A Girl After My Own Heart – Mary of Designing Elements

Last week I received a call from Mary Hunter of Designing Elements in Morrilton, Arkansas inquiring about the Antique Alley Arkansas Antique Show.  She opened her shop in April and is looking for ways to get the word out.  I looked up Designing Elements’ Facebook page and was intrigued. Plus, she said she had turned an old house into her shop, which is totally my dream, so I had to make the drive to check her out.

We require 85% of each booth’s inventory in the Antique Alley Arkansas Antique Show to be from the 1950’s and before, so I always grill every possible dealer to make sure they’ll be a good fit.  Any doubts (I really didn’t have any) were put aside when I pulled up to the adorable old house.  Lots of retro outdoor items, like vintage gliders, decorate the front porch and yard.  I could tell I was in for a neat experience.

Upon entering the shop,  my eyes were drawn to these bright-pink chairs:

Mary does upholstery work along with refinishing furniture.  She also makes custom headboards, pillows, and lampshades.

Below, she has painted the table and chair a light pink.  She made the pillows and lampshade:

Another fun piece in the first room was the dresser below.  I love the color combination and the flower pulls!

Another brightly-colored chest-of-drawers was in a different room:

This is a great funky combo of colors, yet again with some neat pulls:

A few Shabby Chic pieces were mixed in too:

Some pieces are allowed to keep their original finish like this wonderful buffet with china hutch top.

Mary also showed me her nifty frame mattes made out of pages from old books:

Designing Elements in Morrilton, Arkansas is a real treat.  Visiting with Mary is the cherry on top because she’s super nice and really loves what she does.  If you’re in the area, I’d definitely recommend stopping by!