Pick a Paper

I grew up in a house filled with wallpaper, then one day slowly all wallpaper left my house and the houses of everyone I knew, I hadn't really thought about the stuff for years, but now as we start redecorating, I can't get wallpaper out of my head!

I'd been struggling with the front room design, needing something as a starting point, and decided some swish retro wallpaper was the answer! I'd come across the Bradbury and Bradbury website a while back when I first started thinking about sorting out our bedroom (another project for another day!) and figured they'd have exactly what I was looking for.  They do a great line of hand printed wallpaper which in person are even more lovely looking than online, the layers of ink give them great texture and are so much more beautiful than your average wallpaper. Once the samples came in, it was tough to pick out the winners...

Originally I'd been thinking kinda 50's like our kitchen will be, but then the art deco Aeroplane kinda won over Dusty and myself, so I think that's what it's going to be! Add some fun art deco style accents and it should be a winner?
(The bedroom wallpaper is going to be art deco too, silver Volute!)

I'm a sucker for the 1920's-50's when it comes to houses, but for anyone looking for some great art nouveau or Victorian arts and crafts papers this is the perfect place to shop too! (pricey, but I'm kinda looking at it as art more than wallpaper) Now back to clearing out the kitchen...

No So Depressing

A goth friend of mine recently went nuts for black depression glass, and after getting to see some lovely Miss America depression glass my husband's grandmother used to collect (back when it was new) I've found myself hooked as well!

I've been looking around trying to find the perfect pattern and came up with the geometric Windsor pattern by Jeanette Glass company. I love the way the different angles catch the light, and think it might be the perfect compliment to my ever expanding tea set! Some of the pieces can get quite expensive, but I'm building a list of the items we'll need, and then it'll be like a treasure hunt tracking it all down!

<< I love this old ad for the pattern


There are some really lovely patterns out there, some have a kinda of Victorian or Georgian feel, other are fantastically art deco and modern. I love the bright colors they come in, it's so much more fun than just plain clear!

Red and Blue

We're getting ready to start the big remodel on our downstairs right now as the first step to turning our house into something of a mid century modern Quaintrelle palace! The kitchen is the part I'm currently most excited about, our current set up is pretty non functioning, and more outdated than retro cool. I've been scouring the internet for ideas and coming up with a plan.

A great source of inspiration for interior vintage style has been old flooring company ads like Armstrong Linoleum. American Vintage Home over on flicker has an amazing collection from the 1920's through to the 60's. I love the bright colors and clean lines a lot of them have. In my head I have something of a red and turquoise theme going on with birch cabinets. Something kinda fun and punchy! I'll be taking some before photos and keeping the blog updated with the progress we make!

Royal Tea

I love tea and I love my teacups! I'm still deciding which Marie Antoientte teacup to add to my collection, but the other day my latest teacup arrived and I was drinking like Queen Alexandra!

The design is based on moldings depicting the arts commissioned for Buckingham palace by Edward VII in 1902. The most interesting part of the design is an unusual pearl glaze pattern which has an effect just like guilloché enamel!

I'd been trying to cut down on teacups recently, but a baby blue cup featuring crowns, the arts and pearls was too much to resist.

I picked this up from the Royal Collection shop. They have a new Buckingham Palace design every year (this is the 2009 design) and it's a great place to pick up china fit for an English queen! Right now they have a set featuring the China pattern Queen Victoria purchased at the 1851 Great Exhibition!

We Have a Blog!

Quaintrelle Life is my new blog that I'll keep updated alongside the Fancy Girl site! A kind of Modern day ladies book featuring fashion, home, hobby and lifestyle features much as an old Victorian ladies book like Goodies would have done.

My focus is on time warp living, and covers historical periods from the 18th century, up to the more modern early to mid 20th century.

I've been writing and updating the Fancy Girl for a few years now. Sometimes I dig up some neat little tidbit of interest, that just doesn't quite fill a full article so, I figured for things like that a sister blog would be the perfect medium!

Here I'll talk about my Quaintrelle life, everything from my adventures turning my house from ex bachelor pad into a vintage/historically inspired abode, teacup collecting, style and of course site updates and mini features that compliment the site!

I hope a few fancy Girl fans will follow us here for some fun!