Sweetbriar Home: Hand-Me-Down Antiques

I'm linking up with House of Grace for Twice Owned Tuesday

We have a few antique pieces in our home that are hand-me downs from 

family and close friends.

Probably my favorite of these is our china cabinet,

which was once owned by the grandparents of one of my oldest and dearest

friends.  When they downsized their home, they passed down

(to family and lucky friends like me!) 

many pieces that had originated in their antique shop Recollections
.

Let's take a look...

This china cabinet is the perfect size for our smallish dining room.  

Though small, it has lots of character and personality!  :)   

The framed print to the let of the cabinet was my MawMaw's (grandmother) 

- it's an Edna Hibel - I LOVE it so much!!!!

It's a great place to display and admire our beautiful Wedgwood "Seville" china!

This antique secretary that you may have seen in my living room post is also 

from my friend's grandparents.  They are one of those couples 

that just makes you smile when you think about them, so

I absolutely LOVE having some of their antiques in our home!

Two of their granddaughters now babysit for us and I was so excited to

share with them the "history" of these pieces.

 I loved the curved front of the secretary - similar to the curved front of our guest room dresser!

I love all the bumps and bruises antique furniture - I think they make for a very "lived in" home. 

As you may have read before, while I hope people like "the look" of our home, 

I don't want our home to ever look like a magazine.

 This armoire/wardrobe is something my husband's mother found for him 

while he was a single guy.  It's currently in our master bedroom (see more of that soon!).   

I like how its sturdy masculinity balances some of the feminine qualities of our bedroom.

(keeping it real with the yellow ball and dust bunnies)

Every good Southern girl has a church pew in her home, right?

I've seen many of these in foyers and living rooms but

I prefer ours in our bedroom because

it's quite long (92") and anchors a big wall in our master nicely.

I love that it shows some wear and age, likes it's been through 

"good times and bad."  :)  Like the armoire, its rustic masculinity

is a good balance for the softer aspects of our bedroom.

Sweetbriar Home: Master Bathroom

Linking up with Homemaker on a Dime

***Today is my birthday 9/16 - YAY!***
Please read the entire post...the last photo is worth it!  I promise!

 
Our master bathroom was part of our big 2008-2009 addition/renovation project.
Because our home and most of the other homes in our neighborhood 
were built in the 1940s, I really wanted to make our "new" house 
have some "old" touches.  Hence, the black and white hexagon floor tile, 
which Nate Berkus described just yesterday on his show as 
"classic and lasts forever...never going out of style."
I agree, Nate!  I love them!!!
I chose the carrera marble for the same reasons...
I love it and it's timeless!


The wall color is Sherwin-Williams Austere Grey, 
which is what we have in all of our bedrooms and bathrooms.
It is a great, soothing greenish grey.


Let's take a look...

Our mirrors are from Ballard Designs

We don't have a linen closet in this bathroom but the big drawers 
are perfect for our towels and the counter top cabinet 
houses things like hairdryer, straightener, Kleenex, etc.
That photo makes me giggle because it looks like Mr. Sweetbriar
has a thick Tom Selleck mustache in the framed photo on the left.  I think 
he had a bit of a scruffy beard but surely not Magnum P.I.

I heart our big walk-in shower with pebble floor.

Our tub - OUR TUB!  The size, the jets, the fixture...
it's my dream tub!
Not to mention, I have such great memories of 
our son's first baths in that tub!
(Note: our other bath was still under construction until he was 2+ months old.)

It feels a little strange to post a photo of our toilet...but just wait
for the next photo...


Are you ready?


Are you sure?


Go get your husband...
oh wait, don't do that because he'll start trying to figure
out how to put one of these in your house too...
   

Yes, friends...that is a urinal.  It is in the same "toilet closet" 

as our toilet, and no, it's doesn't stink!

(people always ask that...my reply is always that it's in our home, 

not a gross bar!  We I clean it!)


You know that beer commercial where the husband's friends 
freak out over his walk-in closet full of beer?  
That's pretty much the reaction men have when they see this 
in our master bath...then they ask if they can use it!  
Seriously, they all want to test it out!
So why in the world do we have a urinal in our master bath?!
  

Mr. Sweetbriar REALLY wanted one and when we were planning 
our remodel we discovered they are only about the 
cost of a toilet and there's the HUGE added bonus  (for me!)

of never having the toilet seat up - so I agreed!

The only bad thing (besides adding to bathroom cleaning time) 
is that the flush is LOUD - not cool at 3am! 

Anyone else have a urinal at home?  Anyone?  Bueller?