My Weblog

Springtime at the Royal Port!

Springtime is a great time at the Royal Port!  It's a perfect time to freshen up the porch and Picker's Field with things for the home and garden!  Many customers are working on finding just the right door, mantel, furniture, window, shelf or piece of wood to complete their projects.  We appreciate the photos our customers send us showing off their DIY projects using our handpicked inventory. One of our customers, Seana, did just that by sharing their dining room with the barn door they acquired from us to use as a focal point. What a beautiful room!  We are getting the shop ready for the upcoming Arts in Bloom, Studio Tour through Salem County, May 20th & 21st.  We are hosting Yvonne Mucci, Amber Ayars and Ron Wilson.  Their Watercolors, Photographs and Turned Wood pieces are currently on display and for sale at the Port! We are also having an Open House that weekend!  Looking forward to a great weekend!  We will also be doing our first Clover Market of the season on April 23rd in Bryn Mawr, PA.  Stop by to say hi to Mike! We continue to add new inventory to the shop daily. If you're looking for something, feel free to call, message or email us.  We put the new inventory on Facebook and Instagram weekly and a complete album on Facebook on Sunday night.  Also see our events page for updates on upcoming shows, markets and open houses.  Enjoy Spring and the upcoming Summer season. Add us to your travels!

Customer Creations! Renee Austermehle's Cathedral Wall DIsplay.

Renee and her husband purchased a cathedral window frame from the Royal Port a few years ago. When she mentioned it the other day I asked her to send me a photo.  This window had been salvaged from an old church in Clarksboro, NJ. With the high ceiling in their newer home Renee and her husband wanted to create a cozier area.  According to Renee, the arched window has been a great conversation piece and it certainly has helped them fill in their empty, tall wall.  They surrounded it with old ceiling tiles.  So many of our customers are looking for this type of idea for their high ceilings.  Thanks for the photo Renee!

Customer Creations! Steve Harris Shows Us Two of His Creations!

Steve and his wife purchased snow birds  and a  lamp post from the Royal Port last August and sent along some pictures of his creations.  The cast iron eagles, or snow birds, he purchased are from 1900-1910 and were designed to prevent the hazards of snow slides upon metal roof buildings by allowing snow and ice to melt or drop off safely.  Steve utilized them along with some scrap walnut to create some beautiful bookends.  I love how they came.  Steve also created a new mailbox  from a lamp post he purchased here.  He found a concrete base & a dummy bomb that he bought on-line. Steve shared that his wife was not too excited about the bomb!!   I can say it has an interesting look especially for those that collect military items.   I like how Steve utilized the early cast iron light post to make into a mailbox post.  I would be curious to know what the mail person thought on their first delivery to the bomb box!   Thanks for sharing your photos with us!

Customer Creation's Lydia & John Del Rossi!

We often get interesting work benches in varying styles and sizes.  I enjoy using them for display in the shop.   Customers are always asking me what someone would do with a workbench in their home.  In many cases customers use them as a center island in the kitchen or for their intended purpose as a work bench.  Others like Lydia & John chose to use it as a side board or side table to display photos and collections.   You can see the photo of the workbench in the shop.   Lydia & John shared an after photo of the work bench decorated in their home.   I like the combinations of the collectibles and photos as well as the things placed underneath.  (I see a few things from our shop too!)  The artwork above it finishes off the setup.  The piece fits perfectly on the wall with the windows on each side.  Nice job.  Thanks for the photo!

It's Customer Creations Time! Tom & Viv McLaughlin's French Doors!

We have many customers that want to add early architectural details to their homes.  Changing out the newer doors to early paneled or French doors has been a route that many have taken.  I wanted to share with you one of those transformations.   When I received the photos I was thrilled with their outcome.  Tom & Viv purchased some old French Doors from us last year.  They wanted to replace the office builder grade doors in their 13 year old home. Tom was able to hang the doors with some minor tweaking to the existing door jam.   As Viv wrote me,   I really am enjoying the old doors.  The doors add some character to our 13 year old home. We will definitely be back to hunt for some more old gems!  They already have and bought a nice stand to go into the office.  I love how the doors open up the hallway area.  The office still maintains a sense of privacy but with windows to the rest of the home.  Beautiful job and thank you for sharing your home's transformation with us.

