Guest Post from Queen Dealer Denise Moore: Vintage headboards, not just for beds anymore!

Hello, my name is Denise Moore and I am a  dealer at the Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta, Sassy & Stash on Bull and Calhoun St, and have a blog I write called, Funky Time Art. There I write about how I love to create new home decor and jewelry out of unusual or discarded items.   

That brings me to our current post, using vintage headboards for anything but beds. I started down this path because I inherited my parents very Victorian head and footboards from their bed. While it has great sentimental value and beauty I just didn't need another bed. So I started to look around the web and found some awesome ideas for repurposing vintage headboards.

Here are two great examples of headboards turned into awesome benches.  These were found in the Queen of Hearts Alpharetta, dealer SKD.  The headboard's beauty is still retained and now a new functional piece of furniture.

This wooden headboard from the Sweet Pickins blog is a great piece for hanging your hat and coats in the mudroom or foyer.  Love it!  I know I have seen a half dozen of these over the years at the Queen.

This is a repurposed twin headboard from the My Repurposed Life blog.  It is a combo photo board and with hooks - what a great idea!

Finally, this iron headboard as a gate is fabulous, it has so much charm.  I would love this as an entrance into my garden.

I hope you have found some of these ideas inspiring.  These vintage headboards have so much beauty and charm to offer not just to the bedroom.  Next time you are strolling through the Queen of Hearts, keep an eye out for one of these beauties and create something beautiful and unique for your home!

Make sure to follow me on Facebook, at Sassy & Stash, to see new arrivals and be the first to know about markdowns, and check out my blog, Funky Time Art, for more ideas in your home!

Guest Post from Queen Dealer Heidi Milton: Six Ways to 'Go Vintage'

Hello, Queen readers! My name is Heidi and I am dealer/consignor at the Marietta Queen of Hearts - ReMade Home Designs, dealer code HMM MAK on E Bay St. I also blog at Decor & More, where I share my various home projects, room makeovers, DIYs and whatever inspires me. Today I'm sharing six ways to "Go Vintage" with your home decor.

When I embarked on a guest room makeover a few weeks ago, I had a tight budget and a vision. I wanted to take a dark, previously teenage boy "cave" space to a bright fresh room that would welcome my guests. But it had to have character, too. And the best way to inject character is to incorporate vintage touches. And where else to find vintage touches but the Queen of Hearts Antiques & Interiors?

I started with this...

Dark taupe walls, a combination of pine and painted furniture, and mis-matched bedding. Ugh.

The first thing I wanted to do was to brighten up the space with lighter, fresher paint color. I also knew I wanted to stick to my budget by using things I already had -- whether it was refreshing existing pieces, or "shopping" other rooms in my home for artwork, bedding or accessories. And I knew the Queen could come to my rescue for reasonable vintage touches, too.

After several weeks of work, I'm now enjoying this light and bright guest space...

Can you believe it's the same space? And loaded with vintages touches like these... 

1. Find interesting vintage quilts and linens: Front and center there is one of my favorite vintage touches: a quilt from the 1950's. It had the fresh color palette I was looking for, is in excellent condition and I knew would be a great punch of color against a sea of white and creamy neutrals.

2. Odd pieces of china take on new life: These are easy to find at the Queen! Lots of dealers have interesting odd pieces and I've used them here in two ways...

I used some little dessert plates as wall decor above some beloved watercolors I pulled from another room. Plates are a great way to add three-dimensionality to your walls and the vintage pieces have beautiful colors and patterns.

I also love to have little dishes at the bedside, for jewelry or eye glasses. These little gold-edged pieces (I found two matching) will be perfect for my guests earrings and watches at bedtime!

3. Wooden boxes add texture and additional storage: I scored this sweet box a couple of years ago from a fellow Queen vendor. I love the tarnished metal and warm wood tones in contrast with the light and bright.

4. Vintage prints look fresh in modern frames: While I love vintage framed botanicals, I knew that I wanted a slightly different look in this room. These lilies and rose prints with the creams, greens, and pops of pink were perfect for this space, but because I collected them over time, the frames were uninspiring and mismatched. I needed to unify them with fresh frames. Learn to look beyond the frames you may see on some vintage prints -- you can give them a fresh look for very little!

5. Mixed vintage metals add character, too: I love mixing my metals, and now that brass is back and tarnished silver is in, I'm in hog heaven. Prowl the aisles of the Queen for interesting pieces -- there are loads of great pieces available, including in my space ReMade Home Designs on E Bay St.

I pulled the tarnished silver tray out of my booth (and happy I did!) and I've been hoarding those brass candlesticks for a few months. Going vintage means you can mix and match to your heart's content! I added a couple of family photos in mixed vintage finishes as well. Lots of places for my guests to corral their belongings on this dresser, too.

6. Re-envision vintage furniture with a new look: This is one of my favorite ways to go vintage! The Queen is host to many dealers (including me) that rescue and refurbish vintage and antique furniture. I am always amazed by the furniture rehabbing talents of the Queen dealers! I scored this desk at a thrift store ten years ago, loving it's shape and size. Now she has new life in my guest room, with a fresh coat of blue paint.

Many dealers will also do custom finishes if you have a beloved piece of furniture into which you'd like to breathe new life. In my case, this fresh hue was just the ticket.

