Friday, July 20, 2007

~ Cool Summer Whites, Renninger's Weekend Part 2

Linda was busy painting some old hand-me-down furniture, antiqued white. In the 1970's there was so much "used" furniture everywhere, it cost next to nothing. This time for Linda it was nothing. Her mother-in-law lived in an incredible old, and huge to me, wood house overlooking the river an hour or so away. Funny how back then it seemed a long way. The MIL had given her another near worthless piece of furniture and Linda was transforming it into something much nicer. There was quite a bit of antiqued white furniture back then, and it didn't appeal to me. It was old, it was painted white, and it meant you didn't have the money to go buy something good and new. Hey I was a kid!

Linda (my first "older" friend, she was 28! ) became one of the most important people I would ever know. She was an artist, and she shared her paints and supplies with me. Years later we would decide to go back to school at the same time, not knowing the other was doing so as well. I was going to college for the first time and she was returning for her B.A. It was the beginning being an artist & designer for me and she was a part of the first real step.

Years later, I fell in love with white painted furniture and almost everything got some shade of white. I have many old pieces which have been painted blue, green, black, white, that if you sand a leg you would find all those colors. Then a few years ago I tired of all the white and craved some real wood. That's when the kitchen cupboards were redone. Some of the white furniture got painted a fresh coat of black.

Of course a short time later, I started wanting more white, or creamy white with an aged look.
At Renninger's, there is great booth with aged white furniture. The lady started out with one booth. She used to do all her own stripping and painting. She has a good eye and sense of what sells, so now she takes up quite a bit more room. I always enjoy seeing what she has. But I get overdosed with all white.
Funny I think she is getting a bit like that, too as is Rachel Ashwell who uses beautiful strong dark wood pieces more as of the last time I read something by her. And this is the perfect mix for me. I love the play of color and mood between dark or painted pieces with the whites.
As you can see she has expanded to somewhere between 4 and 6 spaces. This is really not a bargain hunting booth, but certainly a fun treasure hunting one. We had too much to do to make it to Vero Beach to shop, but went thrifting a little ways from home. I found some larger pieces that I wished I had room for, but didn't buy anything. I hope they are there when I get to that next room I'm planning!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures, and that you all have a great weekend.

19 comments:

  1. Hello Donna! This store is my kind of store! Loved the photos and the story of your "journey".

    I have an old black, painted buffet, originally oak in natural finish, stuck back in the storage room. I should drag it out. As usual, you have inpired me.

    Pat

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  2. Donna,
    I love those pictures. Isn't it funny how things change and go back again.
    I love mixing the white and dark, and painted pieces.
    Thanks so much for sharing with us.
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Rosemary

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  3. I too kn9w what you mean. I went from everything bright and light in creams and whites to dark, rich colors and I am loving it!

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  4. I have GOT to find a weekend...that looks amazing, and I haven't been in years!

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  5. Funny how tastes change over the years and end up coming full circle. I like the juxtaposition of whites and colors and woods as well. I don't want everything to be white either...selected pieces mixed in work better for me. When I can finally go through my Mom's things I am going to repurpose her old dresser and mirror for my studio by painting them...yes you guessed it...white.
    Doesn't your head just spin sometimes having SO much to look at in one place? It's a good kind of spinning though!
    XO

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  6. That is one amazing place...I really enjoyed looking at your pictures!

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  7. Thanks for sharing. I would love to visit this place. Looks really nice.

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  8. Oh my goodness! If I had the resources I would have bought up everything in your pictures! That's definitely my kind of place. Thanks for sharing, I loved scrutinizing those pictures, there's so much to see!

    Manuela

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  9. GAW-JUS! Maybe I need to get some white (creamy, of course) paint!

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  10. Those photos were wonderful! I enjoy creamy whites as accents, and love to see lots of whites used in the decor of friends, too. That booth is wonderful...especially the tole pieces! Yum!

    I hope that you're having a fun weekend.

    xo,

    Andrea

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  11. Oh, that looks like a fun place to browse. I think we all need more room for more treasures! I love all those tole pieces too. I could really overdose on those. Happy hunting!

    Rhoda

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  12. I thought you all might enjoy those pictures! This is the only booth like it at Renninger's. There used to be a lot of "shabby chic" stuff, but not as much anymore.

    Thank you all for taking the time to post your notes.
    Donna

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  13. I really like these pictures.

    Thanks for the comment on my blog and for taking the time to visit.
    Racheal x

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  14. ooooh, so pretty and enticing! What a sweet booth that is! Great photos Donners.
    xo,
    Kim

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  15. OHG! I wish I could visit that shop; it has my kind of things. Great pics!

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  16. This is truly my kind of store! Thank you for sharing it all with us! I really enjoyed seeing the pictures.
    I love that sideboard in the last photo!

    I so love mixing everything, darks and lights, styles...just seems right for me I guess!

    Hugs,
    Sue

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  17. Donna,
    What a great booth! I love all the tole items. So pretty, thanks for sharing.
    Sue

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  18. OMG! Tray paradise...I want all of them!

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  19. Love all the pictures. I've been craving a redo in mostly whites but Hubby loves things just they way they are......so, I will content myself with the pictures of others :)

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Donna