Reclaimed Design (More on Flea Market Style)

Flaky paint, tarnished patinas and corroded surfaces are words that make a flea-market junkie's heart leap! It’s what elevates the flea market treasures from the common catalog offerings and seals them with the stamp of time. Flea market style gives us the freedom to push the envelope and test our creative boundaries. I say this because an imaginative and innovative mind is the epicenter of good flea market style. Another important aspect for flea market style to thrive is a healthy mix of the old with the new. A space comes alive when the polished and lustrous surfaces of the new get mixed in with the worn and scuffed treasures from a flea market exploit. 

Sharing her flea market inspired vignettes from her Massachusetts’ home, my virtual friend and owner of Mayil Scarves, Madavi Oliver, has mastered the art of flea market style. She sourced most of her treasures from the “paathra kadais” (shops that deal in old kitchen utensils and other household goods) in Nagercoil (Tamil Nadu, India). 

Her flea market vintage collection includes brass bells and lamps, aruvanmanai (vegetable cutter) and a vintage sign in Tamil that reads “Narasu's coffee and tea”. This is her absolute favorite and I can see why! 

Weren’t those corner’s absolutely delightful and inspiring? I’m totally inspired to go looking for my very own vintage sign board…….

Thank you Madavi for sharing such enchanted corners of your home. To all my readers out there, if you know how to work the flea market style, do write to me at theeastcoastdesi@gmail.com with pictures of the lovely vignettes from your home, for an exclusive feature on TECD:)  

Images are the property of Madavi Oliver and may not be used without prior written permission.

Flea Market Fever

With décor rules chucked at the door, Flea Market style can be liberating in more ways than one. It can adapt to any style and can match every price point. And the two most wonderful aspects about flea market style is that every piece has a backstory to it and there is low or no maintenance in most cases as the distressed patina and peeling paint reveals the stamp of time and adds to the personality and ambiance of the space. But one must develop an eye to spot some style amongst all that flea market clutter. TECD reader and flea market enthusiast “Jayanthi Kanderi” truly knows how to work the flea market style.

She recently sent me this delightful corner of her home and I was so besotted with the whole look that I had to share it with you’ll. Now getting into the details, this is what Jajanthi had to say sharing about this lovely corner of her home,"I have always had a fascination for things that have already lived a life – there is always an aura of mystery surrounding every piece. I found the big antique trunk in a flea market for $10! It came with the legs already attached (whoohoo:) The brass trinkets were all picked up over the years. I have no guilt in accumulating them since I pay so little for something that cool. The Pepsi crate is a recent flea market find which was again very inexpensive. I live in Coca cola's hometown (Atlanta) so I guess Pepsi crates are not all that popular:) A touch of green adds freshness and brings the whole corner alive.” 

Thank you Jayanthi for taking the time to share and connect with us. If you too know how to work the flea market look together, do send in pictures of your lovely vignettes to theeastcoastdesi@gmail.com to be featured on TECD!

Images are the property of Jayanthi Kanderi and may not be used without prior written permission.