Want to Define Your Decorating Style?

Through a lovely reader, Cindy, I found out about a decorating quiz that is sure to determine your style. Well, you know me, I can't resist that, so I clicked on over to Sproost to check out the quiz .

As Cindy said, this is the equivalent of having Karen MacAloon from 'What's Your Style?' on HGTV show up and snoop through your house to tell you what your style really is. 'ContemporaryCraftsmanFunk' could be the answer - which tells you nothing, really - but I took the test anyway, and it was fun! I recommend it, even if you are 100% sure about what you like every day of the week. For most of us who love antique & vintage style, it is interesting to narrow it down to what styles within that wide range we prefer...

My results?

40% Classic

(I laughed when this photo and the one way up above came up in the test, because this is exactly what I have designed our house to look like in the long run. We even have this sofa!)

30% Nantucket Style

30% French Eclectic

You may notice that my own preferences up there tend to appear in our Retreat Collections - the Beach look, as well as a Farmhouse theme and Vintage Garden feel are all near and dear to my heart, sparked by happy memories. Trends like French Eclectic style have migrated the other way - because I was designing in that theme for Retreat, it started showing up at home! (And now, amazingly, I sometimes dream of a vacation in France...)

Mr. Deb, on the other hand, is partial to mountain lodges, lakeside cabins, and rambling western ranches. He gets his turn in some of our themes, including our upcoming collection for Farm Chicks - which combines his love of rusticity with my penchant for soft neutral colors. Our 'Tattered & Torn Texas Retreat' products are well underway here on the Farm.

Go ahead, pop on over there and take the quiz. The 'new-found' knowledge you gain about your style preferences may actually help you to see that those elements have been showing up more often than not over the past few years. And that helps you to know exactly what you are looking for when you are shopping marvelous vintage boutiques & shows... before your best girlfriend gets it!

This Just In....

This sweet dresser, originally built in Seattle, has been freshened up to a perfectly chippy shabby beauty, and is now in our space at Faded Elegance.

With turned front feet that are very nearly a perfect match for the turnings on the legs of the dining table next to it, the dresser would make a lovely and capacious buffet. It's a ready-made dining room suite ready to go!

Victoria's Gardens

We have the new March/April 09 issue of Victoria Magazine in our booth at Faded Elegance! Come in and save 10% off the newsstand price. (Limited copies available.) With the seasonal focus on 'Gardens We Love', it's the perfect match for our 'Elegant Garden' spring style!

The pink is gone, a few new smalls are in, and more furniture is in process. We'll be bringing more furnishings in as the current items sell, so plan to check in often to see what's new...

Coming March 1: We'll add simple and soft green natural & decorative accents to this soft white, ivory, and tan look, bringing more of the Garden indoors.

Spring Fresh!

Our new 'Elegant Garden' theme is now in our space at Faded Elegance... it has a little bit of garden style (with more to come in March) and a lot of elegance. We just got really tired of waiting for spring to arrive, so we brought it in ourselves! In a big departure from the black & white color scheme we've showcased for fall & winter, we are featuring a whole new look. The soft white and gold palette just brightens up the space, and will do the same for your rooms.

You'll find lots of new furnishings, light fixtures, and accessories...

A beautiful solid wood dresser from the 1940's offers capacious storage for your bedroom, guest room, or as a buffet in a dining room.**Sold Feb 17th - but another dresser will be in Thursday morning!**

On top are two gorgeous glass lamps with handmade shades - vintage sheet music and player piano music rolls add real personality and warm, flattering light.

This one-of-a-kind handmade table (from vintage parts) would be perfect in an entry hall or a breakfast nook.

The vintage lamp has a new shade, handmade from vintage sheet music.

This lovely solid wood table would also be a generous desk - with the leaf in, it is a full 7' long and 4' wide.

On top of the table, an assorment of elegant ironstone & ceramic serving pieces and garden style accessories inspire,

and chandeliers with accents from vintage music (like wraps for the 'candles' and embellished crystals) hang above to complete the scene.

There are still a few special items available for Valentine's Day, too! The custom lamp & shade, small glass heart jewel boxes, and Deb's sweet 'Love NeSts' will be here only this weekend - so hurry in!

One Down, One to Go...

Despite the snowstorm, we went in and installed the new 'Vintage Garden' theme last night in record time. Now it's cheerful & colorful in our space at Poppyseeds!

We've brought in Valentine's goodies, lots of collectible kitchen & garden items, and colorful furnishings & home decor to brighten up your rooms!

Lots of vintage linens and our own special creations: 'NeSts'TM and 'FooFooFauxFood'TM chenille cakes, too!

This darling little vintage table is collaged with old seed packets, cookbook art, recipes, and advertisements from the 30's...

Julie said that she is blown away by how completely different it is from our last theme, and that Marybeth just had to stop in this morning to get a peek at it. Apparently, she said "My TEETH hurt it's so cute!" Thanks, Marybeth - we LOVE that! (Make sure you check out the Poppyseeds blog !)

...now just one more reset to go, later this week at Faded Elegance......

Ready For Spring!

Welcome to all of our new visitors who are coming from the Faded Elegance blog...we are so happy you have found us!

Things are flying fast and furious here at Retreat Farm, with last-minute preparations for our 'coming attractions'. We thought we'd give you a sneak peek at our Spring 09 theme, coming soon to both of our permanent spaces at Faded Elegance and Poppyseeds: Introducing our 'Spring Garden Retreats'.

While not showing the exact pieces that we'll be bringing in, these photos express the pretty, garden-fresh, shabby, countryside mood of our 'Elegant Garden Party' theme for Faded Elegance. Whites, greens, golds, glass, wire, and paper will invigorate you and have you ready for Spring entertaining - because if Mother Nature doesn't cooperate, we recommend that you bring the garden feeling indoors!

Some absolutely amazing furniture, including one-of-a-kind pieces, and wonderful vintage & aged accessories (including Springtime NeSts!) will be arriving late next week in our space...and I am debating bringing in that beautiful huge birdcage. We'll see! Visit Faded Elegance next weekend to be among the first to see the new look in our space.

Now, for Poppyseeds, we have a 'Vintage Garden' theme planned...

Reminiscent of our booth at Farm Chicks last June, which we called Grandma's Garden, this theme is a bright, happy celebration of Springtime. You can almost hear Benny Goodman's Big Band music as you take in the vintage goodies and colorful furnishings!

Vintage furnishings and lots of vintage linens, dishware and gadgets, garden goodies and kitchen kitsch, all in happy colors to brighten up these last gray days of winter...and welcome Spring!

Plus of course some special creations made by Retreat and available only from us.

We'll be completely rehabbing our space at Poppyseeds early next week to create the perfect setting for this theme, so if you visit midweek, you'll be able to see the whole new look!

We hope you enjoy both of these escapes to relaxing, rejuvenating retreats!

Annual Citywide Antique Sale!

The 27th Annual Snohomish Citywide Antique Sale is this weekend, Friday through Sunday, February 6th - 8th. All of the antique dealers in town will be participating with discounts from 10 to 50% off. At our space in Faded Elegance , we will be offering a 15% discount.

A few new items will be headed in there tomorrow morning - just in time for the sale - including some of my special handmade NeSts for Valentine's Day, available only at Faded Elegance. We hope you can make it to Snohomish this weekend!
An additional offer:
While you are out shopping, we'd also like to invite you to visit our space inside of Poppyseeds, located in Stanwood (about half an hour north of Snohomish). If you print this post out and take it with you to poppyseeds , you'll receive a 15% discount on any of our merchandise there! (Dealer #22)