Saturday, May 29, 2010

Enjoying Old Silver

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I have been collecting old silver plate pieces for years. One of my favorite collections are old children's cups. What is most pleasing to me about old silver plate is the tarnished patina.

Silver looks soft and pretty up against a bright white cabinet or table.

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Fine intricate details, such as the floral pattern on the plate above and the ivy on the chalice below, lend an extra special look to a romantic or cottage style decor.


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Silver plate pedestals and bowls are the perfect accompaniment to hold a favorite collection and to help add height to a vignette.


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This antique Victorian sugar bowl could be used to hold a sweet bouquet of flowers and display on a bedside table. How wonderful to wake up to the scent of fresh picked roses.

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Creating beautiful displays is easy by pulling together various textures and collections. All it takes is a sweet bowl, special pieces and a little imagination.

30 comments:

The Green Pea said...

Hello Becky, you inspire me with your beautiful silver. I am going to dig out my silver baby cups and display them. Thanks for the idea...Have a nice weekend. sandi

Michelle, All Home and Love said...

I also love old silver. I passed up a child's cup at the flea market not long ago that had the alphabet on it. Still kicking myself. It was darling.
Pretty pictures!
~Michelle

Anonymous said...

I love the frame in the back on the first photo. Is that a swatch of wallpaper in the frame?? It's lovely.

Di

Rochelle said...

Hi Becky
I wonder if "back in the day" women enjoyed the patina from unpolished silver as much as we do....I'm glad I like the worn look - saves me a lot of polishing!
Have a grand weekend.....
xoxo
Rochelle

"Create Beauty" said...

Love the combination of the old silver, lace and starfish! Beautiful photos. I think I have shells in about every room in our home, but not displayed with silver. I'm inspired! ~ Violet

fiberdoodles said...

Pure eyecandy ;) Love them all!

Connie said...

Funny, I just polished one of the few pieces of silver I have yesterday, honey. It gave me oodles of please to do it but I almost killed myself getting the polish down from the shelf in the laundry on a ladder! Sigh...
xoxo,
Connie

Anonymous said...

They do make the prettiest displays. I have one trophy cup and I also have a champagne bucket. They both have a lot of patina.

Stop by Becky and see about my giveaway.

xo
LeAnn

Unknown said...

I go back and forth on whether to polish or not.... Maybe once a year I go through and polish all of it.... But I love the tarnished look too.

Have a great Saturday!

~Liz

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Hi Becky! I love silver too...but prefer it polished! I like it either way, but I polish mine and love th way it turns out. Each person has their favorite I think. My daughter likes her tarnished...so does dear DIL.
To buy an old piece and bring it home and watch it come back to it's old glory is one of my favorite things to do I think.
Your's is just lovely...and fits your style. I let some of mine tarnish up a bit but for the most part..it gleams! My age is showing...lol
Love and hugs to you, dear friend!
Mona

Julie said...

Love the old silver. I have a small table dedicated to just that. A few pieces, a tray, and then silver frames of family people and pets.
Recently found a silver baby shoe to stick into the mix. I love it with white too, and I am GLAD I don't want the shiny look. The tarnished patina gives it a timeless look of character and age.
Thanks for the beautiful pics. Loved visiting today. Hugs to you...

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Your silver is beautiful. I love old silverplate too. I love creating mosaics with trays, sugar bowls, creamers, teapots....leaving some of the silver exposed. I never shine vintage silver. Love the patina.
Hugs,
Penny

Susan said...

Your silver is so beautiful! Polishing my pieces are on my to do list this weekend.

Sissie's Shabby Cottage said...

Your photos are so pretty! I love the look of silver against soft, feminine laces. The starfish adds a nice touch too.

Very pretty.

hugs
Sissie

bj said...

Me, too, Becky...I love olden silver and silver plate. Your's is so pretty.
xo bj

Pondside said...

I love old silver too - especially cups and bowls. For years I kept the silver coffee spoons in our son's christening mug. When our grandson was christened I passed the mug along and since then have used a darling little 1920's silver trophy.

Virginia said...

To polish or not to polish that is the question.... I love the way you display them. Very pretty.

Tales From My Empty Nest said...

I love your old silver pieces. Your pictures are so pretty! Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful holiday. Love & blessings from NC!

Kathleen Grace said...

I have a small collection too. I swap it out with other collections, but it is one of my favorite ways to display bouquets of flowers. Your collection has such beautiful details Becky! Happy Memorial day. I am remembering all the brave people who have served in our armed forces and your son is is on my mind this weekend. Blessings to you and your family.
Love

Kathy

Debby said...

I just wanted to say my thoughts are with you on this Memorial Day week-end. You might want to read my post at Cozy Blanket.
((((HUGS))))

Molly the Airedale said...

Your silver pieces are just beautiful! Our gram would have them shined up in no time at all! Mom loves them with the soft patina, just as you do!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Lallee said...

Those are all beautiful vignettes. The photos remind me of Victoria magazine in their early days. Just beautiful.

Hope you are having an enjoyable holiday weekend.

XO,
Lallee

C. Dianne Zweig said...

Now I have an appreciation for Silver plated..but the work in keeping up the pieces.....Becky you have so much patience!

dianne

kitsch n Stuff

Thimbleanna said...

Beautiful silver pieces Ms. Becky! I've enjoyed catching up on your posts from while I was at market. LOVE your sweet vintage sheet quilt. And Psst. Here's a secret for those cakey chocolate chip cookies: Follow the TollHouse recipe. Be sure to use real butter. Up the flour to 3 cups. Use a scoop so they're a bit bigger. I had a Mrs. Barr in my life and she shared her secret!

Rose said...

silver is beautiful but i hate to clean it. plan to follow your blog my 1st husband was also a firefighter on air force,thinking of you . plan to follow your blog http://somewondersoflife.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I love silver too. Your pieces are just beautiful.

Elsie said...

Love your silver plate,I'd rather
have the silver plate than real
silver any day. I love the patina
too. I have several pieces also.:O)

Kathy Sue said...

I love all of your silver. I do agree about the patina it has. I love the look.You have some great pieces.Take care as always Rabbit Toes,,,,, love you,Kathy

Karen said...

Hello!
Funny . . . I spent the morning yesterday polishing up some old silver. I recently found a wonderful old silver tray at the GoodWill. Couldn't even find the stamp on the bottom, I think they thought it was just an old piece of junk - it was so black. Turned out to be a treasure! Love that!
Loved peeking around here this morning.
Have a wonderful day!
Karen - Some days are diamonds

Cindy said...

I love old silver, too, my collection is growing fairly rapidly, I enjoy it so much. Yours is really beautiful!