My mama raised me to have a very open mind as far as other people's style goes. She's an artist, and we all know art is subjective. When I would see a painting or piece of art that seemed highly simplistic to me, she would reply that we had no idea the level of skill or years of schooling that artist had completed in order to achieve that seemingly simple work.
She had a similar view on people's home decorating. When we would visit someone, she always found something to compliment in their home, whether she shared their decorating taste or not. Some people just don't get that. If they walk into a home and have a dissimilar view on decorating, they view the home with ridicule. We are all different people, why would we decorate the same way? My mama didn't realize it at the time, but she was giving me a valuable gift. To this day, I can view a room and appreciate the owner's taste, whether I share it or not.
Except for the stone geese you see on front porches. You know, the ones people like to dress? Sometimes for every holiday? Yeah, ain't nobody got time for that :X
Why have I told you all this? Because the above pictures are of MY decorating. Love it, hate it, it's mine.
Just as I find 99.9% of my wardrobe second hand, I also get most of my home accessories that way. In large part, my furniture was either bought new or are antiques from relatives. The rest? Fabulous thrift store finds. And, a couple 'curb side freebies.' Yep, I'm not too proud to say it. One man's trash, ya know.
The cross and picture combo rests atop a curio cabinet my darling husband bought before we were together. The gold cross was a superb Goodwill score at only $5. Gilt and very heavy, it's a perfect complement to our living room. Pictures of both sets of parents sit on either side, my folks in a thrift store leather frame, and his in a second hand stained glass number. Both were $1 apiece. If for nothing else, you really need to check out your local thrift store for picture frames. Those suckers are expensive new, but only between $1-$5 on average second hand. Most are new in boxes, too. Who can have too many picture frames? Certainly not me! Family photos are the perfect home accent to personalize your place!
The small front table is an antique I inherited from my beloved Grandma Lottie. It was painstakingly wrapped in plastic and carted across the country by my mama's best friend Sue. I LOVE having a table by the front door, for so many reasons. It's a great stop for our keys and other things we need to take with us; not only utilitarian, but also personal and beautiful. The small bowl we keep our keys in was made by Claire in her ceramics class last year. She threw it on a wheel, and I love the end result. Brushed with gold paint, it's rustic but pretty. The blue, brown and gold decorative plate was a Goodwill find at $5. Often you find tons of decorative plates second hand, but not the easels needed to display them. They can be found at Walmart or just about any dollar store for not much scratch. When I DO find them resale, they're only .50. I snap them up! The black and white picture of my kiddos was one of Brendan's senior pictures that I absolutely love, and again, found it's glory in a second hand, $1 frame. Who would know? The end result is very pleasing and makes me feel good about my home.
I don't hold myself up as an interior decorating expert. What I AM is someone who knows what she likes and buys it when she sees it at the thrift store. You would be amazed at how much I have in my home that's second hand.......because unless I told you, you'd never know :)
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