Treasure Hunting

The first fair of the year, the one that I never miss for anything is Arthur Swallow Decorative Home & Salvage fair at Ripley Castle near Harrogate.  We are so lucky to have this so close to home as all the other wonderful fairs and shows are further south and more tricky logistically to get to.

The anticipation of what you will find is so exciting.  Even better when the sun is shining and everyone is happy to be out and about enjoying the atmosphere and the hunt for treasure.  The smell of warm grass in a marquee is intoxicating, add in the content of wonderful things it gets me quite giddy.

I had a list of a few things that I wanted this year and I didn’t come home empty handed.  Sometimes I just go with no ideas at all and see what catches my eye, some years I know exactly what I am after, the fun part is seeing if I can find it.  You don’t realise that your home is forever evolving, I’m not one for chucking out for new all the time but I do like to swap things up a bit but I do recycle as much as I can, re home or reuse.  The beauty of having old things in your home makes this easier to do.

If I have a plan I always take measurements of the space before I go, also never go to a fair without a tape measure it’s a very valuable bit of kit, things look rather different when situated in a field as opposed to your living room.

I was after a new side table for the living room, I wanted a chippy painted French cafe table but one that wasn’t too large and I found one, its perfect and fits my space so very well.  I also wanted another mirror because obviously I haven’t got enough!  I’m starting to make a gallery wall around the television to make it blend even more into the background, old mirrors are perfect for bouncing light around a space too.  Last but not least I was on the hunt for a couple of small fold away French cafe chairs for the garden, I like changing things up with seating areas when it comes to the garden and the ones I found are simple neat and utterly wonderful.

The only problem with wandering around a fair like this one is there are many many temptations,  I could have spent a fortune on the things I love and would all work perfectly in my dream home that I have in my head.  Always set yourself a budget and take cash, its easy to rack up a big bill if you use your card.

I hope you get to go treasure hunting throughout the Summer, there are some fabulous fairs to be explored over the coming months while the sun shines.