Styling Tips for a Dark Wood Shelf

I love this recently sourced bookshelf handmade from old, reclaimed wood and put together with nails (indicating it is old). Whoever previously owned it did drill a few cord holes in the back, but those are easy to cover.

Dark wood shelves can be a challenging to style, so here are a few tips.

Prop a mirror in the back to reflect light. Here, I used a large, antique, gold framed, oval mirror. These shelves are fixed so I just used one mirror in this vignette. but a smaller mirror on the bottom shelves would look great too. I used a mirrored tray on the third shelf down.

Display light colored objects--light wood, rattan, books, etc. If you have something darker you want to display, place it on a light colored cloth napkin or doily. Remember to prop art along the back of the shelves.

Repeat colors and textures and layer objects. Be sure to include interesting, unique, weird pieces. The funky art on top the shelf is fun and shows personality. 

Use some plant life, even if it is faux (Good fakes only!! Fake ivy is never good.) Display some books, after all it is a BOOKshelf.

Do not center decor items in the middle and remember odd numbers, create visual triangles, vary heights, have fun, and take pictures to examine to determine what works and what doesn't. 

Organic and Wild Wall Display

A few simple thrift store finds and some curly willow branch clippings from my yard,

came together to create a wild, organic wall display perfect for spring and summer.

I love the texture on this sectioned, seagrass basket. I added faux Forsythia stems and curly willow branches to the back section.

A couple vintage doilies and an old children's book (lifted up a bit with brown paper in the basket bottom), and a velvet ribbon tied on the front add more texture and color.

There is a rattan loop like the one on divider on the back of the basket that makes it easy to hang.

I love the wild, curly branches and the simplicity of this organic wall display. I love that everything except the branches came from a thrift store.

Farmhouse Table Set for Spring Pop-Up Shop

I was thrilled to source a great, smaller sized, white farmhouse table for mu upcoming pop-up shop. It needed some tightening and a quick sanding and a fresh clear finish before I put it in the shop and styled it for this weekend's event.

This table is the perfect size for four and for smaller dining spaces. It also will make a wonderful work table. I styled it with freshly curated, vintage finds mostly in greens and yellows.

A sweet, lemon apron, a green checked tablecloth, yellow checked napkins, art, linens, dishes, old books---all ready for the pop-up shop.

I love the sweet green and white garden coffee set sitting in the basket tray, the chick and bunny glassware, and the yellow basket hanging on the branch.

How about this cute bunny dish, the yellow "Reading is Sexy" mug made from corn that is sitting on the green scale, or the new to the shop green and yellow paint by number? 

How sweet is the dapper bunny pillow sitting on the bench?

Give Me a Hand Bookends

Two aspects I enjoy about home decor are upcycling or changing up finds and mix and matching different styles to create fresh looks. I did both with this easy thrift store makeover that started with a pair of hand bookends.

I loved the details on the hands and that they were funky, but I didn't like the pale pink flesh color so I changed that!

I spray painted the hands a flat black first.

I then brushed on Antique Gold Rub-n-Buff.

The black underneath helps the details to better stand out. 

I love the juxtaposition of modern decor with antiques. It creates something unexpected and exciting to look at. The modern bookends with antique, leatherbound books is a fresh take on style.

These bookends are great for creating a tabletop book display.  Remember to look at what things CAN BE rather than what they are while thrifting. The hands will be for sale at my upcoming POP-UP SHOP, April 18th and 19th.

Global Home Earth Day Pop Up Shop

My next POP-UP SHOP is in a couple weeks (April 18th and 19th) and the theme is "Global Home" for Earth Day. Did you know that more than 12 million tons of furniture get thrown out in the U.S. every year? Supporting small businesses that sell second hand sourced goods helps alleviate this problem. So, global home is not only about decor that has a more global feel, but also about helping out this big blue marble that we all call home. 

Here are some recently sourced and curated objects that will be available. Keep reading for details and for a "surprise" in this vignette!

I've always loved red and aqua together and these lovely, vintage, aqua dishes, vases, and trinkets are perfect in this vignette.

So here's one fun fact--the sweet pea picture/ coat hanger that I bought at a garage sale was made and sold by me about 15 years ago. I was happy to buy it back to resell. I love this lion!

Tis vintage Asian print entitled "Whispering" was in a cheap wood frame and matted so that you couldn't see all of it when I found it. I painted a mat and framed it in a square frame to show the whole print. These brass candlesticks are extremely heavy. 

