Heirloom White Dresser

One of the perks to having a living room with only a dresser and secretary desk is that they can be rearranged over and over. I felt so inspired after painting what used to be the brown wall grey, that I played around with decorating the one lone surface of the dresser. This room is the first room you walk into from the front door, and even though we don't hang out on sofas in here yet, we still like to have a place to drop our keys and "land" in a sense before traipsing through to the rest of the house after a day of work. That, and we do spend quite a bit of time on the floor. I had forgotten how nice it is to sprawl out on carpet. But anyways, like I was saying, having a place to catch all our odds and ends became the purpose of this little white dresser's table top as I rearranged things today. (Also, how much better does that wall look? SO MUCH better!)

The dresser was actually a hand me down from my cousin Natalie. They recently moved and hadn't a need for it anymore. Its been in our family for years, so it only makes perfect sense to keep it as so! She actually painted it white the summer I first moved to Colorado. We spread out in her front yard painting, sanding, and painting. (And sanding, sanding, sanding for what seemed like a millennium.) Somehow, the memories of sanding furniture seem to stand out the most (perhaps because those are the most brutal DIYs?) Anyhow, she has twin taste to me, so it basically works out to pass anything and everything on to each other. Natalie is also the one who told me to paint my walls Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey in Eggshell. Having cousins who are wonderful friends AND wonderful decorators is too good to be true.

Even in an empty room, there are always small and simple ways to decorate even just a portion, without having to spend a ton of money. Besides the dresser being second hand, the lamp, wooden tray, and frame were all on sale from Target. The books were thrifted, the yellow runner are actually placemats on sale from Anthropologie, and the framed "Hello" print a card I saved that was sent to me in the mail. It's all about saving little bits and pieces that you find while running your errands, cleaning out your closet, or thrifting. In the end, they all come together to make your home uniquely you :) That's the beauty of decorating.

(*The wall in the first photograph/the far left wall seen in the second photograph is the only one that's been painted grey so far. The other walls are a khaki color that the previous owners painted).

Two Dressers, Lamps, and a Bed | Before

This is where you'll find me catching up on Downton Abbey on flake out Friday, or from 5:00 - 6:00 a.m. hitting snooze, or sipping my early morning coffee on those days I work later.  Our bedroom! The camera died about halfway through shooting our room, so this is really only part of the space. I know, I'm sorry! To the right of the bed are two windows, which are brilliant - literally. They give of so much light, and I intend to embrace that fully, you know, harness that clean and bright feel with crisp white window linens and such. And to the left of the wide dresser is the bathroom. Consider this an official before post (even if it's a halfsie). Half of the things in this room are old, thrifted, or waiting to be refurbished. Can you figure out which is which? There are a handful of Target and West Elm finds in here to. A gold star to the most correct guesses!

Oh and P.S. Went to Ikea today, and walked out a happy lady with the perfect pendant lamp. 

Mid-Century Cane Back Chair

The other day, on a whim, I stopped in my local Goodwill. I have an exciting decorating project coming up, so I've had this urge to thrift during my free time. The trick to thrifting is frequency. It's always hit or miss, but when you do it frequent enough, you gain a keen eye and increase your chances of stumbling upon gold. And sometimes, all you do it walk in and walk right out, so it really isn't too much of a time suck. But when you walk in and its a good day, oh man. Its so worth it. This on a whim day, it was a gold diggers paradise. I was only in the store for five minutes, and left with six items.  Quality vintage items. When I thrift, I always head to the furniture section first, and then scan the art next. If those two areas don't steal my attention, I might wander down the aisles, but usually its the bigger items, the ones that can be repurposed or a diamond in the rough, for a dirt cheap price: that's what I'm looking for. Finding furniture and art for a steal are my favorite items to find. And this on a whim stop, the first thing I laid eyes on was this mid-century cane back chair.

After cleaning off the dirt, its basically in perfect condition. The curve of the back! The details on the legs! When I first stumbled upon the chair I wanted to rip off the cushion and replace it. But now after taking it out of the thrift store environment--the chair shines in a different light. The cushion is a velvety soft pink, and really isn't that bad even if I decided to wait on redoing the chair. I've never reupholstered before, believe it or not. The cushion on this chair looks simple enough to remove and redo, so I am thinking it may be the perfect first reupholster job that I do. Originally I planned to paint the wood white, but after cleaning it up, I really like the natural wood. Its nearly perfect with no scratches, and the cane back has no snags or holes or anything. Seriously, thrifted gold. I spent $18 on this bad-jackson, and found the same chair on eBay and others like it for $150 and then some. Mid century finds are hard to come by because of how popular they've become in that modern vintage design thats flooding Pinterest right now. So, yes, I feel like a lucky thrifter!

