Flea Market Style Magazine

It's OUT!!!!

Ki Nassauer just posted on her blog that copies of the new magazine 'Flea Market Style' are arriving in stores already! It wasn't supposed to release until February 23rd, but it looks like we are all getting an early Valentine's Day gift!

To those who have asked: Go to the Flea Market Style blog for information on where to find the mag, and no, subscriptions are not available. Yet. If this brand new INDEPENDENT magazine receives support by us purchasing it,  it can continue to be published on a regular basis and then subscriptions may be available.

The photo above shows you what you should be scourin' the magazine racks for!{And be sure to look for stories by Heather Bullard on the BH Boys and the Queen of Tarte in there}

PS: BARNHOUSE MARKETPLACE has it!

Rollin' With The HOMIES

Our Retreat blog has been added to the list of 'Green Home' decor blog 

nominees for Apartment Therapy's 'the Homies' blog awards!

Update: As of December 29, the rankings are closed. 

We didn't make the finals, but invite you to cast your vote HERE 
for another deserving Green Home blog!

There are six finalists and a HUGE list of great contenders. Plus there are hundreds of nominated blogs about Home Decor, Kids' Rooms, and more to discover.

If you like what we offer here in the way of home decor inspiration using green concepts, pop on over and add us to your faves right HERE. The top favorite blogs will move on to the voting stage on December 30th, and we'd appreciate you helping us spread the word about Retreat! Read more about how it works here. No big prize for this, just a nice mention from Apartment Therapy, who holds the contest. But you know what they say: "It's an honor just to be nominated!"

Image Credit: Apartment Therapy and the Homies awards.

Off the Bench and Into the Game...

So this lovely bench (created from a King sized headboard, chair arms, stair railing spindles, and salvaged fir) was one of the few pieces that did not sell at Sand Point last weekend. Not to worry - she wasn't on the sidelines for too long. I instantly saw her potential to adorn the front porch at our Beach House, as part of our Holiday decor:

Onto the porch and adorned with some pretty packages, pine cones, fresh cedar boughs, and wintery props...

...She's the perfect addition and a welcoming sight for the season.

And yes, she's still available. $225. I'm just enjoying her until she finds a new home.

It's Time...

Thanksgiving is done, the turkey is history, and the pumpkins are packed away.

Now it's time to haul in the bins of vintage Christmas & Winter decor! We are spending our weekend Decking the Halls of our beach cottage with winter whites. We are so inspired by this color palette right now - we will also be featuring it in our booth at the Sand Point Antique & Design Market next Sunday. We'll share photos next week - meanwhile, enjoy the Holiday weekend!

The new magazine is on its way - debuts in February!

Stay tuned to the Flea Market Style Mag blog for more details

Swanky Season: Retreat Style

So Mr. Deb is a saint to put up with me, we all know that..

But last year, I think he outdid even himself. I swanked up the tree and the house with the au courant theme of the year: Black & White and Hip all over, and he let me have carte blanche with everything! (Considering that we moved into our house on November 5 and left for Texas on December 11th, I'm still amazed that I decorated for Christmas at all last year...) Here are a few shots of how it turned out:

These crystal snowflakes and the flocked ivory & white ornaments from up above - and also seen in the 'Tattered & Torn' style a few posts back - will play into our Winter White theme for this year, too. Which just goes to show that the way you mix things up can change the look completely! (We will also feature the white tree - AFTER we are done using it as a display prop at the Sand Point Market on December 6th...)

Mod Holiday: Retreat Style

So just to clear up any misunderstanding, I'm NOT decorating for Christmas already! The photos I'm sharing here are of our past Holiday celebrations, in our former home. I'm still in the planning-choosing-collecting mode for Christmas '09, and will get around to decorating after Thanksgiving. I'm a traditionalist that way, especially after 34 years in retail spent decorating Christmas trees on Halloween night!
 
Here's a peek at another of our Holiday decor schemes from the past: 

I decided to go a bit more contemporary than I usually do with my holiday decor one year. For me, who usually revels in excess, it was a HUGE challenge.But I was inspired by clean lines, chartreuse green, and the very hip 1960's. So I cued up some Dean Martin tunes, polished up Bob's collection of chrome martini decanters, and got started!

I filled the bowls and trays and glasses with SnoWonder, one of my very favorite tricks as a display designer and photo stylist - it's a powder that you mix with water and voila! It becomes SNOW. As in cold, a bit wet, mushy, formable SNOW. I extol its virtues every chance I get.

Coming soon, yet another Holiday decor scheme we've enjoyed in the past...

Tattered Holiday: Retreat Style

So many people who see the varied styles we present in our show booths ask us what our home decor is like.... Well, our business has quite literally grown out of our practices of thriftiness, recycling-reusing-restyling, and the constant rearrangement of furnishings & accessories that I tend to do. ;0) I love decorating seasonally, changing rooms around to fit how we use them at different times of the year.

You might guess that our Holiday decorating is not exactly 'normal'.
Every year, it's a new theme with a new color palette. I have boxes and boxes and boxes of ornaments and ribbons and accoutrements for the Season, and every year I combine different elements to create a whole new look. (Our kids can not remember ever having the same Christmas tree twice.) I like to play with new ideas, what can I say?! In my other life as a retail visual designer/display stylist, I am constantly coming up with new ideas and concepts for my clients, so home is just one big design lab for me.

A few years ago, our previous home's Holiday decor was my version of a 'Tattered & Torn' look, inspired by Deb Dusenberry at the Curious Sofa and Carol Hicks Bolton of Homestead. (My travels to see my daughter in Texas have helped, too!) Lots of warmth in ivory/cream/brown/copper tones, elegance & sparkle with crystals and silver serveware, texture in burlap/ torn muslin/velvet and natural elements all combine to create a look that is new & old at the same time....

Hope you enjoyed the tour! This year, it's looking like we'll be heading toward a 'White Christmas' around here... every shade of pearly warm white imaginable, with lots of texture to keep it interesting, and seashells thrown in for good measure. Something along the lines of this:

What are your plans for holiday decorating this year?