Why?
Because we've just opened an Etsy shop! Here are a few of our items. Whether your style is farmhouse, cottage, boho, or some eclectic combo, we have vintage items to suit your decor.
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| QuinceCottageHome at Etsy ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Design. Create. Decorate.
Showing posts with label farmhouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farmhouse. Show all posts
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Special Announcement!
We're very excited here at Quince Cottage...
Why?
Because we've just opened an Etsy shop! Here are a few of our items. Whether your style is farmhouse, cottage, boho, or some eclectic combo, we have vintage items to suit your decor.
This collage represents a few of our currently available pieces. You can see all of them here on our blog, or just go straight to the shop here. We're adding new inventory all the time.
Why?
Because we've just opened an Etsy shop! Here are a few of our items. Whether your style is farmhouse, cottage, boho, or some eclectic combo, we have vintage items to suit your decor.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Spring to Summer - 6 Tips for Vignette Styling
Welcome to Quince Cottage!
When it comes to seasonal decor, which part of your home do you most enjoy styling? For Rhiann, it's the mantel.
Follow along as she creates vignettes for spring and summer. Oh, and by the way, some of the items pictured here are available in our brand new Etsy shop! Click here.
Tip 1: the "Power Of Three" is often employed when creating a new vignette. Vignettes work best using an odd number of elements. In other words, five is okay, four, not so much.
Tip 2-5: Mix heights, round shapes and angled shapes, organic with man-made, and if possible, throw in something that is a bit of a surprise!
If you weren't here a few months ago, here's where we were in late winter, sort of a combo of snow and green...
Tip 6: Old books are perfect for adding height, play around to decide exactly what looks best. You can have the leather or cloth spines showing, or the page side, or wrap the books in white or craft paper, all depending on what look you want.
In this vignette on our dining room sideboard, the three primary vignette elements are the wire cage, the plant, and the shell. Broken down further, the two brass quail and the tiny plant form a mini-vignette with the books (showing their leather spines) acting as a base. On a macro level, the windmill head, the mirror and the cage/shell/plant grouping also create a Power Of Three composition. By the way, that mirror? A $7 score at Willie's (aka Goodwill)!
And this is why I'm linking up to Dagmar's Home Blog because she kindly featured us on her IG account for this particular pic! Thank you, Dagmar! If you're a blogger, please consider joining the link party, it's a great way of making new friends.
Here you see a vignette that straddles the counter between our kitchen and dining. It's got the "unexpected" in the form of a vintage toy tractor (Ron collects those). The organic element is covered by the flowers and cotton. Don't you just love cotton?
Here's another one, this time from our gallery wall. Three. Round and not round. Organic elements.
But now back to the mantel. In April, the mood switched to romantic. The left side featured a shadow box Rhiann made from an old clock, if you're interested in learning more about that, click here. Technically there are four elements in this grouping, but the books and clock read as one. Note that the page sides are showing, to create a softer, lighter look.
We have a nice collection of vintage floral plates that were just itching to be on display again.
There's one behind the pink hobnail glass piece on the left and she used them on the right side of the mantel too. That ornate gold frame is completely empty by the way, and we like it that way. It's such a gorgeous piece in and of itself, it really doesn't need any art inside!
Then Rhiann found a little brass bowl, and wanted to see how that looked with some shells and rocks. Note the organic (shells and greenery).
Then Mother's Day rolled around and Rhiann had to add the lovely milk glass covered box she received! That milk glass bud vase is holding one of our first New Dawn roses of the year.
She decided to turn the "pretty" to full volume on the left too.
Now that it's Memorial Day, Rhiann thought a summer-by-the-water vibe was in order. No, unfortunately we no longer live near the ocean, but it's still nice to remember those days. Here the three elements are the painting, the shell box, and the creamer with feathers. Aren't those feathers amazing? We found them on a walk with our dogs. They probably belonged to a turkey vulture. Those are both the "organic" element and the unexpected one. They add a little wildness to the composition that keeps it from looking too dull.
Here's the right side. Note that there's a bird here too. Have you noticed how brass is back in a BIG way? From knicknacks to lighting, brass is hot! Here we have five elements. The shell box, the brass crane, the books, the conch shell, and the mother of pearl necklace. There's that unexpected element again. Jewelry isn't normally part of mantel decor, but here it works because it's made of mother of pearl sourced from the ocean, and the color is harmonious.
Finally, here's the whole shebang...
This week there's no #MagpieMonday, but we hope you'll join us on Instagram June 6, when we'll be ready to see all your thingummies and gewgaws once again!
You can also play along with our #HometownCapture hashie any time. Follow us, post a pic of your hometown with the # in the text, and tag us!
Daisy and Buster have been enjoying the backyard. Literally. They both love eating grass. We don't love all the gacking that follows...
Tell us how you like to decorate for spring and summer. We'd love to hear. Hope to see you again soon!
When it comes to seasonal decor, which part of your home do you most enjoy styling? For Rhiann, it's the mantel.
Follow along as she creates vignettes for spring and summer. Oh, and by the way, some of the items pictured here are available in our brand new Etsy shop! Click here.
Tip 1: the "Power Of Three" is often employed when creating a new vignette. Vignettes work best using an odd number of elements. In other words, five is okay, four, not so much.
Tip 2-5: Mix heights, round shapes and angled shapes, organic with man-made, and if possible, throw in something that is a bit of a surprise!
If you weren't here a few months ago, here's where we were in late winter, sort of a combo of snow and green...
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Tip 6: Old books are perfect for adding height, play around to decide exactly what looks best. You can have the leather or cloth spines showing, or the page side, or wrap the books in white or craft paper, all depending on what look you want.
In this vignette on our dining room sideboard, the three primary vignette elements are the wire cage, the plant, and the shell. Broken down further, the two brass quail and the tiny plant form a mini-vignette with the books (showing their leather spines) acting as a base. On a macro level, the windmill head, the mirror and the cage/shell/plant grouping also create a Power Of Three composition. By the way, that mirror? A $7 score at Willie's (aka Goodwill)!
And this is why I'm linking up to Dagmar's Home Blog because she kindly featured us on her IG account for this particular pic! Thank you, Dagmar! If you're a blogger, please consider joining the link party, it's a great way of making new friends.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
This week there's no #MagpieMonday, but we hope you'll join us on Instagram June 6, when we'll be ready to see all your thingummies and gewgaws once again!
 |
| ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| Daisy © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| Buster © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Tell us how you like to decorate for spring and summer. We'd love to hear. Hope to see you again soon!
Quince Cottage Style is #agrarianchic - a mix of old and new, rustic and opulent.
Our goal is to make our new subdivision house look inviting, beautiful,
and as though it wasn't born yesterday!
Friday, January 8, 2016
DIY - Styling the House After the Holidays Part II
Welcome to Quince Cottage!
Perhaps you visited last week, when we showed how to style a simple, elegant mantel for winter. If not, you can go here to have a look.
Our first re-do of the dining room buffet looked like this. Those glittery pine cones were half price at TJMaxx and they certainly work for generic winter as well as holiday. In the second photo below, we mixed them with some "au naturel" ones in those large glass hurricanes. The faux fur throw is also from TJMaxx and creates a pretty, snowy look. The throw, the real cotton stems, and the faux greenery add soft texture to an otherwise "hard" vignette. We added a sparkly little crystal wreath to our windmill head too.
But then we bought a cake stand at HomeGoods and that led to some alternative design inspiration.
Fairy lights make everything special, don't they? We always look for the ones that have a timer - that way we never have to think about turning them on or off. These lights are a snowflake design.
Here's our winter dining table. Sorry, didn't have time to do place settings!
A few days later Rhiann found a great deal on a wood slab at Marshall's and set up a little centerpiece to replace the milk glass compotes. Yes, we know, more pine cones, but aren't they great? These were free! The mercury glass votives cost a couple of bucks a piece at Michael's and we put battery-operated candles in them.
In our living room cabinet, we kept the mercury glass display "as is".
In the foyer, we removed the bits of Christmas (glittery deer, red berries, ornaments) and just kept it simple with milk glass and bits of Nature.
Winter is the perfect season for napping, don't you think?
We also want to let you know about a fun Instagram hashtag we started this past Monday. It's called #MagpieMonday and the idea is to share a photo of whatever you like to collect and display in your home. Each co-host picks a favorite to feature on their feeds. Follow us on Instagram here to learn more and see which IGer's collection was our pick this week! Also, we've just passed the 2k follower mark and we're pretty excited about that too.
Perhaps you visited last week, when we showed how to style a simple, elegant mantel for winter. If not, you can go here to have a look.
Our first re-do of the dining room buffet looked like this. Those glittery pine cones were half price at TJMaxx and they certainly work for generic winter as well as holiday. In the second photo below, we mixed them with some "au naturel" ones in those large glass hurricanes. The faux fur throw is also from TJMaxx and creates a pretty, snowy look. The throw, the real cotton stems, and the faux greenery add soft texture to an otherwise "hard" vignette. We added a sparkly little crystal wreath to our windmill head too.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
But then we bought a cake stand at HomeGoods and that led to some alternative design inspiration.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| Daisy and Buster © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Quince Cottage Style mixes old and new, rustic and opulent.
Our goal is to make our new subdivision house look inviting, beautiful,
and as though it wasn't born yesterday!
Sunday, December 27, 2015
DIY Interior Shutters
Glad to see you here at Quince Cottage!
One of the things we liked least about our previous home was how dark it was inside. Frankly, cave-dwelling is depressing. This house is much lighter and brighter and we love that! When it comes to window treatments, sometimes less is more, especially when it comes to farmhouse style.
However, once we'd decided to leave the living room windows naked, a problem reared its head(lights). At night, when Mr. Quince Cottage relaxed in his leather chair (see below) to watch some TV, headlights coming down the street darn near blinded him.
What to do?
Shutters, that's what.
We're not talking about the super-expensive, custom-fitted plantation shutters that many people in this part of the world adore. Nope. We're talking old school circa 1960-70-something shutters. They come in white or wood-tone.
We ordered them online from Lowe's and they ended up costing about $80 a window. So, not exactly cheap, but remember, we didn't do drapery of any kind, so we spent no money on curtains or curtain hardware.
Installing the shutters wasn't too hard. You will need to have a drill and a screwdriver, along with a pencil, tape measure, and plenty of patience.
Since they aren't custom, you will need to order in the range that suits your window. Measure carefully! The shutters come with spacers which enable a snug fit. You can see them on the right side of the shutter, butting up against the window frame. The shutters can be opened, closed, or left midway.
Here's an after photo. Now, this was in the "early days" of our family room so it's looking pretty bare and we hadn't yet hung the mirror over the fireplace OR done our planked wall treatment. Click here for that DIY. However, you can get an idea of the light, airy feel and the connection to outdoors that this kind of window treatment allows. Very fresh farmhouse/cottage, right?
Another photo. With mirror, planked wall, and a Buster photo-bomb.
A close up of the corner, with shutters partially open.
And closed...
Another of the whole room...
What? No doggy picture? Don't be silly, of course there's a doggy picture! Since Buster already managed to sneak into two of the photos, we'll leave you with one of Daisy. You can tell she's thinking. Watch out!
Quince Cottage Style mixes old and new, rustic and opulent.
One of the things we liked least about our previous home was how dark it was inside. Frankly, cave-dwelling is depressing. This house is much lighter and brighter and we love that! When it comes to window treatments, sometimes less is more, especially when it comes to farmhouse style.
However, once we'd decided to leave the living room windows naked, a problem reared its head(lights). At night, when Mr. Quince Cottage relaxed in his leather chair (see below) to watch some TV, headlights coming down the street darn near blinded him.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Shutters, that's what.
We're not talking about the super-expensive, custom-fitted plantation shutters that many people in this part of the world adore. Nope. We're talking old school circa 1960-70-something shutters. They come in white or wood-tone.
We ordered them online from Lowe's and they ended up costing about $80 a window. So, not exactly cheap, but remember, we didn't do drapery of any kind, so we spent no money on curtains or curtain hardware.
Installing the shutters wasn't too hard. You will need to have a drill and a screwdriver, along with a pencil, tape measure, and plenty of patience.
Since they aren't custom, you will need to order in the range that suits your window. Measure carefully! The shutters come with spacers which enable a snug fit. You can see them on the right side of the shutter, butting up against the window frame. The shutters can be opened, closed, or left midway.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| Daisy © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Quince Cottage Style mixes old and new, rustic and opulent.
Our goal is to make our new subdivision house look inviting, beautiful,
and as though it wasn't born yesterday!
Monday, December 21, 2015
Setting the Holiday Table
Welcome to Quince Cottage!
It's getting pretty close to Christmas, and we've figured out the menu. How about you? Once the food questions were decided, we turned our attention to setting the table.
We like things to be easy whenever possible and yet, we get bored when things always look the same. Here's a little tutorial meant to inspire you. We didn't spend hours layering china patterns, creating elaborate centerpieces, or hand-writing place cards. These looks are simple and practical, but offer variety, with very little effort. Also, none of the china, glassware, or napkins are specifically Christmas. We don't know about you, but our storage space is limited, and we like our tableware to work for more than one occasion.
