The Old Lucketts Store in Photos

If you ever find yourself in northern Virginia, the Old Lucketts Store, just outside of Leesburg, is an absolute must-visit.

The weekend that I met Janet of The Empty Nest in Warrenton, VA, I also visited Lucketts for the first time.  I already want to go back with a truck and trailer! :)

Lucketts is the home of Miss Mustard Seed and numerous other vendors, and it's filled to the brim with vintage furniture, upcycled pieces, all sorts of collectibles, garden decorations, unique smalls, metalwork, architectural salvage, and more.  The shop is magnificent in its variety and quality of offerings, and I'm envious of anyone who lives close enough to go to it on a regular basis.

Let's take a look around...

Even the front porch is overflowing with amazing finds like this zinc-topped drop leaf table.

I wish I'd taken more photos because the personalities and styles of the spaces varied so widely.   What you see below is just just a tiny fraction of what's at Lucketts.  Forgive me, please?  I was too busy ooohing and aaahing my way through three stories of retail heaven.

Get a load of the distressed painted floor and all those leaded glass windows!

The third-floor landing was one of my favorite spots in the store with all its natural light and those insanely comfortable (but pricy) grainsack wing chairs.

A miniature garden in a tray

The Lucketts groundhog mascot greets you at the checkout

Besides the shop itself, there are also multiple open-air outbuildings filled with even more goodies.

Loved these little sheds!

As tempted as I was by many of the beautiful items the Lucketts vendors offered, I practiced restraint and came home with two boxes of Miss Mustard Seed's new milk paint--in Linen and Kitchen Scale.  I've already painted an old wood frame in Linen and I'm deliriously in love with the way this paint crackles and flakes.  More on that later...

Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint booth

Hope you enjoyed this little peek of a gem of a store. My photos only scratch the surface!

If anyone else has blogged about Lucketts, could you leave a link in the comments?

Happy Friday!

Liberty Loot and a Lovely Quilt

On Friday, we attended the Liberty Antiques Festival.

Held in the middle of a pastoral field at an old dairy farm, it features a couple hundred vendors from up and down the East Coast, selling all sorts of furniture, vintage items and curiosities.

 

As you can see from the photo, it was a ridiculously beautiful day. Temperatures were in the mid-70s and sunshine abounded. We arrived about 8:30 and didn't leave until after 3, so it couldn't have been a better day to be out and about.

I forgot to photo my mom's goodies, but she picked up a pair of galvanized chicken feeders and a pair of square galvanized washing tubs.

My husband was delighted to find a number of utilitarian items, particularly a cast-iron sausage grinder, a child-sized rake for our son, a pair of small axes, and a cast-iron cider press.

I concentrated on looking for pretty things! Brown transferware, glass nesting hens, ironstone and linens were at the top of my list. I succeeded on all counts but the transferware. I just wasn't interested in spending $30+ for a plate!  Liberty prices are usually more than I care to spend because I'm a bit of a tightwad but I kept my eyes peeled for relatively reasonable deals.

How'd I do?

Well, I found these two hens for $12 to start a glass hen collection:

This Blue Bird flour sack for my husband--who builds blue bird houses--and this unusual floral grain sack from western North Carolina were $15 each:

Destined to become pillow covers.

Three matching pieces of English ironstone for $20:

A couple yards of sweet, vintage rosebud fabric for $5:

Will definitely make some pillow covers with this, too!

A book of sheet music for $3 and pair of skeleton keys for $2:

Can't wait to decoupage with the sheet music!

A milk glass vase for $5 and nearly 20 zinc mason jar lids for just $.50 a piece:

Because I need another milk glass vase like a hole in the head...but I couldn't resist. And the zinc lids were a real deal--I saw other vendors selling the same Atlas and Ball jar lids for $1-2+ a pop.

This pristine, vintage dress-style apron for $15:

Wonder if I could get away with wearing this over jeans and a form-fitting t-shirt? It's a shame to limit wearing such a pretty thing to just around the house!

A Fire King casserole dish (lid not shown) for $8:

And last but not least...this gorgeous Depression-era quilt:

See, I'm working on a summer update to my bed based off this photo from (one of my very favorite decorating books ever) Enrica Stabile's Comfortable Country:

Isn't that photo so relaxing looking?  I've always liked it since my bed's headboard is a honeyed pine. I did a bit of saving, and splurged on flax and white linen sheets and pillowcases last month. Peeking from behind the book, you can see a white thrifted duvet I found at Nest. So the quilt was the last element I needed to complete the, um, bedscape?  Is that a real term?

Anyway, the quilt was buried on a table at a vendor's tent at the back of the festival. I just happened to spot a patch of the red, white and blue out of the corner of my eye.

My mom and I made a beeline for the quilt, unfolded it and discovered it was in outstanding condition for its age.  And look at that pattern...and border...and all that lovely puckering from the hand-quilting!

I held my breath and flipped over the price tag, hoping for the best.

$75. Fair enough. I could swing that.

My mom and I began folding up the quilt so I could purchase it, and then I heard, "I can do better than that!"

I looked up, unsure if the voice was directed to me. It was, and it was the seller.

We made eye contact across the row of tables and he repeated, "I can do better than that. How about $35?"

My mom and I undoubtedly did a poor job of hiding our shock.

I quickly responded with an idiotic, "Yesthankyouverymuchplease!"

I don't know if the seller didn't realize the price on the tag, but I didn't ask any questions and accepted this rare gift from the antiquing gods.

So, Liberty was a real success this time. We had fun, managed not to get too sunburned and I can recreate a gorgeous bedscape as soon as I get my act together.

I'll be back tomorrow with photos I snapped while we shopped of several interesting and beautiful vintage pieces.

Happy May Day!
Erin

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