Last week I was sitting down at my computer to do some last minute planning for my vintage treasure hunting trip to Brimfield and I realized there aren’t many resources online for folks that haven’t been before and want to know what to expect. I remember the first time I went and I had no idea where to park, where to shop, or what it would be like. So I thought I would share a few of my tips for future Brimfield attendees, as well as some photos from my antiquing at the July show! 
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I hit up the Brimfield Antiques Market this weekend and had a blast trekking through the mud and hunting for some vintage treasures. One of my favorite things about going to Brimfield is seeing all of the collections that people sell, everything from typewriter keys to bicycles to old milk bottles. I walked away with a jadeite baking dish and an antique floral tablecloth that both look perfect in my kitchen; good finds and a very good day.
This weekend I have big plans to re-work the old toolbox I bought at brimfield into a glamorous jewelry armoire. Posting about it here will hopefully make me accountable so I actually get to the project, instead of getting distracted by my comfy couch and bountiful DVR.
In my last apartment, I had several stacks of jewelry boxes and drawers in my nightstand for my everyday pieces. As you can see here (just my everyday jewels), this is a much needed piece of storage furniture for me:
I’ve been pulling inspiration images for the project now for a few weeks. While my piece is going to probably look a bit more industrial (it is a tool box after all), this image from Domino has my all-time favorite jewelry armoire:
Of course, the Lonny magic has been tapped onto a few gorgeous vignettes with jewelry armoires as well:
Seeing these pictures together is giving me some motivation — and a few new ideas. Hopefully I’ll have a before and after to share at the end of the weekend!
PS: Make sure to stop by next week, I have a great series featuring amazing guest bloggers starting!
Brimfield totally lived up to my expectations; I was like a kid in a candy store, rifling through piles of junk and having a ball.
There was tons of jadeite, to my delight, though most of it was very overpriced, so I just enjoyed looking but didn’t come home with any new pieces. This table had me in a fit of excitement though:
One of the “trends” I noticed was lots of vintage bikes. This yellow one would have been helpful to tote around our loot with its big basket:
And this blue one caught my eye:
I saw that bike right at the end of our thrifting-marathon. The sun was wearing on us and I’ll be honest, I may have been feeling a little sleepy and full after hitting up the “food court” field (what can I say? I love fair food!).
Right behind the blue bike though was my score of the day — just what I had been hunting for, a pair of matching night stands, with drawers, that were under 16″ wide — a feat I thought for sure would be impossible. And they were just the right price, 40$ for the pair!
They’re an atrocious color and are missing hardware, but I’m planning to give them a fresh coat of paint and some fancy new knobs to spiff them up.
My other find of the day was a vintage tool chest that I’m also planning on giving a new life with some fresh paint. When I’m all finished I’m going to use it as a jewelry armoire.
All three pieces are being housed in my entryway, next to a Craigslist chair that’s also on my to-do-list to revamp. We’re now referring to this as the “furniture graveyard” until the temperatures drop and I can actually do some work on them without passing out from heat exhaustion!
Overall a successful trip — I will definitely be making this an annual (or bi-annual??) trip!
Tomorrow could very well be Christmas morning, because I couldn’t be more excited to get out of work, go home, and go to bed, so that I can wake up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to go BRIMFIELD!
I remember my mom going away for girls thrifting weekends when I was a kid and coming back from Brimfield with all sorts of treasures (she was scooping up those tin picnic baskets before they became martha-stewart-chic). So I’m elated to be making my inaugural trek out the mecca of flea markets tomorrow morning.
On my list? Tiny night stands to squeeze into the narrow spaces next to my bed are a top priority, and of course I’m always on the hunt for more jadeite for my collection. Fingers crossed I find some good deals… I’ll report back with my loot!
Image via Selectism
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