There's nothing like a road trip on a cold, gray day. Better yet is a great road trip that's only 15 minutes from home!
Heading North on Interstate 75, about 15 minutes from McKinney, is Van Alstyne, Texas. Van Alstyne officially became a Texas City March 10, 1873 with the arrival of the first train.
Today Van Alstyne's population is 2,843, officially making it a SMALL town!
However, there are a lot of things happening in Van Alstyne these days and I decided to go check it out!
My first stop was at Summit Mercantile.
This store is owned by Amelia Giles and Cheryl Snyder. They are originally from Mississippi, but most recently they had a shop in Houston. The ladies relocated to Van Alstyne, re-habed an old house...and opened their new store.
From the minute you walk in the front door there is so much to see! Great, large pieces of furniture fill the shop. Every inch of space is utilized to show case many of the over sized pieces.
There were several beds...I guess I only caught a picture of one of them
Several of the industrial items could be re-purposed into functional items. This old lift looks like a tea cart. Imagine the heave work it accomplished in the past.
This is a great trophy cabinet the ladies picked up from a school up North. Unfortunately, this piece was sold, but I did notice another one in the back...maybe it's waiting for you!
I loved this wonderful old workbench...
Here is the same work bench from the other angle. So many great drawers!
I saw two of these small file drawers. What a perfect addition to an office.
Everywhere I turned there was another beautiful piece of furniture.
The ladies also offer vintage lighting.
How could you possibly just pick one?
This little "cafe" set was over the top. It would be so interesting to know the story behind this table and the four little chairs.
Of all the pieces I saw, I think this dental cabinet was my favorite. Painted a light blue, it was in great condition. This would be a perfect addition to a sewing room, filled with bits and pieces of fabric and thread. This alone is worth the drive!
There were large mirrors...
each more beautiful than the last one.
Alas...Amelia and Cheryl are headed out on their next big buying trip and they will be "missing" from January 15 (today) until February 3, 2011. The store will be closed during that time, but while they're away you can check out their website, Summit Mercantile, or you can follow the ladies on Facebook.
Be sure and stop by when Amelia and Cheryl return...you will LOVE all the things they currently have in the shop and you will be able to be the first to check out their new items!
Once I left the Mercantile I went next door to Abby Lane.
This shop offered a variety of home and decorative items to catch your eye, along with home town T-shirts in support of Van Alstyne.
Across is the street is Atmosphere's, another fairly new shop. The owner said she opened up last summer. She had some cute jewelry and various other home decor items.
Van Alstyne also has a cute consignment store on N. Main St called Steel Magnolia.
The Consignment store is located in an old flooring store, so be sure to look down and check out all the varying floor options that were once offered.
Today the store is filled with furniture, art, home goods, clothing and jewelry.
AND...you also need to look up at the interesting ceiling and lighting treatments. The store is cute, the owner, Anita Leah Armstrong, is friendly and very willing to work with you.
till tomorrow...
debi
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