Classy floor lamps are expensive –like, very expensive. As I priced sturdy lamps for my new North Seattle apartment, I couldn’t find a single sturdy tripod-style adjustable lamp for under $250. Target and World Market had non-adjustable options in the $80-$120 range, but I’d been tricked into buying cute-but-fragile lamps there before and always ended…
I felt equal parts fascination and horror the first time I walked into a goodwill outlet. Although I’d heard about the outlet by word of mouth, I found myself there by accident. It wasn’t until a GPS told to “take us to Goodwill” routed us to the outlet instead of the Goodwill mega-store a…
Setting your prices can be one of the hardest parts of having a flea market booth. How you price determines how quickly your inventory will turn over, which impacts how customers experience your booth. If items catch the eye but the pricetag turns them away, the customer might not stay in your booth and…
“Free inventory.” At the mere mention of the phrase, you might think of curbside finds or perhaps a way to rid yourself of bad Christmas gifts. However, over the years that I have maintained a flea market booth, I’ve located a surprising number of consistent sources of free inventory for my flea market booth.…
One easy way to add a bit of a not-too-harsh industrial vibe to your home is with vintage C clamps. Once only used for woodworking and similar construction projects, C clamps can be used to support shelves, add hooks, or secure items where you need them. C-clamps blend well into interior decor. Today’s utilitarian, shiny…
Since moving into the urban equivalent of a tiny house, I’ve learned to be very, very creative with storage. One of the ways I keep my art supplies handy but neatly organized is by using vintage luggage- especially train cases. Train cases make perfect storage for illustration markers, artists paint storage, and place to tuck away…
It’s no secret to anyone who visits my home or business that I love equestrian decor. Even so, I used to be surprised when my birthday rolled around each year and casual friends seemed to always think the perfect gift for me was a picture or painting of a horse. It made logical sense, I…
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to use scrap packing paper to produce this charming Christmas tree garland inspired by paper dolls but styled after classic gingerbread men. This project takes only a few minutes and uses materials you can probably find for free! This gingerbread man pattern is actually my own design, sketched and…
I’m almost as excited to share this project with my readers as I was to complete this project for myself! Creating this vintage train case turned marker holder has been my goal for a while, but it’s taken some patience to find the perfect train case and marker holder that fit without wasting a lot…
Last Updated: From 2010-2015 Hawk Hill’s stable was inhabited always by a horse or two and I ran a tack store out of a warehouse building on the property that was designed to look like a barn, so it seemed appropriate for both my use of the property and the design of the buildings themselves…
Confession: I have a Pottery Barn taste on a Target budget. I lust after expensive linens but used to convince myself to settle for something cheap, instead. Until recently. In 2010 I fell in love with the anthropologie rosette quilt, and though it was far more that I was comfortable spending on a quilt, I loved the…
Last Updated: One of the most frequently Pinterest pinned images from this site is this photo, above, from my chicken coop / barnyard, taken in the summer of 2013 (give or take a year), showing a an old leather horse halter that I converted into a hanger for a galvanized bucket of Calibrachoa flowers. The…
Within a week of signing the lease on my tiny studio apartment in Seattle, I had one of my favorite vintage chandeliers shipped to me from Missouri. Determined my new life had to have at least one chandelier, I converted it from a light fixture to a lamp with a plug and set about finding…
Though I only make it to Ikea about once a year, I’ve been eyeing the Emmie Blom duvet for awhile. Finally, I grew tired of my Anthropologie Rosette quilt and decided Emmie Blom might be an inexpensive makeover (and make up, just a little, for my previous splurge on Anthropologie bedding). Paired with a basic…
I don’t often tackle a room remodel by myself- typically my adventures are limited to small projects- but not too long ago I took a deep breath and dove into one of my biggest projects: remodeling a tiny bathroom cursed with peach tile, peach walls, and an 80’s vanity. Lacking the tools, funds, skill, and…
Poking through a small flea market about a 1,000 miles off the beaten path last week, I stumbled across a cache of stationary, pens, and notepads from the 1930’s and 1940’s. Each priced at nearly nothing, I scooped up the whole pile and started making plans. The timing was perfect, I was just a few…
Last Updated: Last fall a friend purchased a fantastic property with an old 19th century stone barn still standing. When I remarked on the old horse collars resting under a thick layer of dust in the old tack room, she immediately gifted me both. I knew right away I’d make wreaths with them, and thanked…
