Travels in Georgia - A Visit to Montaluce Vineyards

Montaluce Vineyards in Dahlonega, Georgia link to website

Yesterday was such a beautiful fall day in our area of Georgia and we were thrilled that this was the date we had booked a vineyard tour in Dahlonega. Our son had given my husband (through Travelzoo link to site) a gift certificate for this tour back in June as a birthday gift and with all of the rainy weather and other events we had scheduled, this was the first good date for which we could book the tour. We were VERY lucky that it just happened to be one of the best days of the season - if not year.

First, a little about Dahlonega. From their official website link:

Guide

An “Authentic” getaway only an hour north of Atlanta, Dahlonega is the historic site of the first major U.S. Gold Rush and excels in hosting visitors seeking relaxation and “Adventure”.  “Arts” and entertainment fill downtown Dahlonega’s National Registered district where preserved architecture surrounds shopping, dining, music, and theater just a gold steeple away from the traditions of North Georgia College & State University. 

The property bordered the Etowah River used for kayaking and other sports - there is a rich Indian history of fishing on the river.

Another site for Dahlonega featured a great photo of the vineyard itself - obviously this is one of the areas star attractions. The tour included a 1.5 plus walk through the vineyards property with an expert guide who talked about the history of the area as well as the vineyard property (over six years old) and the process of growing grapes and producing wines. She was clearly knowledgeable and our group of 20 or so visitors had a great stroll which became a little more strenuous in the hilly areas. We felt we actually got a little exercise here!

Some of the vines were producing a second harvest. Because of the heavy rains, the vineyard was experiencing some atypical growth patterns and had also lost some vines because of excessive rain. Overall production of grapes, however, was up. 

Birthday boy on trail back to restaurant/winery. 

Yours truly with vineyards in the background. 

View of group tasking room and some of the holding tanks in the winery. 

We enjoyed our visit and made a commitment to return to the restaurant which was truly outstanding with great views of the vineyards and mountains beyond. The wine was pretty good too! 

A Beautiful Fall Visit to Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta

Outdoor "pumpkins" at Scott's Antique Markets

This is the second weekend of the month and, therefore, the occasion for Scott's Antique Market south of the City of Atlanta. I missed last month's event because of our China trip and almost did not go today because my regular friend/companion for these trips is on vacation this month. My sweet husband volunteered to accompany me and we had a wonderful time at the market. It helped that the weather could not be more perfect and the crowds seemed somewhat subdued.

I always choose a "theme" for my photography work at the market and decided that Halloween/Fall was as good as any - there were a lot of wonderful exhibits and items for sale.

We visited the south building which is my favorite at the market.

I like this cat candy holder!

Anything orange looked particularly right to me!

This lovely piece was surrounded by a sea of "French Linen" painted furniture - it just sparkled! 

This centerpiece was quite pricey ($600) but looked wonderful and would certainly work for a fall theme. 

Anything this bright orange is fair game for my Halloween/Fall theme! 

Loved these canisters!

This would work as a great indoor or outdoor centerpiece!

This wonderful floral arrangement (fake) was created by one of our favorite floral designers - his work is pricey but just great!

I do not always spend much time looking at the outside stalls particularly if it is very hot or otherwise not great weather but this was a great day for wandering around! 

I did not buy anything today (other than my usual double-scoop ice cream cone for lunch). These pieces were hard to resist and 3 out of 4 had been professionally refinished by one of our favorite vendors and beautifully upholstered in a drop-cloth quality fabric - unbelievably nice looking. 

What a great day for visiting (and not buying) at the Market - I look forward to returning next month!

Postcards from China - Yangtze River

Bridges over the Yangtze River. For about the last 10 years, China has been engaged in massive infrastructure building  and most of these were rather new.

As part of our Imperial Jewels of China trip, my husband and I traveled on the Yangtze River on a "longboat" - The Viking Century Emerald. The trip started in Wuhan and five days later we departed the ship in Chongquig.  The Yangtze is the third largest river in the world and 34% of China's population lives long the river.

Over boat, The Viking Century Emerald, carried 260 passengers. 

We saw a lot of river traffic but almost all of it was commercial and most of what we saw were barges of various sizes.

The scenery along the way, particularly after we had passed the huge Three Dam Gorge (largest hydroelectric plant in the world) was stunning. We were told that over 4000 small villages had been flooded when the dam opened in 2009.

Ancient structures juxtaposed new construction throughout the area - we were amazed at the number of high-rise buildings throughout our journey. We were told that rural folks were the new inhabitants of these huge structures but many looked incomplete and empty.

This was a truly amazing trip and I hope these photos begin to describe it!

Before and After - My Own Parade

Periodically, I post examples of my own before and after transformations in the hope of encouraging others to seek and restore heirloom quality upholstered furniture themselves. It is almost always better made than anything available today at reasonable prices and it not hard to find. The trick is to be patient and wait for the right quality piece to come along - here are some pointers:

• Make sure the woodwork is substantial and intact - it should not wobble or move when pushed and be free of obvious breaks and repairs.
• Make sure that the piece has a solid seating platform - my personal preference is hand-tied, 8-way steel coil springs that are the true signs of quality upholstered furniture. 
• Make sure that the seat and other cushions are medium-firm - if down is preferred, it should be firm enough (often wrapped around a coiled interior or mixed with non-down materials). If the cushion is in bad shape, ask your upholstery shop to replace it with a high-quality foam.
• Make sure that the piece does not exhibit strong odors (minor odors will dissipate with new fabrics and innards) or animal/insect damage.

