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mod bell

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Home decorating magazines are my guilty pleasure, but I’ve become discouraged with how much the decorating mags are about buy, buy, buy.  Consumption of more and more new stuff.

However, many are beginning to sing the green song, and I am thrilled when I see vintage pieces being reused or repurposed.

Like these fabulous vintage 1950’s-era phones from Sweet Bella that have been rewired for modern telephone lines…

Ma Bell goes mod

Absolutely fabulous!   These bad boys were featured in the September 2010 issue of House Beautiful.  Not only do they look *way* cool, but they’re repurposed vintage!  What more could you ask for?

(Well maybe a lower price, because at $210, they’re a little pricey. But definitely worth saving for!)

The things people won’t think of!

For your more urgent calls

under lock & key

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Under lock & key.  Or at least under the influence of locks & keys.  Vintage and antique locks and keys, that  is – I just love them!  They’re perfect, rusty little tchotckes to give some character to a nook or crannie.

When we moved from California to Ohio, we found an antique mall somewhere on the prairie in Kansas that had some great treasures that now adorn my home.  An antique padlock with key dangling from some old string…

…and a whole bunch of padlocks and keys, from vintage to antique, on a homemade “key ring” made of wire, punctuated by a small, rusty star.   I can picture some farmer in Kansas bending up some wire to hold all of his locks and keys…

…I imagine that this ring of locks and keys probably hung on a hook in a prairie barn or tool shed.  Now it hangs on a narrow spot of wall in my kitchen, where I enjoy its rusty goodness every day.

Unlock your creativity and hang some unusual rusty treasures on empty little wall spaces in your home!

Showing off at the link party at Funky Junk Interiors.

no sew curtains

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I’ve been reading a great blog that I love – Funky Junk Interiors.

Funky Junk Interiors blogger, Donna, is inspiring in so many ways.  First, she’s made living small an art form by transforming every day junk into fabulous interior decor.

Even more than that, Donna has overcome adversity, yet she’s still cheerful and upbeat, and inspires so many through her blog.

More recently, she’s inspired me to complete a project I’ve been putting off with her “Gitter Done” challenge.  What was the project?

No Sew Curtains!

While my bedroom has blinds, I wanted to add some curtains to soften the harsh look of the blinds and hopefully to prevent some draftiness in colder weather.  And I wanted to do it simply & inexpensively.

So, a couple of months ago, I purchased 12 yards of unbleached muslin, cut in 3 yard lengths.  Unbleached muslin is typically inexpensive, and this was no exception at $1.99 per yard.  Plus I had a 40% off coupon, so including tax, my total was just under $16 for 4 curtain panels.  Not too bad.

(Then my fabric sat in the bag, um, “curing” for a couple of months.)

Last month I found 2 clearance curtain rods for $9.76 each.

But here’s the best part of this project (aside from not spending a whole lot of money for glamorous window coverings)…I pinned the curtain panels on to the rod with fabulous vintage brooches.  A couple were my mother’s, and a couple I picked up here and there over the years.

So finally, after months of contemplation, the big reveal…

A close up of the individual brooches…

Since I’m trying to live small, you may wonder why I even bothered to spend the money on the curtain panels.  Why didn’t I just spend no money and keep things as they were?

Well, if I continue to live in this house, these curtains will last for years.  So for less than $40, I’ve created curtains with staying power for two windows.

And, if at some point I decide to sell my home, the curtains will give the bedroom a more elegant look, one of the many things that can help sell a house at a good price.  (Of course if I sell the house, I will replace the brooches with some that aren’t family heirlooms!)

But most of all, I love them, and they make my bedroom so peaceful!  There’s nothing quite like retiring to a peaceful bedroom at the end of a long day.  And that’s worth $40 to me!

from frumpy to fab

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I’m an official dumpster diver.  Also known as trash digger.  Whatever you want to call it, when I see usable stuff in the trash in my neighborhood, I pick it up & try to give it new life.

Now don’t get me wrong…I’m not rooting through people’s trash cans – that is not my style.  However, I’ve picked up plenty of larger pieces on trash day, often with a friendly heads-up phone call from my sister who lives on my street.  She’ll give me a call on her way to work to tell me that so-and-so has a such-and-such out on the curb and that she thinks that I should pick it up.

Some things I keep and refurbish, while some things have been in good enough condition that I’ve resold them.  Like a Shaker-style high-back bench…made $40 on that!

I’ve made early morning trips to pick up a chair from the house by the railroad tracks or a footstool down the street (both items awaiting refurbishing in my garage).

