The ice-cream colours of the houses in Llandeilo
Our week in Wales was spent just outside the charming little town of Llandeilo - a place where a smile and more than a brief chat seems to be the order of the day. It's how I grew up - in a time and a place where people had time for each other and those 'few kind words' of which I am so fond can still brighten anyone's day. Even Llandeilo has changed from the first visits we made there just six years ago, though - there is a noticeable increase in little boutique shops, lovely cake and coffee (and luxury chocolate) shops, and interesting galleries.
But one thing that has not changed is the absolutely enormous Antiques Emporium at the bottom of the town. It is like a rabbit warren and just goes on…and on…and on. At its farthest reaches, I did, at one point, seriously wonder if I was lost, as room led onto courtyard, which led back into another container, down a corridor - into another room, and another…and another.
Just the sort of delicious mixture of items that I love to hunt through...
I ended up 'navigating by dresser' - using several of the beautiful Welsh dressers in the Centre and their contents to retrace my steps by looking at the order of the photographs I had taken. As you can see, they all seemed to have one thing in common - they were LOADED with all sorts of Blue & White china - and anyone reading this blog over the years will know just how much I love that.
Never 'out of place', Blue & White china (and textiles, and paint colours) never seems to date; there are pieces that will fit into any interior - and interiors decorated in those colours become 'instant classics' whose owners are - in my eyes - blessed with the most superior good taste! Perhaps - most of all, I love the fact that pieces of Blue & White can be picked up for pennies in thrift/charity shops, junk shops, antique shops, car boot/yard sales; everything will (pretty much) go with everything else, and always look wonderful. (Just my humble opinion - what's yours?)
So here's a taste of one or two dressers and shelves and their treasures upon which to feast your eyes. (I was very restrained and only came out with two little items - which you can see at the bottom of this blog…).
Not only plates here - but also a striking collection of blue & white jugs (though I would never recommend hanging jugs or cups by their handles - it weakens them and then you have a disaster waiting to occur!)
A mixture of blues and whites - including a lovely slate-blue & white woven Welsh blanket
A very fine array of old Staffordshire and Spode plates on a beautiful antique Welsh dresser
If you would like to read more about Welsh dressers (and see a lot more blue and white china!) - Mark Allum has written an interesting blog about them here - while for a feast of whole rooms decorated in B&W - take a look in here
These were the two little Victorian fairings that I picked up at the Antiques Centre - tiny items, just a few inches high and one (the 'Sleepy Girl') opening to contain pins.
I'm sure I can find space for them both!
The only way I could ever go into a shop like that was if I was flat broke, because if I wasn't broke when I went in, I would be when I came out! I love blue and white myself. I have a set of Churchill "Blue Willow" dishes -- not antique but dearly loved. I had a much larger collection of blue and white pieces that I sold off when I downsized, keeping only my absolute favorites -- a very tough call.
Posted by: WOL | Saturday, October 21, 2017 at 04:55
Bonjour,
Que des merveilles. Tout se que j'adore. La vaisselle, les meubles, les brocantes pour y découvrir de jolies choses. Les paysages et cette mignonne statuette endormie. Le meuble (photo 6) est sublime et comme il serait bien chez moi pour y exposer ma collection de Théière Anglaise. Le buffet où elles se trouvent commence a être trop petit. Merci à vous et bon w.end à tous le monde.
Posted by: [email protected] | Saturday, October 21, 2017 at 09:20