Living Room Vignettes

These are the vignettes in my living room

in the middle of the summer months.

Brass birds and oil paintings collected from thrift stores.

That's a real, live orchid that I've managed to keep living

and blooming for several months now.

I just purchased this orchid hoping to be able to keep it blooming too.

I love that it has twice the blooms.

The ceramic shell came from a Goodwill in Virginia,

the lotus flower from a thrift store in my hometown.

I love the reflective and airy look of the silver and glass

on the glass end table I found on clearance last summer.

I don't love having to clean kitty prints and dust off every week.

A little summer scene using a vintage lithograph of birds

and faux dollar store ferns.

The Girl Has Taste

Last week I took my three-and-a-half year old granddaughter to the thrift store to shop for a gift for her momma. Why the thrift store? Well, the thrift store and the dollar store are two of the smallest stores around which makes it much easier to keep track of a very active three year old. And out of the two choices the thrift store definitely has a wider variety of pretty junk. First we visited the toy aisle to get that distraction out of the way so we could better focus on our gift finding mission. Taking a child to the toy aisle of the thrift store can keep them entertained for quite a while. Three year olds don't seem to be bothered with the fact that most of the toys are broken or have dead or missing batteries. Once she had experienced broken toy overload we went on our journey to find the perfect gift. After searching high and low (me-high shelves, her-low) we were both ready to throw in the towel and resort to the traditional gift of a handmade card. It was then that she picked up this vintage darling off of the bottom shelf. I'm sure she didn't base her choice on the age of the item, it's color, or classic style. Her choice was likely based on how fun and easy it was the flip the lid up and down. Nonetheless she made a great choice. All that was needed to make it a perfect gift was the addition of some fresh color coordinating tulips, a tag and bow. . . along with a wish for a Happy Mother's Day and a hug and kiss. Her momma was very happy. And I, her nonnie, was pretty proud of her great taste and superb thrifting skills!

Serveware

I succumbed.

I did.
I saw this little beauty on the very bottom shelf at the thrift store.My first response was to gasp.
A little.
Then reason took over as I reminded myself that I am trying very hard to
buy only things that I know I will use.
But the hypnosis of ironstone had me under it's spell
and I picked up this pretty little piece of serving ware and placed it in my basket.
I told myself that it was possible to enjoy it's beauty while shopping.
And then leave it.
But the more I stared at it in my cart the more it had my heart.
I knew it would never be used.
I reasoned that it could always be just a gorgeous display piece.
After all it certainly appears to be vintage.Who uses these things anyway?
Although . . . . .
with Mother's day just a few days away,
my family could lovingly bring me breakfast in bed using this on a tray.
Along with a vase of beautiful flowers.
But that's not going to happen.
Ever.
My family knows that the only breakfast I enjoy is cereal.
With a little orange juice on the side.
Not exactly a breakfast in bed menu.
Nope.
This won't be used on Mother's day.
Or any of the other three-hundred-and-sixty-four days of the year.
But who made the rule that you could only enjoy things if they serve a purpose?
Not me.
My rule would be:
If it brings a smile to your face, and a dream to your heart,
and it won't break the budget,
it's okay to buy that budget smiley-face-dream-maker.
Just as long as you don't buy so many
that you end up on some TV show for hoarder's.
Or have to join Smiley-Face-Dream-Maker Anonymous.
My other rule is that a woman should always by herself
a little something for Mother's day.
So this is my gift to me.Here's where you envision me with a smile on my face
and a dream cloud floating over my head,
wishing myself a Happy Mother's Day.
And wishing you a Happy Mother's Day too!

Bigger is Better

This was the light over our kitchen sink.But when you have a light like this over the table,
you really do need a bigger fixture over the sink.It's a good thing that someone donated the light I needed.And it's a good thing that a can of spray paint was all it took tounite the lights.

A Welcoming Arrangment

This vignette is currently on the table in our entry
to welcome family and friends.
The arrangement is simply a grocery store bouquet
with a few flowering tree branches from our yard tucked in.Everything else {silver, faux plant, leaf ball, books}
is thrifted items.I adore how simple, thrifty items placed on a tray
can look so formal and beautiful!

A Burst of Sun

It seems that sunburst mirrors
are all the rage now in interior design. You can imagine my delight
when I happened upon this little beauty in the thrift store. It looks like it may have been a school shop project. With a fresh coat of paint it is the perfect addition
to the bare wall in our guest room.

