673 Ideas for the Home!

I used to have a job at a fashion magazine where I was in charge of counting the number of "fashion ideas!" that would be splashed in a big, bold number on the cover each month. Before the issue went to press, I'd dutifully examine every page and come up with the number. My final counts were rarely questioned – sometimes, they'd say, "Is that all?" and I'd have to go add on an extra hundred or two as if I'd suddenly discovered a wealth of new "ideas!" that I hadn't seen before. Also, all even numbers would be rejected because research apparently shows that odd numbers on the cover sell better. I could not make this up if I tried.

One day, my boss saw me laboring over the pre-press magazine, counting away the number of bangles and bags – hey, I was young, I was eager to please – and told me to stop wasting my time and just make up some reasonable number up every month and turn that in to the powers-that-be. And that was the end of thinking too much about that. But, in an ode to my earlier job as Magazine Cover Number Girl, I give you the first counting installment: My Top 5 Vintage Home Finds. I mean, Finds! (Be sure to scroll over the picture for the full description,)

We'll start with the one above: a funky red candleabra (apparently from Scandinavia), $6 at secondhand store in Newport, Delaware.

And now: Antique bingo game, owned by the grandparents of a second-hand shopkeeper in North Wilmington.

Plastic-y and perfect, I found this 70s-ish dish drying rack at a Goodwill in Newark, Delaware for about $1. It's my inbox on my desk.

I wrested this away from a man in a Goodwill on Kirkwood Highway. It cost a whopping $20, but totally worth it.

And, just to prove that not all great vintage comes from Delaware, I find the coolest vintage wallpaper from a little store in the mid-levels of Hong Kong and have my favorite pieces framed.