One evening I got a gorgeous vintage headboard in perfect condition from a neighbor who was moving out of state.  It was her parent’s headboard from when they were first married.  She didn’t want to just dump it, since it had sentimental value to her, so she was thrilled when I said that I would take it.  It’s in perfect condition, so no refurbishing is required.

My latest project was also the product of an early morning call from my sister who told me that there were 2 lamps on the curb down the street.  She thought that I should pick them up to resell, but when I saw them I knew they were too dated to fetch much.  However, they would be perfect to paint and reuse.  And I had a hankering for a new look in my bedroom.  A perfect storm!

These were the lamps before the transformation…

Looking a bit frumpy and worse for the wear.  Five bucks for 3 cans of spray paint and one lampshade from my basement later, voila!

Looking fab & oh so classy!

I did spend $12.99 + tax to buy a 2nd lampshade, but less than $20 for 2 lamps with shades is still a steal!

What projects have you retrieved from the curb & revived?

getting a fresh start

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted here on my decorating blog.

And a lot has changed, both in the world, and in my little corner of the world…

Most notably, the economy has changed dramatically, and many of us have felt the pinch.  For me, it manifested in going back to work full time – not in the field of design, but back to my previous career as an editor.  I was very fortunate to find a good job as an editor, since decorating jobs in a bad economy were getting more and more scarce.

Also, I’ve gone through a divorce, which has further tested my personal finances.

Why am I sharing all of this?

Well, to tell you where I’ve been, but also because many of these changes have influenced who I’ve become as a decorator.

I’ve always loved a bargain, I’ve always loved junk and dumpster diving for trashy treasures, and I’ve always loved found objects.

But now, with my personal finances very different than they were a couple of years ago, and with many people in the same boat as me financially, decorating with bargains and junk and found objects has a new meaning and has become even more inspiring than it used to be.

While all of this financial mess was unfolding, I was also becoming acutely aware of the problems of climate change and over-consumption, and realized that I can no longer advocate consumption in the way I used to as a decorator.  Simply put, I’ve gone green.

(I’ve even started blogging about learning to live small, both financially and ecologically.)

So, the color of this blog has changed to green as well, and I will be sharing fun decorating ideas that won’t take much (or anything at all) out of your pocketbook, and will take advantage of reusing and recycling and other clever decorating ideas.

Hope you’ll enjoy the fresh start!

table on a budget

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This year, because money is tight, the theme for our Thanksgiving table was “don’t buy a thing” decor. Also known as “use what you have decorating”.

I wanted to do something different from last year, so I went on a treasure hunt, and scored!

First, I gathered up a couple of tree branches that I’ve been hording for a while. (These branches have been close to being thrown out more than once!) I gave these lovely branches a quick spray painting with an off-white that I had in my garage.

A trip to my basement yielded a couple of blue candles, as well as a couple of small blue mod floral plates. I gathered up some faux pearls and a faux bird.

Then I threw it all together and here’s what I came up with…


The brown tablecloth & napkins were purchased for last year’s holiday…


And the plates are a combination of two sets, since I don’t own a large enough set for our once-a-year big event.


Not too bad for $0!

I encourage you to set your holiday table using a $0 budget if money is tight in your household. After all, the holidays are all about spending time with family and friends.

the things we don’t for love

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Don’t let this happen to your house…

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, it’s time to think about giving a little loving to your house.

Home maintenance is an oft boring topic, in addition to being all too darn time consuming!

But after working recently with a couple planning to put their house on the [very bad real estate] market in the fall, it reminded me of the importance of keeping up with the very dull & time-consuming reality of home maintenance.

My clients have lived in their 50+ year old house for almost 15 years. Over time, they, like many of us, have kept up with the big-ticket repairs, which are important to the upkeep of any home, but have forgotten about some of the smaller things.

Now that they’re planning to put their home on the market, they have to scramble to fix years of minor neglect – nothing earth-shattering – just time-consuming, at a time when they have plenty of other things to do.

Not to worry about them, because after a marathon four-hour pre-staging appointment, I have given them an exhaustive list of everything that needs to be fixed, cleaned, changed, or somehow improved to get the most money in the shortest time when they list their home. Especially important in a downright lousy real estate market. And they are on-task and on-target to make these improvements by the time spring rolls around.

The time I spent with them got me thinking…unless you’re a clean freak (and I’m not…remember, I have a dirty little secret), you may be letting these little things go too.

