Vintage Inspiration

I originally wrote this post to link up with Debra over at "Vintage Inspiraton Friday". But apparently she doesn't have one this week. Anyway, with that in mind, I started thinking about those very words, "vintage inspiration". Where does my inspiration for the old stuff come from? It started back when I was a kid. My parents always had antiques in there house. Although I will confess "not" to the extent that I do! They use to sell at the Orange County Fairgrounds when they had an antique section, and then started selling over at Vet's when they first began their monthly flea market. It was a great thing for them to do after my dad retired. Anyway, because of being surrounded by vintage "stuff" as I grew up, and owning Country Roads which has about 80 or so dealers, I live and breathe this "stuff"! And of course I love it as well. So, today I took pictures of my bathroom that sits to the left of the door above and to the right is my bedroom.  

I have an obsession with old advertising. To me some these pieces are like folk art, especially if made by hand and are one of a kind.  When I first say this store hair net display, I just had to have it! 

On top of a big cabinet sits a few more of my favorite pieces. The old comb display on the left has drawers that pull out in the back where you would purchase your combs. In the middle sits and old Peroxide display and to the right of it is a little coin operated perfume dispenser. They use to be in restrooms at gas stations. You put in a dime then selected your perfume of choice. This machine has Chanel, White Shoulders, and two others. Once you had deposited your dime, you pushed the button of choice on the bottom to get a mist of perfume!

I've got three of these old radiators that came out of the Hotel Coronado.  They weigh a ton, but I love them because of the architectural detail on them and the history. This one sits next to my bathroom sink.

I love this simple chandelier. It hangs over my old claw foot bathtub. I like the simplicity of the old  chandelier.  

I added vintage ironstone pitchers on the shelf over the tub. This "ice water" pitcher is one of my very favorites. For those of you that shop at Country Roads you might recognize the wood that I used as a shelf. It is the old Laguna Beach boardwalk that Country Roads is filled with. I had to have a few pieces of it in my home!

A collection of old advertising and shaving pieces sit above the toilet. And again, there is another shelf made out of the old boardwalk. 

Just more of my old advertising stuff!

The architectural piece is right above the bathroom sink. It is filled with various vintage tins and bottles.

The old medicine cabinet sits above the shelf.  Both of these pieces I got at Country Roads. I've got to tell you, there is always something there that you lust after!!

 Because my bathroom was a do-it-yourself project, the ceiling was tore up. So instead of putting in new drywall and all that,  my son Bryce, used old vintage ceiling tins on the bathroom ceiling. I love the look of it. The cabinet is an old medical cabinet that is also filled with more vintage advertising stuff. The architectural piece above it is part of an old windmill. I would have loved to see the whole windmill together. I bought it in the mid-90's when Chris Nickoloff was a dealer at Country Roads. When it came to the "best of the best" stuff, Chris had an eye for it. Sadly she passed away at much too young of an age.    But like most things in my house, I always am reminded of Chris when I see the windmill piece! I guess that is why I love antiques and old vintage stuff. They always have a story to tell!