I may not be shopping these days, but I am dreaming...
Today's post was inspired by a Facebook post I saw from a favourite local shop, Savour Décor.
The shop is owned by Janice Lapointe, who is a talented singer, a lovely lady and who has an eye for lovely things for the home.
The picture she posted was this one:
A repurposed 1921 vanity. I swooned.
I mean it - I really swooned.
Why? Because I have always wanted a vanity like this.
My lust began in the 1960s, reading the Simpson Sears catalogue. I always wanted one of these:
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| No - this is not me, but I wanted it to be me! Source |
A vanity is a place of glamour. You put on your makeup and jewelry there. You pour out your soul to your sister.
Every movie star had a vanity
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| Ah Claudette Colbert, admiring her beauty. Or maybe she saw a spot... |
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| My beloved Carole Lombard, glamour personified... |
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| I assume Elizabeth got a bigger one as the diamonds became bigger... |
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| And Rita's has that lovely satin skirt... |
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| Who wouldn't want to look at that face all day long? |
I have a lovely dresser. It was my great-grandmother's, and is now almost 130 years old.
I used to sit on the bed beside it at my Grandfather's house and stare into the mirror and was thrilled when it eventually got handed down to me.
I love it, but there is no place to sit down and powder my nose. All that is done in the bathroom, staring into a 5X magnified mirror because frankly, without my glasses, my face has become a kind of amorphous thing...
Don't you think that I am already en route to be a Miss Havisham? I keep adding things to my dresser from here and there in the house, not taking things away, and it makes me giddy with delight.
I am certain I could find a place for that beautiful vanity from Janice's store somewhere in my room. You don't think Barry would mind getting rid of his dresser, do you?
Ah never mind - it's not in the budget. But it will be some day!
So how about you? Do you have a glamorous vanity? Do tell! Have a great Monday and stay safe out there!
I do, I only use it as a place to sit and do my hair, and you know me, I can't bear any clutter on it, so only two items are allowed to sit on top of it!
ReplyDeleteI have always been short sighted so I have never been able to do my make up there, ever since I was 13 I have needed the mirror to be one inch from my face.
I love that dresser, it's stunning, mum and dad got rid of everything, I was always travelling and of no fixed abode till I was 30 ish, I prided myself into fitting everything I owned into two suitcases, now I wish I had some of the old pieces they had collected and that had been handed down.
We have been so lucky to have inherited such lovely pieces from my family. It is such a pleasure to use the same things as my ancestors!
DeleteOh, as a little girl how much I wanted a white French Provincial bedroom set with a mirrored vanity and a canopy bed! Your vanity would have been in my dream bedroom!.
ReplyDeleteNo vanity here. A lifetime of primping at the utilitarian bathroom sink leads me to question whether I could even do my face and hair while sitting down. I am fortunate enough to have a dressing room/boudoir, however. Once it became clear that babies weren't in the offing I painted the spare room a luscious pink and filled it with armoires and my special reading chair! Did you know that the word "boudoir" comes from the French "to pout"? DH calls it the Sulkatorium.
Hexicon, yes, it has allowed annoyed me that French women have a glamorous room 'to sulk in' and yet, all we Scots have is a pantry!
Deleteoops always annoyed...
Deletetoo funny Tabs! I don't have a vanity but as a girl I would sit on my mother's and of course pretend to be glamorous and smear lipstick and ruined many belonging to my mother. As furniture goes - vanities are happy places serving a happy purpose. I love yours and stuff all over it - I am not a minimalist so love looking at all your bits everywhere - it looks like someone who works in the theatre Wendy!
DeleteHexicon - I forgot the etymology of that word! That is funny! And all Tabs has is a pantry! I would love a walk in pantry - has always been a fantasy of mine!
DeleteNaomi - I feel like my life is like a theatre, so very apropos!
The Sulkatorium! I want one!
DeleteI want one too!
DeleteTaking third dibs. Always wanted a spot for a chaise or a "me only" reading chair. Not the stuff of apartment bedrooms.
DeleteI do not have a vanity. I am always quite pleased if the hotel I stay in/at has one. Does make you feel a bit more glamorous while plucking out the chin whiskers.
ReplyDeleteGreat giggle BB!
DeleteOh god - THAT is a whole other blog post isn't it?????
DeleteWendy, please write that post--I need to know I'm not alone!
DeleteBaby, you are not alone!
DeleteYou are so not alone!
DeleteBB and I will flip a coin as to who writes the dreaded post!
DeleteWhen they turn white they can't even be lasered!
DeleteI have a vanity which I seldom use for various reasons. I wake up earlier and don't want to disturb hubby with my noise and light. My make-up routine is also short (dab of base and swipe of lipstick) the bathroom mirror will suffice. Finally, every morning when I wake-up I am always reminded of French novelist Jean Cocteau who wrote that "Mirrors should think longer before they reflect."
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard that quite, but it is utter perfection!!!! Mind may need to think a lot!
DeleteI have always always desperately wanted a vanity! I planned to put one in my new bathroom but after I had the giant tub installed I realized I didn't have the room... I guess I'll never have one though I love them so!
ReplyDeleteThere must be a way you could fit this into your bedroom. Start moving the furniture around!
Oh I can fit it in physically, just not financially right now! The budget is the thing these days, especially with me about to start my pension and the big trip to Florida! I am being so good it is almost sickening!
