Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Treasure Box Wednesday: Treasured Vintage China

It was a slow time for thrifting this past week. So while I don't have any new treasures to share with you, I do have some goodies I've enjoyed for many years.

Perhaps some of you long-time readers of The Thrift Shop Romantic might recall me picking up a few of these individual pieces over the years. But I think items take on a whole new life when you see them displayed together, in their element.

I have been picking up lusterware plates and cups at thrift stores for at least a decade. Same goes for chintz teacups and sandwich dishes I'd carefully chosen from places like TJ Maxx and the now-long-gone Royal Albert outlet at Grove City.

But it was only recently, I finally got the right place to display them: a turn-of-the-century oak china cabinet...
So it was with great joy-- and some really tough decision-making-- that I chose the pieces from my collection I would ultimately keep and display...

It was a little like choosing from favorite children. But, seeing it all together, I was struck by common themes...
Bright aquas and juicy greens... Deep red and pink roses.... Delicate lavenders... And lots of shine...
Teacups were mostly thrift store discoveries, and I'm struck with how cheerful a collection can be, though amassed for just a small amount of money.
I made a home for favorite 1900s whiteware transfer plates, and hand-painted saucers I thrifted for $1...
And I tried to group colors together that went together. Layering chintz and lusterware as if in sets, with only the color palette to really tie them.

Last, I had to include the only real heirloom in the lot, my great-aunt's depression era china, in a pattern called Aquitania...
(Not to mention a stray Fenton carnival glass bowl I "Fleatiqued.")

The china cabinet is my real, and consistent Treasure Box... My glass garden... Something I pass each day and enjoy at different times in new ways, as the daylight in my diningroom changes and transforms it.

I hope the rest of your week is filled with little treasures, too!

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