Love Affair With a $5 Shelf

Back in December, during the holiday shopping season, I decided to stop into a local thrift shop to see if there were any hidden treasures there that could make good stocking stuffers for my kids (ornaments, books, handmade pottery, scarves, etc.)

While perusing the vast assortment of less than stellar items that day, my eyes suddenly fixed upon something tucked to the back on the lowest shelf.

It was a small wall shelf, perfect for holding little treasures I already had at home.

Thought it was covered in a layer of dust, I was immediately smitten.

I did not hesitate for a moment before carting it up to the checkout line and handing the woman $4.99 plus tax to take it home.

I wrapped it, added a bow, and proudly told my husband, 

"You bought me a $5 shelf for Christmas!"

To which he replied, 

"Great! Hope you like it!"

I most certainly do.

Yes, there is a throw pillow continuity error in my photos of which I am acutely aware.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

This living room...

makes my eyeballs happy.

source

 And now your eyeballs can be happy, too!

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

 

 

Thrifty Thursday: Wicker Lamps

A quick visit to a local Junior League resale/thrift shop yesterday amidst a week of fun and fabulous chaosity

(I might have made up that word)

 yielded a pair of these lovely wicker lamps for the mere price of one Jackson.

Just in case you also have 3 children who suck money out of you like a Hoover in a dirt factory so that you can never keep it long enough to even remember whose head is on which bill, 

a Jackson is $20.

I looked it up.

In my daughter's wallet.

For quite some time I have been waiting for the right pair of lamps for my living room 

(i.e. attractive, yet affordable.)

Here is what was there previously:

I painted them.

And the shades.

Meh.

But when I saw these wicker gals I was immediately drawn to the warm color and texture.

Once I saw the $10 price tag I  knew they both wanted to come home with me so that we could be best friends forever!

The most bestest part, though, is that I can use them in several other rooms or at one of the lake houses if I decide to change things up.

Which is likely.

Because I never keep any decor in my house the same for too long.

 

But here's where they are for the time being.

And, yes, Buster is still alive and doing what he loves best which amounts to sleeping in his dog bed and growling at anyone who doesn't approach bearing treats.

He also smells like Fritos.

Gross.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

 

 

 

House Tour: Living Room Progress & Gallery Wall

If you recall from this post, my living room was experiencing a case of the browns.

And I have been going on and on about wanting to paint my entire house gray which I did finally get around to starting over Presidents Day weekend.

It took me a while to grow accustomed to the very cool shade of gray after having spent the past 15 years with a warm shade of yellow covering the majority of the walls in both our current and previous homes.

Here are some before and after photos:

I spent some time trying to figure out what I wanted to so in that center molding panel space where the large gold framed mirror was prior to painting.

If you'll notice from the 'BEFORE' photos, it wasn't reflecting anything very lovely.

In fact,  the only good part about it reflecting the electronics directly across from it was that I could watch TV from the adjoining rooms by looking into the mirror reflection.

Convenient, yes.

Attractive, no.

So, I decided on a gallery wall.

I started by gathering up all the frames in the entire house since you know I'm a use-what-you-have kind of gal.

My initial idea was to have a really eclectic, almost bohemian, gallery wall with non-matching frames and maybe do some cool black and white photos and sketches as the artwork for each of them.

I started laying things out.

First on my dining room table,

and then on a rug that is, conveniently, almost the exact size of that center wall space. 

I was just so not feeling the whole mismatched frame thing.

I wasn't liking the disproportions in size and didn't want to part with some of the art I already had framed and that whole mismatched thing wasn't happening.

So I tried just the simple white Ikea Ribba frames in various sizes that I had on hand.

Once I laid it out I liked this simpler, modern look and felt like it wouldn't look as cluttered in my room that is already a bit of a hodge-podge of furniture and items I have amassed over the years.

Instead of going out and buying a bunch of art to fill the frames I just used the internet and my printer for some temporary 'fillers' until I find real artwork that I like better (and can afford, of course.)

Since I didn't want the frames to be lined up, they were very easy to hang.

I did have several large spaces in between the frames so I used a few of the H's I had from my entryway monogram wall and either hung them or just leaned them in the spaces.

(That entryway is getting a facelift soon, anyway!)

Here's my finished gallery wall and my living room progress! 

Since I had so many framed prints that were in non-white frames I decided to group them in a couple of other areas in the living room.

Those 2 black frames above contain pieces done by my kids and they are, of course, some of my favorites.

For this corner of the living room I did go with a mismatched grouping and I think it works because it's a smaller space.

And I really love this new chair which is not actually new but vintage.

I thought about painting it and recovering it but the whole vintage beige fabric and warm wood is really starting to grow on me and I' m liking the contrast with all of my newer furniture.

One last look at the BEFORE... 

(remember these lamps that I painted???)

 and AFTER.

As with all of my rooms, I tend to decorate in stages so this is not the finished room.

But I am certainly happy with the progress!

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney