Cobblestone Court & Co.
Decorate for the Girly Girl in you!
We all dream of crisp linens, Grandmothers handmade
quilts and the windows open with warm breezes invigorating the aroma of fresh air with Gardens of
wildflowers. White sofas without blemish, wicker sunrooms and a brook babbling natures song. A path of cobblestone leading friends to the door being drawn by fresh baked goods cooling on the window sill.
Being a “Girly Girl” wakes the Romance in your heart
and designs your furnishings with eloquent display.
Dream, Hope and live life.
Wake the Girly Girl in you!
We all dream of crisp linens, Grandmothers handmade
quilts and the windows open with warm breezes invigorating the aroma of fresh air with Gardens of
wildflowers. White sofas without blemish, wicker sunrooms and a brook babbling natures song. A path of cobblestone leading friends to the door being drawn by fresh baked goods cooling on the window sill.
Being a “Girly Girl” wakes the Romance in your heart
and designs your furnishings with eloquent display.
Dream, Hope and live life.
Wake the Girly Girl in you!
Tips and News
A little News
Did you know that claw-foot bath tubs were first manufactured in the United States? We think of them as European since they have a romantic flair about them. The late 19th century introduced them to the American culture. They are wildly romantic and not only enhance the beauty of the room but help create the luxurious relaxation of your body into a deep, warm, sensuous bath.
Did you know that claw-foot bath tubs were first manufactured in the United States? We think of them as European since they have a romantic flair about them. The late 19th century introduced them to the American culture. They are wildly romantic and not only enhance the beauty of the room but help create the luxurious relaxation of your body into a deep, warm, sensuous bath.
Lace Curtains
It is difficult for us to imagine the value that our ancestors placed on handmade lace. Always prized for its extraordinary beauty and intricate patterns, lace was considered quite a commodity until lace-making machines largely destroyed the market for handmade lace. Ancient Egyptian art depicts lace hairnets at about 2,000 B.C . Lacy fabrics were used nearly 2,000 years ago. By the Middle Ages, ecclesiastical clothing and textiles included lace, as well as exquisite and expensive clothing from the fifteenth century until the early nineteenth century. Particularly complicated and expensive, clothing laces were made by hand in the 1600s and 1700s. Laces made from fine Flemish linen were most highly prized and fortunes were spent on the acquisition of exquisite clothing laces. Sumptuary Laws, which restricted the wearing of gold, silver, jewels, an silk, boosted the popularity of lace, which was often made of plain white linen thread.
By the early nineteenth century, the British were successfully producing machine-made laces with the production of a knitted net. As the machine-made laces became more common, the hand lace-maker could not compete with the low prices of the new laces and the craft waned in popularity. Astonishingly, some old machine made lace imitated the handmade laces to a remarkable degree and sometimes can only be distinguished from the handmade lace by its relentless regularity of pattern (handmade laces incorporate human flaws).
This machine net could then be embroidered or appliqued by hand. By 1870, several other machine-made lace machines were in production, supplying Americans as well as Europeans with relatively inexpensive lace, including lace curtains. Nottingham lace curtains, with their characteristic square mesh ground, were imported into the United States by at least 1870. By the 1880s, it was affordable and considered a mark of good taste to purchase curtains for the Victorian parlor. By the early 1900s, lace curtains had peaked in popularity and fell from favor—they were a commodity that many had tired of and were associated with those of lesser means who wanted to appear ostentatious.
Today, lace curtains are popular once again. Still prized for their airy beauty, lace curtains permit light to filter through the window, while still providing privacy. Some lace curtain companies offer patterns that have been in machine production for 140 years.
By the early nineteenth century, the British were successfully producing machine-made laces with the production of a knitted net. As the machine-made laces became more common, the hand lace-maker could not compete with the low prices of the new laces and the craft waned in popularity. Astonishingly, some old machine made lace imitated the handmade laces to a remarkable degree and sometimes can only be distinguished from the handmade lace by its relentless regularity of pattern (handmade laces incorporate human flaws).
This machine net could then be embroidered or appliqued by hand. By 1870, several other machine-made lace machines were in production, supplying Americans as well as Europeans with relatively inexpensive lace, including lace curtains. Nottingham lace curtains, with their characteristic square mesh ground, were imported into the United States by at least 1870. By the 1880s, it was affordable and considered a mark of good taste to purchase curtains for the Victorian parlor. By the early 1900s, lace curtains had peaked in popularity and fell from favor—they were a commodity that many had tired of and were associated with those of lesser means who wanted to appear ostentatious.
Today, lace curtains are popular once again. Still prized for their airy beauty, lace curtains permit light to filter through the window, while still providing privacy. Some lace curtain companies offer patterns that have been in machine production for 140 years.
History of Colonial Quilting
Americans tend to idealize the life of early colonists but in truth it was a hard and unforgiving life. Quilting for these colonial women was a rare pastime.
Life for Women in the New World Their homes were no more than roughly built structures that gave just a little protection from the elements. Food was scarce and their diets were poor. Sickness was always at their doors and often entered uninvited.
During America's beginnings the Puritan religion had a major influence. This religion was extremely restrictive to everyone and especially for colonial women. Ministers often reminded their flock that women were inferior to men and more inclined to sin and error.
Although some women were taught to read it was only so that they could read the bible. Few learned to write as writing was thought to be the perogative of men. A woman was expected to be subservient to her father until she married and then to her husband.
