So I'm trying something new. Instead of keeping my thrift treasures relegated to Thursdays, I thought I would switch up this series and call it - Thanks, I thrifted it! It's what I say most often when people compliment me on my home, or my fashion. :)  Today I'm sharing how I added style and function to my nightstand with items that are second-hand.

I managed to come across all of these items on 3 different trips to the Goodwill. Whenever I'm Goodwill shopping, I do my best to keep a mental inventory of what items I already have that I can coordinate with future finds. Black, white, and gold are classic together, so I kept that in mind while looking for great pieces.

First I came across this hand. I liked that it could serve as a sculpture on its own, but it can also hold my wedding rings and various bracelets when I'm too lazy to put them away. This hand was only $1.99 at Goodwill and has some decent weight to it.

Next I came across this cute Kate Roebuck "Haha" cereal bowl from Anthropologie. It was super cute, and I knew right away I could give it a home. I like that it's deep enough to hold my chunkiest necklaces when I'm getting undressed. Apparently this was a special series for Anthro, because I found identical bowls selling for $24 on Ebay. This bowl was only $2.99 at Goodwill.

The last piece I came across was this cute ceramic and brass faux succulent planter. This really serves no function other than for aesthetics, but I couldn't pass it up. This piece was just $3.99 at Goodwill (which honestly I thought was a little pricey, but I really wanted it, and I know that it definitely retailed for more probably at Target or Home Goods.)

All together, these items coordinate beautifully, and I think it added much-needed style and function to my bedside table. Add a few books, an agate slice (also thrifted many years ago), and a glass of water and you've really got some beautiful, yet functional Goodwill style. 

So what do you think? Not bad for less than $10 with tax, right?

What should I thrift next?

Today I wanted to get the conversation going about how I plan to address our guest room. Honestly, I've gone back and forth with what I want for this room. It's the smallest bedroom in the house, and I really wanted it to feel like a little boutique experience for guests. First I thought about doing a convertible daybed, but the one I wanted sat so low, and didn't look or feel as substantial as I wanted it to. Currently the room has a simple Karlstad chaise against the wall, and it's been against the wall in the same spot for 3 years! I guess the thought of a daybed, even if it would be centered on the back wall, felt a little too similar to what was already there, and I wanted something completely different. I remember talking to a friend about my concern for the size of the bed in this space, and she told me that she had a full bed in her small guest room, and never had any problems with it. Besides, if a couple stays over and they don't like the idea of sharing a full size bed... they should probably find somewhere else to stay.

Of course before I decided on what furniture I wanted, I gathered a little inspiration. If you follow me on Instagram you may remember this post from some time ago. After a year and a half, I still digging it, so I thought that it might be a good point of departure. 

Lately I've been seriously considering the addition of a plug-in sconce to our bedroom lighting ensemble. While we have two nice lamps on either side, it would be wonderful to add additional reading lights over the bed. Actually I've been dreaming about particular sconces since we stayed at the (now deceased) Viceroy hotel in Miami a few years ago. The room had a gorgeous bed flanked with large lamps on either side, but it also had thin, modern LED lights that peeked from behind the bed frame. See if you can spot them in the photo below.

1. beaker / 2. zinc ethan / 3. Inez / 4. globe clear / 5. arstid / 6. brass nook / 7. eyeball / 8. globe cage / 9. ranarp / 10. crosby / 11. tived / 12. glass globe / 13. accordian / 14. logan / 15. alang

And People, don't forget your cord management! It is so important unless you have a sexy fabric- covered cord like #9. To make sure a cord stays on the straight and narrow, I like to use this adhesive paintable cord cover. And just in case you were still wondering, I'm totally digging #11 for our space. Most of these options can hold their own (without the addition of a lamp) but we've decided to keep our lamps because well... they're pretty. And I'm not a huge fan of overhead lighting (unless it's fabulous) but in our case a ceiling fan in the bedroom is a non-negotiable. Also, just for reference, here's a photo of our bedroom situation (it's an old photo, but we've only hung art over the bed since then.)

