Life is a Taboret

After a long, lovely relationship, I finally decided to retire my much-loved (and still beautiful) white Chinese garden stool.

Its simple shape and creamy white finish made it a great accent piece in my living room.  There's nothing really wrong with the stool, but recently, a new one entered my life:

This vintage brass taboret (or tabouret) came along just as I decided to get over my fear of gold tones and bring them into my home.  The strapwork and rivets provide a lot of interest and, like the Chinese garden stool, this stool is proving to be a very handy little side table, as well as occasional extra seating.  While I know some people would have left the original patina on the stool alone, I love mine shined up and sparkling!

My Favorite Lamp

About two years ago, I became slightly obsessed with the idea of having a pierced blanc de chine lamp.  There's just something about the intricate cutout patterns in simple, white porcelain that I find so appealing.  After several months of searching, I finally lucked out and scored this beauty which now has a place of honor on the cool metal desk my husband gave me for my last birthday:

Like most of these lamps, this one has a simple, pretty floral design set in the midst of all the intricate cutouts.

However, unlike most pierced blanc de chine lamps I've come across, this one has a brass, rather than wood, base.

The scroll work and Greek key detailing really set this one apart for me.  Nonetheless, I was thrilled when I was able to score a variety of these lamps with wood bases (and even a large blanc de chine umbrella stand!) for the website.  Hopefully, someone will love these beauties as much as I love mine.