I love this hand-stitched tapestry--so much work and time must have gone into it. The colorful art piece above the sweet peas is from a French artist.

And now for the secret--this table is really a hidden seat and desk. It has a drawer in it and the front pulls out to reveal a seat. Isn't that fun?

I am loving sourcing eclectic items for my upcoming "global home" pop-up shop. What do yo see that you love?

Granny Chic Project

Sometimes I have an aha moment with random items that I have had for awhile. Such was the case with 4 vintage, feedsack, quilt squares that came in something else that I ought at a garage sale (suitcase??) and a window frame, also from a garage sale.

I decided to make a cute, sweet, granny chic "art" piece.

I put the word "art" in quotes above because some people wouldn't consider this art. But, look at the beauty in these fabrics and the hand stitching in each of these four pieces.

Aren't the colors and prints perfect for spring? I had only four squares. They needed a little trimming on the sides, but the delicate, fragile fabric and work is saved behind glass for future generations to enjoy. 

This piece will be for sale at my upcoming pop-up shop. Isn't it sweet?


 

Fruity Finds For Flat Lay Friday

Many of my recently sourced finds have been fruity. Here are a few of these curated goods.

The two exquisite crewel stitcheries are an amazing find. They were created in 1965 and the stitcher's name is included with the date on the back.

They are beautifully framed and I love the colors and the fruit, birds, and bugs.

Strawberries are having a moment and here are just a few berry finds--vintage strawberry glasses, a small pitcher with strawberries, and sweet strawberry mugs. 

The vintage, hand-carved wood fruit came in the wood pedestal bowl. It was made in Gatlinburg, TN. The vintage Avon mug is perfect for tea.

A few fruity serving bowls and a cake tin (that doesn't have any fruit on it, but I liked it with this flat lay) are perfect for spring and summer. I love finding vintage goods that have a connected theme. These items will be for sale at my upcoming pop-up shop, March 28 & 29.

Thrift Store Chair Makeover Three Years Later

Some makeovers take longer than others--this particular one was three+ years in the making.

I probably bought this chair five or six years ago. I started working on it three+ years ago. I took the upholstered back off, which was quite the chore. The back was a frame with webbing in it and lots of staples to hold the piping around it. I knew I wasn't going to try and reupholster that, but wasn't sure what I would do. This week I have been on a "use what you have" kick so I decided to tackle the chair, and I love the results!

I had no plan and no idea what fabric I was going to use on the seat, but I started by painting the frame black. I then added reclaimed wood to the seat back, using a nail or brad gun to attach it.

Here is what the back of the chair looks like with the wood.

I looked at thrift stores for something that I loved to recover the seat in, but nothing spoke to me. I decided to go through my stash and found this piece of black and green plaid wool that I got at a thrit store a couple years ago.

I also recently thrifted this wood table. It had some deep water rings that took a lot of sanding. After sanding it and wiping it down with water, I could still see rings so I sanded more. Here's the before.

I left it natural and used a clear poly on it to protect it. 

Here are a few more recent finds--vintage art, a coffee grinder, a wood cheese box, a pottery vase, and a vintage, duck, Avon tray.

Most of these items including the chair and the table will be available at my next pop-up shop March 28-29. 

Mix and Match Curated Finds

“The shock of the way I mix patterns and fabrics can be disconcerting, but what I am trying to do is provoke new ideas about how pieces can be put together in different ways. ”--Jean Paul Gaultier

I love mixing patterns and trying different color combinations. It is a perfect way to add interest and color to a neutral background and it shows that a person really understands design and style. So when I spied this pillow and this plaid, wool scarf at the thrift store I thought they would be perfect together.

A few other recent finds include a vintage, Wedgewood, enamel tray 

and a sweet, small picnic basket painted green, holding realistic faux flowers. A vintage bird print in an antique leather frame that has a pinkish tinge sits on an old accordion case, which makes a fantastic side table.

Remember to check out scarves at the thrift store. The blanket style scarves like this wool J. Crew one make nice throws for a chair or bench, work as table runners or dresser scarves, or can be tied around a throw pillow.

I love the mix of patterns in the pillow and how the blues and pinks repeated in the scarf. Play with patterns, colors and decor. Take pictures and sit with styled spaces for a time before deciding if it works or not. Elevate your design with the unexpected.