Friday 1 April 2016

Utter clutter

I live in a small terraced house built in the 1930s, which we call “Dove Cottage” as the street we live in translates as “Dove Street”.

Dove cottage was originally a two up two down, which was later extended with a kitchen and bathroom downstairs.
Although the house is big enough for the two of us, it is the accumulated clutter which at times makes it feel a little cramped.



We do have a big basement, as well as a built-in cupboard over the stairs, both of which we’ve been promising ourselves to sort out for years. But although once in a while we bag up some things for the charity shop, we have only been making small dents in the job at hand.

As I am quite orderly and organized, things are not looking too cluttered, but minimalist it certainly isn't!

The Easter weekend would have been a great opportunity for a clear out, but what did we do? Yes, that's right: we succumbed to the lure of two charity shops and one flea market and came home with yet more stuff ...

This was what we got at the charity shop on Friday.





This jam pot in a brown plastic holder with pretty flower decoration is from Emsa, a German company who have produced plastic tableware since the 1940s.




This one dates from the 1970s and as we already have several items of the same design and the price was right, it would have been quite foolish to leave it behind.






I also found several vintage strings of beads, shown here by the lovely Angelica, a brown felted hat and a handmade 1950s style dress which is a perfect fit.


The charity shop we went to is one of the few that have a coffee corner, where you can get a free cup of coffee. Nice, isn’t it? And what do you think of that wall decoration, shown in the top right picture?




Saturday's charity shopping trip yielded these two boxes, which originally held cutlery. I am using them to store my ever-expanding collection of brooches.



There was a red and white Karelia dress waiting for me on the clothing rail and as it was only € 4 I just had to snap it up.



















On Sunday, we were at a bit of a loose end, as our original plans for the day were cancelled.
As luck would have it, there was an indoor flea market in a nearby town, so that is what we did instead.

This particular flea market is held every month from September to June, and here’s a small impression:


So, what did we find? In spite of the myriad of things on offer, we restrained ourselves and only came away with a few bits and pieces.



A volume of 1963 magazines, which is covering the murder of John F. Kennedy in its November issue.





















A pretty sewing basket and some more vintage brooches, and last but not least, these cute little deer!




















To finish this picture-heavy post, I would like to share the inspiration for its title: an "utterly" divine shop in Leominster, Herefordshire!


So, what will the next weekend bring?

28 comments:

  1. I embrace clutter, but I grew up with a minimalist for a mother (had to sneak the vintage in so she wouldn't see).

    So many lovely finds. I'm glad you resisted the lure of a bar of Coast bath soap-though if you're ever in the mood to clear your sinuses whilst in the shower, let me know and I can send you a few bars (it is still sold here). Strong stuff, that Coast soap.

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    1. I'd never heard of Coast bath-soap, Goody. I don't think it was ever sold here in Belgium, but I could be wrong. The man selling the soap had all kinds of things, all grouped together in boxes. The box full of soaps just caught my eye. xxx

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  2. I am LOVING the idea of a cutlery box to store brooches in!

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    1. Now you know what to look out for on your next charity shopping trip! I already had a few smaller boxes, but was really lucky to find these 2 bigger ones, as I'm always running out of space. xxx

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    1. Thank you Ingrid. I'm glad your're following my blog. xxx

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  4. The idea of storing jewelry in a flatware/cutler box is pure genius! I shall never look at one of them the same way again. Thank you for sharing this great idea - and all of your awesome new finds and super lovely latest outfits - with us, sweet lady.

    Many hugs & happy start of April wishes,
    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Thank you Jessica and a happy start of April to you too! I'm always interested in other people's storage ideas, and I like the challenge of finding unusual storage solutions. xxx

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  5. I think there are probably quite a few of us out here in blogland who completely understand what you mean about the 'clutter'. That €4 dress was a total bargain, what a find. JFK, how sad. Dove Cottage looks a nice place to call home. Xxx

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    1. Hi there, thank you for your comment! It's quite a relief to know I'm not on my own and to meet people who "get" the clutter. I was very pleased to find that dress. xxx

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  6. I would definitely have bought the cutlery boxes, they are great and what a fab way to use them.
    Every time o read your blog posts I start laughing, we are soooo alike. Eight years ago we added a first floor to our two bedroom bungalow and its rammed with so much stuff now I could do to add another floor.
    We almost bought a gorgeous set of drawers with a mirror on top yesterday but I said we seriously have nowhere for it.
    Lynn xxx

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    1. Unfortunately there is no way we can add another floor to Dove Cottage ... But oh, the furniture we keep seeing that we want to take home but have no room for! We could easily fill another house. xxx

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  7. Look at your gorgeous finds!!!! I love the brooches (as a total brooch fiend too! I don't have that many vintage ones though!)
    It's nice the charity shop offers coffee too!
    That dress you got was a total bargain and very pretty to boot!xx

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    1. I noticed that you're a brooch fiend too. I simply cannot resist them, but always buy them very cheap at flea markets or charity shops. I have some non-vintage ones as well. I bought a very cute one in Wales last year, featuring sheep and daffodils. xxx

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  8. I loved this post, it's so on my wavelength!! Beautiful '50s dress, and the brooch storage idea is genius xx

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    1. Thank you Porcelina. I'm very pleased with that 50s dress. Quite a few people seem to like my brooch storage idea. Soon there will be no empty cutlery boxes left ... xxx

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  9. I'm not good with clutter nowadays, but sometimes it looks so arty and pretty, as it does in your house. If you like it, then keep it! xx

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    1. Sometimes even I feel the need to declutter, but it never lasts very long, I'm afraid. xxx

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  10. I try to avoid clutter, but it keeps finding me! Love all your buys especially those 1963 magazines, I'm sure they'll make for interesting reading.

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    1. Thanks for your comment. I know what you mean about the clutter ... I just love old magazines, have some from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s as well. Some of them have knitting patterns. I am not a knitter myself though. xxx

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  11. Hi! I stop here to say that this is a lovely post!
    Strolling in a flea market is nice and sometimes you can find little treasures there!
    I like the dresses, especially the red and white one...very Marni style!
    P.s.
    Dove Cottage looks very cute!

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    1. Hi Dan, how lovely to meet you! Glad you like the dresses and Dove Cottage. I'm going to have a look at your blog. xxx

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  12. Our house was quite big until we moved in. I tell Jon that we're like Koi carp and get larger depending on our surroundings! Vintage things aren't clutter, clutter is ugly, useless stuff like newspapers and car parts, we're alright!
    Great idea for the cutlery boxes, the chazzas are going to be ransacked by all your fans now.
    Fab outfits as ever, you stylish lady! xxx

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    1. Thank you Vix. Let's hope the chazzas will not start increasing their prices for cutlery boxes ... I agree that vintage things are not clutter, of course, but not everybody seems to see it that way. xxx

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  13. I love those Emsa pots, they're so cute. And so very continental; I don't think we had designs quite like that in the UK.

    Clutter is just great stuff that hasn't found a place yet. If you can find your way through it, your home isn't cluttered.

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    1. 1960s and 1970s Emsa stuff is quite popular here amongst the "vintage crowd", but you can still sometimes pick them up at charity shops for next to nothing. Our little collection started with the eggcups which I found at Oxfam.

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  14. Don't you find some fabulous things! I can trawl from charity shop to charity shop here and not come up with a single thing!

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    1. Thanks Melanie, but believe me, there are times I find absolutely nothing for weeks on end too. I guess I have been lucky lately. xxx

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