Recommendations Welcome...The Missing Piece

About a month ago I was visiting with one of my Aunts (it was her ___ birthday) and we were joined by a couple of family friends Donna and Pamela for a lovely day of Arts in the Park in Camden Maine.  The weather was unfortunately quite dreary – the company was fortunately not.  These ladies are as far from dreary as it gets so we had a really wonderful day never minding the weather.

I knew that Donna, Pamela and their family (they are sisters) winter in Florida but really had no idea what part of Florida….it’s a big state you know.  So you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to learn that their winter homes are near Tampa….perfect as these are just the ladies to tell me where all the great treasures are.  I can't remember the first time I met Donna (it was that long ago) but the first time I met Pamela was several years ago.  She was at a rummage sale buying a bargain life sized bust for her then teenage son (which unfortunately for me he loved and still does)…I knew instantly she was my kind of lady.  Both Donna & Pamela have an amazing decorator eye…although Pamela is the only “official” decorator.

The Missing Piece
3854 South Dale Mabry, Tampa, FL

Well, the recommendation they gave me was a consignment shop called The Missing Piece so I immediately put it on my list and headed over directly after my visit to the Henry B Plant Museum (see my visit to the Plant Museum/Tampa Bay Hotel here).

Not really sure what to expect I did know one thing…they had beautiful things on their web page and they came recommended so it all looked good.  I was a bit surprised when my GPS let me to the deep corner of a strip mall but given Florida’s somewhat strip mall centric nature I’m not sure why I was surprised.  The real surprise though was all of the gorgeous pieces I found when I went in.

This piece was in a vignette at the front door...what a wonderful hint of
what was to come.

The sunlight coming in from the front window really messed with my
stellar photography skills (lol) but this piece was so beautiful
in person...trust me

I love the color of this buffet...you would expect black or red for this
style but blue?  The unexpected definitely works!

The Missing Piece is really primarily consignment furniture…there are a few accessory pieces but really its clear furniture is their core specialty.  It’s also not vintage but classic pieces are beautiful whether they are new or old.

I will someday have a room large enough for a piece like this...it will be
filled with beautifully written literature...contemporary & classic (surprise, I
have a bit eclectic taste in books).

This Roll Top Desk was so unique and beautiful in it's simple lines.

What I generally love about consignment is not only that there are always bargains to be had but more importantly I always see unique pieces that I never see in regular furniture stores. There were plenty of those as well as good quality pieces that have more shall we say “mass appeal”.  Bottom line…there is so much to drool over here.

This piece was very different than anything else
I saw and could work in so many places...great colors
much loved look...really beautiful

Oh this baby came so close to coming home with me.
You have no idea...white opalescent swirl ....a lamp that
shimmers...what could be better?

I was definitely wishing I either lived closer or had a big truck with a nice driver to haul it back for me.  They do offer delivery…wonder if that covers the 10 states and 1375 miles (yes I Mapquested it) to my house.  On second thought, it’s probably best I don’t have either of those or I would have a very empty bank account….but a house full of furniture…and maybe a guest spot on that show Hoarders lol.

And one final beauty...the crewel lampshade
was fabulous!

Tampa Bay Hotel Magnificence - Henry B Plant Museum

A couple of years ago while on a trip to Chicago I was invited to a dinner with a work colleague and having spent more than my fair  share of dinners at the ridiculously expensive steak houses I agreed but only if we skipped the “stuffy dinner” and did something fun.  I didn’t really care what we did for fun and there is so much fun to be had in Chicago.  We ended up in a limo heading to Comiskey Park for a thoroughly enjoying evening of baseball & hot dog eating.    Excellent right?

Comiskey (now US Cellular) Park home of the Chicago White Sox

So last week I was looking forward to another evening with colleagues this time in Tampa Florida and Googling looking for something other than the “stuffy steak house”.  I kind of struck out (most of "fun" alternatives seemed to close at 6 pm) but we did end up at a very very cool steak house that was definitely unique – Bern's Steak House….sooooo yummy!  They had me at “dessert room”.  Trust me I do a lot of these dinner things…Bern’s is in a category of its own.

Bern's Steak House
1208 South Howard Ave. - Tampa, Florida 33606
The lobby still looks like this...way cool
photo credit Bern's

In my search for fun dinner alternatives however I did stumble upon the Henry B Plant Museum and since I had a few hours to toodle around before dinner I thought would be fun to check out.  The Henry B Plant Museum honors the Tampa Bay Hotel built by Henry B Plant (a railroad baron) in 1891 for $2.5M (plus another 500K to furnish).

Henry B. Plant Museum formerly the Tampa Bay Hotel
401 W. Kennedy Blvd - Tampa, FL

The front veranda is the absolute perfect way to spend a lazy day

 Originally Mr. Plant built this hotel to lure people to ride his railway.  It was only open for 9 years but was the height of opulence in those 9 years and so much history happened here.

The Formal Writing Room where men gathered to
socialize and write letters in the evenings

Just one of the many magnificent gilded mirrors on display

It then remained vacant until 1933 when The University of Tampa purchased it for $250K.  Today the University uses much of the original building but they have preserved a wing as museum to honor the the Tampa Bay Hotel, Henry B Plant and the Gilded Age of America.

There were dozens of these garden stools that were all originally
scattered through the extensive luscious gardens on property

I particularly love this guy...he would look so fabulous
in my sad garden

It’s a self-guided tour with photography allowed in most of the rooms and there were few barriers restricting access.  The furnishings featured are all authentically original to the 1890’s hotel as is much of the décor.

Originally custom produced for the King of England who ended up not
wanting to walk on the lions Henry Plant bought all that had been
produced and used it at this hotel.  I kind of love this...a lot!

No question I walked away with a very keen sense of what it must have been like to visit the Tampa Bay Hotel when it was originally open in the 1890's.  If you have a couple of hours to spend meandering definitely swing by – it’s a couple of hours well spent.

Decorative Paper Lanterns from the Gardens