Start with your basic centerpiece concept, whatever that might be. This year we decided to include some of our favorite things: milk glass, pine cones, mercury glass and pompoms! In all the tablescapes below there's a faux fur runner and three compotes filled with either the pine cones or the pompoms.
Look #1. we went with a natural and neutral theme, using taupe gingham place mats, beige/white damask napkins and white china plates and milk glass tumblers.
Look #2. Here we incorporated cheery red with a tablecloth, napkins, and Bohemian crystal glassware. The plates stayed the same.
Here's a closer look at some of those snowmen. Aren't they cute?
Look #3 is basically the same but we fancied up the napkins a tiny bit by tying a glass pine cone ornament on with twine.
Look #4. Here we used brown transferware plates and a colorful plaid napkin. That's a lot of pattern, so we simplified the glassware to clear crystal tumblers.
Look #5. By the way, it's perfectly okay to mix plaids, stripes, ginghams and other prints. Just be sure there's something uniting them - in this case, the color red. White plates again, a pine cone "garnish" and the crystal juice glasses. This would be a fun breakfast setting, wouldn't it?
Look #6. Back to the red glassware, and a napkin ring with Russian khokhloma painting.
Look #7 This one is quite playful, isn't it? Normally we use our jadeite in the summer, but we thought it looked cool with this plaid napkin, a vintage Shiny Bright ornament, and a mason jar mug.
All these place settings were the work of about three minutes each, and the combinations are practically endless. Stealing decorative items from other vignettes or Mother Nature is highly recommended. We used to have a book on artsy napkin-folding and if you have the time and interest, by all means impress your guests with your skills.
Which look is your favorite?
Daisy provided moral support, or maybe she was just hoping a meal was about to be served in the dining room.
It's getting pretty close to Christmas, and we've figured out the menu. How about you? Once the food questions were decided, we turned our attention to setting the table.
We like things to be easy whenever possible and yet, we get bored when things always look the same. Here's a little tutorial meant to inspire you. We didn't spend hours layering china patterns, creating elaborate centerpieces, or hand-writing place cards. These looks are simple and practical, but offer variety, with very little effort. Also, none of the china, glassware, or napkins are specifically Christmas. We don't know about you, but our storage space is limited, and we like our tableware to work for more than one occasion.
Start with your basic centerpiece concept, whatever that might be. This year we decided to include some of our favorite things: milk glass, pine cones, mercury glass and pompoms! In all the tablescapes below there's a faux fur runner and three compotes filled with either the pine cones or the pompoms.
Look #1. we went with a natural and neutral theme, using taupe gingham place mats, beige/white damask napkins and white china plates and milk glass tumblers.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Look #2. Here we incorporated cheery red with a tablecloth, napkins, and Bohemian crystal glassware. The plates stayed the same.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Look #5. By the way, it's perfectly okay to mix plaids, stripes, ginghams and other prints. Just be sure there's something uniting them - in this case, the color red. White plates again, a pine cone "garnish" and the crystal juice glasses. This would be a fun breakfast setting, wouldn't it?
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Which look is your favorite?
Daisy provided moral support, or maybe she was just hoping a meal was about to be served in the dining room.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Quince Cottage Style mixes old and new, rustic and opulent.
Our goal is to make our new subdivision house look inviting, beautiful,
and as though it wasn't born yesterday!
Friday, September 25, 2015
Something About This Old Dresser - DIY
Hey there, welcome back to Quince Cottage! We hope you're enjoying the autumn weather, wherever you may be.
Do you love to go thrifting/antiquing/junkin'? We do! If we have a specific item in mind, it's like a treasure hunt, but sometimes we go just to see what's out there, and find treasure accidentally.
Recently we were looking for a dresser for our master bedroom. The one we had was smallish, and not well-made. Ron hated it. I was kind of meh about it. Anyway, we checked our local thrift/antique stores, scoured Craigslist and local online yard sales, and a few came close. Unfortunately they were either too beat up, too big, too small, or too expensive.
Then one day we checked out a place in Raleigh that changed hands not too long ago, and a dresser caught our eye. The curvy profile, along with the wood's beautiful color and graining made us take a closer look. The drawers actually slid quite well. It wasn't missing a leg. And the price? It was pretty reasonable.
Not wanting to make a hasty decision, we continued through the rest of the shop. And then we saw another piece.
We both had this kind of reaction...
By the way, our dog Buster is a LOT like Doug in terms of personality.
But I digress...
