French Parlor Update #2- Mirror, mantel, and china cabinet!

I have been having so much fun working on my parlor! This is the view that I can see as I walk past the door. It doesn't make any difference that the rest of the room is undone, this spot right here makes me so happy. I mean, just look at that light! This room has been a playroom, then schoolroom, then teen bedroom. I have always liked it, but it was much more about enjoying the kids that were in it. Now that I see it for the lovely room that it is, I just love being in there.

Here is how I had the other side of the window started. I found the sconce at Goodwill. I repainted it, made the missing "candle cone", and added the crystal bobeche with purple prisms that was my Grandma Tommy's. I love to decorate with china, and I thought the luster cake plate had colors that were perfect with the sconce. I say WERE, because things have changed.

And here is my beloved little desk that I told you all about HERE. I stole the mirror from the guest bathroom, and the fern stand from the foyer. The pot is an antique that my Grandma always talked about repairing and never got around to. But she loved it and so do I. My fake potted rose bush looks at home in it.  (Still looking at all the Habit for Humanity stores around for the right size closet doors.)

You may remember the "Scary Baby" frame? I told you about it in my first French Parlor Update, HERE. It's the one leaning against the wall that I am putting a mirror in. My son actually has a giant mirror leaning up against a shed. He told he got it from a friend that was demolishing a hotel. And the big sweetie (6'7") said I could have it! Now I just need to have it cut down. But something I have always wanted is a mantel. I've wanted one ever since the kids were little, to hang stockings on. But, despite having a wood stove for 26 years, we've never had a mantel. I was determined to have one in my parlor, whether there was a fireplace or not! Here are two of my options, both pulled out of my Pop's shop. The top one is a crown molding shelf that I found sticking out of a dumpster in town. The other is an ornate piano front that my boy's old music teacher, Mr Smith, gave to me years ago. I was thinking about combining the two to make a pseudo-mantle.

I had my Pop over to eyeball my options and he thought that the piano front would be too much for the spot. He was right, because even the shelf had to be cut down to fit under the frame nicely. But now I have a "mantel" that I can decorate in different ways. I can't wait to get the mirror in and see how candlelight reflects in it! Underneath the shelf you can see the picture and plates that I am contemplating for the walls. My Pop was looking over them, and I told him that my theme for the room was floral. He smirked and said he never would have guessed ;) All of these were kidnapped from other rooms, or china cabinets...

I still hadn't found a shade that I liked for the only lamp that would fit in the shelf of my desk. I finally snagged one that was the right size at Goodwill for just over a buck. It was covered in something that looked like it was supposed to be fake cowhide. Yech. I managed to pull all of that off, and was left with the nice sheer lining that you see underneath.

I got out the jar of my largest scraps of antique lace and started thinking of combinations.

The one above was very sweet. The laces were white, and both were a sort of eyelet design, which is a favorite of mine. But, then I tried out the almost coffee colored laces below and I was smitten. The top is a wide panel of handmade lace that would likely have been made into the panels of a dress. The bottom looked like it had been pulled from an old piece of lingerie; it had remnants of crumbling elastic on the back. And so I began on that. You can see the finished result further on.

One of the biggest missing elements to my parlor is the actual parlor set. I have one of the chairs stripped and needing to be sanded. But for now I have been working on getting all the tacks out of the settee. Look at them all! And they are front and back, top and bottom.

I told my hubby they made me think of ticks in a hound dog's armpit! Gross, but true, he he...

You heard me say that things had changed about unexpectedly. Well, I had tucked a little cabinet away, thinking that the kids might use it in their new house. They moved in two weeks ago, and I have asked multiple times, "Do you think you will need it?" They were still in process of shifting things about to their liking and simply didn't know. Finally, on Saturday, I got the word that the cabinet was staying in the barn. You see, I had this thought percolating in my tiny mind. If I have a parlor, I will want to invite people in for tea and goodies. My china is stored in multiple cabinets in the dinning room. Wouldn't it be nice to have my tea items in the parlor itself??? And Moma came down and helped me heave this little gal into the farm truck and take it home. I forgot to take a picture before I started painting, but you can still see that it was a yellow-green color. I'm going to tell you the sweet story behind this cabinet when I show it to you filled with treasure!

I was a bit miffed to find that the cabinet that I put in the barn in perfect condition had been enjoyed by a rat. Nothing doing, I sanded and painted it and I like to just call it "character".

I finished painting it in between a visit from the kids and putting in ear tags on the new baby heifers, and banding the new boys. But I still got finished and moved it inside! Then I stayed up till 11:30 (gasp!) carefully toting my collection of teacup and saucer sets into the room. I managed to get 22 sets of cups, 2 tea pots, 2 sugar bowls, a biscuit (cookie) jar, and my Grandma Tommy's silver tea set into it! And that's just the top, Dear Reader. Then I ran into the living room, literally jumping up and down, clapping and squealing, telling the hubby to come see. He just smirked, but gamely walked in and then pretended to have a heart-attack it was so wonderful. He got big brownie points for that ;). And yes, you are going to have to come back to see it filled with lovelies and to hear the story.

But did you notice how the china cabinet is in the spot where my desk was? It was the exact place I had wanted the desk since I first saw it. So, I was a tad sad to move it, even for the glorious thought of a china cabinet. And here's the other thing. I hung the mirror and mantel when I didn't even imagine I would get the china cabinet. So, I arranged everything according to where my desk was, meaning I didn't center it in the wall. Sigh. So my cabinet could only go in the desk's spot, and the desk is now too close to the mantel. Oh, and I had to take down the sconce I redid, because I already had the lamp on the desk. Hindsight is 20/20 right? Oh well, there is no stinkin' way I'm taking the frame and mantel down to move them, so no more whining over spilled milk! I will enjoy it all to the fullest, no matter.

The shade is now on my lamp, and it casts a lovely glow. I am inordinately proud of myself over that shade. It took me several hours to sew, and it was- ahem- a tad more complex than I anticipated in my rosy enthusiasm. Have you ever seen people make a globe? You can't just take a flat piece of paper and cover a rounded surface. It takes careful cutting and forming. While my shade is not exactly a globe, it was a mind stumper for a time. I finally sewed the lace to the top, and then had to tuck and adjust to create a straight line at the bottom. It took sewing every side, and whipstitching around each of the braces. But now it is done and I love it! And because I sewed everything by hand, and nothing is glued, the threads can be snipped and the antique lace could be removed unharmed.

Last, but certainly not least. I have been trying to find the perfect fabric to showcase the French fan that Grandma gave me more then 20 years ago. The scrap shown below was so bright it overwhelmed it. The fan is very old and delicate, and so it has remained folded all these years. I finally realized I had the perfect size frame for it to be displayed in! Pop made me a shadowbox to fit onto the back of it, and my last trip to Wal-mart I discovered the cloth I wanted. I have it glued into the box frame, and I have the tacks to hold the fan frame in place. In a couple days I should be able to hang it!

Up to now, the only money I have spent has been for wall paint (I already had the trim color), a lampshade, and the fabric for the fan case. Next I will need to pay to have the mirror cut. I am very proud to be doing this all from things I have saved back for years, or things I am reusing from other rooms. I am trying to be patient, especially since I know that the furniture still needs to be refinished and reupholstered. But I am so enjoying every step of the way! Can't wait till I can invite you in for tea and biscuits, Dear Reader!