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8.03.2013

I Have a Sink-ing Feeling About This...

Here at HOMEWARDfound, my goal is to provide you with as many ORIGINAL ideas 
and as much seasonal inspiration as I possibly can. I'll go to [almost] any lengths to do that.
Heck, I'll even throw in the kitchen sink!

 In my 35+ years of designing and styling home decor and retail displays, I've come up with some whopper ideas.
But THIS one is one of my faves - and it was a mistakeuh huh. a total fluke. great story, too.
But you don't want the story, you want PICTURES!
BRILLIANT IDEA, right?!!!!! thank you. thank you very much.

[it's really not brilliant... scroll down to the end of the post and read the story]
Perfect in your store or show displays. Or garden. or... while GLAMPING!

My friend Marybeth ended up with that sink for her sweet shop poppyseeds,
and did exactly the same thing with it.
[That shot on the left above was taken at her store in Washington in June!]
She also did something similar with another sink she has:
Can you say CLEVER?!
Long before Marybeth took my sink to her store, 
and before I sat it on that cart, I used it on top of a pedestal:
The top of the wood pedestal was hollow, so the sink fit right on top perfectly.
The addition of a bucket full of herbs was a charming touch, outside the entrance to my farm store.
I later added lots more buckets of blooming flowers & herbs...
Here's a shot of the whole storefront while it was being worked on:
That was a huge (tall, deep) garage, turned into a store on my farm on an island.
The barn door on the left and the double doors on the right replaced the regular garage door,
for a much more welcoming entry. The awning up above was found for $10 bucks at ReStore -
and it was a perfect fit down to the last inch. Some things are meant to be!

I miss it, and wish I was still there on my farm with my store and my show...
but then, some things are NOT meant to be
It was all dismantled when we moved out. The barn door now lives at a neighbors' house.
It looks like a garage again. (BOR-ing)

I've used some other sinks in displays, as well...
 *The sink on the left is a double-bowl + countertop unit that topped a bank of vintage metal cabinets.
I filled one sink with white holiday ornaments (that looked like soap bubbles!)
and it held white milk glass & ceramic dishes in our booth at the Farm Chicks show in 2010.

* The sink on the right is sitting on two wood sawhorses (out of the photo),
and holds the same holiday ornaments and clear glass dessert plates & cups
at the snack bar area of our Petite Retreat Summer Market in 2010.

What do I always say?
Don't think literally about the stuff you have. Move it around.
See it differently. Use it in a way it's NOT supposed to be used!

Sinks aren't just for kitchens and baths...
They are great in store & booth displays, and even in the garden!
I would NOT, however, recommend using toilets for those purposes. [wink]

ok, NOW here's the story of my sink:
I was at a vintage show, unloading the trailer, setting up the booth with furnishings and accessories
and I needed to move the vintage enamel sink from the trailer across the parking area and to the booth.
And I was tired. I didn't want to carry it. (those things are HEAVY) so....
I plopped that sink on the top of a folding wire cart that I had stuffed with burlap fabric in the trailer,
and then I rolled the sink over to where I wanted it - which was in a chair.

But when I looked at the cart, and saw the sink sitting there, and realized that it was TOTALLY secure 
because the sink's apron was wrapped around the top edge of the cart
and that it was awfully darned easy to maneuver it around like that, 
well, the proverbial LIGHT BULB went on over my head:

Leave. the. sink. on. the. cart, Deb!

I grabbed the burlap and wrapped the outside of the cart with it
- and that, as they say, was that.
BRILLIANT IDEA. from outta' nowhere. Gotta' love it!

8 comments:

  1. Love the sink! My neighbor has one in a pile on the side of his house for metal recycling... I don't know whether to steal it or go ask for it LOL!
    Susan

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    1. haha! Maybe a midnight stealth mission is called for?! :)

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  2. I never thought about a sink for my garden - I have been hunting for an old bathtub.

    Thanks for the inspiration.

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    1. I can't even imagine the muscle it would take to get an old clawfoot enamel tub into a garden - you are one BRAVE girl! :)

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  3. I had a sinking feeling that was going to be just tooo cute. I love it. You are a clever girl!!! I put clear glass "bubbles" in my fountain, too. xo Diana

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    1. oh, I love the bubbles in a fountain idea, Diana! and thank you ;)

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  4. Very clever. Love your sense of humour.
    *Smiles*

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    Replies
    1. oh, God bless you for 'getting' my sense of humor, Pamela! It's a bit strange ;)

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