The Alley Rose                          Antique Linens & Textiles                              ~When only the very best will do~     We’re so delighted you’ve stopped by The Alley Rose!  Here is where you’ll find spectacular antique linens for the home as well as beautiful Antique Clothing and Laces.  Whether you’re the serious collector or just looking for a few nice pieces to accent that special place in your home, you couldn’t have found a finer place to search.  You’ll find our merchandise to be extremely high quality and meticulously photographed and described.  It is our promise that when our antique linens arrive at your door they will be exactly what we said them to be with no disappointing surprises. Be sure to also check out the new Alley Rose Exclusives page where you’ll discover fabulous Victorian reproduction soaps, framed prints and place cards which you won’t find anywhere else but here.  As you browse you’ll find many fun old quotes, articles, Proverbs and customs from days gone by.  Now, simply sit back, imagine and have fun while you’re taken back to a quieter, simpler time… a time when life centered around the home.          Spring is here!!!  Fortunately (or unfortunately, however you look at it) with it comes the redecorating bug.  LAST spring, it just so happened that my husband and I were looking at new patio furniture.  After choosing the set I wanted, thinking out loud, I stated “this costs 12 pairs of pillowcases”.  My husband gave me an odd look so I explained that the profits I’d make from 12 pairs of pillowcases would pay for the patio furniture.  He found it hilarious and now equates the cost of everything to how many pairs of pillowcases I’d have to sell.    Last week we tore up the carpets in the living room and found beautiful hardwood floors underneath – admittedly a bit stained and worn but with great potential!  Which got me to thinking (uh oh)…  Why spend the time and expense to refinish the floor in the living room and leave the tired, old flooring in the dining room and kitchen?  I’m thinking some beautiful travertine tile would be in order.  However, we’d be fools to put in new tile until I get my new kitchen cabinets (after all, my husband is a fabulous woodworker and it IS on his list of projects he wants to tackle).  And maybe an antique buffet in the dining room to replace the hutch… I’ve pictured it there for years.  Now would be the perfect time.  I want a built in monster that covers the whole wall, complete with leaded glass doors just like my Grandma Anna had in her house.  My husband can build this too.  Oh, think of the money we’ll save!  But the crowning glory will be my “new” master bathroom - not even in close proximity to the kitchen, living room or dining room but what the heck… I may as well go whole hog!  I can use the same travertine tile on the floors as it will give the house a nice “flow”.  The old vanity is as good as gone, replaced by one on legs with a serpentine front and a marble top.  My husband can also build this, although now it’s looking like he’ll have to take some serious vacation time from his “real job” to do it.  The existing shallow tub simply HAS to go (I’ve hated it from day one) and I’ll replace it with an old, free standing, claw foot Victorian beauty.  They’re out there.  I just need to find one.  I’ll reuse the existing shower curtain.  That’ll save us a bundle (ha ha) and it will coordinate beautifully with all the monogrammed towels I’ve been holding back in my “private stash”.  Picturing it in my mind absolutely gives me chills.  I can’t wait to start.   When I informed my husband of my plans, he thought a bit and said “and how many pairs of pillowcases will this cost us?”  I don’t care.  I’ll start ironing… right after I locate my new claw foot tub.     If you're in the market for antique lace, be sure to check out the Antique Lace page.  We've got some exceptional inventory right now!    "We should have nothing in our houses which we did not   either know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." ~William Morris~ The beauty of Life lecture, 1880