Labor day weekend is often a great time to find gems at estate sales, yard sales, at your local salvation army, and even consignment stores. Lots of folks are cleaning out their garages, moving, or just looking to make some extra cash over the holiday weekend–prime time for scavengers like us! We hit up a great estate sale nearby, as well our favorite Salvation Army in Mount Vernon, NY. Check out what we found!

As you can see, not everything at estate sales is worth entertaining. Take this cowboy boot lamp for example!

There were some great platters and plates, a few of which we ended up buying.

Some beautiful candle holders.

An antique Turkish platter set…this is a gem.

We always find great DIY-able dressers at this Salvation Army. All of these dressers are ripe for a good paint job. Below (top right), a Bernhardt dresser similar to the ones we refurbished a few months ago. Stay tuned to see how we transformed a table bought at Saturday’s estate sale tomorrow! – S & L

There’s been a lot of talk about what’s new in the Obama Oval Office as redecorated by California interior designer Michael Smith. According to Penelope Green from The New York Times, the response from TV audiences and bloggers is “a collective yawn: too brown, too dowdy, too ho hum.” That seems awfully harsh to us. If you look closely, you’ll notice a custom made rug woven with quotations from Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and others. Two plain, but probably very comfy beige sofas flank a contemporary coffee table from Roman Thomas. A little pop of color is added to the room with two midnight-blue lamps by Christopher Spitzmiller (we love!).

What hasn’t changed is one of the key pieces in the room–the Resolute desk–seen below in John F. Kennedy’s office. It was a gift from Queen Victoria to Rutherford B. Hayes. The Resolute, built from pieces of a salvaged Arctic discovery vessel, has been used by almost every president (Obama included) with the exception of presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. The gold silk damask curtains from the Bush years (a very pricey item) remain untouched, too. That was a good decision.

Below, another view of the revamped Oval Office.

What we really love about the redecoration though is the striped wallpaper. To us, it made the largest impact. We’ve been using striped wallpaper to brighten and heighten rooms for years. It’s a tried and true trick used by decorator’s for generations. So here are a few of our favorites from our favorite wallpaper company, F. Schumacher & Co. They’ve been been producing beautiful wallpapers since 1889, many of which have graced the interiors of the White House. Below, four never fail neutral stripes in keeping with the Obama’s new Oval Office. What do you guys think of the redesign? – S & L

1. Deco Stripe (5003243) 2. Wilton Stripe (203853), 3. Colindale Stripe (5002462), 4. Farewell Stripe (203890)

If you’ve ever been to Door County, Wisconsin, you’ll surely recognize the storefront of Wilson’s Restaurant. Wilson’s Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor has been located in the heart of Ephraim since 1906. It’s a classic Door County landmark, and as far as we’re concerned, it’s an antique worth mentioning. We had lunch here last week surrounded by happy vacationers from across the county, many of whom stop here as they tour the small towns looking for pottery and vintage pieces to take home with them.

Door County is also somewhat of a destination for antique seekers particularly coming from the Milwaukee and Chicago area. We were quite amazed to see how many antique stores there were in this magical summertime resort area. Many of the pieces were of the highest quality, and, in fact, many were collections of very important pieces made in England–and transported to the mid-west over the years. Below, an impressive collection of flow blue plates and a platter hung quite decoratively on the wallpapered interior of Chelsea Antique store on the outskirts of Ephraim.

Inside this converted barn, was a collection of amazing antique English porcelain pieces many of which were rare, and in perfect condition. Above, these flow blue platters date back to 1825. Who knew?

Even the flower beds in front of the barn were inspired by English gardens. It was a sunny summer afternoon, so everything looked so lush. If you’re in the area, definitely take a look inside.

Later that day, we drove back to Milwaukee and stopped at one of our favorite consignment stores, Legacies, Ltd on Port Washington Road. The vintage outdoor furniture in front of the building drew us in. Don’t you just love these round iron chairs? They would look fabulous with a fresh coat of paint on just about any patio or outdoor space. Any found metal table would complete the set.

Our most inspired find was this collection of gold painted mirrors found tucked inside the seat of an upholstered chair. Talk about a needle in a haystack! There were about eight of these decorative mirrors stacked on top of each other. The were  being sold for $15 a piece. They were all slightly different from each other.