We hemmed and hawed. What should we do? Buy just one piece? If so, which one? We'd really been looking for a dresser, but maybe an armoire could take its place, if we added shelves...
Or maybe the owner would give us a great deal if we took both? We asked. He said he would. We weren't sure where the armoire would even fit anywhere in our home. Measurements were taken. We went back the next day and bought them both!
Here they are in our garage. That's the back of the armoire. Definitely a home-made piece, which is a good part of its charm.
However, this is the dresser's story (the armoire will get its turn later on down the road). Yes, I did say the color and grain of certain parts of the dresser were gorgeous. Other parts, not so much.
The wood on the drawer fronts and top was lovely, but dried out and dirty.
The finish wasn't original on the other parts (kind of orange-y and shellacked). What to do? If you're offended by the painting of furniture, you'd best leave now...
We'd seen another dresser in a different shop that had been partially painted and it looked fabulous (the price tag, not so much). We decided to hack the look. Ron thoroughly cleaned the whole piece, and put a coat of clear acrylic polyurethane on the drawers' interiors. He also replaced a missing drawer stop with a piece of paint stirrer, and waxed the drawer runners with a candle to make them slide even more smoothly. He took the mirror off and removed its supports. Next he taped off the parts of the dresser he didn't want to paint (the lovely grainy parts).
Then he applied a coat of green latex paint.
Once it was dry, he sanded it off in areas that would naturally become worn (and this is a really key step in creating an authentically distressed look).
Then he wiped dark stain along those sanded areas.
Finally, after the stain dried, he applied paste wax to the entire piece. Waxing really brings out the warmth and beauty of wood grain and helps prevent it from drying out.
Next we put the mirror back in place, lined the drawers with paper, and moved the dresser to its destination, where we styled it for fall!
Here it is a little more lit up.
Thank you for visiting, we hope you come back soon!
Do you love to go thrifting/antiquing/junkin'? We do! If we have a specific item in mind, it's like a treasure hunt, but sometimes we go just to see what's out there, and find treasure accidentally.
Recently we were looking for a dresser for our master bedroom. The one we had was smallish, and not well-made. Ron hated it. I was kind of meh about it. Anyway, we checked our local thrift/antique stores, scoured Craigslist and local online yard sales, and a few came close. Unfortunately they were either too beat up, too big, too small, or too expensive.
Then one day we checked out a place in Raleigh that changed hands not too long ago, and a dresser caught our eye. The curvy profile, along with the wood's beautiful color and graining made us take a closer look. The drawers actually slid quite well. It wasn't missing a leg. And the price? It was pretty reasonable.
 |
| Dresser in shop © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
We both had this kind of reaction...
By the way, our dog Buster is a LOT like Doug in terms of personality.
 |
| Buster © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
We hemmed and hawed. What should we do? Buy just one piece? If so, which one? We'd really been looking for a dresser, but maybe an armoire could take its place, if we added shelves...
Or maybe the owner would give us a great deal if we took both? We asked. He said he would. We weren't sure where the armoire would even fit anywhere in our home. Measurements were taken. We went back the next day and bought them both!
Here they are in our garage. That's the back of the armoire. Definitely a home-made piece, which is a good part of its charm.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
However, this is the dresser's story (the armoire will get its turn later on down the road). Yes, I did say the color and grain of certain parts of the dresser were gorgeous. Other parts, not so much.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
We'd seen another dresser in a different shop that had been partially painted and it looked fabulous (the price tag, not so much). We decided to hack the look. Ron thoroughly cleaned the whole piece, and put a coat of clear acrylic polyurethane on the drawers' interiors. He also replaced a missing drawer stop with a piece of paint stirrer, and waxed the drawer runners with a candle to make them slide even more smoothly. He took the mirror off and removed its supports. Next he taped off the parts of the dresser he didn't want to paint (the lovely grainy parts).
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Then he applied a coat of green latex paint.
 |
| Note replaced drawer stop © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Once it was dry, he sanded it off in areas that would naturally become worn (and this is a really key step in creating an authentically distressed look).
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Then he wiped dark stain along those sanded areas.
 |
| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Finally, after the stain dried, he applied paste wax to the entire piece. Waxing really brings out the warmth and beauty of wood grain and helps prevent it from drying out.
 |
| Drawers before paste wax © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| Drawers after paste wax © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
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| © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet |
Thank you for visiting, we hope you come back soon!
Quince Cottage Style mixes old and new, rustic and opulent. Our goal is to make our
new subdivision house look inviting and beautiful,
and as though it wasn't born yesterday.
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