Another Reveal

I'm hoping to get another great response to the next new addition to UrbanTerra, UrbanTerra Lifestyle Nest, home decor posts that will inspire your nesting urge, again with a nod to recycling, upcycling, reuse, and repurpose. So when you take that trip to the Second Hand or Thrift store for wardrobe items don't pass by the rest of the aisles. You won't believe what you can find!

Let's start with a look I love, Wine Country Farmstyle. I like the comfortable feel, the earthy tones, and the artisan handmade objects that bring the look alive, tell a history, and speak to the very nature of farm life. Because I'm eclectic I mix California wine country with Italian wine country. When I'm out and about in these areas I take lots of pictures of decor and then replicate them as best I can. Let's look at a few examples.

My husband and I visit Napa and Sonoma almost every year. On one trip we stopped in for dinner with friends at Olive and Vine in Glen Ellen. There I noticed on the wall a collection of hand forged aluminum serving pieces. I had been collecting these for some time because of their soft patina, botanical imprints and hand made elegance. I used mine for the purpose they were intended for. It never occurred to me to hang them in a group as artwork! So I snapped a picture and replicated it at home mixing it with some decor I had found in Italy (which I had taken a photo of to help me remember it when I got home).

Taken with my phone camera as I was leaving Olive and Vine.

My replication at home. Hand forged aluminum can be found readily at most thrift stores and cost not more than $14.99 for the largest pieces. Many are very simple but some have ornate handles fashioned into leaf shapes, curly cues or floral lid pulls.

Take a look at the curtains and the sofa. I found the two raw silk panels on clearance at Tuesday Morning and the settee at World Market's furniture sale. Now look at the photo of our room I took at Hotel Casa Pavesi in Grinzane Cavour, Italy.

Not exactly the same but the feel is captured adding elegance to the rustic farm style.

Curtains at an Internet Cafe in Greve in Chianti, Italy

Applied in my Bedroom

The curtains above were found at TJ Maxx in the clearance section. The button(s) came from an ugly vintage coat bought for $4.99 in the 1980's. I actually bought the coat just for the buttons!

When traveling leave some room in your bags to bring home finds from the region. I ALWAYS visit thrift stores, garage sales, or flea markets and occasionally an antique store when I travel. You'll find mementos of your trip for far less. In Hallstat, Austria I found hand painted tiles from a local building that had been demolished, in Arizona I found a hand-turned, turquoise-inlayed wood bowl, and in Calistoga I found a barrel stave candle holder - all for a fraction of the retail cost.

Here are some other Wine Country Farmstyle items I've acquired at Thrift stores.

The forged iron & rock candle holder is festa & co from Glen Ellen, Ca. ($6.99) It is sitting on a wine barrel lid lazy susan ($35). The rooster is Herend (Hungary) hand painted by Helsey Tamas' and inscribed as a gift from one couple to another in November of 1999 with the sentiment "Happy Holidays" ($9.99), and lastly another hand forged aluminum platter sporting leaping deer (I placed a marble cheese plate in the indentation intended for a serving plate, $14.99).

Hopefully I have inspired you to feather your Nest in Second Hand style!

Lydia