My
handyman hubby Steve was a real prince here when he hung this piece of
Old World iron I found at
Etceteras in La Jolla. (He doesn't love the piece
quite as much as me but he humored me!) I've had my eye on it for a very long time and finally I caved! Using my designer discount, it was
only $85 and I just LOVE it as it fit the bill for more
portable architectural elements at a low cost. (Okay, so I realize some people might describe it as a hunk of old junk but to me, it's a thing of Old World beauty!) I cleaned it up a bit by holding it under the shower and
wah lah!
Isn't it cool?! And it went with my
new "Old World" chair that we found last year at
Armstrong Garden Centers. The owner was thrilled when we took the piece off his hands for a few bucks as it was a stray.
I thought it made a nice little
"vignette corner" along with the table from
Ross.
Next up is
my living room where we did quite a few inexpensive spruce-ups...
I'll tell you about the
wreath on the screen in a minute...
I put a new
colorful throw on the sofa (Marshall's for $19.99) and added some
new pillows that look very expensive but weren't. The
florals are silk embroidered and are super nice from
Marshall's--two for $24.99. And the solids are the same silk fabric in a more geometric design and were only
two for $14.99, also from Marshall's.
I added a nosegay of bright flowers to two
second hand urns I found for
$12 each.
And two boxes from
Marshall's now hide the remote controls and my hubby's TV headset from view when not in use. They were
only $14.99 and $19.99 and are two different sizes.
Two new
silk embroidered pillows from Ross were
added to my antique settee for
$5.99 each. No
kidding! They look awesome in person!
Hubby Steve and I also made a
Wal-Mart run and I found this
(faux silk) pillow. (In layman's terms, "
faux silk" is also known as good
ol' polyester!) The pattern reminded me of
lattice and since I'm into the garden motif in my home, I thought it was perfect. It's not as great as the silk ones, but it's still pretty nice.
This was a bit of a spring splurge for me but I was so enamored by these little white
twig "lit flowers" that I went ahead as I thought they were unique and would be a company conversation piece. I bought them on a rainy day from
Gaia Day Spa in La
Jolla and they made me happy! They have many shapes and sizes. Hubby Steve liked the
"faux leopard" vase from Marshall's over another I found so we went with his choice. I think it adds a little "sass" to my more "foo foo floral" taste. I'll admit
the flowers were $65 which is a bit over my price range for something like this but you know how it sometimes goes when you have a weak moment!
I like the flowers even when they aren't lit up too because they are just very unique.
A
wreath always says
welcome and this one from
Wal-Mart for
$19.99 looks great in person--as good as the $85 ones I've seen and it has very earthy looking nicely textured real twigs in it. I like mixing textures.
I hung
a string of little white lights from Christmas behind the screen on some nails (Well okay, hubby did it!) for some nighttime "mood lighting." I love white twinkle lights and candles when I have friends for dinner as they add a touch of romantic "fancy restaurant" ambiance.
Okay, moving on to our master bathroom. Hubby Steve rehung some of my favorite artwork.
Manfred Kuhnert's paintings of seaside CA beach scenes are just yummy and he's one of my favorite artists because I love his style and use of color. I was fortunate to stop by his studio one day years ago when he was there and he talked my ear off; he's a national treasure.
http://www.manfredkuhnert.com/.
The
antique rose ceiling tin is painted by my sweet client and artist friend,
Ruth Welter of
http://www.artfulcreations.biz/. The
shower curtain is a king-sized sheet because it fits perfectly floor to ceiling. From
Home Goods or
TJ Maxx as I recall since I've had it a long time.
I made a little
corner vignette when I found this
old crock with antique looking roses on it for
$3.99 at
Marshall's. It hides my cell phone and cord (I hate cords and yes, I admit that's a little persnickety!), yet I can still hear my cell phone ring when I'm writing from my bed. Next to it, which you can't see very well, are three very gorgeous
gold leafed candle holders I got for 50 percent off after Christmas at Von's. And last but not least is a new
silver mercury glass goblet from
Marshall's for $19.99 to lend a little "glamour look." I pulled a string of pearls from my jewelry box to add an elegant touch. I love the
"yin and yang" contrast of the old heavy crock and the more delicate mercury glass and gold leaf candle holders.
I found the
"Spa at Home" book at
Tuesday Morning, which is one of my favorite discount diva decorating stores and I love "rooting around" in there on a rainy day. (Good thing it doesn't rain much in San Diego!) And the
"Spa Living" book is used from Amazon, another good way to buy discounted books to add a "library" feeling to your home. (There's an awesome book called
Decorating With Books that I love!)
I'm a gal who thinks bubble baths cure 99 percent of the world's ills, (or as my friend Mary would say, CALGON!!), so I LOVE my garden soaking tub. I purchased three new pump dispensers
from Marshall's for $9.99 each and put my shampoo, conditioner, and bath oil in them for a little pretty ambiance when I soak...and lean up against my raspberry colored bath pillow. That's how I wash the stressful cares of super tight writing deadlines away! I love my writing work, but it can get intense at times.
An
antique silver food tray works great in the bathroom. I use mine for corraling my "get ready in the morning" essentials. I rearranged things on it as part of my spring home spruce-up campaign.
Beauty at home is in the details, so when hubby Steve and I recently toured Roger's Gardens, I bought this
little glass tray as it had a travel motif on it that I liked and I found it very romantic looking. I place my day's jewelry on it when I go to bed at night.
My clock in my bedroom quit so this was a very fun find for
only $12.99 at Ross! It looks very Old World and I love it as it goes with my cottage/antique theme.
I bought a
mercury glass vase at
Marshall's for $19.99. (Can you tell I like Marshalls??!!) and added some colorful
springtime hydrangeas that were
50 percent off at Michael's to it and then I added a bright pink striped bow to the foot of the vase. Lovely for color, don't you think?
A
picnic basket hides my computer cords when I'm not using my computer and is in keeping with my cottagey-garden style. The "old" table in the corner hubby Steve bought me for Christmas and I love it as it's new but is scratched up to look Old World. Go figure, right?!
These
rush twig baskets are from
Marshall's. (There's that word again!) This one holds my scrapbooking folders.
And this one holds small books. These were
$19.99 each from, where else?
Marshall's! (Obviously I'm one of their goodwill ambassadors!)
When I move things around I like to create little vignettes. I put my
slipper shoes in this basket of books for a pop of color. Baskets are one of the best organizing and decorating tools around! This one is trimmed with a nice metal ivy motif.
We needed new lamps for beside our bed as the shades were torn inside during our last move. Hubby Steve and I found these lamps at
Wal-Mart and they not only look Old World/antique to me, but they are actually a very nice quality and were only
$19.99 each. Yay!
Decorating is in the details, as I mentioned earlier, so when I found these sweet (and very heavy) metal
embellished initial paperweights at
Marshall's for only
$5.99 each I nabbed them. One for my side of the bed and one for hubby Steve's...
...so we don't have to worry about getting up on the wrong side of the bed! :)
And last but not least,
some new pillows for our "Bed & Breakfast Inn" look for our bed. They were all
50 percent off on clearance at...where else?
Marshalls! And with that...I'm off to take a nap!
Hope you enjoyed my Spring Home Spruce-Up Tour of my own home! Using my dollarwise decorating tips, you can get started on your own home today!
Kathryn
My cottage-style hubby on his 50th birthday
