Decor Detours // Peek at a 'new' old cabinet desk
Today's detour away from getting more frieze painting done focused around picking up this little secretary desk with a cabinet top from Albany. An inexpensive facebook marketplace score, this desk is small enough to fit just to the side of the archway between the foyer and the sewing parlor, with a little room left for an eventual floor lamp one day as well.
I was on the hunt for a roll top or secretary style desk for this spot to serve as a sequinning station, and most importantly, one that could be closed up to keep out cats! The little letter organizer divider thingies inside the desk were busted, which is extra perfect as I just cleared them out and will have the whole desk area to store my velvet beading mats with piles of what I'm using for any given project at the ready. I can either slip my in progress projects inside the desk too, or perhaps in the drawer below, depending on the size of things. I managed to get all of my sequins in the top portion of the desk. The top shelf even has little bottles with extra sequins to fulfil my apothecary atelier dreams 🤩
I also found my spare blue morpho butterfly (who doesn't have a few of those knocking around, am I right?) and pinned it into an old pin cushion. I set it atop some antique spools with some other old threads in a precarious stack under one of my glass cloche. The other threads in the apothecary jars up there are all the colors I never reach for, but could still be used if ever needed. I have a few more butterflies I need to rehydrate and pin, and then I can perhaps entomb them in the other empty jars as well.
And yes, those three large black plastic totes are full, one with knit fabrics, one with Japanese Obi, and the last with Japanese Kimono 😅 I love Japanese textiles and hope to display some in the lounge/office/library room next to the sewing parlor. Collecting kimono is like collecting art after all, only waaay cheaper becuase they go for nothing on ebay, and it's practically a crime compared to how beautiful they are. Not that I'll be collecting anything but cheap furniture, bills, and dust for the rest of this year, but clearly I'm already out of kimono storage so that hardly matters.
I'm crossing my fingers that I can make enough progress to put out another video this week, so hopefully I'll be seeing you soon!
Comments (23)
Gorgeous! We're still being perfectly patient, loving each house update you choose to share.
The morpho looks GLORIOUS next to the frieze! And your sequin area basically begs for a test run. Anything inspiring you to make a broach? :)
What a ‘sweet’ little sequin station!! SOMEone appears very interested … lol!!
That cat is looking so wistfully at the closed desk...
Oo! The sequins looked like old books at first glance. Love a secretary type desk. For hiding away the secrets (or sequins)!
so pleasing to look at the rows and stacks of sequins in that beautiful case! Also the butterfly is *chefs kiss*
Love the cabinet - the sequins all piled up behind the glass are delicious.
Have you ever seen the movie Girl of the Limberlost?
The charm factor is high, my friend, very high! 💕(I swear this is like sewing voyeurism to a whole new level!!)
I love this little bureau, so sweet.
I love the jar arrangements, very beautiful🦋. That desk etc is good too, lucky everything fits inside like a glove (is that right for inside 😐) it looks superb with all the colours showing through the glass.
Such a charming little window! So very satisfying to see the sequins all arranged by colour! And funny to be reading about how kimono go for nothing on ebay just hours after I finished writing a blog post about that very thing! Though In that post I'm specifically going for obi with the big floral patterns that are perfect for remaking into 18th century waistcoats.
Oliver….dang nab it…foiled again at my mission to create havoc….bah humbug….i will return anon to complete my mission…😼😼😼
your kitty : 🧐 (planning mischief)
Very early good morning, As I'm still is a bit off, I'm also stillon my tablet. Pardon the format. I should perhaps rather say a very late good night, but tomatoes-potatoes. That desk, cum storage looks so good dressed in all the sequins. It looks like at least one of the cats has figured out that it will be off limits, and is already plotting a way to get in there. My apologies that I don't know who is who in your family yet. M y memory for namres and faces are a weakness of mine. I do remember that a tortie one is named Sophia, but this isn't her right? I know that there sometimes are secret compartments in secretaries, as i've found them where the owner didn't even think to look. We found DH's great grandfather's glasses and some letters in one. That was fun. I do hope you're having fun, and a good time. Yours, Ann
I thought the stacks of sequins were books at first lol. Love it when furniture can be given a new life. Lovely piece!
I love the idea of a secretary desk for sequining, like you said, it's important to close it up and put away especially if maybe one of them has pika (mine does, it's a nightmare) and that butterfly and jar of tread spools looks amazing. I am really loving seeing this room come together
The butterfly is beautifully color matched to the paint colors you chose. 💖
Yes, a rest for your hands good idea! Beautiful secretary desk, a great find. The morpho looks so striking.
What a great find! I love when you come across the *perfect* piece at a fb marketplace prices. And if you haven't invested in some already, it's really good stuff. As a museum professional and a lover of both cats and trinkets, I can't recommend museum wax highly enough.
What a perfect sequin storage solution!
I think "the lounge" sounds so swanky and sophisticated!
Oliver (I believe, I’m so bad with remembering who names go to) appears to be scheming chaos in the second picture