Monday, August 8, 2011

Is it real?

No, the fern is not a live plant but an artificial one that I purchased from Ben Franklin Crafts. At the store the ferns ( I'm going to get the maiden hair one next.) are somewhat stiff looking. All it took was some hand shaping to give the fern some realistic life. The planter pot is a real vintage one which I quickly scooped off a sale table at the Brimfield, MA antique fair. For well under $10 it was a steal for an Italian majolica piece. It is marked 'made in Italy' so I know that it is not an 'antique ' (something over 100 years old) but it is probably from the early 1900's...it will be an antique some day. Anyway, I am very happy with the greenery that now livens up my bathroom because I haven't been successful in keeping plants alive indoors.


I can never resist taking home the extra sample size soaps, shampoos, etc. from hotels. Every once in awhile the generous hotels leave an ample supply of toiletries which are usually high quality items. My husband frowns on my 'extra luggage' but I think it is wasteful not to use them. Although I don't decant them into containers at home, I do like to have emergency products on hand. They are especially nice to offer to house guests. While scouring a vintage shop I came across this 'made in Japan' planter. I liked the color and the $5 price tag. I'm guessing that the planter was made around the 1930's because of the glaze, basket texture, and swag garlands. I think this piece makes a good storage place for those 'free' hotel goodies and will look attractive in the guest bathroom. Pieces like this would also be nice to fill with purchased small sized soaps, lotions, and shampoos and wrapped as a gift basket. It is so much fun to hunt for vintage finds and put them to good use. I like to think of it as recycling with a designer's flair. Happy Hunting!

1 comment:

  1. Hey, you're like me. I can't keep any plants alive in my home too. I have a pot outside with one leaf left. And it looks pretty bad already. That fake fern looks almost real. Good idea to use fake plants.

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