Saturday, February 9, 2013

Decorating the New Living Room








We just moved....again...so I find myself decorating and rearranging everything all over....but honestly I really love it. Once the boxes are all unpacked and its just me with my things again and a blank canvas...its like magic.

This house has a little more space than the last and I have an extra room to decorate.  It's a dining room slash sitting room.  I have decided to really use the french countryside look, think Provencal, in this room.  I have always adored antiques and like to mix different textures and styles.  Even when I was just 21 starting out with my husband in our first little one bedroom apartment, I was decorating with Antiques.  My friends used to make fun of me back then.  Believe it or not my mother in law has a lot to do with my decorating style, yes I actually love my mother in law!  That woman's house is like a damn magazine cover for Country Living.  She has such a way with the placement of things, my husband would say "yeah, she has a way with placing things alright....so they fall whenever you walk by!"  None-the-less she is a great inspiration.

 So on to the dining room slash sitting room.  I got a great deal on a rug at Target, it was marked down by 50% just because it was a repackage (meaning someone took it home and didn't like it so they brought it back and the store had to repackage it).  I am not above buying something that has been repackaged, hell I am not above dumpster diving for decorating finds!  Stores typically do not put those "repackages" and deeply discounted items right next to their perfectly packaged originals, you can usually find them on the ends of the aisles.  Just keep your eyes peeled, you never know what you may find. 
The couch was a hand-me-down from a good friend that was just dressed up with a cheap throw blanket and some throw pillows from either TJ Max, Marshalls or Homegoods--don't really remember which place I got them at, but they all have a good selection.  The little old black and white picture was found at an antique store for like $10 and the larger more ornate one was actually a Hobby Lobby poster that I bought almost 10 years ago when my husband and I were first married, I could never afford to get it framed back then and then forgot about it until recently.  When i was putting this room together it popped into my mind and I knew it would be the perfect way to tie everything together, and it was.  Curtains and rods also Target--on sale.  Coffee table was a Hobby Lobby sale item, and the old candelabra is from a thrift shop in Belgium, but I have seen similar items at antique shops here also.  It is always good to be on the look out.  Yard sales, thrift shops, little antique shops (not the expensive ones--hate those!), estate sales etc.  These are all places to find eclectic items.   A little word on antique stores, the best ones are  those that you have to do a little digging in, that is where you find the best deals and the neatest stuff.   Don't be afraid to dust things off and get a little dirty, that is what they invented showers for! If I walk in to a store and it looks like a museum, the first thing I will do is pick up a small cheesy little item that I know should not be very expensive and do a price check.  If it is outrageous, that's my cue!  The best advice I can give you is if you like it do not be afraid of what any one else thinks.  I have had my husband and his friends and even mine for that matter laugh at many of the things I have decorate with, i.e. old doors, windows, old wire flower boxes indoors, things like that.  If you love it, then don't worry what anyone else thinks of it.  Someone will get it!



No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are greatly appreciated and will be posted very shortly after moderation. Thank you so much for stopping by.