this weekend was the town itself. I think we both fell in love with this quaint little town and we have pledged to return to it as often as we can.
Our interest in garage sales stems from a family tradition that we inadvertently started years ago. Bored one Saturday afternoon, I challenged my family. On a whim, I said; “Let’s do something different today, let’s go find some garage sales. Each of us has to find an item at the garage sale that “speaks” to us. You can not spend more than five dollars on it and it must be something we can display in our home. Everyone will vote on who finds the best item and the winner will choose where we will eat tonight.” It was so much fun, it has become a family tradition both for the garage sale and a family dining night out.
We have found some beautiful accessories for our home over the years, but it is the stories that we have to tell about them that is the truly inspiring part of the design.
This week my husband found an old ceramic tea-pot for two dollars. Placed neatly on a glass table in our living room that has mustard yellow walls, this piece just makes the wall colour stand out. Good Job!
I, unfortunately was not feeling it. I just did not find anything I liked, I suppose it is because I had my mind on something else – I could not stop thinking about the beautiful word-work on the homes in VanKleek Hill.
It looks like I will be spending this garage sale season looking for some woodwork of my own. We often spend so much time worrying about the inside of our homes, we forget about the exterior. This weekend I was reminded of that. Although, I do not have a brick house, I do have a gingerbread shaped house. I think it needs some unique exterior artwork to make it special.
Garage sales are a great way to find inexpensive accessories that can transform any living space into something truly unique. Not to mention they are a great opportunity for a family outing and a good way to get some exercise on a lazy Saturday.
Garage sales are what inspires my design, what inspires yours?
Madeline