WEAR | Peruvian Scarf

Dress // Thrifted   Earrings // Anthropologie Sale  

 Scarf // Hand-made in Peru   Knee Socks // H&M   Boots // Steve Madden

My Peruvian scarf is the comfort blanket of scarves. Made of alpaca, and purchased on our travels in the Sacred Valley last year, it has become my go-to scarf. Even being as bright red as it is, I find it works with nearly everything. Every girl needs a scarf in their wardrobe that when they close their eyes, it feels like that are wrapped up in a warm blanket in the sanctuary of their bed. That and knee high socks. Boots and knee highs are like PB & J. You can't have one without the other.

Thoughts on Giving and Receiving Thrifted Gifts.

Something I realize is that although I love thrift stores, and finding treasures, not everyone does. So I often find myself asking the question, with no truly unbiased answer: Is it appropriate to give a gift that has been purchased second hand? Of course, with my very best friends, finding things thrifted can  mean the satisfaction to an inside joke, that vintage flare that she loves so much, or something so silly it is worth the $2 just to wrap it up and put it under her Christmas tree. But for other friends, and relatives, the question of giving thrifted items remains a bit murky. I mean, you can't return it, the item has a prior life, and it may have collected dust. And even more in the grey, with hefty inclination for people to shake their head "no" is, what about gifting clothing items that have been purchased from a thrift store? (See, half of you are shaking your head no...)

To me, a treasure from a thrift store means thoughtfulness and the potential for one of a kind giving, but to another it may mean dirty, cheap, and old. Going into this holiday season, I have set a promise to myself that gifts will be intentional and frugal--mainly on sale, hand made, or bought second hand. But for the last of those three, I thought honest conversation on giving and receiving thrifted items might be one worth having. And hey, who knows, you may be one of the people I'm thrifting for.

On one more note, everything pictured in the above photograph? All thrifted at Goodwill this week. Even the scrabble letters. I know, I know, such potential to make fun word art! Does the above photograph change your mind on thrifted gifts?

WEAR | Six Dollar Browns & a Little Bit of Black

Sweater Top // LOFT (sale $4)    Skirt // Thrifted ($2)

 Belt // LOFT (similar)   Shoes // Urban Outfitters (old)

I like to brag that this outfit cost six dollars. Minus the shoes and belt, which I have lost track of the cost of those since they are oldies. See, thrift stores aren't scary, they provide work attire when you are willing to dig.

This weekend my best friend was supposed to visit. And when your best friend from age three is planning to visit, you can only really think of slumber parties, laughing ti'l it hurts, and the best time ever. But then Frontier cancelled all of their flights, because someone decided to be violent at LAX. So no more girls weekend. But even more tragic, lives lost today in Los Angeles. So sad. I am still giddy for our reunion, though, which will hopefully happen in the next few months. So now, a fancy gala tonight and a wide open weekend. Maybe we will go to the mountains for some skiing and snowboarding? 

Oh, and happy November!

WEAR | A Dose Of Sunny

Dress // Anthropologie Sale    Tights // LOFT    Boots // Thrifted

 7 For All Mankind Rain Slick // Marshalls   Lipstick // NARS Red Lizard 

In Denver, they say if you don't like the weather, wait a day. So I waited. I liked the snowfall that showed up last week, but my body (who's been battling a chest cold) likes warm sunshine most. If bright warm sun couldn't cure my cold, bright red lipstick would. I was convinced (and still am). So the weekend better hurry back. I am ready for another dose of sunny, another coat of lipstick, and another non-work day to wear my tattered cowboy boots.

Guest Bedroom Tour

The guest bedroom has seen the most change out of any room in the house over the past year of living here. From futons, to shelves, to desk space, to storage, I've rearranged this room more times than you'd like to know. But finally, arrange no more--our guest bedroom feels complete, and it's going to stay this way for awhile.

Being limited on painting options and floor options while in a rental (ie. not changeable), I had to bring in color in ways other than painting the walls. And, being a room filled with mix matched pieces of furniture, I decided to run with that theme and have everything from textiles, prints, and colors mixed. Besides, that's kind of my thing.