Thursday, March 1

FUNctional Decor!


http://www.restorationhardware.com/
 As a child, my mother would often drop us off to stay with our grandparents, while she ran errands, bought groceries, or needed a break from being the mother of six children, including twins of which, I am one of.  Visits to our grandparents home were a welcomed treat, as my grandparents were, in their own right,
farm fabulous beyond belief.
 Creating everything from little or nothing!

From braided scrap rugs, to home-made decor, to growing, preserving & canning everything from their gargantuan garden...
They are the epitome of farm fabulousity.  

This blog post however, is more about the tools my grandfather used than the lifestyle they instilled in me. Grandpa was a carpenter, and being such, he had a quaint little wood shed where he would create the most interesting furniture and hand crafted items.  
To create his farm fabulous furniture pieces, one tool stands out in my mind...
Grandpa's Carpenter's Ruler.

Grandpa had a few of these.
One was white and red and black and stands out in my mind, probably due to the strong color combination.  The other was yellow and red, and black, another visually stunning tool.
I enjoyed bending, and creating random shapes from this stack of hinged wood.  
I could make letters, or shapes, or interesting lines.
The options seemed infinite...

While visiting a local antique store, The Main Street Peddler, I found two for a great price and picked them up. I brought them home & Brent I talked about our memories of these rulers and seeing both of our grandfathers use these functional tools, as his grandfather too was a carpenter in addition to farming. 

How We Used Our "Rules" & How You Can Too!
We decided to use our two rulers to create a monogram S for Steffl of course & a star as it was a nice addition to an arrangement adding the right "pop" of white. These are lightweight and could easily hand on a door knob for a touch of wimsey. How fun would it be to make a bunch of stars for Christmas and tuck them into arrangements, or add to a child's room for a fun shape & toy that is decorative & functional...maybe let them create a new shape as a changing display.
I found my rulers at The Main Street Peddler in Lamberton, MN ( They will be added to the Inspiration page so you can check out their great items) for $7, they are "vintage" and from old hardware stores.  
You can pick these up at most antique shops, or at Restoration Hardware for under $10.00.
I suggest you do as these are...
pure potential, for FUNctional, farm fabulous, decor! 

Make It...
& Have a Farm Fabulous Day!

No comments: