Thursday, April 28, 2011

Hope Chest Update

Ahh my hope chest. I've had it for many years and many fabric upgrades. In my past studio, I went for a neutral sage brocade, which fit well with the shabby chic/beachy cottage look I was going for at the time. With my new brighter pillows, my poor little hope chest was starting to look like the neglected step child of the room.



Sooo, for ten bucks of fabric and a few staples, I'm going to upgrade the hope chest once more with a brightly patterned fabric to fit the current decor of the room better.



I still went with a brocade pattern, but one with much more contrast and depth, and in a color that compliments the other fabrics in the space. So far, the animals approve.




Especially Muffin, who inspects every new change in the room, just to be safe. Here she is testing the new fabric for comfort, a huge factor of course.


Time to grab the staple gun!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

True Life: I'm Obsessed with Milk Glass

It's true. I can't help it. Every piece of milk glass I see I end up buying (unless it's already in my collection, of course). Albeit they are usually only about $2 a piece, it's not the worst obsession. And to make myself feel better, I do love the look of items in large collections, it makes more of a statement than a few sparse pieces here and there.



I'm pretty sure these little shelves in my kitchen will eventually only have milk glass on them, and I've come to accept that. Now we just need to paint the kitchen a brighter color (so tired of this dull sage color), and maybe find a larger buffet thingy to put under these shelves. Baby steps!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Thrill of the Chase

I love thrifting, and if there's one rule you must know it's this: if you pass something up at a thrift store, it will positively not be there when you return if you happen to change your mind. This is the predicament I was in this weekend, after going to my favorite Goodwill. I spotted a pretty cool tripod lamp base, but figured since I was already buying another lamp, I would pass up a second.

Then, on a trip to the motherland (Target) I painfully realized the error in my ways. There it was on the shelf, the same lamp base that I had just seen at Goodwill for $9.99 (with a shade to boot), and they were charging $49.99 for it!

Knowing I couldn't return to Goodwill at that moment, I tried to forget the cuteness of the cheap Goodwill lamp. Couldn't do it. I tried going the next day, but alas, it was Easter Sunday and I was a fool if I thought Goodwill would be open.

So, as Monday came, I began to accept the taste of defeat, but figured what the heck, let's swing by Goodwill on my lunch break and see if someone else has taken home the perfect lamp.

TO MY SURPRISE! The lamp was still there, in the same location I left it in. I yoinked it and ran to the cash register, as no doubt the entire store gazed at my purchase with envy.



And Mr. Lamp lived happily ever after, a bargain among bargains, in the perfect spot in my living room.



So, this whole thing makes me think, how cool would it be to meet the people who get rid of all the things I then buy from my local Goodwill? If I could meet the previous owner of Mr. Lamp, I would most likely ask them this question, "Why on earth did you get rid of this prized possession?" This will continue to baffle me.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Piles o' Pillows

Until we invest in new couches, new pillows do the trick of brightening up our living room. I'm in love with the DwellStudio line at Target, and found the cutest throw pillows for $19.99 a pop.

Plus I found a new lamp for our side table for $6.99 at Goodwill! Score! I topped it with a new lampshade from Target ($12.99). My kitty Muffin especially loves the new pillows, now if only we could change her hair color to white to better suite the slipcovers...tee hee hee.
Next update will be a bright and bold area rug, I'm thinking something like this yellow striped rug by Surya. One step at a time! :)

Updated Fireplace

After staring at this beige monstrosity of a fireplace for over a year, I finally decided to take a paintbrush to it.



After taping it off as best I could (given the texture on our walls, it's nearly impossible to get a clean line from taping alone), I gave it a few good coats of medium gloss white paint.





But, of course, after seeing the results of the fireplace update, I had to update the mirror above the mantle. The fireplace is the strongest focal point in the room now, which means I wanted a mirror that I would love looking at all the time.

I replaced the antique wooden mirror below:


with a more modern and budget friendly wall mirror from Target, which I am kinda bananas for right now...



I love the simple geometric shape and how it updates the whole look of the room. At $24.99 I can't complain. Add some fresh daffodils for about $2 from Trader Joe's, and I find myself staring at this wall more than the TV to the left. Love what a quick coat of paint and trip to Target can do to a room!