Curating a Home

Curating a home, collecting rather than decorating, takes patience and time. But, creating a space that is unique and personal is so worth it. 

What's the difference between curating and decorating? To curate and collect we have to live with unfinished, ever-transitioning spaces. It means using pieces that aren't quite right until the perfect piece is found. We hunt and collect and create items for our homes rather than going to a store and buying a completed, matchy-matchy look that is most likely made in China. Decorated homes tend to be have a theme, whereas curated homes are quirky, unique, personal and ever-changing. A collected home is styled with antiques and vintage pieces that were previously loved by others. Decorted homes are neat and often look like you stepped into a merchandise catalog or furniture store. Collected homes are cozy and feel like visiting a favorite coffee shop or older European home, shop or museum. For me, I feel more at home in a collected space rather than a decorated one. 

With that being said, after painting a redoing my bedroom last fall, I have been looking for just the right nightstand for my husband's side of the bed. I found an antique commode to use for my nightstand last winter (SEE it and more of our primary bedroom HERE). Hubby does not have as much space so I looked for something not too short, with a drawer, and fairly small. I found this vintage (antique) stand at the thrift store this week.

It is sturdy and in very good shape and came with a glass top. The top was a little scratched and the edge on the top is broken off on the corners. I also had to glue the front edge down.

This is the top before--not too bad. I didn't want to sand it so instead I cleaned the whole nightstand with TSP and then Dawn dish soap. I then used Wise Owl Furniture Salve on the entire piece. You can buy it from my friend TINA HERE.

Here is the top afterward--not perfect, but much better. With the NOW clean glass on top it looks much better.

  I like how the top and the drawer are lighter in color.

It fits perfectly and the wood colors match well with my nightstand and our headboard.

The accordion doors slide well and this spot is a great storage area. 

I am so happy with this find and for $7 it was definitely worth waiting for. (Speaking of waiting, still no new baseboard trim as you can see.) There are so many wonderful finds at your local thrift stores. Take the time to find items that work for your unique home.