By the 1960's, everyone's mother, aunt, or grannie had a lady head vase somewhere in the house!  These beautiful women were originally used by florists for small bunches of flowers the way glass bud vases are used today, but unlike their contemporary counterparts that get shoved under the sink, or into the back of the closet, these little ladies usually became a permanent part of the decor.

Most of these semi-porcelain vases were mass produced in Japan, and sold to American jobbers who distributed them throughout the country.  Japanese manufacturers included Ensco, Inarco, Rubens, Irice, Relpo and Lefton.  In America, lady head vases were made by Betty Lou Nichold and Holt Howard.  These were handmade and handpainted, and are generally of higher quality than those made in Japan.

Some vases were marked on the bottom with an inked backstamp under the glaze, but just as many were marked with paper labels that have long since vanished.  For the curious, the best way to determine the manufacturer is with the help of a collector book, or, (believe it or not!) a Lady Head website!  However, as with any beauty pagent, the winners are chosen by looks, not pedigree, and with a few exceptions, the highest prices go to the prettiest ladies.

Collectors want gorgeous ladies that are beautifully made up with elaborate coiffures.  Many came adorned with jewels, including necklaces, earrings, and even the occasional ring, and ladies without their original gems bring lower prices.  Damage also lowers the price, which conversely means that examples with lots of protruding parts such as hats, gloved hands, bows, curls, ruffles, etc. that are in perfect condition bring some of the highest prices.

During the heyday of the lady head craze, top celebrities were turned into the most popular vases, including Lucille Ball, Jackie Kennedy, and Marilyn Monroe.  Disney characters were also popular.  These included Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Mary Poppins.

Values can fall anywhere from $10 for a common vase with slight damage to as much as $2,000 for Marilyn.  As with any collectible, values are highest for those pieces with cross-over appeal.

 by: Jesse Akre

Have you ever been in a home where the coffee table absolutely dwarfed the rest of the room? It can be hard to have a conversation when the sofa and recliners are separated by a table that seems more suited to having a picnic than to hosting guests and serving coffee. Then there are those perfect coffee tables that happen to be too high or low so that you either need to stand up or kneel down to retrieve a drink. Let’s face it: the coffee table is one difficult piece of furniture to get right and when we get it wrong—we get it REALLY wrong!

The perfect coffee table for your home décor will be unique for all of us. However, there are some things to avoid when buying a coffee table to make sure that you don’t get the WRONG coffee table for your furniture and design scheme. One of those mistakes is buy premium coffee tables that are not to scale with the room dimensions.

Depending on your furniture arrangement, it is a good idea for the coffee table to be within 16 inches of the sofa, love seat, and any chairs that are central to the main seating area. The larger the seating area, the larger the coffee table needs to be. The idea is for guests to have access to the coffee table without feeling cramped when getting in and out of their seats. It is also a good idea to measure not only the dimensions of the room, but also of any doorways leading into the room as well. If the delivery people can’t get the table through the door then it doesn’t matter how great it would look in your living room.

Another common mistake people tend to make with coffee tables is to use them as storage spaces. One of the secrets to home décor is to always have a focal point to the room. The coffee table is a natural focal point of the room because it is generally found near the center of the room and featured in front of the seating area. However, when homeowners use their gorgeous coffee tables as storage areas for bills, newspapers, and anything else convenient, then it is easy to see how the entire area becomes unattractive. Prominently displaying candles, centerpieces, accent lamps, and other artistic décor will help the coffee table become the focal point of the room and bring an entirely different feel to the entire seating area.

This article was obtained from ArticleCity.com