Monday, November 01, 2010

I found you!


While our weekend trip to Southwest Michigan was wonderful, I found the shopping to be a bit lacking. Shit was crayspensive! On the hunting and gathering scale, I definitely lean toward the thrifting end of things, and this scene was most definitely full-on antiquing.


So, after settling comfortably into window-shopping mode, I really did enjoy myself. And if I had to part with any of my sweaty, crumpled wad of cash, it definitely would have been at Marco Polo. The pretty would just not stop.

More than that, the owners have serious vision, plucking things out of obscurity that I would have definitely passed over a million times. It gave me a whole new focus for re-stocking the shop (which will happen soon). They also happen to be incredibly nice and friendly.


It also made me realize we need to repaint our place. Badly. You can't go buying a beat-up old pie safe and position it on your nicked and scuffed old wall and expect it to look chic. Our house needs paint and it needs it NOW.


The bummer is that we're probably going to paint everything close to the exact same colors the walls are now. It's great that the colors work, but it kind of takes the joy out of such a huge process when there's not going to be any big reveal happening. Then again, maybe it's for the best: We all know how very bad I am at choosing paint colors.


So coming up, mini shopping/restocking road trip with my best pal Shan (who, as a wedding gift, got us a household membership to the Chicago Architecture Foundation. How cool is that?) and paint up to my eyeballs.


Anyone have a killer matte/glossy white wall/trim color combo they're dying to share?

4 comments:

Raina Cox said...

I'm with you - I love a well-edited, well-displayed vintage shop.

SomeGurrrl—GreenDigitalist said...

Marco Polo is a great find...thanks!!! Yep, lotsa antiquing here in SW MI.

Oth, thrifting here can be good. In Kzoo Sal. Army, to promote turnover, they tag things 4 or 5 colors, and every week a different color is half off, and at the end of the week, whatever is that color, Sat night after 7 pm('til 9) is 50 cents, so something might have been $6, then $3 during the week, and then 50 cents Sat night. What a deal, and it's regular, and the store is big.

Will check out Marco Polo next time I'm on Red Arrow Highway.

SomeGurrrl—GreenDigitalist said...

Oh, and according to some blogs about High Point (NC natl decor and furnishings show) -the colors of the moment are going grayish, somewhat away from dark woods, and toward pickling of woods in blue and green tones, with citrus hues as accents, so that might help with your palette a bit, as does the following blog in general (no personal connection to her...and sometimes I disagree and find her advice too "Eastern" conservative: http://colourmehappyblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/top-two-trends-from-high-point.html and the one she references: http://www.tracizeller.com/blog/post/tzd-trend-review-gray-is-here-to-stay.aspx

A black and white with some woods and grays palette?

Alison said...

Thanks, GreenDigitalist! I will definitely check out Kalamazoo next go-through.

As far as the colors of our place, I really like them (they were here when we moved in) but they need some refreshing. I'm mainly looking for a white that's nice and clean but not clinical and a glossy white trim to match. Any and all suggestions SO welcome!

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