Here are some of the nice pieces that I have recently had transformed. Again, I do not do my own upholstery work and rely on the experts for that. That said, making sure you are using a really good, meticulous master upholsterer -  is just a good investment. This is not the place to save money but you should shop around for the best values.

This piece is available on Etsy and Ebay. I bought the original off of a craigslist ad and had it upholstered in a great graphite and white bold print. It is a heirloom quality piece probably over a 100 years old. link to eBay description

This set of chairs came from an estate sale (WAY back in the woods in a huge but ancient estate in the Buckhead area) . It has sold!

This stylish chair was purchased on a craigslist purchase of another chair. While there, the seller told me about another chair she no longer wanted. It has scuffed black legs so I had to refinish those but the construction is wonderful is wonderful on this piece and I love the sway-back. link to Etsy listing 

This chair and ottoman (slightly undersized) was purchased at a garage sale in the neighborhood. It has those great hand-tied, 8-way coil springs but no longer had any brand information which is often lost when pieces are reupholstered. 

This great chair was purchased on a "bid" left at a nearby estate sale. It is a beautiful vintage piece in wonderful condition and before proceeding with it,  I showed a photo to a favorite client who loves fine furniture and particularly anything with French styling. She bought it immediately and selected this fabric from about 10 I showed her. 

This wonderful settee was purchased at a neighborhood garage sale. I love how it looks in this soft green velvet. I think it is sold and on its way to San Francisco to be a star in a little girl's room! 

This great looking chair was one of two (with ottoman) that I bought off of a craigslist ad. The other chair with ottoman was sold as a custom piece for a client who has long received it and loves it! This chair was just completed and is available on both Etsy and ebay.

This great chair manufactured in THE fine furniture capitol of the world (Hickory, NC) was part of a two-piece set which includes a high settee. Both were re-upholstered in this striking stripe (navy and cream-white) and both are available on Etsy or eBay. I would love to see someone buy the set but have offered to split them up. 

This set of Thomasville Chairs is in almost brand-new condition. I had actually bought the originals from a craigslist add and found they perfectly matched the colors in my bedroom so used them for about three years in that space. Just recently, I completed a minor redecoration of the room and the colors no longer matched (got rid of the pink). Now the new fabric makes them a good match again but I  am selling to change out the room a little more. These are available on both eBay and Etsy.

Well, that was somewhat exhausting but inspirational - even for me,  I hope you enjoy!

Postcards from China - Shanghai

My husband and I just returned from a Viking River Cruise (Imperial Jewels of China) and found it to be a fascinating country. It was actually a combination land/river trip and we stayed two nights in Shanghai. We were only able to see a few things and definitely wish we had been able to extend this portion of the trip.

Here in postcard format, were some of the highlights!

The River Bund is associated with "colonial" Shanghai when European countries constructed buildings that reminded them of home. It is a lovely, broad river with both commercial and tourist traffic. 

While this was interesting, we felt it was as much an opportunity to try to sell these fine rugs (at not insignificant prices) as an educational experience. The food was good! 

This was our favorite stop - a beautiful garden in the heart of Old Shanghai with lovely walkways and fine examples of Chinese garden features. It was still early in the day and the sky was mostly clear and blue which turned out to be unusual in China -  we did not see many blue skies. 

This is a a lovely museum and nicely laid out!

We were still shell-shocked (14 and a half hours of flying through Chicago - earlier delayed flight from Atlanta) so were probably not as appreciative of this fine city as we could have been. We found it to be bustling with big traffic jams and lots of construction. This turned out to be true throughout China, at least in the moderate to big cities we visited.

Decorating by Color - Black and White

Black and White Image - from my Pinterest board Decorating in Black and Grey

I have always loved the crisp clean look of black and white decor (with just about any pop of color imaginable). As a poor college student, I painted wooden boards a shiny black and placed them between bricks and white mortar board to create elaborate bookshelves and places to put things like the small television we had in those days. I painted matching old tables and dressers and had a very "sophisticated" flat!

Fast forward (many years) and I still love the look of black and white and find it to be an easy way to create sophistication and elegance in any space.

Black and white décor is an affordable way to make your home look sophisticated, elegant and dramatic. You can easily transform any room into this style by repainting old furniture and purchasing a few basic accessories.  Link to article

This color scheme may be the easiest to accomplish. There are no tricky color coordination challenges and just about ANY other color will coordinate well. I found many articles on the subject but feel that the actual photos were the best advocates for this great color scheme. Some of my pinterest boards are set up by colors and I have one showing a lot of black and white images. Of course, most of my emphasis is on upholstered pieces but the scheme works well with all furnishings. The images below are all from my board (see link above) and the original sources are there as well.

I always have some items in my inventory of fine refurbished upholstered pieces in this great color combination but I must be truthful here - they do not sell well. They sell eventually but not quickly. I am always amazed to see how hesitant buyers are about using this great color combination. I get a lot of compliments but the buyers are slow to come forward - an interesting paradox!

Here are my latest black and white pieces - available on eBay and Etsy - you can also contact me directly at wydevendesigns@comcast.net.  Enjoy - and let's see if my prior experience is wrong on these beauties!