Showing posts with label Home Decor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Decor. Show all posts

Tables, Tops and Toppings


I was doing a little clean up in the living room and rearranging of accessories and I wanted to share what works for me when styling my table tops.  I like having having different types of tables and cabinets for different functions but I also want them to look nice while serving their purpose, that's where the toppings come in.  My favorite table top toppings are plants, I have one on almost every horizontal surface.  They are beautiful, add color, texture, natural elements and they also help clean the air.  When styling my table tops I like to keep things simple so it doesn't look too cluttered.  Plus, why would I want an end table that's so cluttered I can't even put my glass of wine on it?  I have learned that working in odd numbers and using variation of heights and textures looks best and keeps the eyes moving.


The purpose of my console table is to hold a lamp for extra lighting in the evening and a fan for my husband who is Super Hotttt!!! Ehem, I mean, he gets hot from the heat and stuff.  Anyways, so I have my pretty pineapple looking lamp and a nice metal fan on opposite ends of the table to kind of balance out each other.

console table styling, west elm brass rhino, plants, metal fan, pineapple lamp, stacked books bamboo mirror, rustic console table

But if I had only those two things on top it would look pretty empty, so on the center of the console I added a small stack of books with my pretty brass rhino on top, a small plant on one side and a picture of my daughters on the other side.  I am trying to add pictures around the house, this is something that I am working on because I am really bad at remembering to frame pictures and finding a spot to display them.  Under the console I put a big plant to cover the outlet plug and somewhat disguise the wires from the lamp and fan which I know I can do better but it's good enough for now.

console table styling, west elm brass rhino, plant

The white wicker and brass side table in between the chairs is my roadside find that you can read about here. It is the perfect spot for setting a drink on top of and to place a tablet or phone on top of while they are charging.  I only put a pretty little jade plant on top since I need the top to place those other things.

gold brass metal white wicker bamboo rattan side end table, charging station jade plant, greek key black chair, wing back tufted leather chair

gold brass metal white wicker bamboo rattan side end table, charging station jade plant

gold brass metal white wicker bamboo rattan side end table, charging station jade plant

Next to the couch I have a long end table with a little drawer and a basket underneath for extra storage.  This table has a really big surface that I love.  I can place a drink and a plate with a snack if I need to.  I have two beautiful plants on top of this table that really seem to thrive in this spot so this has been a permanent spot for them for a couple months now.  The lamp is great for when I'm curled up on the chaise reading a good book. This is definitely my favorite spot in the living room.  The basket holds my daughters favorite board game and a back massaging device.   They are not pretty, which is why they are hidden away in the basket but we use them regularly, so we still have easy access to them.  In the drawer I stash the chargers for our electronics when not in use.

Side end table, plants, gold brass lampcampaign furniture organizing baskets

succulent plants

The coffee table has many uses so I try not to have to many things on top of it.  We use it to put our feet up, place drinks, appetizers, snacks, board games, I sometimes fold laundry on it too.  I keep a wooden bowl with the remotes in it, a book or two, a box of wooden blocks for the girls to keep entertained and surprise a plant!  The coffee table gets really heavy use in our house.

coffee table, nate berkus gold turtle, succulent plants

succulent plants coffee table, nate berkus gold turtle, succulent plants

On each side of the fireplace I have two storage cabinets to hide things like electronic devices, video games, dvds, photo boxes and miscellaneous books.  I have my other pineapple looking lamp on top of one of the cabinets with a plant next to it.  I only have two things on this one, which means I didn't follow my "odd number rule" but rules were meant to be broken, right!  I just went with it because I am not sure what I want to put on it right now, no big deal.

green asian style cabinet pier1 pineapple lamp plants

 The other cabinet has a big ole circle decorative Item to balance out the lamp on the other side, a picture of my girls and a large decorative chess piece.  This might be the only place I don't have a plant on top of at the moment.  

green asian style cabinet pier1 pineapple lamp plants

The mantle is hard for me to decorate because of the TV.  We obviously don't want things obstructing the view when we are watching it so I had to decorate high on the sides and low on the bottom of the TV.  I have a large Buddha on one edge and a medium size plant on the other edge with a big wooden hand sculpture in the middle.

decorating fireplace mantle, Buddha, wooden hand sculpture, rustic wood mantle plant

 The wood hand has always been my favorite piece, it has been on the mantle since we moved here, but now it is also a sentimental piece because it was a gift from my aunt who recently passed away.  I miss her so much and having things around that remind me of her is very important to me.  

decorating fireplace mantle, Buddha, wooden hand sculpture, rustic wood mantle plant

So what toppings do I like on my table tops?  Plants, lamps, sentimental items, pretty to me things, and only a little bit sprinkled here and there, not too many because I need to leave space for my drink!

Linking up to
  

Clearance Junkie

This post is brought to you by my dearly beloved husband, who called me a "Clearance Junkie" when I got home from Target with a couple of clearance home decor items. As soon as they announced Nate Berkus Fall line was about to hit the stores I ran to see what was left of the Spring collection.  I have been swooning over the shallow white with gold faceted bowl but I didn't have any luck finding it at my nearest target and they don't sell it online anymore :'-(

Target - Nate Berkus Faceted Gold Detail Bowl:
Nate Berkus Gold Detail Bowl

However I did find me these cute little guys for $2.38.  They are a set of snail place card holders.


And Nate's beautiful Ceramic Geo Box for $5.98.  This is another one of those items I was swooning over when it first came out. So I was happy to find it and for such a big discounted price.


I also found this awesome Threshold mixed succulent potted arrangement for the tune of $6.98.  It is a concrete planter and the succulents are not real.
 *Disclaimer, ALL of my other house plants are REAL!!!  I don't like faux plants for my house but I made an exception for this one because it's a really good fake.   

Threshold Mixed Succulent Potted Arrangement
Threshold Mixed Succulent Potted Arrangement

The snails are already hanging out with a couple of my house plants.  Looking good!  Whaaaat????  I know they are place card holders but I don't do place cards.  People sit wherever they want to sit when they come over for dinner. Yeah, I know, such disorderly conduct!!!!

Gold snail succulents

Gold snail succulents

Anyhow, they look so much cuter hanging out with my plants.  This way my plants and my snails each can keep each other company.  I also get to enjoy the little guys more often than only at dinner parties.  They are so freaking cute!  I love how the one with the white rocks looks.  I think I am going to add some white rocks to the other plant so the little snail could have some more contrast and really pop.  You don't have to limit yourself to using them as place card holders, when I saw them I immediately thought "plant buddies!"  You could prop these up on a wall shelf or on top of some books on a book shelf, whatever makes you happy. 

Gold snail succulents
Gold snail succulents



















For now I set the ceramic box on top of the bathroom counter.  I am not sure where it will end up or what it will hide but for now it's sitting there looking pretty.  Please don't hate on my fauxlicious marbled countertop or my vintage, retro, brown and speckled beige tile backsplash.  Yes that's an original ceramic, brown, yucky toothbrush holder sticking out of the wall. We even have a matching soap dish on the other side and matching bathroom tissue paper holder thing.  Yup, It's in dire need of a makeover, but it is in very good condition and it will have to wait until we can save our pennies for a complete gut renovation.  Which wont be happening any time soon.  But I'm not worrying about that right now, I'm happy because I have my pretty box.  

bathroom white gold nate berkus ceramic geo box
 
So back to the pretty box.  It could be a nice discrete spot to hide lady plugs or you know lady stuff, or maybe hair ties and bobby pins, toothbrushes and toothpaste, I mean as long as the stuff is small and shallow the possibilities could be endless.  I did a picture with our toothbrushes and toothpaste to show they fit and it still closes all the way.  I did not leave them in there because that would not work for our two little ones everyday.  It could end up in the office to stash small office supplies or in the master bedroom for my jewelry but for now it is in here looking pretty and making me smile.

bathroom white gold nate berkus ceramic geo box


Our half bathroom has absolutely no natural light and not a single window.  I figured this little, dark bathroom could use some greenery.  I love plants and my goal is to someday have real plants in every single room in our home with the exception of this room.  I wouldn't put a real plant in this small, windowless room for fear of it dying.  So I am very happy that I know this plant wont be dying anytime soon.  I haven't decorated this bathroom because it hardly gets any use, so it's nice to finally add something to it.  It made my wheels start turning, ideas, ideas spinning around in my head.

Threshold Mixed Succulent Potted Arrangement

Threshold Mixed Succulent Potted Arrangement

Threshold Mixed Succulent Potted Arrangement

For almost $16 after tax I bought a few home decor items to freshen up some rooms.  So go ahead, call me a "Clearance Junkie" if you wish, I like my new stuff.  They add personality to our home, I didn't break the bank and they are all very good quality items.  The snails have some weight to them, they don't feel plasticky or cheap.  The ceramic box well, it's ceramic need I say more? and the added storage is a plus.  The plant looks very real and has great texture to it and the base is made of chunky, heavy concrete and looks sooo good.  So overall I am very happy with my purchases even if I didn't find everything I was looking for.

*Disclaimer #2  I wouldn't recommend going on a clearance rampage, you can end up with a lot of unnecessary crap in your house.  Please shop at your own discretion.        


Dine with us

Today I would like to invite you into our dining room. It is a small room right off of our kitchen and with a wide doorway into our living room.  It is not a big formal dining room but we are more casual people so this space is perfect for us.  In our old place we had just an eat in kitchen that worked well for just the four of us, even when we had parties and family gatherings.  When we were searching for our house we wanted a separate dining space but nothing too enclosed and far from the kitchen so I love that this room fells open to the kitchen and living room. We can have gatherings and people can spread out without feeling left out.  The dimensions of this space is 9' 4" by 11' 4".  So it's not terribly small, it's actually quite comfortable and more than enough space for our family.

