is a barn again happening in east whiteland?

Reader photo 6/19/25

When I first moved to Chester county, the cool old barn at the foot of Phoenixville Pike and route 30 by the Home Depot was the Stevens Antique Barn. The address is 627 Lancaster Ave. Frazer. Of course now they’re saying Malvern but it’s really Frazer.

Stevens Antiques always had lovely things. I think once upon a time many years ago, my mother actually sold the owner chairs she wasn’t using any longer. What I remember of the dealer from that store is how frosty she was at the Chester County Antiques Show. I just couldn’t ever understand how someone who sold such beautiful antiques could be so standoffish. But then again, I was just a regular person going through her booth not a checkbook toting serious collector.

Eventually, the business closed, and the property was for sale seemingly forever. Then it’s sold to a high-end contracting and renovation business. They were putting their offices there.

so over the last, I don’t know 23 years. There’s been a lot of cleaning up of the property itself and removal of debris and stabilizing the bank and now it seems like another barn has been discovered underneath the barn we knew?

This is definitely like an archaeological restoration when you drive-by. I don’t know what’s happening. I’m hoping someone goes and talks to the property owners because that’s definitely not a teardown and that seems really exciting.

If you know what’s going on here, please drop me a line!

Reader submitted photo 6/19/25

the old hershey’s mill continues to come back to life!

In June of 2020 much to my delight, I discovered the old Hershey’s Mill at Hershey’s Mill Road and Green Hill Road was getting a new lease on life.

We passed by today and the restoration continues! This is so refreshing and lovely to see!

Restoration is possible with unique old buildings. We can’t wait to see it completely restored!

best vintage linen cleaner

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I have come across some more fun vintage linens in my travels recently , so I have been laundering them and putting them away.

Recently I have found some terrific vintage pillowcases and linen hand and kitchen towels.

The linen kitchen towels of yesteryear are of a better quality than what you find today, and they clean up very nicely for the most part. Plus they add a twist of fun vintage kitsch to your kitchen!

Pillowcases might seem like an odd thing to hunt for, but some of them I have found a very beautiful. Hand embroidered, handmade of linen, funky floral patterns from the 60s and 70s by Vera. I am not a patterned sheet person, so I use solid colored sheets, which means I can mix it up and create a fun and funky bed scape with vintage pillowcases. And since I like to use vintage quilts and bed spreads, it really makes a nice look.

I will also apply my mixing it up to my tables when I’m setting the table for dinner. Just because you’re having company doesn’t mean you can’t mix it up – and often I do using different fun napkins with a more traditional tablecloth. I will also mix the plates up. Everything does not have to match exactly to get along. I will use colored goblets instead of clear glasses, and things like that.

You can pick up all these vintage items in any number of places: barn picking, flea markets, church rummage sales, consignment and thrift shops. And the things I pick up aren’t necessarily “shabby chic”, they are in fact in excellent condition.

Back to the linens. I use this linen wash stuff called “Restoration”. I discovered it after going on a hunt for something to clean vintage and antique linens because you aren’t left with a lot of options as far as these washes go on the shelves of your local grocery store. Restoration is a little pricey but a little goes a long way. I also use it on my vintage quilts.

Thanks for stopping by!

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