Friday 1 February 2013

My Marie Antoinette Cupboard



I have literally spent hours today sifting and sorting through my lace collection.
It was scattered all through the house in various boxes and displays and I wanted to bring it all to one location.

Wherever I kept it had to be accessible, protective from dust and sunlight but still allow me to enjoy it all every single day.

I have had this little display cupboard for many years now.
It is actually looking a little shabby now and I would like to repaint it and re wallpaper the interior.
I am now pondering on what colour scheme would best suit it.
Any thoughts ?

Anyhow......

Today I made it all happen. I gathered and folded and primped my treasured lace. 

One by one pieces like this (underneath)


Were folded and rolled around vintage pegs and popped into a drawer
Then this GOOOOORGEOUS piece of lace (pictured below) screamed out to me
'Feature me !'
SO I DID

I made a feature of her by hanging her up like a little curtain.
I think it looks like centre stage for my LACE SHOW !
She is such a pretty little piece. I think that she was once a collar from a very pretty Sunday dress. 
The fabric is very fine Swiss Dot Voile and is trimmed by beautiful Edwardian lace.
She truly deserved to be a feature in my lace display.
SOMEHOW MY SCENE WAS MISSING SOMETHING.

The lace all look kind of blah all by itself.
The textures and various shades of antique white was there.
It just needed a little OOMPH !

and that's when Marie Antoinette stepped in !
and all of a sudden everything that reminded me of Marie made it's way into the display.
My new framed water colour and embroidery picture, an antique greeting card, antique shoe stretchers, a pearl encrusted evening bag, a very, very old silk embroidered French handkerchief and then all of my beautiful lace.

It looks so lovely !








A whole entire drawer of delectable rolls of lace !
All wrapped carefully around vintage pegs to keep them all tangle free and looking perfect.

and then I stacked antique lace pillow shams and doilies on top of each other in one big pretty pile.
and I was very excited when I took the lid from underneath a stack of lace that I had recently bought and I found this roll of lace !

I was so happy to have found it as I had not even thought to check under the lid of the box.  Funnily enough I had given some of this lace to my friend recently in a lace swap and it was my favourite lace ever.
I decided to share some with my friend and knew that she would love it as much as I did.
Now I am so happy to still have some for myself.
There is quite a lot of this lace in the roll and it was all squashed up inside the lid.
HAPPY ME !

One drawer for peg lace and the other is for all of my doilies (well maybe not all of them.....)
I still have more ! lol
Obsessed muchly :-)




I can now enjoy all of my work while sitting on my sofa and enjoying a cup of tea.
Marie can inspire me and my pretty lace is all dust free and out of harms way.
The best thing about it is, is when I begin to get bored with this display I can find another theme and decorate it all over again.






16 comments:

  1. What a neat cupboard to keep all that beautiful lace,Melanie. It's displayed so pretty and right there to see it. I may have to borrow this idea since when I buy lace items I put them up and sometimes forget I have them.

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    1. Oh Sylvia you will never enjoy your lace if you hide it away. I would love to see some of your own collection xo

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  2. WOWZERS Melanie!! What beauties, and I am now a bit antzy waiting for your package!!! That lace is gorgeous!!!! Don?t worry, you willhear me when it gets here! Marie to the rescue! Your cabinet turned out to be a beautiful focal point and the lovely laces are displayed in such a pretty way! I know you will have so much joy being able to view it daily. I bet you had a blast wrapping all those beauties on those pegs. Such beauty!
    I just realized that I have typos on this, but every timme I try to fix one, I loose the use of my keyboard on my ipad!! Please excuse my fingers!
    Blessings,
    Doni

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    1. So good to hear from you Doni, Yes I am enjoying my new display, it is so nice to be able to see it all in a different setting. Hopefully our parcels will both arrive this week. Wouldn't it be fantastic if they both arrived on the same day !

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  3. Oh Wow! :) Your Marie Antoinette Cupboard looks Fabulous! I see you love lace too, looks so pretty!! :)

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  4. I love your Marie Antoinette Display sooooooo pretty and love the vintage laces too. Take care, Darlene

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  5. Your collection is beautiful and your display elegant. I don't think I would refurbish the cabinet, it looks lovely as it is.

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  6. Hello dear Melanie! Wowie zowie! You have a lot of lace!
    I do love the look of ruffled lace. Everything here is so pretty! YOU are like Marie (beauty wise, I mean!)
    You reminded me about the movie I still want to watch again.
    Sending love to you, sweetie pie!

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  7. Hello Melanie, thank you for visiting my blog. I love your lace collection. I am sad to say, I only have a few pieces...nothing like yours...sigh. You lace cupboard is so nice to display all the pretties you have. Wrapping them around those vintage pegs is such an awesome idea. I don't know, but I must be looking in the wrong places for lace. Any helpful hints on where to purchase? In the meantime, I will swoon over all your lovely pieces!!

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  8. Lace makes me weak-kneed, lol! Marie is beautiful complement to your sumptuous collection of lace. If you are still considering painting the cabinet, I would paint if french blue. ;D Thank you for visiting my blog and your kind words. HUGS Heidi

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  9. Absolutely scrumptious, Melanie! What a lovely collection! You have convinced me that I need to reorganize my stash!! Love it on the pegs!!
    Thanks for sharing at Blissful Whites Wednesday!!
    Hugs,
    Beceky

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  10. Yummy, yummy, yummy! I love your lace collection. Isn't it always a joy to look at all the different patterns and techniques? Lace makes me happy.
    Hugs,
    Julia

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  11. Do I know what you mean about needing to organize all the laces and trims! Your solution is delightful! With the addition of a Marie Antoinette theme, it makes it over-the-top wonderful! I am addicted to collecting these things, also. I actually have two large Navy duffel bags brimming over with the larger pieces! Think I have a problem???!! LOL I would love to have your drop by my blog if you get a chance.. always like making new friends!

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  12. Great idea for storage and inspiration, and sooooo pretty! You displayed these items perfectly, I hope to try, thanks for the inspiration!

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  13. So pretty! It takes hours for me to organize my things in my sewing rom and I have about a year tof organizing 24 hours a day to Go! But somedaye It will get there!
    Hearts,
    Betsy

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