I’m trying so hard to weed out unnecessary things from our house — I just took a bunch of shoes, clothes and bags down the street to try my hand at consignment. I went from there to Goodwill to drop off the things that the consignment store didn’t want. Good start, right?
Except that I left the consignment store with a new-to-me sweater and Goodwill with a full-sized lime green file cabinet. Am I spinning my wheels or am I thoughtfully editing my decor? I’m going with the latter…I’ve worn the sweater countless times already and the file cabinet offers some much needed storage in my workroom. I intend to spray the file cabinet a crisp white at some point, but for now it fits right in.
I also found myself in two additional thrift stores over the weekend looking for something specific to a project we’re working on. More on that to come later! Coincidentally, I found these treasures in the back of my car when I got home:
On the left, this little telephone table is perfect in our small scale living room. The shallow drawer holds our remotes and the cord hole and shelf neatly accommodate my husband’s laptop when not in use. I plan to change the knobs and I’ll probably paint it at some point, though I sort of like the whitewashed gray that it is now.
On the right, an old bunk bed ladder! I’ve wanted a leaning ladder for a while — initially my intention was to put it in the bathroom to hang towels, but I think I like it in our guest room as a place for company to drape a coat or sweater, or rest keys and sunglasses. I also envision it with a couple of tea lights on each step for mood lighting.
I certainly don’t need another mirror, but I couldn’t resist the paneling or the price! I will definitely be painting this right away — just trying to decide if it should be a high-gloss white or a bold color.
The soft, muted colors of this sweet watercolor circus are perfect in our bedroom. I’m always on the lookout for interesting artwork that has a history. I plan to re-frame it with simple gold molding to coordinate with some other art hanging nearby.
And last but not least, I’ve actually had this side table for a little while and you can see that I’ve already changed the handles out. I plan to paint this a glossy white. I might even address some of the intricate details with a touch of gold to pick up the brass in the new knobs.
Why am I sharing all of this with you? So that you will hold me accountable to all the edits I mentioned above that will make these functional, lovable pieces of furniture and not just someone else’s junk in my house!
I vow to return with plenty of before and after shots!
I recently visited U-Fab, a relatively new discount fabric store in Richmond. Their goal is to have the lowest prices on fabric in town and I have to admit–they are quite good! It’s a “no frills” kind of shop, but I would definitely recommend checking out.
