Nightmares and Dreams are Pretty Much The Same Thing.

My husband's nightmare is also one of my biggest dreams.
I've always told him, when we finally found our dream home, I wanted to load up on vintage plunder at my favorite auction house! I've been going here for years bidding on and dreaming of killer Victorian furniture and giant gaudy chandeliers that would never fit into our 1970s ranch home. But rejoice, the time has come and we are now true Victorian home owners.

There were some substantial pieces I had in mind for our new place and I knew I'd be droppin' some dollars, so I was a little scared when Pete said he wanted to come along. I usually haunted
hunted these kinds of places solo. I don't like a second opinion or a voice of reason holding me back from my heart's desire. But he seemed excited this morning, and I didn't want to break his little heart.

I called in advance for a private showing of all the goodies in the giant barn of an auction house (good things come to you, if you are nice and buy crap you don't need over the years). The auctioneer is also a Victorian loving hoarder at heart so our selection was PRIME. Since it's off-season Dale (the auction dude) just privately sells stuff on the weekends.

When Pete and I walked into the showroom, I had to contain myself. THIS. IS. REAL. LIFE.
This barn is a capsule of all things massive, dreamy, and over the top.
I have arrived.

Pete had to remind me the entire drive down, that we have the rest of our lives to furnish our new home and I don't need to do it all in one day. It's his cute little way of making up an imaginary budget pulling the reigns on me when he knows I've been chomping at the bit.

We had a few key pieces in mind, so I had to stay focused.

OMG. Look at those twelve gothic Chippendale dining chairs! Perfect for our family of two.

 

 

Whoa.....is that a Victorian baseball cap wearing ghost in the mirror?!

 

 

In five minutes I have already pinged from wall to wall, scouting out all the yummy items on my potential wish list. I say "wish list" because there are still two factors that might squash my dreamy plans here. One, is whether or not my sidekick likes the thing. The other is the actual price of Said Thing. Since almost nothing has a price tag on it, one cannot fall head over heels for Said Thing and be heart broken when you can't afford it. Just don't set yourself up for potential disappointment, trust me.

So the room of focus today was our dining room and a piece we could convert into our kitchen island. Pete and I found an incredible nine foot tall 1880's china hutch, a 1920's Spanish Gothic sideboard, carved Griffon table(for the island) and two heavy wool rugs.

I have a great eye for massive heavy things but I'm weak as a kitten.
Luckily Pete has friends whom I can pay with whiskey or food to help us haul stuff.

Don't  you just want to lick this thing? The carving is THAT good.

We are going to add some ball feet and marble slab on top!

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