Unique & Useful Finds at The Vintage Bricoleur

The Vintage Bricoleur offers a variety of unique and useful finds for your decorating needs.  Being the practical person that I am, I am always looking for items that can be both pretty and at the same time serve a purpose.

bricoleur

(Noun) French:

One who makes creative and resourceful use 

of whatever materials are at hand

 regardless of their original purpose.

How about a vintage door with a mirror in it for a backdrop to a dresser?  Or a basket to hold a collection of silver plate?

Pretty old jars are great for storing food in the pantry or for organizing threads and buttons in the craft room.

A chippy ladder is an excellent plant stand, works well for a book shelf, or quilt rack.

A metal stand paired with some primitive bead board make a perfect side table.

A long wood box with shelves built in to it is a great bookcase or display for small spaces.

This metal headboard/footboard hung side-by-side on the wall would be a great headboard for a bigger bed.  Love the color!

These rolls of burlap are so pretty draped around a window or used as a table runner.

Come get your "bricoleur" shirt.  Available at the store, both in Men & Women styles.

So...

 Have these photos inspired you to use something similar in your home?  Do you need something like this to complete a project?  Did you come up with a different idea than what I suggested?

Please share what you are thinking.  I love comments. :)

Visit us:

The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Taylor Road

Loomis, Ca. 95650

Inside the High Hand  fruit sheds.

Tuesday-Saturday 10 -5

Sunday 10-4

Follow us on Facebook!

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)

TVB @ Sacramento Antique Faire this Sunday

Come visit us at The Sacramento Antique Faire

 this Sunday, January 13th. 

** These photos are from the last show that we did there.  **

Come see what we will have this time!

 This month the show will be in the original location on 21st between W & X streets.

6:30 am - 3:00pm.

Find us in space M-5&6.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The store will be OPEN as usual:

The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Taylor Road

Loomis, Ca. 95650

Inside the High Hand  fruit sheds.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Tutorial - Hutch

This is a simple tutorial on how to use the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  

We sell the paint in our store and every day I am asked about this wonderful product.  We also offer a class once a month, the next one is to take place on

February 19, 2013

11:00 - 1:30

$95.

Call (916)663-4663 to reserve your seat.
(The January class is full.)

When we picked up this hutch at a little junk shop close by, and we knew that we would paint it.

This paint is great because there is no prep work that needs to be done before you paint. 

 NO priming,

 NO sanding,

 NO stripping.

We wiped it down with a clean rag to remove any dust and started painting.

We mixed the Antibes Green and the Aubusson Blue 50/50.

See? A shiny dark surface, no sanding.

Just paint it on.  It will dry fairly fast.

When the paint is dry, distress it by using a piece of sandpaper.  We like to hit the details of the piece, the edges and corners.

Put the Clear Wax on next with a wax brush.  Dab it into the wax and start pushing it into your paint by rubbing in circles or back and forth.  Whatever feels comfortable to you. Wipe off any excess with a clean rag.  Work in sections until your piece is covered completely.  The Clear Wax seals the piece and allows you to smooth the Dark Wax around.

Apply the Dark Wax next.  Work in sections, rub on with the wax brush, and wipe off any excess if it looks a little too dark for you.  The Dark Wax richens the color and gives the piece patina.

The final step is buffing the entire surface with a buff brush.  This is done by a fast high friction movement.  It will become very smooth and it shines it up a bit.

A close-up of the distressing details and patina.

Put the hardware back on.

The color mix turned out to be gorgeous!

Wow! What a difference!!!

We painted the inside of the top in Old White.

This photo is a little bright, but I had to share it with you to show you how great the hutch stores and holds things.  This piece would work great for a kitchen or dining room.

~Before~

~After~

And yes, this project was all done in the living room! 

 This paint is very low VOC.  This was done with 1 coat of paint and used about a 3rd of the quart of paint.

Clean up: We use warm water and dish soap to clean our paint brushes and a small cup of mineral spirits to clean our wax brushes.  Water and soap can be used on the wax brushes also. 

So do YOU have an ugly hutch, cabinet, desk, chair, dresser, or table that needs some TLC? Come on in to our store and get your paint!  There are 30 beautiful colors to choose from, and you can create your own colors by mixing a couple together.  It is an easy process.

What color will you choose?

The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Taylor Road

Loomis, Ca 95650

Inside the High Hand  fruit sheds.

This post is linked up to French Country Cottage, Feathered Nest Friday.  Thank You Courtney!

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)

Summer Cottage Antiques in Petaluma

The book signing that my husband and I attended was held at

 Summer Cottage Antiques in Petaluma.

I love the old town of Petaluma, so it was easy to head down there and for it to also be in one of my favorite antique stores was a bonus!  I will share some of what I saw while I was there.

Here is Miss Mustard Seed  doing a little shopping herself!

This space belongs to my friend Julie.  I love her beachy style.

Spools of vintage ribbon all lined up so pretty.

Pretty old seltzer bottles.

I loved these wooden spools in the bucket.

If you are in the area and need Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, they carry it at Summer Cottage.

I can't resist a dress form.

A glass aquarium  full of metal letters.

This dresser was done in Miss Mustard Seeds Milk Paint .

I like how the mirror reflects the paint.

What an awesome cabinet!

And once again here is Michelle and I.  She is the owner of Summer Cottage Antiques.  She is so sweet, go visit her store!

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)

Miss Mustard Seed Book Signing

Last week on December 11, my husband and I had the opportunity to go to a book signing at

 Summer Cottage Antiques in Petaluma.

Marian a.k.a. Miss Mustard Seed

 was signing her new book

  Inspired You.

We traveled part way down the evening before and the next day hit a few shops before the book signing.

You might be asking why I would travel almost two hours to meet Marian.  Well, about 3 years ago I was introduced to her blog by a friend.  I have followed Marian's journey of building her business.  Her story and projects were very inspiring to me.  I was interested in starting my own blog but was a little overwhelmed at the thought.  I wrote to her a few times and she very kindly answered back, encouraging me to go ahead and do it.  She told me all I needed was a few pretty photos and a brief sentence or two, and that it would help to grow my business.  So when I heard that she was coming to Ca. and not too far away from us, I was anxious to go.  It was also nice to meet and visit with fellow bloggers.

Here we are together in front of a display selling her line of Milk Paint.

Marian with Gen from Gracefully Worn  who stocks the Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint at Summer Cottage.

Michelle (owner of Summer Cottage ) & I.

Kate-Centsational Girl , Marian-Miss Mustard Seed, Maria-Dreamy Whites .

Even the husbands enjoyed visiting with each other telling fish stories and sharing building tips.  This is Jeff, Marian's husband and my husband, Danny.

And finally, here is Marian, signing my book.  If you have not had the chance to purchase your copy, I highly recommend it.  It is full of beautiful photos of Marian's home, tutorials and words of wisdom.

Thank You Gen and Michelle for hosting the book signing.  Thank You Marian for all the inspiration.  Thank You Maria and Kate for your blogging examples.  It was so good to meet many others that night, including a few (Michelle & Maria) who are where I was a few years ago and want to start their own blogs and businesses. If I can do it, anyone can. 

And Thank You Danny, my wonderful husband and business partner for the chance to work together every single day!

After almost 2 years of writing my own blog and owning our own store for a year, we are so happy to be able to be following our dream.  Please visit us on our Facebook page and like us there, Follow us here on the blog and come see us at our store,

The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Taylor Road

Loomis, Ca 95650

Inside the High Hand  fruit sheds.

Soon I will share some photos of the beautiful store Summer Cottage Antiques in Petaluma.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)