This Old House...

It's official guys and gals - I've got OLD. I've got a husband, a proper grown up job, a slow cooker and a pension plan. CHECK ME OUT. It's only natural, then, that I've become an obsessive vintage homemaker. It's true, there's more to life than dressing yourself in lovely kitsch oddities - you can dress your home in them too.

Over the past couple of years I've spent increasing amounts of time trawling ebay, car boot sales and charity shops for anything formica / flammable / weird / all of the above. I don't want you to strain yourselves trying to imagine the multicoloured swap-shop in my flat so here are a few little glimpses...

So imagine my excitement this weekend when the Vintage Furniture Flea rocked up in London town. It was the second time the event  - a huge market featuring mid-century furniture and home accessories - has hit London, and I was extra excited since I managed to miss the first last year.

Not one to be trusted at these kind of shopping events alone, I managed to persuade my lovely hubby to come along with me bright and early on Sunday morning. I think I mainly managed because he was still drunk from the night before. He was confused. I was giddy. So much kitsch in one room - look at all the loveliness!

 

As you may have guessed vintage homewares with animals are my absolute favourite thing right now!

Bethnal Green's York Hall was a feast for the eyes - filled with Eames and G-Plan furniture, brightly coloured fabrics and furnishings, kitsch cocktail shakers and picnic sets and of course fresh cupcakes (now the staple diet of the vintage shopper).

Traders were really knowledgeable and the prices were certainly cheap for specialist vintage items. Having said that, I'm a real believer in the joy of the search and love nothing better than hunting out cheap treasures - if you don't mind a bit of a trawl and you don't mind your vintage needing a bit of TLC, you can certainly find cheaper at a good car boot sale. But if filling your home with mid-century paraphernalia without spending hours sifting through junk appeals this event is definitely for you! (I'm still hunting for my dream G-plan dining table and chairs - I will find them, I will.)

I was on a tight budget this weekend but still managed to come home with a few lovely pieces for the flat. Wanna see? Yeah you do...

1: 1970s tin wastepaper bin £7
1970s flower designs are my absolute favourite. They remind me of my mum and dad's old curtains!

2: 1960s atomic planter £10
I didn't have a plant for this so popped to the garden centre on my way home and picked up this lovely... oh no, I've forgotten what it's called already. Anyway I've named it Frank and kept it alive almost a week, a new record (told you I was old).

3) And finally this 1970s glitter lamp £20
I've been coveting a new lava lamp for a while. This lovely original one is really unusual, with copper coloured casing and it looks fab when it's on. 
 

All in all I'm pretty pleased with myself, definitely an event worth checking out next time it's in town.

If you are heading along my top tips would be:

1) Get there early - we arrived at opening time and most of the lovely furniture was sold by the time we'd been around the room twice.
2) Make a list (even if it's just in your head) of items you'd like before you go. With so many lovely things on display events like this can be a bit overwhelming. If you know what you're looking for you'll find it much more easily.
3) Set a budget and take it with you in cash. This will stop any ill-advised visits to the cashpoint or credit card transactions! Even the vintage homemaker has to eat you know!
4) Don't take your husband, especially if he's drunk. (He had a little strop but don't worry I appeased him with a cupcake).

There's no place like home.

Mia x