The Country Living Fair is a huge flea market filled with unique vintage and handmade treasures! Don’t be fooled by its name though, because you can find pieces for all different home decor styles there!
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My Country Living Fair Experience
A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to travel to the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY with my dear friend Michele, from Sweet Threads Co! She is a fellow home decor and DIY blogger near me, so we totally get each other! I don’t have to be embarrassed to ask for a “boomerang” on Instagram when I’m with her! If you aren’t sure what the Country Living Fair is, you can picture it as an enormous flea market filled with unique handmade and vintage items. What a fun day it was! I had never been to the fair before and was super excited to go! Michele had been a few times before, and I’m so glad that I got to travel with her!
We decided to make the trek up to Rhinebeck, NY in one day rather than having to spend the night. It was a three hour trip, and we had to get up at the crack of dawn, but it was totally worth it! The Country Living Fair was everything you’d expect it to be and so much more! Now matter what your style, you can appreciate all that goes into creating the adorable atmosphere at the fair. There was a quaint and inviting vibe throughout the fair, starting with the old green pickup truck and oversized colorful Country Living magazine covers hung on the walls of the barn entrance. As you continued into the fair grounds, bunting flags were strung above from the trees and live bluegrass music was playing.
5 Tips to Remember when heading to the Country Living Fair:
- Wear comfortable shoes. The fair ground is huge and the amount of vendors is large, so you will want to wear your walking shoes! Also, the booth floors are lined with sawdust chips.
- Make one big loop before you buy. There could be a similar piece at a better price across the fair ground!
- If there’s only one left, BUY it! I know I just said to walk around before you buy anything, but the fair is full of one of a kind pieces, and if it looks like something will sell, it probably will! We missed out on a couple of things because we waited.
- Don’t judge a fair by it’s name. Although there are tons of country farmhouse pieces, you can also find traditional, coastal, modern, boho and more styles there!
- Don’t be afraid to haggle with the price! The worst they can say is no! I was able to buy the cane chair at a lower price, but not my wooden vase. You win some and lose some!
It was an amazing opportunity to meet up with other blogger friends and connect with people in the industry! We got to meet Kim Leggit from City Farmhouse, Annie Sloan, the inventor of chalk paint, and Laura Kostelny, the executive editor of Country Living magazine! I was super excited to walk away with my wheels spinning for DIY projects and a collaboration with Annie Sloan chalk paint!
I love that they make the fair interactive by hosting live cooking and DIY demonstrations for people to attend, as well as, different vendors and booths who provided valuable on trend skills. You would be surprised at the different style of vendors that you find there! Michele and I talked all day about how many pieces looked like they were from Serena & Lily or McGee & Co.! They had a variety of pieces that were coastal, traditional, bohemian, and beyond! I was really drawn to the natural wood toned home decor, along with the home decor pieces that had a coastal vibe. Although I tend to like neutral decor, I absolutely loved a booth with pillows, rugs, and throw blankets that reminded me of Anthropologie! (See below)
It was a long day of shopping and getting inspired! We ended up looping through the fair a couple of times before making the majority of our purchases! There were a few things that we were pretty sure would disappear if they weren’t bought right away, so we snagged those at the beginning. They have two bag checks at the fair, so you don’t have to carry your purchases around with you! I ended up purchasing a white washed wooden vase, a ceramic belly basket that was perfect for a plant, a set of burlap cutlery holders, a small metal horseshoe, and a vintage chair with a cane seat. I’m planning to paint the chair for my Annie Sloan collaboration!
After closing down the fair and picking up our checked purchases, we drove into town to have dinner at a restaurant called Terrapin. Tapas and drinks were the perfect way to end the fun day! We closed down the fair and picked up our pieces from the bag checks. We had such a great time and are so grateful for the connections we made! Maybe next year, you will have to come along with us to the Country Living Fair!
There are two more Country Living Fairs this year in the US this year. The next one is held in Columbus, OH from September 13-15, and the last one is held in Stone Mountain, GA from October 25-27.
Check out my projects on CountryLiving.com!
Be sure to take a look at two of my DIY projects found on CountryLiving.com! You can check out the two projects below on my site. My spring hoop wreath was in a round-up of DIY spring wreaths, and my linen closet organization was in a round-up of ways to organize a small linen closet!
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