Eclectic modern farmhouse dining room floating shelves

So far we refinished the floors in here by ourselves in Minwax Jacobean and painted the walls a nice light grey. The color is Behr's "Irish Mist" matched to Glidden's premium line of paint and primer in eggshell finish.  The reason why we had the color matched to Glidden's paint line is because it's a less expensive, high quality paint that works well for us.  We replaced the old boob light with a more modern light fixture.  We brought in some temporary furniture pieces until we can afford to replace these with something more our style.  We have a round pedestal table that I can add leaves to if I need to for bigger gatherings.  I started to refinish this table and realized it had a veneer top when I started sanding it. Parts of the veneer came off on a part that was lifted a bit.  That kind of turned me off about the table because I really wanted a stained top but the stain just doesn't look right on those spots where I filled with wood filler.  I am not sure what color I want to paint it since I can't stain it.  Dining chairs have always been my nemesis.  We have been through so many different dining chairs in our life.  We can never find stylish durable chairs that can stand the test of time without breaking the bank.  I picked up these windsor chairs for 10 bucks one day and they are all beat up but damn they are strong.  So I've held on to them.  Hopefully one day we find will some stylish, hardy chairs that wont leave us house poor.

Eclectic modern farmhouse dining room

They grey cabinet was hand built by us for a nook in our previous home.  We have since painted it and changed the hardware.  It hides all of our crafting supplies and other junk like extra light bulbs and candles.  The clear vases on top I have been collecting over the years but I paired them down when we moved here.  I filled them with corks from the many bottles of wine we have shared in this room and some old chess pieces.  The vintage radio was a house warming gift from my mom's boyfriend.  He brought it with him when he helped us paint the house before we moved in and I hinted that I wanted a small vintage radio so he told me I could have it as a house warming gift.  The rattan mirror is from Crate and Barrel.   I would like to replace the cabinet someday with a skinny vintage display hutch that I can give a makeover to.
*update* we bought a vintage hutch to replace the grey cabinet, see it here!

Eclectic modern farmhouse dining room diy rustic build cabinet greyvintage vases wine cork chess pieces vase fillers



vintage vases wine cork chess pieces vase fillers crate & barrel round mirror vintage radio




We hung some floating shelves from Ikea that we already had to display pretty things.  The marble wine goblets were a gift from my mom, she saw them at a tag sale and she she knew I would love them.  The wooden ones I borrowed from my her house with no intention of giving them back.  The clear with gold cups and the wooden leaf tray, I bought from a thrift store I use them as candle holders.  The white owl vase is from Jonathan Adlers Happy Chic line.  The wire scorpion was handmade by my mom's boyfriend, he is very creative.  The wooden bowl set I found at a evening tag sale years ago with my husband walking to the supermarket near our house.  The quirky white flying pig was a gift from my husband.  I bought the plants at Ikea years ago when they were itsy, bitsy little babies.  I have been feeding them and helping them grow since. Their planters are also from Ikea from their Kardemumma plant pots.  The black mirror was left here by the previous owners of the house it was in the half bathroom but I replaced it with a oval one that fit the space better.  After looking at these pictures I am convinced I do not like it here on the wall so I think I am going to give it a makeover with paint or something.  I've always wanted to try gold leafing something maybe this could be a project to try it on.  But I will definitely be hanging it somewhere else.

Lack Floating shelves plants wooden bowls cups marble wine goblets

marble wine gobletswooden cups



flying pig wooden bowls


The brass birds are my favorite thrift store find.  When I was a child my mom had some similar in the living room but they were shiny gold, larger and made of some sort of a poly-resin material I think.  She moved and passed them down to my aunt who had them for years and years until she too moved and passed them down to someone else.  I was obsessed with finding some for my own home for the longest time. I had given up when one day I entered a thrift store and there they were solid brass flying birds I think I paid like $7 for them it was the happiest thrift day I can remember.  They bring so much of my childhood nostalgia into my home.  I love them, they make me smile, they make me reminisce.  One day one of my sisters walked into my home and said "Hey! Weren't those at mom's when we were little?".  I am so happy that they flew to me from whomever's home they escaped.


