Living Room Makeover!

Follow me as I make over my living room from start to finish. We all go through different decorating trends/moods and my living room needs a re-do! My inspiration is layering shades of whites and creams together. My budget: $100...that's right $100. I am going to re-purpose things, move things from other rooms in the house, work with what I like and make the biggest impact with paint!
My living room now has a piano where the couch is and the couch is on the other wall, but everything else is the same.
First decision, finding the perfect shade of paint. I am leaning towards my family room paint color, Benjamin Moore's franch canvas to add some cohesion to the first floor. Decisions, decisions!

Valentine's Gifts to Melt Over!

I hope this is a helpful hint of chic gifts for you Valentine this year. No need to go too crazy...try making a handmade card from the heart, cutting and pasting fun images. Find the following items at local, Internet and chain stores at an affordable price:

1.) Love candle at Target:

2.) Cute Owl from Etsy.com

3.) Raspberry Macaroons bouquet...just my the raspberry ones and put them on sticks:)

    

4.) Kate Spade Gloves:

5.) Sugarboo Sign:

More Ideas to come in a few days! Please leave your comments and let me know what you think of these picks!

New Listings on Etsy!

Just wanted to share some new items that are available at my Etsy store!

www.etsy.com/shop/vintagechicgoods

My New Shop on Etsy!

Stop by my new shop on Etsy.com to view and order my decoupage frames. I will be listing more each day so check back frequently. The link to my shop is on the upper right hand page of my blog.

Why we love Pintrest!

Pintrest.com is an amazing site to cultivate your favorite things you find online and share them with others. It's a community of inspiration and storytelling through the things we love. Below is an example of a page from Pintrest...

You can categorize your favorite things by color, brand, style you name it. You can view other people's pins for inspiration and gain a sense of your own style while doing so. It is a creative, positive community of sharing your love of different things:) Go forth and Pin!

Furniture Arrangment

Above is a plan of my very large bedroom (which is a challenge to arrange furniture in). The top is how my furniture used to be arranged and the bottom how it is now. I have to say, I am loving it the way it is now for a few reasons:

1. When you walk in any bedroom, you should be able to view the bed.

2. Moving our tall dresser next to the closet door eliminates a wall of furniture like before.

3. Our big chair now face out to the French doors, where you can take in a view while relaxing.

4. I didn't have it in our "before", but removing our dog crate was a big improvement!

5. The mirror above the dresser across from our bed now reflects more light and a view!

Do you have a room that needs new life brought to it? Try rearranging the furniture, swapping out lamps and art from other rooms or just spending money on a can of paint to change the mood! Happy creating:)

Frame it!

I love, love, love old frames. The more distressed the better! Chippy paint, some cracks, I'll take it. Old frames are a wonderful way to display more than just artwork. In the photo above, they are grouped together to make a bold statement (the shutters add even more charm). Below, it is used to hold and display jewelry.

As with so many vintage, repurposed items, there is so much you can do with frames. I have a collection of glass plates hanging on my wall inside a large, oversized old frame in my dining room. In my kitchen, I used an old frame around a poster I had tacked to the wall. I also have the old saying, "Keep Calm and Carry On" in white letters on my wall with a frame around it. A beautiful remnant of fabric can be brought to life in an old frame. Happy framing:)

Don't buy new...Upcycle!

What does it mean to upcycle something? Simply taking something old and repurposing it for something else instead of buying something new. It's part of the movement to reduce our carbon footprint and help the environment.
Check out some of the photos below that show different way things are repurposed!

Old suitcase turn side table!

Corks turned into bathmat.

Wine crates for herb garden.

Number It

As I've stated in some of my past blogs, I love typography...so naturally I love numbers in different fonts. I think adding number to house hold items is visually appealing and keeps you organized too. I love to display numbers in different ways around my home. On my mantel, I have old french house numbers, that are distressed...each number has a meaning (30 for my birthday, 19 for nephew's birthday and 24 for my anniversary). On to chairs in my family room I have a pillow with the number 2 and another with the number 4 (again my anniversary). On two baskets on my kitchen counter I have zinc tags with the numbers 1 and 2 written in chalk. Numbers painted on a basket like the one above is also a wonderful way to bring new life to a plain piece.

Try using all different ways to display number...paper tags, paint, fabric, enamel tags, zinc tags, house numbers, ceramic tags (like the ones below), or over sized numbers to hang on your walls. Try using them on unexpected things like chairs, dressers, on mirrors, trays, dishes....

Blog Site Overhaul!

Vintage Chic Goods has had a face lift! Stop by and see the new page layouts and gadgets added. You feedback is more than welcome:)

New Year...Get Organized with Vintage finds!

Want to get organized and your things to look visually appealing? Try old wire baskets! I have a bunch for my house and use the for a ton of different things. I have a set of three above my coat rack for mittens, gloves and toys for the dogs. I have one on my desk for organizing papers and bills and another to hold decorative items I love to look at but don't want all scattered around the house. Do you have any around your home? Share a picture with me!