When we go scouring for our one-of-a-kinds in Europe, it’s anything but glamorous. You know the drill by now: We get up ridiculously early, set out before the sun rises and scour the thorniest barns, basements, attics, alleys, trucks, markets and anywhere else we think of to pluck the elusive diamond in the rough from its hiding place. (Sometimes we feel like drug dealers, doling out cash in the back of a dark parking lot in exchange for some paintings or mirrors or pottery!) We do it because we love the hunt and we do it because we imagine that the odd, dust covered piece we’ve found tucked away underneath four tables will some day be transformed into a beautiful vignette in someone’s lovely home.
At least that’s what we hoped for with this last container from France. Where will our goodies go and how will they look? It’s an exercise in visualization, but that’s what we do when we buy them, bring them home and give them up for adoption. Frankly, it's a huge part of the thrill.
Take, for example, this foundry "smelting" pot. I wasn't exactly sure what it was when we first stumbled across it, but now understanding that it was used to heat metals in a foundry, and that the resulting patina is from years of melted metals clinging to the sides and creating the most original, one-of-a-kind never to be copied designs, I'm obsessed!
I am picturing this jarre in a beautiful, spare and modern entrance like this stunning one by More + Design, an architectural firm out of Spain that is my newest design crush!
Here's another image from their website where I could picture our foundry jarre:
Or next to this mantel, created by the same design team:
Here is a new arrival that was a pretty vintage Louis XVI with perfect hardware and nice proportions. We loved everything about it ... except the color -- so we had it painted. 
Can't you just picture this newly painted commode sitting pretty in a joyful space like this design by Susie Currie? We can! (Image from 2019 Cashiers' Show House, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles.)
We couldn't resist this oelegant coffee table with its refined hoof legs and perfect black top.
It was pretty well hidden when we found it but there was enough to hint that it would look perfect in a pretty setting, like this one from Paris:
We were smitten with this "Open Bar" style console vintage 1970's by Maison Lancel:
And even more so when we saw the trick it pulled! (Perfect for hiding all those unsightly practical items we put on consoles.)
I could see this in one of the elegantly designed and glamorous rooms by the talented and iconic Atlanta designer, Michel Boyd. (Image from Michel's website.)
We were pretty sure about this rustic table with its bistrot base ...
And loved it even more when we dressed it up in our store vignette (and yes, those are our favorite plaster mirrors from Paris hanging above it).
Meg first spotted these vintage prune dryers on the back of someone's truck in the South of France. We like them propped on the wall, providing layers of texture, just like this. But we'd also love to see how you would use them!
We couldn't resist these stone jarres with their pinkish hue and years of patina:
We can picture them almost anywhere but especially love filling them with branches for a sculptural effect, just like this pretty vignette from the talented Segreto team.
Here's another pretty use for an indoor outdoor pot, just covered in mood moss, like Yvonne McFadden's lovely terrace at the AH&L Cashiers Show House (Photo by Jeff Herr).
This console from Spain was kind of a no-brainer ...
But it really came alive when Trudy put the navy antelope ottomans underneath it!
We sometimes have a hard time finding these pretty and petite Willy Guhl planters, called "Mouchoir" because of the shape of a folded tissue.
Just look at how great they look filled with green apples, like in Tara Shaw's stunning kitchen, recently published in Flower Magazine.
And speaking of Willy Guhl, we have never had the rare and hard to find "Tooth Planter" that we lucked upon with this last container.
You can believe that had we had it for the last year's Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Show House, we would have inserted it right here, in this vignette of the indoor outdoor porch!
It's a great container of goodies that we've just unpacked -- and luckily everything looks a lot better here than it did when we found it! But that is part of the fun ... visualizing how it will look and where it will live, in situ. That was our thought process with this guy -- we'll call him Sparky - a very old dalmatian from northern France, who lovingly shows his age. Where will he live now that we've got him home?
I'm thinking by my front door!
Ta ta,
HH
