Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Using what you already have in a new way

I am a firm believer, much to the detriment of my husband, in if you love something you should buy it (within reason) and find a place for it later. I am never successful when I am looking for something specific.

This weekend I set out to "refresh" my spaces and found that I already had a ton of great pieces, I just needed to move them around. I literally moved mirrors from one room to the next, took a lamp from upstairs and put it downstairs, took pictures off the walls and hung them elsewhere. It was so much fun to work with what I already had--which I bought it at one time for a reason--because I loved it!

First I have to say...my beloved Subway sign recently got in a fight with a nail (courtesy of Ryan) and the nail won--so my Subway sign is no longer :(  This space to the left of the fireplace was feeling so empty. I didn't want to hang another black frame since we are being taken over by black frames...and then I remembered I had this beauty (read about it here) I found at an antique store in Bethany. A little hook and wire expertise (I learned from my mother) and this baby was hanging beautifully!
The dresser in my guestroom had gotten a little cluttered--yes it was even more cluttered than it is below. So I decided to "store" a couple of items, and just keep the bare necessities. If you don't recognize the contraption on the left that's called a super small but not flat TV that plays VHS tapes :) I can't get rid of this it's so darn cute, and it's perfect for a guest room. Plus I have all of my old VHS tapes (Bridget Jones, Friends, Sabrina) in the drawer below for instant happiness!

Oh and the mirror was previously on my bedroom dresser--but I swapped it for a larger silver mirror I had downstairs. And moved the black mirror from the upstairs guestroom to the downstairs guestroom...are you keeping up? :)

This lamp used to be upstairs but was replaced by my new favorite piece--the horse lamp. So I decided to bring it downstairs for extra lighting on my vintage (firewood box) side table.
 Like I said I have a ton of black frames--so I decided to bring some downstairs to hang.
This is a beautiful photo Ryan and I took in Rome--which my brother and sister-in-law had mounted on a canvas board. I was going to put upstairs but I think it looks so beautiful surrounded by more white space in the downstairs guestroom. I also took a graphic frame from my office + a Silver candle pendant from outside for side table accessories.
Here is the black mirror that used to be in the upstairs guestroom. More hooks and wire and now I have defined the space for my rolling beverage cart turned side table. I stole the two wire candle holders from Ryan's office
Trying to fill my bookcase (an Ikea steal off Craigslist which I painted white with a charcoal back) I literally pillaged from every room in the house. The frame and some of the books are from Ryan's office, the vase used to be in my bedroom, the white nautical box was a piece I bought forever ago and never used.
This mirror/shelf I found at Lowe's on clearance for $11. At the time I had nowhere in mind to put it, but I couldn't walk away from such a great deal. So I bought knowing I'd find the perfect spot eventually. It's been sitting in my laundry room for 6 months until I realized it would work perfectly in the downstairs bathroom above the towel rack!
There you have it! Lots of ransacking and pillaging, but I definitely feel like every room is refreshed and I love how all the old pieces look in their new space!

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