Decorating with Ikea artificial plants
I know that artificial plants are not perceived as a classy staple for decorating, but I am here to tell you different. The problem is, I can’t seem to keep a plant alive. They always look good the first couple of weeks and then they start to turn on you. They wilt, turn brown or grow in weird directions, or just plain die. Unless you have a green thumb, which I don’t, putting live plants in bookcases or tablescapes can be defeating. Until I discovered these artificial plants at Ikea for $5.99 each and my decorating world changed
They are the bomb for fillers in decorating and for people like me who can’t keep plants alive. They look real, have great texture and are the perfect size as stand alone or in clusters.
My favorite use so far has been using them outside. Yep, fake plants outside, and they totally fake people out when I tell them they are not real. I have had these Ikea plants outside for over a year and they are hardly fading. Here I used two different varieties in one buket
Even close up they look pretty realistic don’t ya think? You might remember when I “potted” some in my Radio Flyer Wagon last year {and they are still looking fresh a year later}
But I mainly use them inside the house for fillers in my tablescapes and bookshelves. I used them in this fall trayscape mixed with dried hydrangeas
Sprucing up some HomeGoods mirrors
I bought two mirrors at HomeGoods for our river house, for $39 each. I loved the shape of them and I knew the blue would be a perfect match to the room. Well, actually when I got them out there, I realized that they were too perfect of a match {I forgot to bring my camera charger so I had to resort to using my iPhone camera}
See how they just blend into the wall? I decided they needed a pop of color on the frame to really stand out. Since I don’t have a lot of options when I am out at our river house, no craft room or Michaels close by, I have to hunt around to see what I can use. All I could find in my limited stash was some old liquid gold leaf paint that was almost the consistency of syrup. It wasn’t the best medium to paint with, but it did the job
I used tape to mask off the blue area I wanted to keep. Much better right?
Here are both of the mirrors in the room
Look at how much the mirrors stand out now
Even though the paint was hard to work with, I am glad I got it done. Adding the gold made such a difference, and it didn’t cost me anything. Gotta love those kind of projects!
The most beautiful lacquered credenza
I had been on a hunt for a lacquered credenza for our river house family room. It all started when I saw this beautiful room on Sadie + Stella’s blog designed by Moth Design {I am in love the whole room actually}
It was the white credenza that caught my eye. I loved how it could hold it’s own in a room filled with modern and rustic pieces
Then I saw this one from Palmer Weiss
But I also liked the look of a bold color of this one
But first I needed to find the right credenza. I searched high and low on San Diego’s Craig’s list with no luck. Then I found this one on ebay for $6,895 and fell in love. Not the price but the look
So I started to broaden my search on Craig’s List and searched within 100 miles. And there she was, the perfect credenza for $300.
I drove the 85 miles one way to pick it up, and happen to mention to the person selling the piece if he knew of anyone who did lacquer finishes. And sure enough there was a guy right around the block. AND! He is the same guy who actually did the lacquer on the expensive red one. What are the chances of that?
Not so great bench makeover
I thought when I bought this bench at an estate sale for $30 it would be an easy makeover.
Wrong. It turned out to be a nightmare which made me want to throw it down a cliff.
My first mistake was to spray it with an enamel paint using my new paint sprayer on a really hot day. That decision turned into a hot drip mess. But I wasn’t going to give up. I decided to start over, and sanded off all the enamel paint, getting into those recessed sides and fronts was a MAJOR pain. The wood is some weird red soft wood, and because of this I ended up sanding off some of the decorative detail, oops. I was so set on using this bench, it was the perfect size and style I was looking for, and I was on a mission to finished it.
If you get close up you can see the imperfections, {but we won’t get that close I have too much pride lol}
Once I put it in the room, it wasn’t looking so bad {except for the right cabinet door won’t line up}
I wanted a bench that had storage that I could put beach towels inside. A one stop area where you could grab your towel for going out to the river, and then hang it on the oars to dry when you are done
World Market dining chairs
I have been looking for two parson chairs for the dining room table at the river house. I couldn’t decide if I wanted a slip covered or upholstered chair, but I knew I wanted a solid color. I wasn’t having much luck, and wouldn’t you know it, when you aren’t looking for something you find it. It happened last week when I was shopping with my friend for her granddaughter’s birthday party at World Market. I spotted the perfect chair for the perfect price, $97 each.
This is the color they sell on their web site
But I got my chairs on clearance because they were discontinuing the red color. I snapped a picture of them sitting in my garage
The combination of the red upholstered chairs, blue cushions and gold valance will compliment the Wonderland drapery fabric on the other side of the room
Even though the dining room table has a “country” feel to it, I think by adding the more stream lined upholstered chair and the blue geometric cushion fabric will make it less country looking. I am trying to avoid replacing the table, so I am hoping these updates will work, what do you think? I am heading out there this weekend to put it all together, so we will see. I will keep you posted. Have a great weekend!
One King’s Lane starburst mirror
I subscribe to the One Kings Lane’s emails to get their daily sales. A lot of their stuff is pretty pricey, but they also have some reasonable items that I find affordable.
One item I kept looking for was a 24″ starburst mirror for our river house. They seemed to have a variety of these mirrors pop up on their sales, but they were $200 and up plus an outrageous amount for shipping. But I kept looking every day, just in case. And sure enough I found one that was affordable and the exact size I needed. $59 plus tax and shipping. You know what I always say…Score!
Even though I originally wanted the finish in gold and this one was dark brown, I knew I could easily gold leaf it if I needed to
Grey velvet foot boards
I had some left over fabric from the settee in the “fun” room so I decided to re-do the foot board inserts on the bunk beds. I originally had lavender fabric inserts, but I decided to take them off since the color no longer went with the new room design. They were attached with velcro, and when I pulled them off, some of the wood came off with it. {in this progress picture you can see the missing wood in the bottom foot board } So either I needed to sand and paint or just make new ones.
Tailored flat panel valance
I have decided to change the design of our family room at our river house. I loved the look back in 2004, but I am ready for a change, and 8 years is pretty long for me not change something. My plan is to take out the county fabrics and update them to a more modern casual design.