Customer Creations is Back! Ken & Denise's Shelf!

Sorry it has been so long since our last Customer Creation's Post.  I know that our readers enjoy them.  Ken & Denise always buy some of my favorite things and display them creatively in their home.  I think I just finished displaying miniature salt bags in this crate when the Leverings stopped by.  I joked with them that I didn't get a chance to enjoy it.  (When I have fun decorating a piece in the shop I like to enjoy it for a little bit.)  Luckily I took a photo before it sold.   I love what Ken & Denise have done with the divided crate by hanging it and using it for their collection of miniature ironstone pitchers.  The black background really makes their collection stand out.  A nice display piece for not a lot of money.  Thanks Ken & Denise for the photo.  Suzanne

Royal Port Antique's Farm Table Gets Center Stage in House Beautiful's Kitchen of the Month!

Well we cannot take credit for this beautiful kitchen but we can take credit for the beautiful Farm Table that is a central point in Claire Shean's amazing kitchen redo.  Claire resides with her family in Mount Kisco, NY.  Claire's son was taking lessons in the area so she decided to search architectural shops in New Jersey and found the Royal Port.  She saw the farm table and knew it was perfect for her new kitchen redo and had it shipped back home.  In the House Beautiful article we read that Claire's goal with her renovation was to recapture the feeling of her childhood home, a simple yet “real” kitchen that was utilitarian yet homey. And she wanted it to fit with the rest of her circa 1900 house in a seamless way. 
In the article Claire reveals she wanted a farmhouse table instead of an island not only for the evocative period effect but because she loves to bake and the table height is easier for kneading.  The attention to details including lighting, paint, hardware, appliances,  counters and of course the farm table is what makes this kitchen fit in so beautifully with Claire's 1900's home.   If you want to read the entire article it is in this month's issue of House Beautiful.  We were excited that the Royal Port was mentioned in the article.  Thanks Claire!

Customer Creations Spotlight Jack Wright from Exit Zero!

If any of you have ever traveled to Cape May, NJ  I am sure you have easily stumbled across an Exit Zero Magazine.  All of the happenings and places to be and be seen with are in this publication.   We had a visit from its editor/publisher Jack Wright.  Jack purchased these great over sized barn slider doors for his home but ended up using the barn doors (for now) in his shop. Jack says one day they will get into his house, but for now, in his words, they make for the most awesome artwork display.   Jack attached both doors to a ceiling beam in order to create two walls on the second floor of the shop, attaching them to the balcony.   I love the look and the creation of an instant display area.  Thanks for the photos Jack!  Suzanne

Customer Creations of the Day, Joanne Logan's Decorative Fence Garden Plot!

Joanne was perusing Picker's Field in the Spring and found this nice piece of fencing.  A short time later she shared with us the finished product.   She and her husband mounted the gate to 2 posts and surrounded the garden plot with nice blocks to trim out the area and added some annuals.  I am sure the annuals have filled the space by now.  The other neat thing they did was add solar lighting to the tops of the posts with decorative stained glass.  Looks great.  I know Joanne loves it.  Thanks for the photos.  Suzanne

Customer Creation of the Day, Sue Winston's Candle Holders!

What can you do with a bunch of rusty bed springs?  Well, here is what Sue Winston did and they came beautiful.  Sue shared with us the finished product created from the bed springs she purchased at the Royal Port recently.  After applying boiled linseed oil to the bed springs to remove the rust, Sue anchored the two bottom coils of each spring together with a small loop of wire to stabilize the pieces.  Then she added a candle in a glass holder to each coil.  Simple, unique, and fun.  Sue commented that they make for some interesting dinner conversation!  Thanks for sharing your finished product.  Suzanne