We held this one up to show you how dense and heavy they were. These are the perfect beginning to a wonderful arrangement of similar, but not matching artistic pieces for above a sofa, a bed, or a hall table.  If they hadn’t been so heavy, we would have carried them back to New York with us. This is a perfect example of a great consigned find that could easily, and cheaply transform any room.  We’ll do more antiquing on Cape Cod this weekend.  So stay tuned. – S & L

Summer’s nearing it’s end, but we’re still out there looking for great pieces in all kinds of interesting places, including flea markets, consignment stores, tag sales, and outdoor antique fairs. We’ve got plans to do plenty of scouring in the coming weeks, so stay tuned, as we share our finds with you. Here are a few of our favorite pieces from our summer travels. You can find pieces like this, too. Re-purposed and vintage pieces can transform the rooms in your apartment or home without breaking the bank. Forget about following the latest trends, think about furnishing your home with classic, stylish pieces that are made to last. The birdcage below is a beautiful example of American folk art. It was obviously handcrafted, and has the perfect weathered patina. This is the kind of piece that would add immediate pizazz to any room.

We’re not big fans of expensive “new” outdoor furniture. Vintage modern pieces like this have tremendous appeal. Finding a set like this with so many pieces intact is a great get. We’re not purists, so we would repaint them at some point, when the rust started to bother us. But for now, these chairs are fabulous.This love seat has perfect proportions. While it may not interest you at first glance, try to imagine how it’ll look recovered, with new seat cushions.This is a piece worth investing in for the long haul, even if you had to live with it as is for a while, until you could have it recovered.

Lamps like these are wonderful finds. And they are always less expensive than their newer replicas. This vibrant marigold color is stylish and fun. All you’d need to do is purchase lampshades, and you’d be on your way to transforming any room. And yes, we love pairs. The next couple of weeks are going to be really fun, so check in regularly! – S & L

Twice a year, the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) is the place to see the largest display of the world’s best best home, gift and lifestyle resources. It takes place at the Javits Center, and Piers 92 & 94. We attended on Monday and came away inspired by so much of what we saw. Trends? Not surprisingly: color. Gone are the organic, neutral color schemes. It’s clear that Americans are looking for a little bit of brightness in what has been a pretty difficult period in the word of home design and construction. We’re happy about that because we’re big fans of confident color both in interiors and fashion. Below, millworks, a newcomer to NYIGF, displayed a fabulous new collection of silk screen patterned pillows.

We saw these pillows from a mile a way– literally. The business has not been existence since 1972, that’s just a nod to the period they wink back at. Chocolate brown dominated here, but mixed with a wonderful cobalt blue, and a mustard yellow, and even orange–this was a true departure from typical color combinations. Wonderful. For a closer look, go to themillworkgroup.com.

The team from OOMPH, now exactly a year old and thriving in their new business were in attendance with several new pieces.We had borrowed one of their terrific coffee tables for our Good Housekeeping shoot. They’ve introduced this new console table and the mirror above it for their fall 2010 collection. The color is new, too. While we wouldn’t like to see these pieces together in a room, we’d take either one in a heartbeat and pair it with something vintage.

This crazy back-to-back two seater chair is adorable. Upholstered in a gorgeous dark brown velvet, it stole the show. We love white piping on any upholstered piece. It’s a detail that lasts.

Ooomph sells the most versatile “tini” side tables in a variety of clever shapes–perfect for small apartments and tight spaces. They’re reasonably priced, too. You can find pricing at ooomphonline.com.

This is a new nesting table combination, painted in the palest blue lacquer finish. So feminine and pretty. You’d have a hard time finding anything else like this, and that’s exactly what makes their line great.

We stopped by Jamie Young lamps, one of our favorite vendors, and found several new items. We’re huge Ikat textile fans, so we were drawn to this new lampshade. A lampshade like this can be the inspiration for an entire room, and it might just become that–so stay tuned.

Jamie Young has always sold wonderful mercury glass lamps, but this fall they’re introducing this slightly distressed version. Very cool looking. We like.

Lauren in particular went crazy over the new Sachin + Babi for Ankasa pillow and bed linen collection. These pillows are decorated in the most luxurious fashion, but in the most tasteful way. We saw other vendors trying to create a similar lavish look, but no one does so as well as Ankasa.

These pillows are absolutely works of art. All you would need is one, maybe two, to make a big difference in any bedroom.

Our last stop was at Barbara Cosgrove lighting. They’ve come out with a new collection of hammered alumininum hanging pieces that caught our eye. We really liked the bronzed copper color pair in the background here.

This combination of exquisite pedestal form (we actually own a vintage piece exactly like this one ) with a subtle taupe colored shade was elegant. Keep your eyes peeled for vintage lamps like this. – S & L

As many of you already know, the next most anticipated Target collaboration is with decoupage king, John Derian. Derian for Target will be will be hitting stores September 5th, but for one day only, this Friday, Gilt Groupe is giving us the chance to snatch up the goods early with their exclusive flash sale. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!

A few of Derian’s coveted cake plates from his John Derian collection. We drool over them every time we pop into the NYC store. – S & L