In my excitement of decorating I made frequent trips to Target, Khols and Ikea..and my bank account diminished. Could I really justify spending $26 on a pillow to match the walls that I would live in for 9 months? As someone that frequently deals with shopper's remorse I knew what I had to do. Digging out some plastic bags, all of my receipts, and gathering up my purchases I returned (most of) my decorations and set out on a new challenge.
First was the space above the futon. Back in college I spent a few months in Europe and had always wanted to display some of the sights I was blessed enough to see. The hardest part of this project was limiting my picks to 3! I blew up shots of the London Bridge, Florence Duomo, and Eiffel Tower in black-and-white, then used black matte board for frames. $13 wall artwork, check!
Next, I had been dying to update some way to disply my jewlery. I'd been scoping out jewelry trees but couldn't find one that I really liked and most were between $15-30, so I opted to make one of my own. My mom found the perfect branch which I painted with some leftover, purple paint from our living room. Then I selected one of my many vases (thanks Bryan!) and used wine corks (suprised?) to fill the empty space. At some point I see myself switching out the vases and the corks but I absolutely LOVE the idea and the look! As for a price total? Completely free!
Finally, I had some space above my television that I wanted to fill. I liked the idea of some extra shelf space, something to hang my scarves on, and a splash of yellow on the gray wall. One 4-minute stop at the local Goodwill supplied me with a $3.99 shelf with hooks. We had some extra yellow paint from our kitchen, 2 coats in 2 days and my new masterpiece was good to go. I don't see this shelf making it to the livingroom of my future house but I think it may work well in a child's room someday!
I'm not determinded to do DIY projects for all of my future decroating but for now it is a good challenge and is quite enjoyable. If you have any suggestions...feel free to pass them on!
Look at you go! I recently saw a branch used as decor. Maybe in CB2 or Pottery Barn. Painted white. Suspended horizontally over the meal table. I think it was used for Christmas card display. Go for it and post, so I can do next year.
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