Yes my friends, the Parquetry nightstand, usually $349, was down to $99.99. NEW IN BOX! So naturally I scooped 2 up to replace the small tables on either side of our bed. Now, here's what we're working with!

Honestly folks, this is how my bed side usually stays... sweet and simple. But can we talk about how amazing this nightstand is? And how I finally have a drawer! Which is pretty much empty because I've never had one to fill. 

Hopefully the purchase of a super chic, loft town home in a hip neighborhood is in our near future. Until then, I've been trying my best to show our bedroom some design love without spending a lot of dough. Since our plan is to only be in our current place for seven more months, I've decided to implement some fresh, frugal changes.

So here's what it  looks like now.

The overall intent is still the same, but I made a couple of tweaks so save some cash. First, I decided to forgo purchasing some new end tables and use two we already had. On my side I'm rocking a lime green side table I purchased from Target a few years ago from their back-to-college clearance sale for $4.98.


Underneath I have a little basket that use for small things like the cable remote, my Kindle, and iPod. 


And instead of doing the matchy-matchy thing for Brandon's side, I used the Trollsta side table I'd been hoarding underneath our bed. (Hey I have furniture hoarding tendencies, what can I say?)

But then I realized that the space wasn't nearly as adequate as it needed to be to accommodate all of the things that my techie hubby brings to his bedside. Even though he liked the idea that the top was metal, and he could sit his drinks down without using a coaster, I wasn't completely convinced. So I ended up using another shelf-turned-bedside-table that I picked up on clearance for $19 at CB2.

A tray from our dining room helped holds his Kindle Fire HD, Roku remote, TV remote, iPod, and a reading light his books. The Tiki was a gift from Brandon's Granny. He keeps lots of little odds and ends in there, gift cards, change, etc.

Underneath are a few paper boxes that hold his various chargers and such. A small apothecary jar I got from Goodwill holds his ear buds.

For now the dresser is pretty much clear. My next project is to make inserts for the glass. I'm kinda over looking at clothes through the glass. I was thinking of cutting cardboard or poster board and wrapping them in fabric to place behind the glass panels. Here's the other side.

For those of you who don't know, my big sister Chan is a proud Airman (well Air woman) in the United States Air Force. Side note: She just picked up rank too! So proud of her! :) Anyhoo, Earlier this year she received orders to move to Korea. Shortly afterward I received this email - 

"Sister,

 Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to help your sister, turn this box of mine into a nice livable area for the next 10 months.  Only if you want to of course.  My style is kinda dark of course, I can put things on the wall, maybe posters or something blah.  Anything you think would work, that doesn't over do it of course... Call it a HOBO project cause I am helpless lol.  I have attached some pics of what there is to work with.  Let me know if you're interested. " 

Naturally I accepted and immediately got to work. What I could specify for her that would be comfortable, cost-conscious, and of course cool? This was definitely a challenge. Chan's aesthetic is very monochromatic, and as you know I LOVE COLOR. I managed to keep a restrained hand while still finding some things that truly make a dorm-like space cute and cozy. 

 

I began this mission with a myriad of textiles. After all, what better way to gather bedroom inspiration than to start with what's going on the bed? Here are the choices I presented to her.

She loves maps and Maya Angelou, so I wanted to make them significant pieces in the design. I also made sure that I found pieces from websites that shipped internationally, or pieces I could easily pick up and ship to her. Below are a few inspirational images that I sent to my sister, along with the scheme board to better explain where I was going with all of this.

Via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Just as the title suggests, our bedroom is in need of a little sprucing up. Truth be told, I never really had a complete idea of what I wanted our bedroom to be. Up to the moment it's been a little hodgepodge of things that somehow made it through the door. Bedroom decor has always been hard for me. It always leaves me thinking, "What means enough to me to make it into the place where we sleep?"

Anyhoo, this need for a refresh began when I decided to wash a our current comforter. As I lugged the comforter to the washer, my hubby suggested that we should think about getting another one because we had pretty much used the same one for two years (our current one was a much desired wedding gift from my mom). Then as I stripped away our pillow shams literally moments later, I noticed that my dog brother Versace' mysteriously chewed up the corner of our pillow sham during his last visit. Good timing 'Sace. Good timing.