I know the drill, because I’m an expert at it myself. With work, kids, family, dogs, activities, and whatever else you have in your personal mix, there’s not a lot of time.

And besides, you’re not planning to sell your house soon anyway, right?

At least that’s my thought process…and as a professional in the decorating & staging business, I should know better!

Sometimes, unless you’re one of the 596 remaining clean freaks that live in North America, you let it go.

How about a different perspective?

When we sold our last house, and I was completing the laundry list of things that had to be cleaned, tidied, or shined before the for sale sign arrived, an amazing thing happened…

I realized that my house looked beautiful, and that I loved it.

Then I wondered, “Why the hell didn’t I ever do all of this grout cleaning, lime build-up removing & generalized spit shining for myself? Why only do it for some stranger that might buy the place?”

So, I vowed to do more of that minor maintenance for myself in our new home.

Of course, much of that vow has gone by the wayside.

However, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m proclaiming February as Love Your Home Month! Instead of thinking of all the things we don’t do for the homes we love, let’s do a little something for the home we love.

For my home, February will be clear the clutter month. How about you?

Ladies & gentlemen, get out those scrub brushes and love your home!

And someday when we decide to sell this home and move to our next space, whatever or wherever that is, maybe, just maybe, we won’t have to spend precious time undoing years of living.

my dirty little secret

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Door to Chaos…

I have a dirty little secret…it’s called my *house*!

I know, I know, as a decorator, I’m supposed to live in a showplace. In fact, I’m almost certain that it’s at least a state, if not federal law.

A law that I break on a daily basis.

Somebody call the decorating police!

Of course, as with most people who live a secret life, I have scads of excuses…not enough time, messy kids, too much stuff, waiting for the perfect furniture piece to come along, I want to live in a house for a while so it can speak to me, etc.

But the bottom line is that I’m a perfectionist & wait until all of the planets are in alignment and the world is perfect to decorate my house with the precision of a surgical strike.

It’s strange, how I can go into another family’s home, and not only can I sense their style & the direction they want to take their home, but I can take action and make their decorating dreams come true. Now!

But like the nurse with sick kids and the landscaper without a lawn (yes, we lived next door to that guy when I was a kid and it nearly *killed* my folks, with our perfectly manicured fescue), I put my clients’ homes before my own.

No longer!

This year – actually very early in this year – I pledge to get a move on, and finish decorating my house!

No more inviting strangers into my living room and listening to them ask when we moved in as I see them scan the unopened boxes! No more embarrassment as I ramble senselessly about why we still have boxes after a year and a half!

Nope, I’m on a mission!

I will decorate my house, and not just yours!

Starting today!

[Phew! It feels good to get that off my chest! And while I’m at it, I’ll confess that I don’t clean as often as I should.]

Stay tuned for updates on how I’m doing…

moving in…

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I received my January 2008 catalog from Anthropologie, and while most of their clothing couldn’t even fit on my pinkie, I do love their style & photography.

Since the line between fantasy & reality is often blurry for me anyway, I decided that I’m just going to move into the Anthropologie catalog, since it is totally the kind of place I’d love to live…at least in fantasy.

It’s rustic, yet classy, with all kinds of funky antiques and beautiful fabrics! Very European & tres chic! Who wouldn’t want to live there? Well, probably a lot of people, including those who have a better grip on reality.

But for those of us fantasy dwellers, check out my new home.

You can get a better feel for the inside of my home toward the back of the catalog. In the front are mostly girls wearing finger puppet-sized clothing…

another chalkboard project

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One afternoon, I got the inspiration to paint another quick & easy chalkboard project. (To be honest, I was procrastinating about some less inspiring household projects when I had this brainstorm.)

My last chalkboard project was my kitchen pantry cabinet doors.

I decided to add a splash of blackboard next to my kitchen sliding door. This would create a visual barrier between the eating area and our family room, as well as highlight the cute beaded dog leash hanger we have, and anchor it to the floor, rather than it looking as if it’s floating in space.

Here’s the “Before” photo…


A bland, white wall crying out for color!

This project only took a couple hours from inspiration to completion, since I had all of the things I needed already on hand, including leftover chalkboard paint from my last project.

So I taped off the wall using a level to ensure it was even…


…quickly spackled & sanded a couple of spots, then gave it four coats of blackboard paint.

Voila! The finished product…


A welcome contrast to our stark, builder-white walls.

Why not give it a try at your house? Everyone needs a chalkboard!

Showing off at the Whisperwood Cottage Chalk Talk Link Party…