Winter Plants for Decorating

I love to use fresh plants to decorate with.  Here are some ways we have used things that are in season to spruce things up a bit. (Spruce, I get it!)

A mixed garland of berries and greenery.

These red berries are so pretty.

Pretty white Poinsettias set around in boxes or baskets.

Persimmons in a cement birdbath.  I love the pop of color they add.

Live garland draped across the window.  It smells so nice!

This is a live wreath that is being used as a centerpiece on the primitive farmtable. 

 Pinecones look pretty also, in a big jar.

Big bunches of Nandina in the urns on either side of the door.

Most of this can be found by taking a hike into your own yard, (or neighbor's).  JK.

My point is, you don't have to spend a lot of money to brighten, or yes "spruce" things up a bit.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)

Grainsack Chairs Before/After

Here is a little before and after  project that I finished the week we moved into the store.  It was a fun project and it went fairly fast, which is a good thing since I had so many other things to do those last few days.

So here is the before.

Oops!

 I just realalized that it is not a true before because the frame was a stained wood color before I painted them.  This is the way the chair pad looked though.

So first I painted them in a creamy white.  I sanded them next.  Finally I rubbed a mixture of Annie Sloan wax over them to "age" them.  If you look close you can see the "aged"one.

The one on the left is the "aged"one.

A close-up to see the details better.

After.  All finished with a new seat cover.

The chairs turned out exactly as I thought they would.  I love them.

They are not too frilly, just good lines and simple details.

The seat covers add a little color and fun.

One last close-up of some details.

Before

After

These chairs are currently available in the store.  Come on in to see them in person.  Sit in them for a bit to see how incredibly comfortable they are. 

 If you wait too long I might just sneak them into my car and take them back home.  I love them and they would work well in my house.  But that is how this business works, right?

  We sell things that we love.

The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Taylor Road

Loomis, CA,  95650

Inside the High Hand fruit sheds.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)



Finally ~ The Grand Opening Party pics for The Vintage Bricoleur

I promised some pics of the Grand Opening Party and I finally had a little time to show you.  High Hand had their Annual Lighting of the Nursery at 6 p.m., so we had our Grand Opening right before that, from 4 -6 p.m. although it continued on to about 8:30 p.m.

The Nursery was beautiful.

Thousands of lights sparkling.

Bon fires were lit to warm yourself. 

Back inside people were starting to show up.  About two thousand people came through the sheds that night.

Tim and Lisa of Blue Canoe Reloaded with Sandy Bryan and Lisa's dad.

Sandy of The Olive and Rose (one of our dealers) was happy to have her friend Lisa there.

Lori and her husband have a space at The Antique Trove..

These nice ladies were out for the evening.

Ann, Abigail, Hannah, Joyce and Isabelle.

Some ladies enjoying the complimentary cider and cookies.

Lots of visiting.

Sandy again with another friend Lonnie.

Lonnie and her husband from Creekside Rummager and James and Jacque from Old Soul Studios.

 I love this pic of James and Jacque.

Amanda McReynolds of Element (one of our dealers- on the right) and her mom and friend.

A bit crowded at times....

inside and out!

A couple enjoying the shop.

Steve and Georgia Baron from Newcastle Wedding Gardens visiting with Danny.

Mark and Sandy Bryan.

Melanie Zelder my good friend of Zelder Antiques (one of our dealers) and I.

Danny my husband and Don Zelder of Zelder Antiques (one of our dealers).

Mark and Sandy, Laura Strang, Terry, Danny, Melanie and Don.

Happy dealers ( minus Amanda, Coralie, Angela, Shirlie, and Brenda) at the end of the night.

Danny and I, tired and happy.

There were so many more who came by and continued to, through the weekend.

Holly and Delores from Gathering Better Junque , Carey and Suzanne from Frolic,  Karryann and her family from Gracefully Vintage, the girls from Not Too Shabby , Julie Chiodo from Summer Cottage Antiques, Jana from Cottage Girls , Cyndi and Caroline from Horse and Buggy Consignments, and many other loyal customers.

Thank You again for your support!

You can find us at,

3750 Taylor Road

Loomis, Ca 95650

Inside the High Hand fruit sheds.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)



The Vintage Bricoleur ~ Finished in 25 Days.

As most of you know, we have opened our own store inside the

 High Hand

 fruit sheds in Loomis, CA.

This whole process has been very fast. 

 For over a year now, my husband and I have been looking for the perfect place for us.  It was important for us to be close to home, but also be in a place that had good traffic.  After checking out a few places in Loomis, we thought, "What about High Hand?"  We walked inside and I fell in love.  The sheds are 110 years old and full of character.  There were already a few other businesses inside the sheds and we felt that we could be an asset by adding a Vintage Home Design and Antiques shop.  After a few visits with the owner of the sheds we came to an agreement. 

He would give up a portion of a room where he stored and sold pots, for us to build our store.  This all took place the second week in October.

So...

After drawing up plans and submitting them to the County,

we waited,

and waited.

Finally, we got the go ahead and on November 5th, we started the building.

The whole family was involved and we even had some very appreciated help from a friend visiting from Canada.

Progress!

 Framed, sheeted, windows installed and trimmed, overhang framed.

Insulation and drywall.

Beautiful wood ceiling, electrical and fire sprinklers.

Siding, and paint.

Tape and mud.

Paint samples. Can you see the difference?  We chose FROST.

Again, lots of help from friends and family.

The painting took place on Thanksgiving morning.  Just one week before opening.

Another helper. 

(There was also lots of help behind the scenes in the way of meals, babysitting, encouraging visits, etc.)

Black Friday evening. 

Baseboard and trim, and a coat of Poly on the floor.  The kids are cleaning the cracks.  The next morning the trim was painted

And here is the start of our first window display on Sunday the 27th!

Wow, what a month!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we moved in and on Thursday December 1st, we had our soft opening.

Friday was our Grand Opening Party, and as you know it was a great success. 

Thank you again for your support.

Once again, the finished product.

One window display.

And the other.

So... now that you know how it all came to be, come by and pay us a visit.  We love visiters and the shop is full of treasures waiting for you.

The Vintage Bricoleur

3750 Taylor Road

Loomis, Ca 95650

Coming soon Grand Opening pics.

Terry (one of the bricoleurs)