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Where did you find that bed?!

Just as without a roof I would be unfinished (and extremely vulnerable), without furniture, decorations, art and accessories I would be... the same. Unfinished. Vulnerable. Naked, frankly, and unfriendly towards my inhabitants.

What I realized recently is that many of my cherished furnishings and decorations were sourced at one fruitful location...

The Rose Bowl Flea Market

Every time my owners go, they returns with nuggets. Wonderful finds for a fantastic value. These are three of my favorites:


The bed has a story. It is a Swedish platform bed with floating nightstands and a drawer built in for storage underneath. It is the exact bed my owner wanted for the guest room. She searched all over for the right one, but they all exceeded her budget. Until she found this bed at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. My owners pulled into the giant parking lot at 7AM in a U-Haul they had rented for the bed they had yet to find. Climbing out of the U-Haul a fellow market shopper scoffed: "Someone's a little confident." Confident. Yes. They would find the bed that day. And they did. Within ten minutes of arriving. It was there waiting for them for a steal. $500.


This Rose Bowl find is more of a temporary solution to the large blank wall space in the dining/living room. We want to put several matching low credenzas there with art work hanging above. But several matching credenzas would be, I'm told, expensive. So this wonderful mid-century credenza and hutch was purchased as a placeholder for $300.



The mosaic. It's grown on me. It was a gift from my owner's mother to celebrate the kitchen re-design. I'm told that she spotted it at the Rose Bowl Flea Market and had to squash her enthusiasm so as to be able to talk the seller down. Which she did. I don't know where the price began, but she walked away with this wonderful grounding piece of handmade art that hangs above the stove in a "I was made for this spot" sort of manner for $60.

The Rose Bowl Flea Market happens the 2nd Sunday of every month at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Color Inspiration in a bag of beans

When the glass back splash originally planned for the kitchen turned out to be a bit too pricey, Rebecca (the designer) suggested a brightly colored back splash created with high gloss paint (easy to clean.)

The color chosen was inspired by a bag of Black Cat Espresso beans by Intelligentsia Coffee that my owner (an Intelligentsia enthusiast) had left out on the counter for aesthetic reasons.

"I just love the bright color of the packaging and how it looks on the counter," said my owner.
"Why don't we paint the back splash that color, then," replied Rebecca.
"That color? Really?" said my owner.
"Yes!"

And so they did. A good move, if I may say. Such a bold, happy color inspires great creativity. A good thing for a kitchen.