Tuesday, February 25, 2014

new vignettes in the living room ~ and other "fun" stuff

 Do you ever take a good look at some arrangement you've done and think
maybe it looks too cluttered? Maybe it was also because I was looking through
a decorating magazine and saw a feature on a home focusing on minimalism
(that would never be me with decorating, that's for sure). I sometimes have to
remind myself that "less is more". I also wanted to lighten things up a bit for spring.
Even though spring seems like a long way off around here. We're going down
to below zero temps again tonight. Can't even talk about it.

Anyway, first I decided to tackle this area of the living room.
This is the before.


And here's the after. I took out most of the heavy, gold accessories and 
added a couple of white ones. I also removed the brown birds and brown 
candle that was in the narrow basket.


 Made a new vignette on the buffet with clear bottles. There had also been
a wooden bowl filled with books and pine cones on the right, and I changed
that out for a stack of books with a framed mirror and my grandma's clock.


 I added some white accessories to the table in the entryway.


The fun stuff is over. Now I'm off to make a call to an endodontist (need
a root canal), fold laundry, clean cat puke out of the vent (Clementine has
great aim), and research natural ways to get rid of ants (tried the cinnamon
thing I found online earlier - doesn't work). And then tonight, we get to go out
in the bitter cold to a car dealer and look at a couple of used cars for Tim!
Still haven't found one and we are sick and tired of dealing with people we've
found on Craigslist. We've been looking for six weeks and Tim needs a car
ASAP as it looks like he might be getting a new job and needs transportation.
Happy Tuesday.



17 comments:

  1. You have a great eye for this stuff, Melanie. I'm not very good at it. Sorry to hear you need a root canal, that stinks. Sorry about the coldness and the cat puke too. :( I hope you find the perfect car tonight so you can be done! Good luck to Tim in his new job.

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    1. Thanks for your compliments, Jennifer ~ and we did like the car we looked at last night. Just checking out a few more things before we start the bargaining process.

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  2. Ugh I hate root canals, no llikey! but you seem pretty calm about it! I do like your rearranging, seem simple, and amazing how taking a few things out changes the look so. I've been told I have to much stuff, but it's my home and only need to please 2 people. Hope you find a car for Tim!

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    1. Oh, I'm anything but calm about the root canal. I hate dental procedures. You are right that your home only need please yourself and whoever else lives there. It truly doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

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  3. Put table salt down where the ants are coming in. It works like a charm....for me at least :)

    I decorate with primitives so I just cannot tolerate minimalism. I cringe at pictures of cold, sterile minimalist homes.
    Your vignettes all look really nice.

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    1. Thanks for the salt tip, Theresa - I'll remember that one. I haven't seen any ants at all today, so I'm wondering if it just took a couple of days for the cinnamon to work. I don't like the cold minimalist look either. It doesn't look like anyone lives in those homes!

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  4. See that milk glass bowl on the second shelf in the last picture ? I have one like that :)

    Ant traps.

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    1. That pattern of milk glass is very common, so I'm not surprised you have the same bowl. Ant traps are poison - I don't want that stuff in my house unless absolutely necessary. That's why I was researching natural methods first.

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  5. Melanie, just had my daily conference call with my daughter and my sister and heard about the next arctic vortex, due there tonight, too! Stay warm, bake up a cozy cake and treat yourself to some pretty and fragrant flowers to fight the freeze! And remember, like all things in demand, it might be fashionably late!

    Poppy

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    1. It was hard to stay warm last night when outdoors looking at cars, that's for sure. It was good to get home into our warm house. I looked at flowers at Trader Joes a few days ago, and they all looked pitiful, so I didn't buy any.

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  6. Cornmeal will get rid of ants. The best way to prevent them is an outdoor bait near their holes in the ground. You'll probably find their holes near your foundation.

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  7. Your new vignettes look so fresh and pretty! It always feels so good to edit and move things around, doesn't it?
    I don't envy you ONE BIT having to have a root canal. Yuck!!! I do hope it goes well, though.
    Mary Alice

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  8. Isn't it fun to start moving stuff around? Hope your root canal went well - that's kinda a silly thing to say!

    Judy

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    1. I'm always moving stuff around, lol. No root canal yet - not until next week.

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  9. Very nice. I am in no way a minimalist and in fact, during the fall and winter I purposely cosy things up with extra "stuff". But as Spring approaches I usually am inspired to put away some of the clutter and go for a cleaner look. We are supposed to get ice tomorrow so I'm not ready just yet. Also not ready for more cold weather!

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