Typical Tasks of Women in Colonial America After colonial settlers became established in America an ordinary woman's daily life was still difficult. Typically she would be expected to do the spinning, sewing, food preservation, cooking and cleaning while caring for her often-large family. The woman to the right is carding wool in preparation for spinning. Obviously the image of colonial women sitting in their cabins quilting before the fire is far from the truth. There were, of course, exceptions. Some quilting was done by those who could afford household help thus leaving the woman of the house with time for decorative needlework. These women used quilting methods from their mother countries, styles of quilting far different than what we think of today as patchwork.
Life for Women in the New World Their homes were no more than roughly built structures that gave just a little protection from the elements. Food was scarce and their diets were poor. Sickness was always at their doors and often entered uninvited.
During America's beginnings the Puritan religion had a major influence. This religion was extremely restrictive to everyone and especially for colonial women. Ministers often reminded their flock that women were inferior to men and more inclined to sin and error.
Although some women were taught to read it was only so that they could read the bible. Few learned to write as writing was thought to be the perogative of men. A woman was expected to be subservient to her father until she married and then to her husband.
Typical Tasks of Women in Colonial America After colonial settlers became established in America an ordinary woman's daily life was still difficult. Typically she would be expected to do the spinning, sewing, food preservation, cooking and cleaning while caring for her often-large family. The woman to the right is carding wool in preparation for spinning. Obviously the image of colonial women sitting in their cabins quilting before the fire is far from the truth. There were, of course, exceptions. Some quilting was done by those who could afford household help thus leaving the woman of the house with time for decorative needlework. These women used quilting methods from their mother countries, styles of quilting far different than what we think of today as patchwork.
Antique Caned Chairs
Cane bottom chairs originated in China. American and European craftsmen incorporated woven cane into their furniture as early as 17th century Jacobean furniture. During the 18th century furniture was still hand built by individual craftsmen and very few chairs had cane seats. The more affluent customers ordered the William and Mary, Chippendale, and Sheridan period chairs with tapestry or leather seats. The "common" people used chairs with solid wood bottoms. Cane bottom chairs started to became popular in America around 1820, with the advent and industrialization and factory built furniture. The 1820s marked the beginning of real American expansion. With the war of 1812, we won our economic independence from Great Britton, our population was growing rapidly, and we had the Louisiana territories for expansion. New technologies and industrialization was creating wealth and a more widespread middle class. American needed a lot of furniture, and factories grew rapidly to supply the demand. Factories could produce spindle and dowel construction easily, and cane bottom seats didn't require much wood. The factories mass produced the seats by creating a seat weaving cottage industry. They built the seat frames in the factory, then distributed the frames for weavers to cane the seat at home. They collected the completed seats then could quickly assemble the chairs in the factory. As the American population grew and factories grew to meet the demand, manufactures built thousands of cane bottom chair. Cane bottom chairs reached the peak of their popularity between 1860 and 1890. Most of the chairs we find in antique shops today date form this period.
Weaving the seats accounted for the greatest expense for these chairs. After 1890, the labor costs of weaving the seats became too high, and manufactures developed alternatives for the traditional hand woven cane seats. They invented machines to weave the cane in sheets, much like weaving cloth, then glued the cane into a groove around the edge of the seat. This was a much faster and cheaper process, so between 1890 and 1900, factories transitioned to the cheaper machine woven cane. By around 1900, all American furniture manufacturers were using machine woven cane for chair bottoms.
Weaving the seats accounted for the greatest expense for these chairs. After 1890, the labor costs of weaving the seats became too high, and manufactures developed alternatives for the traditional hand woven cane seats. They invented machines to weave the cane in sheets, much like weaving cloth, then glued the cane into a groove around the edge of the seat. This was a much faster and cheaper process, so between 1890 and 1900, factories transitioned to the cheaper machine woven cane. By around 1900, all American furniture manufacturers were using machine woven cane for chair bottoms.
The Rolltop Desk
A solid wood desk with a sliding roll top, or tambour, that encloses the working surface of the upper part and can be locked. The portion of the desk that gives the form its name is constructed of narrow slats of wood glued to some flexible material, the slats running along slides or grooves fitted into the upper edges of the desk. The rolltop was first introduced into England from France in the late 18th century, the rolltop desk had become a standard piece of office equipment by the end of the 19th century and was produces in massive quantities. Its popularity diminished, however, with the development of modern style furniture , only to reappear in the 1960s and again in the 1980s as a “country antique.”
Tips
Olive Oil for your Bath
A few drops of Olive Oil in your Bath creates a silky relief to dry skin problems and afterward rub a few drops on dry heels and elbows as a moisture rub.
Make sense of your old candles
Old candles lost their scents? Make sense of it, Use fragrance oils, just a few drops around the wick entertains ambiance of new fragrance. Don’t be afraid to mix and match. The fragrances are unlimited.
Olive Oil for your Bath
A few drops of Olive Oil in your Bath creates a silky relief to dry skin problems and afterward rub a few drops on dry heels and elbows as a moisture rub.
Make sense of your old candles
Old candles lost their scents? Make sense of it, Use fragrance oils, just a few drops around the wick entertains ambiance of new fragrance. Don’t be afraid to mix and match. The fragrances are unlimited.
Post Holiday Flowers
Is that favorite berry garland just too beautiful to take down after the holidays? Does it encircle the candles so perfectly that you know it would be missed and the site would be left unadorned? A simple and elegant solution is to leave the garland and remove all other holiday fare from the area and replace it with a bouquet of seasonal flowers. The transition will be delicate and the site will illuminate its pleasure without missing a beat.
Adorn your Fireplace with Grace
We always think of holiday time and the Christmas season to adorn our Fireplaces. A quick and easy Autumn adornment is to swag your favorite color leaves and indian corn across the mantle with straw baskets framing the fire on the hearth. Fill the straw baskets with pumpkins and gourds and don't forget the scented candles to add frangrance to the season.
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