I hope I've inspired you to inject some vintage into your spaces -- you might be surprised how fresh vintage can feel! Get more details of my guest room makeover and my other projects at Decor & More, follow my blog page Decor & More on Facebook and like my business page for my Queen of Hearts booth ReMade Home Designs, to see new arrivals and be the first to know about markdowns.

And now, it's your turn! What's your favorite vintage piece in your home? Inquiring minds want to know!

Guest Post from {Home-ology} modern vintage

Hello all! I hope you're not disappointed, but I failed miserably at hitting the Queen for my usual monthly feature. So this month there will be no feature. Sad, yes. And I am ever so sorry to have let you down. But, you see, I've been away and up to my elbows in a home remodel.

So, without a monthly feature, I thought I would instead round up some springtime ideas from the blogosphere and throw out a little creative inspiration. Today's post is all about the ever popular and oh so diverse

Who knew that mason jars would take on a world of their own? But over the past few years they have done just that, and the ideas keep coming! I bet our mothers never dreamt such a lowly & utilitarian item would have such a coveted spot in the home. And since many of these craft ideas can be done easily and quickly, they're always a fun and creative touch no matter the project or party.

This first one I saw on Hometalk and comes from Linda who blogs at It All Started With Paint. I love the idea of using mason jars for storage. With the clear glass, you can see exactly what's inside. But Linda took it  to the next level by adding chalkboard lids so that the contents could be easily marked and identified.  If you visit Linda's blog, you'll find many other ideas for mason jars. The girl loves her mason jars so much that she's made a gallery to feature all her creations!

And here are a few more beautifully simple ideas

via country style homes

As a hanging floral bouquet

via etsy

As a snow globe

via martha stewart

As a gift container {this one filled with a gardener's needs}

via photobucket

And as a chandelier

But my favorite has to be this

from panka with love

Doesn't it look like a jar of fireflies? It's actually made with glow in the dark spray paint. This would be such a fun project to make with the little ones.

For the how-to on each project, just click the link provided and happy spring!

This is a guest post from Sarah Krouse at {Home-ology} modern vintage. As well as being a dealer in our Alpharetta location, Sarah blogs over at homeologymodernvintage.com. If you enjoyed reading her post and would love to see more, we encourage you to stop by her blog. There you'll see many of her vintage finds in their raw stage, get a story of where they came from, and see transformations of the pieces she revives and repurposes prior to their display at the Queen.

Guest Post from Confessions of a Plate Addict: Burlap-a-Palooza

The Queen of Hearts recently hosted a Blogger Brunch where we invited some of our favorite bloggers to shop the store and enjoy a brunch meet & greet with some of our staff and dealers! Each month we'd like to share a post from one of these bloggers on the Queen of Hearts blog, and provide some great ideas for our customers!

This month's post is from Debbie Peavy at Confessions of a Plate Addict, who shares her readers favorite projects with burlap! If you have any ideas as well, please share them with us on the Queen of Hearts Facebook page and come by any of our three locations in Alpharetta, Marietta or Buford, as we have tons of burlap: pillows, lampshades and home accents!

Let’s face it…burlap has become one of the most popular fabrics around when it comes to decorating! It is inexpensive, adds texture and it’s just plain fun! Sooo…I have pulled together some of my most popular projects that use burlap for you to enjoy! Can you guess which one is my most popular project of all time?

If you guessed this one…my ruffled burlap table runner…you’d be right! It has had an amazing 70,000 views to date! Whoa! I can’t believe it! You will find a very detailed tutorial here which includes tips on measuring and sewing your own custom runner.

Another popular project using burlap is this fun and super-easy burlap wreath. All you need is two yards of burlap and a coat hanger. You will find directions for making it here.

Wow! This project was posted only very recently but quickly zoomed up to the top five posts ever! I love the combination of the old dictionary page and the vintage Eiffel Tower graphic. A complete tutorial for my burlap and linen vintage Eiffel Tower pillow…including the free graphic…can be found here.

Is it too soon for a little Christmas? Here are my burlap and plaid Christmas stockings from last year which match my burlap and plaid Christmas wreath and add a finishing touch to my burlap and plaid Christmas mantel! It has been so rainy and chilly lately that the fire actually looks warm and cozy to me!

And finally…my burlap découpage deer is another burlap project to make the top ten all-time list! I just took an old gold foil deer from the attic and updated it with burlap...easy peasy! You can find a complete tutorial here. 

There you have it for now! However, I have to say that there’s still lots of burlap in my stash and several projects cooking in my head…so stay tuned for more! Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed a little peek at my projects with burlap! Please visit these wonderful bloggers and their beautiful blogs to see what they are up to and to find a list of this week’s participants!

In addition to Debbie's amazing blog post full of beautiful burlap ideas, you can find many burlap items at the Queen of Hearts - check out some of the great finds:

At the Queen of Hearts you can find burlap makeup cases, lampshades, pillows, home accents and more! Come in to any of our three locations in Marietta, Alpharetta, or Buford, and let us help you find that perfect burlap accent for your home!

Thank you for reading this week's blog post, and be sure to visit Confessions of a Plate Addict's blog and Facebook page, as well as the Queen of Hearts Facebook page, for great ideas for your home!