Desperate Blogger

What is a blogger, who has a list of things she wants to create but no time for creating and is desperate for a new post, to do? Well that's easy! Grab the latest thrift find, in this case a garden armillary,
and give it a fresh coat of paint. Then to complete the gratuitous post she can add it to previously shown vignette.

Spray Paint Thaw

Hooray! The temperatures here have finally reached near the 40's! And even though the spray paint can directions say ideal painting temps are 50-70 degrees, I ran outside with a thrift project in one hand and shaking a paint can in the other.The project I chose was a large metal tray that had an original finish of a mix of greens, browns, and rust.It's a subtle change but I think it looks much nicer painted metallic charcoal with the details highlighted using silver Rub n' Buff.It looks great sitting on my kitchen table corralling all of the pretties I like to keep there. I try to have a candlelight dinner whenever we eat at the table---even though my boys question why. Isn't it a momma's job to insert a few feminine details into the lives of her men? Besides, it makes me happy to be surrounded by beautiful things and if momma's happy then everybody's happy, right?And another thing that makes me happy is to be able to use my favorite makeover tool again!

Granny Or Great

There she sat at the thrift store lonely and rejected. I watched her as another customer picked her up, examined her, then put her back after deciding that she was made by and belonged in a little granny's home.
I too picked her up to admire her handmade qualities; a floral pattern surrounded by diamonds on one side, and a geometric pattern on the other. I wondered how her maker had so seamlessly tucked a pillow form inside. Her one dollar price tag did not reflect the effort and love that had gone into her creation. It was then that I determined to adopt this little orphan and bring her into my home.
She now resides happily in my living room with my other thrifted orphans, each adding to the beauty and greatness that is my winter couch.

Magic Before and After

A few months ago I purchased a couple of candlesticks at the thrift store. They were a beautiful shape and size but the finish was a bit confusing. Were they tarnished brass that resembled silver or were they silver plate rubbed down to the brass. Either way I liked them so they came home with me.
Then I stumbled upon an article proclaiming the wonders of an inexpensive product that could easily be found in the automotive aisle. This stuff really is magic-----that is if you can get beyond the horrendous odor of ammonia. I wore my paint mask while scrubbing away with an old towel that quickly turned black as I rubbed and rubbed.But all of the odor and rubbing and elbow grease was worth it when the results are as dramatic as this little before and after. The new finish is a silver-ish with a gold undertone---a really beautiful combination.Now my thrifted treasures are a real treasure find!

My Italian Reward

Meet my little Italian reward.

The other day my husband needed me to rescue him from locking his keys in his car. Afterward I found myself with a little time, a little money, and in close proximity to a thrift store I rarely visit. When I walked in the door this Italian gem was there calling to me as if to say, "Hello, I am your reward for doing a good deed today"----and he said it with a beautiful Italian accent.

(translation: for family use)

How could I resist!

Never Say Never

Lately I find myself drawn to the warm tones of aged brass and antique gold. Funny thing, I distinctly remember writing the words "I'm not a gold kinda gal" in a makeover post about two years ago after I gave a gold item a fresh coat of black paint.Now, while others are relieved to send their "outdated" brass to the thrift store, I'm giddy with glee when I pick up a beautiful piece like this owl bank.Isn't it wonderful that, just like design, we can evolve, change, and reinvent ourselves! And even more wonderful, we can do it despite the choices of others.

Proceed With Caution

My husband loves his nightstand but it has only
a teeny tiny drawer for storage. I tried to solve the storage problem with a collection of boxes
that I painted and numbered. But they ended up looking too big and clunky for the space.
So I went to Plan B.

I had this great, vintage basket that was a thrift store find.
It was nice, but not all that masculine. A nice coat of gray spray paint helped, but it still needed a little more.
Since my husband did service in Germany in his youth I asked him to pick a German word that he thought would be appropriate for the basket. I printed off the word in a font that resembled one found on old shipping crates.
Then I cut out the letters to make a stencil. Next I sprayed the paper with adhesive and placed it on top of a piece of scrap wood that I had already painted the same gray as the basket.I spray painted the stencil and when the paint was dry I aged the sign with a little sanding and a light top coat of stain. Then I attached it to the basket with wire.I love that the basket now looks like it came from an old ship, complete with the German word for CAUTION. It fits perfectly under the nightstand and is a great storage solution for hubby's odds and ends.