DeleteHi Wendy, this is so funny - I was just looking up vanities yesterday after seeing an episode of House Hunters International featuring a family in Copenhagen (I follow her blog). They only have one bathroom for 5 people, so she set up a little vanity table for herself in the bedroom.
ReplyDeleteI remember my mum had one and I would love one for myself, but it would have to be a lot smaller than yours!
I just think they are so elegant. I would be so happy to sit in front of one and enjoy a more genteel place for all of my girlie things!
DeleteI used a $10 garage sale, little writing desk as my vanity for twenty five years. It was much easier to see what I was doing with it facing a window. My bathrooms had no windows at the time. I finally treated myself to one with drawers. Heaven. Two magnifying mirrors of graduating strengths are mandatory for whisker removal :-). I can't see worth a damn if I'm not in front of a window.In high school I dragged an end table to the window and used it as a quasi vanity. I guess I've been a glamour queen forever. NOT, just blind as a bat.
ReplyDeleteOh I will have to see if there is something else I can use Jennifer! Some good ideas!
DeleteNo vanity here... I have not wished for one and as said, I don't think I could do my hair or 2 minutes make up sit. I haven't inherited any furniture or any other beautiful family objects as my parents/grandparents did not have the taste for those kind of things. I try to compensate with "antiques" :-)
ReplyDeleteGood for you Steph! I try to be quick but not always easy!
DeleteI had one when I was a kid... it's long gone now. I didn't have the foresight to understand I'd want it as an adult!! Boohoo! I see them at Salvation Army and other places from time to time... if I had room to put one somewhere, I'd definitely pick one up and revive it!
ReplyDeleteDon't you hate that! I still mourn some of my childhood things!
DeleteI would love a proper dressing table (as my mother used to call them), but sadly, no room in our house.
ReplyDeleteActually, what I really want is my own wing, complete with study, bathroom etc
"A Wing of One's Own"! I am with you if it is free of snoring!
DeleteI bought a vanity as part of my 1920s bedroom set but gave it to my wee gal as she has the tiniest room and had to give up most of her furniture. I'm envious every time she sits at it!!
ReplyDeleteJen - do you ever go in an set at it? I know I would!
DeleteWe have a built-in as part of the dressing area adjacent to the master bath. I'm a make-up & hair styling minimalist - so it doesn't get much use. But I do have, and use, a full length 3 way mirror that we bought from a local boutique that was closing.
ReplyDeleteGosh my comment sounds vain. I promise that I do not spend hours gazing at my reflection. I can easily look rumpled - and I work in a conservative environment.... It's my way of making sure that I am at least reasonably put together when I leave the house....
ReplyDeleteMuffy - you gave me a giggle! I think it is brilliant that you have one of those! I could use one!
DeletePRIMP ME My grandmother's spare room dressing table is in my makeshift bedroom at my dad's. Every time I leave I think it is the thing I miss most. But it is a great solid thing with full banks of drawers and a bench. Would look good in mid-mod way if refinished and mirror replaced. But I doubt I will ever have any real estate that fits it. So I plan to take a tiny escritoire that sits at the end of the corridor and prop a mirror on it, use the envelope box for lipstick (chap stick more like.) Bonus it will fit in back of hatchback as well as flat, and not cost earth to ship. Pretty always meets practical here.
ReplyDeleteCF, I don't wear lipstick either-- the clear stuff with sunscreen is it!
DeleteWhat fascinating comments, I think it would be great if everyone sent you a photo to show on your blog! I don't have a vanity table, nor a pantry for that matter, and I would rather like both! I have various hand held mirrors that do a very poor job and I can only really see what I'm doing with any makeup when a mirror is propped up on a window ledge on a sunny day.
ReplyDeleteI think you are on to something! I have a mirror that is mounted right beside my medicine cabinet in the bathroom where there is a lot of light. But is is getting harder and harder!
DeleteNo, I don't own one, but they sure are lovely to see and imagine that one would actually use. My luxury is my cozy stuffed chair and ottoman in the bathroom, with its own light, to read in with a wooly wrap.
ReplyDeleteI've missed a whole week without much internet so very belated happy birthday, W.
I would love a big bathroom for that! I could have done that in the basement loo, but opted for more storage! thanks for the wishes!
DeleteI have a 1920s vanity (or Schminktisch, as my husband refers to it) and love it. In DC I did my makeup at it every morning, and one or both of the girls would often sit on the little bench with me "helping" me. But the lighting isn't great in our bedroom now, so it is mostly decorative and I do my makeup in the bathroom in the mornings. I found my vanity in an antique store in Southern Ohio and paid something like $250. Seriously. I had to reupholster the bench (for another $100) and it needed some repairs after our move, but it is in excellent condition and at least 40% of my joy in it is how little I paid for it.
ReplyDeleteoh good for you! You will have to take a pic and post on your blog!
DeleteIt's here: http://montydoesdeutschland.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/all-that-is-old-was-once-new/
DeleteThough admittedly a rather dark photo.
Who has the time to sit at a dressing table these days?
ReplyDeleteCurator - I would make time to sit in front of that beauty!
DeleteWhich one Wendy?
Deletewell all of them really, but I'd still like the little one on top!
DeleteOh my, I would LOVE to have a dressing table! Sadly there's no room for one in my house. One can dream!
ReplyDelete