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Nifty Thrifty:  The Ultimate Repurpose  |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 18 2015 : 2:08:50 PM
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Hi girls –
This past weekend my family gathered up in Hancock, MD for lunch, and found the neatest little eatery ever! Buddy Lou’s, located right on the main strip, is SUCH a beautiful place. Downstairs there’s a neat little ice cream shop, with the main restaurant upstairs where you could eat indoors amidst an amazing eclectic décor of antiques and repurposed décor, OR you could dine outdoors on the deck, overlooking the beautiful walking path below. (Apparently there’s an antique store in there somewhere, too, but we were pressed for time… We’ll definitely have to scope that out next visit!) We initially planned to dine outside, but the heat was a bit hard to take, so we quickly retreated indoors.
My stepdad explained to us that the restaurant was the ultimate repurpose. (He knew it would be right up our alley!) It was originally an old abandoned building that had been closed for years. When the owners went in to renovate, they found all these great antiques and unusual items strewn about. They decided to repurpose everything to decorate the place. And boy-oh-boy did they! What a TREAT it was inside! A feast for the eyes and palate! My eyes just couldn’t keep wandering! Below are some really cool things they did to decorate the place.
I have to apologize in advance for the picture quality and my fingers popping up here and there… I took them on my cell phone, had to send them to my son, and then he forwarded them to me via email, and… well you get the idea! ;)
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This was SUCH a cool idea: they used sleeves from old flannel shirts as valances! Why didn’t I think of that?! What a cool window treatment for a boy’s room, man cave or cabin or cottage! AWESOME! The pictures do not do the valances justice, but here's another look:
I love how they used old wooden doors for the wainscoting! Isn’t that just so cool?!
And the “time in a bottle” pictures were just so neat! My Mom actually thought there were dolls in the bottles - she had to get up close to be convinced they were pictures! I have seen them before in print, but never in person… LOVE THEM! Here's a close-up of one of the bottles:
I couldn’t get a very good picture of these window panes, sorry.. It looks as though they had someone melt down various pieces of broken glass, and then they pressed other items in as accents. In this picture, those are actually old faux pearls shaped into a cluster of grapes, and wine corks from their bar! They had SO many different panes of glass like this throughout – such a clever alternative to stained glass! And you can’t tell very well, but the glass is texture: some of the glass sticks out, some of it is bubbled (bubbly – like champagne!). Light seems to almost dance through them. They really lit up the place!
My Mom loved the way they used old windows as frames for historic photos… I’ve never seen them used quite like this, but I really liked the look, too!
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And this was one of the outdoor decorations… don’t you just love how they incorporated the old suitcases into the landscape? :)
There were so many other neat things in the restaurant, too. (I just didn’t take too, too many pictures because I am sure I looked like a loon. LOL! My son was SO embarrassed! LOL!) For glowing ambiance on the tables, they used colorful old glass telephone pole insulators with electric tealights underneath. What a C@@L idea! One of my favorite things they did was take an antique television – I mean, like one of the originals – and hanged it from a wall corner, and ran a video feed into it of old black and white videos from early day television programming. Awesome! And they used what looked like those old microphones that used to hook onto your window at the drive-in as speakers throughout the place (At least I THINK that’s what they were! You can see one hanging from a window in the picture featuring a bank of windows with the shirt sleeve valances!). It was just so, so cool.
There were so many other things, I can’t remember them all. Buddy Lou’s is not a very big restaurant, but, trust me, I bet you could spend a whole day in there discovering all its hidden treasures! (And the food was pretty incredible, too! ) How awesome that they turned a long forgotten building and its contents from worthless, unappreciated junk into such a great restaurant and such incredible decorative treasure!
If any of you have any cool pics to add from your own decor, or from restaurants or other places in your area, please post them, too! I don't know about you, but my creative juices are flowing! :) I just love all these ideas! I hope you do, too!
Hugs –
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Edited by - Ninibini on Aug 18 2015 2:20:50 PM |
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jan49829
True Blue Farmgirl
2428 Posts
Janet
Gladstone
Mi.
USA
2428 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2015 : 2:20:49 PM
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Nini,
I love all the pictures!!!! I would be in awe too!!! How great to see all those repurposed things. I really like the valances made out of shirt sleeves. Kind of reminds me of Cracker Barrel Restaurants.
Jan
Farmgirl Sister #3340
http://hardatworkcrafts.blogspot.com
http://Jan49829.etsy.com
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lovinRchickens
True Blue Farmgirl
3492 Posts
Kelly
Pipe Creek
Texas
USA
3492 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2015 : 2:31:20 PM
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Nini,
It's too hard for me to pick a favorite out of your pics. I love them all. Yes indeed how wonderful to have repurposed so many things. What a great place it sure seems. Thank you for posting. So fun and many ideas for us girls to try and do ourselves.
Farmgirl #5111
Farmgirl of the month October 2014
Blessings
~Kelly~ |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
6663 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
6663 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2015 : 5:11:27 PM
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Love these creative repurpose ideas you found this past weekend! The flannel shirt valence is a great idea for certain settings too. Thanks for sharing!!
Winnie #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Sister of the Year 2014-2015 |
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forgetmenot
True Blue Farmgirl
3602 Posts
Judith
Nora Springs
IA
USA
3602 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2015 : 5:30:24 PM
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Nini, I just love all your pictures! What a great place and super ideas! I would have been right beside you snapping photos like a mad-woman!
Farmgirl sister #3926
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2015 : 9:18:29 PM
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Thanks, girls - SO glad you like these ideas, too! I just loved, loved the glass work (I've always been into glass!), and I would love to do the shirtsleeve valance in my son's room... They just had so many cool things that I think I'm going to have to go back for more ideas. Believe me, the pictures do not do it justice at all! :)
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
2474 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
2474 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2015 : 9:52:18 PM
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Nini: I am still laughing. When I looked at what you made your curtains out of I thought they were men's boxer shorts.
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
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Song Sparrow
True Blue Farmgirl
1010 Posts
Amy
Talleyville
Delaware
USA
1010 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2015 : 04:20:57 AM
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Nini, thanks so much for all these pictures and ideas! That absolutely is a drive-in movie speaker! I'm old enough to remember drive-ins very well. I could tell you some stories . . . Hee Hee!
Happy Day!
Peace in our hearts, peace in the world
Amy (Sister#6098) www.danaherandcloud.com
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2015 : 04:57:11 AM
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LOL! Bonnie! I totally see it! LOL! Can you just imagine?! LOL! <I can't take the credit, though - whomever decorated the restaurant made them! ;) >
I remember them, too, Amy! It's just been what seems to be a lifetime since I've been at a drive-in! You know, when I was a little girl, my parents took the whole family to the drive-in fairly regularly... That is, until one time, my mother and I were returning from the concession stand and were confronted by a STREAKER!!! My Mom had to steady herself to regain her composure after he and all his glory whizzed by like a glowing white ghost in the night... She was in such shock, she forgot to cover my eyes. She just froze in place, standing there with wide eyes and mouth ajar. I thought she would faint! Man, have times changed! Today we see a lot worse on television! LOL!
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2015 : 2:00:15 PM
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Nini! Thanks for sharing such sweet pictures. Amazing restaurant.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2015 : 2:11:47 PM
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Hi Marly! 'So glad you like them! Believe me, as soon as I can work it out to get back there, I'll be taking more pics of the cool decor to share! :) Hugs - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2015 : 2:25:04 PM
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Can't wait to see more pictures. Thanks, Nini.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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Nifty Thrifty: The Ultimate Repurpose |
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The Ultimate Repurpose
