#repurposed decor

A Staffordshire dog, junkin’ finds, and an old, paint can, repurposed as a vase. 

Just before winter rolls in, I have a habit of creating a mental queue of projects to keep me occupied during the cold months. And then hibernation sets in and I barely even revisit queued projects, let alone complete them. Instead, my creative energy is segued into the kitchen and I find myself sticking to projects I can promptly consume (my prize dish this winter was a curried carrot ginger soup).

Luckily, spring is just around the bend and I'm getting excited about projects again. Especially ones that get me outside. On garbage days, I drive like a grandma down the country roads scouting for discarded treasures. Last week I came across an old chicken coop.

Most of it was just dismantled wood and wire save the door, which was filthy but intact. I brought it home, cleaned it up, and then sanded it just enough to avoid slivers. Then I painted it in a patina style using my current color obsession, a pistachio mint. I left the inner frame unpainted, letting the natural color of the wood play off the bright, clean mint.

When my significant other and I moved into our apartment (which was once the lower level of a 17th century carriage repair shop), it was pretty much bare. Three exceptions remained: a set of hideous and I mean HIDEOUS rubbery curtains lurking in the living room, some matchstick roll up blinds in the bathroom, and a simple, old white chest of drawers situated between the two bamboo-blinded windows. The blinds took some time to grow on me, but the silly little chest, kind of oddly placed in the bathroom was instantly endearing. I actually loved the crappy white paint job but didn't love the way it just vanished against the white walls. A quick look at the chest:

Much to my dismay we are forbidden to paint the walls of our apartment, so I was forced to make due. My solution?

1 Orangina bottle wrapped with ric rac and filled with a few pretty feathers, 1 old jar (found filled with mud in the woods by the river) serving as my makeup-brush container and 1 Dia de Los Muertos pill box holding my hair pins

And the real centerpiece of this arrangement:

A handful of fossilized shells from North Carolina, an assortment of vintage watch faces, the sage bundle that we used to smudge the apt. before moving in, and a bit of broken purple glass found in Monache Meadow in CA

My camera has a hard time with natural light, so here's a version with flash:

And lastly, a look at the finished arrangement:

Object composition doesn't have to be complicated! I certainly do admire people that manage to stuff a small place with lots of objects and make it look pulled together through grouping, stacking, repetition of color palette and that "organized chaos" look that I love but am not so inclined towards. You don't have to have a huge collection of items! All you really need are some items that could be tied together- I chose a natural look because I happen to collect fossils and wanted to see them out in the open. I also just love everything found in nature and I never hesitate to express that.

And the best part is, this batch of organic bric-a-brac is nearly all repurposed and very inexpensive. A quick round up:

*Orangina bottle- steal a friend's empty or just buy one and enjoy. You could use any bottle really but the texture is lovely on Orangina bottles and the label comes off with some warm soapy solution.

Cost- ~$2

*Feathers & Ric Rac- craft stores will almost always have both of these things!

Cost- less than $5, maybe a bit more if you buy really nice hat feathers

*Pill Box- I happened to find this square one with dancing skeletons on it at one of my favorite Philly stores years ago but you could find something comparable at either an antique shop or at a Ten Thousand Villages store for as cheap as $5-$10

*Basket- a friends gave me this one, but you can find baskets of all shapes and sizes at Pottery Barn, Target or Crate and Barrel (I like this one) for around $10 and up. But maybe you already have one in your house?

Putting together any room is all about the hunt. You are a scout and your home is the field. So work with what you already have at your disposal and try procuring as little as possible brand new. Scout away and get resourceful, my friends!