Winter

Blue Jay in white..

Driftwood

One of the perks to living near water is driftwood. I absolutely, absolutely love collecting a variety of things that nature provides, but driftwood has to be one of my favorites. Here are a couple of finds that I have incorporated into my home. The first picture is a piece I thought looked like a deer mount, the second are small pieces hung on a string. The third was a find I turned into instant wall art.... and the fourth were found planks probably from a dock that I hung as a headboard.

Wall ReDo

My dining room wall before and after: At first I had the fork, knife spoon art... which was okay, but I needed something with a little more impact.  I had seen a very cool, rusty old tin wall in one of the local wineries here in town and wanted to replicate the look. I didn't have much luck finding a piece of tin that was already rusted, so I bought a galvanized piece at my local hardware store. I had the ol' hubs cut it and install it for me with rivets (I wanted them to show). I then applied a 'rust' treatment using acrylic paint. I had a tealight wall sconce that I then attached to the center (individual tealights would also be fun). At night it illuminates the tin with a beautiful reflective glow. What do you think?

Coffee Table/Chest

With the Holidays around the corner our stress levels rise and we start to run around like deranged chickens with their heads cutoff, or turkeys... to try to make everything 'perfect'. We seem to think our families and friends need to believe that we live in perfect homes with never a thing askew! Ya right!? Not having the right amount of plates, glassware, linens, or a centerpiece are easy fixes.. but when it comes to furniture, that can be a little tricky and at times expensive.  Such a predicament happened to me when I needed a coffee table. I did not want to have to buy a new one and was really wanting a vintage/distressed table anyway. With that I went on a quest searching through many second hand stores.  I did finally find a chest for $25!  I purchased some $5 casters...and voila! instant table with built in storage. So for a total of $30 I had a 'new' coffee table that added instant charm, with all its dents and rust... and if someone spills, scratches or stains the top, it will only add to the patina. This is great for my OCD issues.

Tchotchkes

You know we all have them. Tchotchkes, whether they were given to us or we tend to have serious addiction issues with collecting these lovely items.. they are in our homes.  Some of us do not realize they are small, worthless pieces of crap.  To us they are decorative knick knacks with little or no purpose, but can be sentimental and pretty (sometimes only to ourselves).  If you have a hard time recognizing them or are in denial.... just look around your house and whatever a burgler wouldn't steal..is probably a chotchie.
With that,  I thought I would scour Goodwill to find a couple of bird figurines.  Yes, I like bird chotchies!  I actually had a hard time finding some that weren't too over the top, ones with sayings or cutsie hearts ( I do have some taste..haha).  I managed to find a gold 'leafed' one and another one at the local Dollar Store.  My goal was to spray paint them with white spray paint to make them look modern. Think about using the spray paint in a gloss finish to give them a ceramic look.  I have seen quite a few versions of this in high end catalogs and thought I would try it myself.  Take a look at the results.  You can of course do this in any color, black, red, or even a fun chartreuse! 

Stripes

Decorating with stripes can make a huge impact! The last picture with the fireplace has very subtle stripes. I used the same color just used two different finishes, satin vs. gloss.

Natural Decor

Bring nature into your life. Flowers, driftwood, rocks, etc.

Fall

Wishing everyone has the time to notice the beauty of Fall...