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Flea Season!

Sunday morning, we set our alarm clocks for 5 AM. Voluntarily! The Elkhorn Flea Market kicked off their season, and after our luck at last year’s market, we couldn’t wait to go back. Although, I’ll fully admit to be extra grumpy until we arrived at 7:30 – bright eyed and bushy tailed! (Thanks, coffee!)

The huge market is crazy, crazy packed with vendors, deal finders, and anything (and everything!) your antique-loving-heart could imagine. The drive will set you back 1 1/2 hours from Chicago to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, but it’s absolutely worth it. (As Scott and I like to call them, this is not a tube-sock-selling fair; it’s the real deal for all price points. Go, go!)

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We spent a good four hours weaving up and down the aisles, sipping hot chocolate and peeling off layers as the cool weather warmed up. I picked up a nice little sunburn on my face, but we came home with a packed car, too! Here’s what we got:

ONE. Pendants like these are pretty easy to come by, but this guy was in perfect condition and was ready to be hard-wired – and that cage! The cage sold us. Right now, the extra nook room off of our kitchen is still serving as a major power tool dumping ground, but we’d love to turn it into a little indoor work room (before next winter at the very least!), and this fixture feels right for that space.

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TWO. Scott has been on the lookout for a vintage outdoor lantern for what feels like forever (yes, really), and at the top of his list? A blue one. (Again, I can’t make this up!) It’s tiny, adorable and blue, and I’ll admit that I’m looking forward to putting it to use this summer.

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THREE. And finally, our favorite find of the day – a pair of cantilever patio chairs! There was a surplus of patio furniture at Elkhorn, and “patio furniture” was quite literally on our list of would-love-to-finds. We’re so, so looking forward to overhauling the exterior of our home this summer, and we imagine a couple of cozy lounge chairs, a colorful patio swing and a small table – in addition to a lot of paint to brighten up that freshly washed deck. We were immediately drawn to these (as were a handful of others that were ready to swoop in – yikes!) based on looks (how handsome are they?) and comfort (very), and after waffling for far too long (and even walking away for all of 5 minutes), we knew they had to come home with us.

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We knew they were mid-century, and a quick Google search pulled up these Salterini clam shell chairs for much more than we paid. (Like, a laughable amount more.) Are they Salterini? Does anyone know how to tell? They’re extremely heavy, very well made and look identical, but my internet sleuthing can’t find a way to tell for sure. (We found several more listings as well, all of astronomical numbers!) As the summer plays out, we’ll see if they’ll stay black; wouldn’t they be great in a powder coated white?

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For anyone within a few hour drive of Elkhorn, we can’t recommend this flea enough! There are three more dates this summer, and it’s worth the pain of a 5 AM wake-up call. Coming from me, that’s a big deal. (Says the girl who loves sleeping more than anything in the world.)

PS… Domino has named their Top 26 Design Blogs, and these two made the list! Whoa. We’re in incredible company, and we hope you’ll take a peek. Big hugs to all of you for keeping us motivated and inspired! xx.

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  • caroline [the diy nurse]5.20.14 - 8:30 AM

    Wow you guys really lucked out! I rarely find that many goodies- especially if I have the money lol. The caged light is my favorite- that would cost so much more these days!ReplyCancel

  • Rachel @ I'm Loving Today5.20.14 - 8:50 AM

    I was there Sunday, too! I’d been wanting to visit for years, but was always busy on one of the flea market weekends…until last weekend! I couldn’t believe how crowded it was, and how huge! We were there for about four hours, too, and definitely didn’t see it all. My one regret is not buying up a beautiful Hudson Bay blanket for $70…still kicking myself for that one.

    Great finds! What a fun day!ReplyCancel

    • Kim5.20.14 - 9:54 AM

      Did you end up getting anything else? Yeah, it’s crazy how after 4 hours, there’s still SO much to see. We usually breeze through the last third of the fair!ReplyCancel

  • Marie5.20.14 - 9:16 AM

    I love your new pendant and had one more crush on your chairs, wow. You guys really have eyes like a cat ! I reminds me that I recently discovered one of my neighbor have two diamond chairs on his balcony. Those are chairs I really crave for (and no room to add them anywhere, of course). Any idea why I also crave a big blue velvet chair for my studio, by the way ?ReplyCancel

    • Kim5.20.14 - 9:24 AM

      Haha, you’re silly. I would LOVE those diamond chairs. So pretty!ReplyCancel

  • Haha! I love your description of a “not tube-sock-selling-fair” Seriously, who buys those?

    More importantly I love your scores! The light and lamp are awesome, but those CHAIRS! Love! I’m pretty sure they would look good in any color.ReplyCancel

  • Trish5.20.14 - 10:56 AM

    Those chairs are amazing and would look great in any color! I could see a bright yellow – or maybe the same blue as your pretty little lantern!ReplyCancel

  • You know, I’ve never been to a flea market (crazy, right?) and now I’m intrigued. I might just pack up my daughter and head to Elkhorn next month to check it out. Looks like they have some amazing things!

    :) LindaReplyCancel

    • Kim5.20.14 - 1:06 PM

      Oh man, Linda! You are in for a treat if your first Flea Market experience is Elkhorn! Also be sure to check out the Randolph Street Market!ReplyCancel

  • Jodi5.20.14 - 1:23 PM

    awesome finds! and congrats on the domino mention!!!ReplyCancel

  • ann5.20.14 - 1:23 PM

    Love the blue lantern on grandpa’s table’ReplyCancel

  • Jillian5.20.14 - 1:39 PM

    I’m crushing on that colorful fiestaware! & to think I registered for all white fiesta goods when I got married! Which of course I still love but geesh, did I think I was a grown-up or somethin’? CONGRATS ON DOMINO!!!!!ReplyCancel

  • Jillian5.20.14 - 1:40 PM

    P.s. yes, paint the chairs white! Love ’em!ReplyCancel

  • Amy Lynn5.20.14 - 3:08 PM

    You didn’t buy the Pete cane?!?!?ReplyCancel

    • Kim5.20.14 - 3:18 PM

      Haha, I should have picked it up for you!ReplyCancel

  • Heather MacFeather5.20.14 - 11:56 PM

    Those chairs are pretty great. They look like they may have some flex/bounce when you sit in them?

    When I first saw them with your dog posing to the side, the first thing that came to mind was “buddy collar” (aka “lampshade”. Animals wearing them crack me up).

    I hope you can un-see the lampshade thing with time. I bet they would look great painted any colour!

    Enjoy.ReplyCancel

  • Julia@Cukoo4Design5.21.14 - 6:41 AM

    So much cool stuff. Looks like a great timeReplyCancel

  • Paige @ Lux Per Diem5.21.14 - 8:36 AM

    God, flea markets are like crack to me.ReplyCancel

  • tia5.21.14 - 1:31 PM

    those floral chairs in the 7th photo down gave me a tingle! lol. i’ve yet to master flea markets.ReplyCancel

  • alex6.19.14 - 11:42 AM

    hey – per chance if you noticed, were your furry friends welcome here? would love to do this, but would need to figure something out if we were able to make it.ReplyCancel

    • Kim6.19.14 - 12:04 PM

      I didn’t notice a single pet at this one, but I would double check their FAQs (almost all flea markets will have this info on their site) to make sure!ReplyCancel

  • […] In addition to that cute blue lantern above, we also scored two Salterini-esque chairs for our front patio! Setting our alarms for 5 in the morning, we woke up before the sun and headed to one of our […]ReplyCancel

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