Pinterest Realities

Oh, Pinterest. You can be many things. A lifesaver, time suck, inspiration, distraction.....

How many times do you "Pin" something, knowing that you will never buy it, make it, have it, etc...? I happens to all of us. Last month though, I vowed to change that. When Jon was off for 2 weeks for the holidays, and we started to take down the Christmas decor, we did some projects for the "everyday" look of our home. Moving for the first time in 10 years made me feel like I had a "blank slate" and many more walls/spaces to fill. I was determined to try some of the things I had admired on Pinterest for so long.

First up, this ladder shelf. We got the ladder at our local Habitat for Humanity store for $10. You can't beat the authentic worn wood and paint splatters. We needed something long to go above the TV in the living room and this was perfect. All of the knick knacks are things we already had.

We found this old dispenser in the garage of our previous house, so that means we've had it for 10 years. Finally cleaned it up and have it out on display. I filled it with my button collection which means that now, every time I need a button for a project I'll have to go digging in here.

These table legs actually had a different top on them, but was one of the few things that got broken in the move. In our spirit of "using what we have" I am glad we were able to salvage them by attaching a suitcase on top instead! This suitcase was given to me by my friend Kristen. In fact, she has gifted me 3 suitcases now (which includes this one's big brother that I used for this project). Now I just have to figure out what objects I want to put on this cool piece!

Since I showed my mantle decor for Halloween and Christmas, I figured I would show our now daily look. Mostly because there is a story behind it. The oil painting is a new piece. The hospital where I had both our boys has artwork in the hallways. Through both of my labors, we "walked the halls" to get things moving along. While there having Carson, Jon & Richard went to the cafeteria to have lunch and saw this painting. Jon took a picture of it to show to me, telling me how much he liked it. After we got home and settled, he still couldn't stop talking about it so I called around to find out how to purchase it. We both thought it was a great memory of the place where we had the kids. Here is a link to more of the artist's work: Jonathan Wijnberg. 

Every time I have done the mantle now, it is a several day process. I will fuss and fuss with the placement of things until it is just right. I will wander around the house and pick up different objects that go well with the current theme. Some day, I will have to take photos of the different stages of it all. The wood crate and vintage Nancy Drew books were used in my Halloween scape. And the petrified drift wood was used for my Winter scape. Other items I've pulled in here are some McCoy pots from my collection, iron scroll thingy, decorative balls...... and another "found" treasure: an old wheel barrow handle from the garage at the new house here.

And, I figured I would show the mantle downstairs too. This is how it has looked every since we moved in - I have not changed it seasonally. The star hung on our old house, so it is rusty and weathered. I love the neutral color palette and mix of metals in our basement space. I feel so lucky to have gone from no fireplace to two!

Pinterest has helped me a lot with decorating the new house. Whether it be doing a project I'd loved on there long ago, or else helping me when I get "stuck" on my own. When it comes to doing a gallery wall, or arranging something like a mantle, there are so many ideas out there! There are "guides" that map out how to place things (suggestions on heights, fillers, etc...). Once you do it a few times, it will become second nature.