Bailey’s Home & Storage

I promise to eventually get back to more fashion related posts… I’ve got lots of things planned for the blog after the big move. But for now, pretty much all fashiony things have been pushed to the back of my mind in favor of interior design and remodeling projects.

One of our main goals in restoring this old home is to do things in a way that utilizes “green” products and processes. Green. That’s such a buzz word nowadays and I sort of hate the way it’s overused and abused but it’s still the most apt word I can think of to sum up our philosophy toward the house. Anyway, I digress. One of my favorite ways to “be green”, if you will, is finding new ways to use old products. I’ve been researching how to turn an old dresser into a bathroom vanity, searching for old crates to use as storage in my new studio space and collecting flea market odds and end for decorating.

For inspiration, I’ve been studying the Bailey’s Home & Storage site. Unfortunately it’s out of our reach – both geographically and financially but it’s so much fun to look! From their site…

“The things we sell are a surprising mix of vintage and new from a variety of sources – but they all share the qualities integral to our repair, reuse, rethink philosophy. One of our favourite things is to reuse unloved bits and pieces (small or large) that we find on our travels, and give them a new lease of life – it’s our version of recycling… so abandoned bobbins from old textile mills turn up on our shelves as egg timers, lamp bases or string holders; scraps of floor board become mirror frames, tables or even kitchen units.”

Rainy Day

trench coat: Gap
rain boots: Wellies
umbrella: vintage
Thank you so much for all of the wonderful encouraging comments on my last post! I’m glad you finally got to see a little bit of what I’ve been up to over the past month or so. We’re really proud of the progress so far and we’ve been taking lots of before and during photos so when we get it all done and take our after photos I’ll have to post a little series.
Here’s the rainy version of the outfit I was wearing yesterday. I wanted to get some shots of our backyard but the sky wouldn’t cooperate. We’re only moving about seven blocks from our apartment to our house so whenever I have to make a quick trip there I usually just walk; thus the rain boots and umbrella. As excited as I am about the inside of the house, I’m equally excited about having our own tiny backyard.
We already have plans for a porch swing and a little vegetable/herb garden and finally a place to compost! And there’s a scraggly orange cat that lives next door (I’ve already dubbed him Mr. Orange – I love Tim Roth). He climbs the fence and comes to visit so I’ll be working on fattening him up. Oh, and my mom already built the worlds cutest bird house to hang on the fence so I can entice all the pretty little yellow finches I see in the trees to come live in the yard.