Of course my hubby opened up a whole new world of possibilities when he said that we should get a new comforter. To me, I heard "It's time to pimp this room". Yeah, I have a slight hearing problem. To take our bedroom to the next level (on a modest budget of course) I went straight to Target.com. Check out my scheme  page.

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I.

After a slight browse, I found something that I knew we could both love. I thought a geometric pattern would be a great unisex choice, and we both dig the color. In fact, our current comforter is yellow and gray, but this one is much more fresh and in your face. I like the current turquoise lamps in our bedroom, but we never had much else in the bedroom to balance it out. My plan is to infuse color into the room just a bit more. Fun accent pillows, a bold nightstand, why not? Here's a photo of our current space so that you have a frame of reference.

We actually already own the ceramic herringbone patterned lamps (I picked them up dirt cheap a few months ago) so I may switch them out for the current ones. I've also contemplated throwing in a couple of quirky accents such as the Nate Berkus tortoise shell (which I'm still slightly on the fence about because I want to see the color in person) and a giant cardboard deer head from Urban Outfitters. Oh, and how about that chair from Blu Dot for Target? Oh, be still my beating heart! If the price gets slashed just a little more, I may just jump on it for the corner of the room. So what do you think? I can't wait to get this stuff ordered! You know I'll keep you posted on the outcome!

Here's a closeup of our little foo dogs. I got them for $6 each in Target's bodega.

Gotta love that old-school tv! I tried my best to frame the screen out with art. 

One of the challenges I faced since moving to our new place is finding a perfect spot for all the miscellaneous things we had in our old place. While frantically unpacking and putting things away, I came up with what I consider a pretty awesome space-saving idea. Check out these side tables.

I bought these green side tables during the '09 college sale at Target, and I must say - they've been nomads from the very beginning. We used them in our sun room, living room, and in the office at one time to hold our printer.  Because we no longer have room for them in our new place (we have a coffee table and end tables in our living room) I had to get creative about finding a space for them. Check out what I came up with.

Above are the night stands in our bedroom (Lack tables that I swore myself I'd get rid of). But how freakin' awesome is it that these little side tables are just small enough slide underneath? 

The best part is that my hubby (who is notorious for bringing all sorts of electronics to bed) can slide the little side table out, giving him an extra surface in which to work. After realizing how incredibly easy it is to jazz up a Lack table, I have been thinking about keeping ours for a little while longer. Initially I thought they were a pretty inexpensive and temporary route to go as far as night stands were concerned, but I'm starting to realize the value of re-working what you have. Call it my attempt at up-cycling. So, we'll see that kind of magic I can conjure up with our little Lacks. I'm thinking of possibly skirting them, or even using little decorative corners like this (possibly in a nickel finish) to dress them up. The possibilities are literally endless, and I'm well overdue for a new diy adventure!

I swear I've been thinking about my blog all week. I wish I had the time and strength to post every day but alas, a girls gotta sell kitchens (at ridiculous times during the week). Today I wanted to share a cute, little project that I did on my day off to dazzle up the forgotten corner of our bedroom. I knew we needed some artwork, so I did myself a favor and raided my parents attic for some free frames last time I was home.

Here's the box I smuggled back from Leesburg. Notice the nice, thick layers of dust.

Check out the dark frames. I managed to find 6 matching ones with awesome pictures of cheetahs, elephants, and zebras inside, and when I say awesome, I do mean awesome. The photos were nifty because I used as templates for hanging.

Side note, check out the chair. It once belonged to my grandmother, and I feel so blessed that I was able to give it a new home. Can't stand to see a mid century chair go to waste! Here's a better photo of it.

It's actually in really good condition, but I plan on re-staining the arms later down the road. When I wiped it down (with soap and water) the arms started to reveal the wood grain. It was pretty amazing.

Check it out. The mat for the frames is just the original cardboard backing that kept the African pictures in place. All the art is just quotes and such that make me happy. Here's a closeup.

In case you're wondering, it's true.