Eclectic modern farmhouse dining room floating shelvesbrass flock birds




Here is a list of things I want to do in this room.
  1. First, remove the little black mirror by the shelves, seeing these pictures I'm now sure, I hate it there.
  2. Sand, prime, paint the trims and window (you can see the blue tape where I started). 
  3. Buy chairs I am not sure what style but they need to be comfy, strong, durable and easy to clean.
  4. Build or buy dining table, I think I want to rebuild the same modern farmhouse dining table we built for our our previous house but tweaking it a bit so that crumbs don't get stuck in the crannies.
  5. Replace the grey cabinet with something similar to the ones I mentioned earlier in the post. 
  6. Maybe add a jute or sisal rug, I am not 100% I want to do that yet. I think it would add some nice texture and feel a little bit more layered and warm but at the same time I love the ease of sweeping and moping hardwood floors, and you know how crumbs and spills just happen with kiddos.
  7. Adding some horizontal shiplap would be nice too. Another maybe... we did recently paint this room so I could see my husband cringe at the thought of having to repaint but he is a wood man so I think he might like the idea.  
And there you have it, our dining room now and thoughts for the later.  One thing is for sure we have really enjoyed having this separate space for just the four of us having dinner together every night and having family over to get together.  The time spent in here has truly been a blessing.  We are looking forward to many, many more years of family gatherings here.



   

  



 

Living room working with what we have

 
The first thing we did when we bought our new house was refinish all of the hardwood floors and paint all of the rooms except for our home office and half bath.  After we finished all of that then we started moving all of our furniture and stuff in to our new home. The first living space we wanted to put together was the living room.  We wanted to able to come home in the evening and relax with our family in a space that felt familiar and cozy just like home.  We wanted to make work the things from our previous home to save money and because we love the pieces we have collected over time.

Living room kivik sofa eclectic modern small

Living room kivik sofa eclectic modern small

To make the living room feel light and fresh we went with Glidden's smooth stone in eggshell. It is a medium, creamy grey shade that's a nice contrast to the new stain color we chose for the floors.  We then brought in the big pieces of furniture we were going to use in the room.  I knew I wanted to use the green cabinets to flank the fire place and they fit perfectly.

Living room kivik sofa eclectic modern small

We chose to mount the TV over the fireplace because the living room is small.  First we tried bringing in our TV console and played around with furniture arrangements but it just didn't fit because we wanted to add extra seating.  After moving everything around we decided this was the best furniture arrangement for the pieces that we have.  We put our big, grey love seat chaise combination from Ikea in front of the big window and used our end tables side by side to use as a coffee table in front of the couch.

Living room kivik sofa eclectic modern small

We recently bought the leather wing back chair through Craigslist and the Greek key chair next to it I thrifted and painted distressed black and reupholstered with fabric from an old curtain.

Tufted leather wing back chair
Greek key chair distressed black



















There was a big empty wall I wanted to build a console table for so I checked my scrap wood inventory, drew up some plans. made up some measurements and my hubby and I got to building.  I then sanded  and painted it to look a bit weathered. I accessorized the console table with some books, my rhino from West Elm, a metal fan to keep us cool, a picture of our princesses and an old pineapple shaped lamp I spray painted white and bought a fabric lamp shade for.  It is a pair, I have the other one on one of the green cabinets.  I hung a faux bamboo mirror over the console that I spray painted glossy white.  More details and pictures of the console table here.

Living room kivik sofa eclectic modern small rustic diy console table

 All of the accessorize were from our old home.  We didn't spend any money accessorizing this room or in furniture aside from the leather wing back chair. The rug is a Moroccan shag rug from Home Goods.  It was from our old master bedroom it fit in here perfectly.  The curtains are the white vivan curtains from Ikea we used them in almost every room in our old house.  I added a few plants around the living room for fresh air and because I love having plants in every room.  The hourglass stool we bought through Craigslist.

Living room kivik sofa eclectic modern small

succulents plants window sill

The wooden hand on the mantle was a gift from my aunt, it's my favorite piece.  The Buddha was a birthday gift from my husband a few years ago.  The large wall panel over the set of chairs we also bought through Craigslist.

fireplace mantel rustic

As you can see most of our furniture pieces are second hand either from craigslist or thrift stores and I paint them myself to fit in with our home.  The green cabinets next to the fireplace are originally from Pier 1 but of course i bought them second hand and painted them in different shades of green, glazed them and distressed them.

Distressed green cabinet asian influence
Distressed green cabinet asian influence



















The side tables that are now our coffee table are also second hand and I painted, glazed and distressed them.  Buying used pieces allows us to save money, have unique, good quality pieces that we love and at the same time we are being green by reusing these pieces that could otherwise end up in a dumpster.

asian influence distressed blue table greek kkey chair tufted leather wing back chair

Asian influence distressed blue coffee table

There are a lot of things I want to do to this room, it isn't yet finished.  I want to finish painting all the trim, windows, and the doors.  The fire place needs a make over, I don't know what to do with it yet. I want to add more texture with window shades and in other forms.  We want to add overhead, recess lights.  There will always be tweaking here and there but our living room is now a comfortable, livable and beautiful room that feels just like home to us.  That's all that matters!!!        

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