Mirror, mirror, on the wall....

I gave up trying to come up with clever blog titles a loooong time ago, but I just couldn't resist!

Mirrors are the simplest way to add wall decor, light and depth to a room. In other words, if you have a small dark room, hang a mirror!

My master bedroom is a pretty large room and it gets tons of natural light but I am in the process of making a few changes. I have a really awesome antique mirror hanging out in my garage that may fit into the plan.

I use mirrors in just about every room of my house....

The living room (featured here)....

The den...

My home office....

And this fun little mirror hanging in a small corner of my room...

The change? Well, I am finally getting around to buying new chairs for my master bedroom. I originally intended to reupholster the chairs I have...

But as you can see, they are very large...and they are "matchy-matchy" which is something I am moving away from. Truth be told, I just don't like them any more!

While I was hunting for a new couch for the living room, I looked at a few chairs that might work in this space.

First, let me explain "this space." When the kids were younger, I added the den so we would have two living spaces. When they got a bit older (and louder), I added a large master suite with this awesome sitting area so we would have someplace to escape to.

Of course, now the kids are gone and we have this amazing sitting area in our bedroom and two living spaces. Um, no, we don't need all this space. Truthfully, we rarely use the sitting area in the master bedroom these days...but my oldest daughter really wants these two large club chairs...and well, it's just time to make a change!

So the hunt for the perfect chairs commenced.....

Two caught my eye, so this week I went back to the store and ordered them both....

This one is a leather recliner. A little bit of information about myself...I DO NOT do recliners. First, they are usually very bulky and unsightly. Second, I have an unfortunate history with recliners...hence, they seem to set off a form of PTSD. I don't really want to share, but suffice it to say, I swore there would never be a recliner in my home.

But I kind of like this one...it is very different from your typical barcalounger recliner and I really didn't find it the least bit offensive. It has a USB port and Brian thinks it is super comfy, so this will be "his" chair.

My chair is actually a "feed me a grape" kinda thing....

Perfect for those nights when my back won't let me lay in bed any longer or cold winter afternoons when I just want to curl up with a blanket and a good book!

I really didn't need an ottoman since Brian will have the recliner but I wanted to be able to stretch out. This one fits the bill...and it is super comfy!

Which brings me to the mirror in the garage (see, I eventually get around to my point!)

Months ago I bought a MCM dresser with a mirror. It had obviously been exposed to heat from a fire because the finish had a little bit of "bubbling" and it was covered in soot. I took off the mirror, cleaned up the dresser and sold it.

These days dressers WITH mirrors just aren't the "in thing" so I kept the mirror and gave it a little makeover with the intent to sell it. The finish was damaged...and of course it was pretty "dark and dank."

I chalk painted it with an off-white paint and distressed it a bit. But I really didn't like the look of it...it just seemed too "white."

So I decided to give it a little "glaze" treatment with some stain. I wiped on pecan stain and then wiped it off. It gave the finish a nice "aged" look. After glazing the entire frame of the mirror, I sealed it with polycrylic and reattached the little medallions.

The mirror is "not my style" (again, whatever the heck that is! Eclectic?) and of course I will have to hang it higher...right now I just stuck it up where the old picture was to see if I MIGHT like it there...don't know. Truth is, I will have to wait until the new chairs are in place.

But my whole rambling point is this...you don't have to live with "dark and dank." Mirror frames can easily be painted. Even if the frame isn't quite "your style" a little paint can go a long way to making a simple cast off mirror a nice statement piece for your room! And trust me, if you have priced mirrors lately, you might want to rethink that thrift store gold framed mirror or that old dresser mirror!

Whether you paint it a bright, solid color or give it a little "aged look" treatment, mirrors are easy to change to fit any decor!

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Change is a coming....

If you have taken a peak at my "About me" page, you know Brian and I have been blissfully together for 16 years...me in my home, him in his.

This month, that all changed.

We are still blissful, but after 16 years we now have one home.

Truth be told, he's been here since his shoulder surgery in June. When you have to dress someone, put on their deodorant, cut up their food and share a relatively small bathroom, you find out real quick if you could live with that person full time. We have and we can. So over the last few months it has become apparent that living in the same household is doable and maintaining two households is a waste of time and money.

Soooo....we took the leap. A couple of months ago he put his house on the market on a Tuesday, had two offers by Saturday and closed in three weeks.

Wow!

That was easy.

The hard part was negotiating the "combining of households." And truthfully, that process really wasn't that difficult. We rented a storage building and had a massive garage sale.

But there were still a few non-negotiables (even a few necessities).

Clothing: This is where Brian shows his "feminine" side....the man has waaaaay more clothes than I. Fortunately I am NOT a clothes hoarder and I am an "empty-nester." I donated 1/2 my clothes to free up space in the master closet. He also took over Katie's walk in closet upstairs for the clothes that didn't fit in the master closet. (I have to give him credit for scaling down from 3 to 1 1/2 closets!)

The brown leather couch and chair: First I am NOT a brown leather couch kinda gal.....not in my decor wheel-house. But honestly, it is kind of my fault. When Brian bought his house six years ago, we went furniture shopping. Being as that is not something I really enjoy, I yawned my way through most of the day. We found a beautiful couch and chair set at one store...price tag over $4500. We found another really nice couch priced around $1500. Later that day when he called for my opinion, he thought I told him to get the pricey one....I'm almost certain I did NOT! Anywho, a week later he had a $4500 couch and chair delivered....and six years later they had to come to my house!

The black chair and ottoman will definitely need a makeover if it is going to stay in here...just too much "dark and heavy" going on. It will have to be moved out for the Christmas tree so maybe I will start on that project then...provided I can decide on a fabric!

Remember when I said something about decorating around a brown couch...yes, well, I am having to take my own advise. I am still struggling to mesh my "light and bright" quest with "humungus and dark," but somehow it will all come together...someday...maybe.

The flamingos and a frog: Not kidding. A pair of pink ceramic flamingos and a frog that lights up.

Again, my fault to some degree. He likes frogs. I found this "cute" lighted frog while picking up knick-knacks for his house. Honestly, it was kind of a joke but he loved it. The joke now has a new home....

He loves them, and I love him, and well....whatever.

Almost forgot the massive giraffes...it's official, we have a zoo! Another auction buy. They are from Africa and were carved from some kind of tree root. They really are kind of cool, but again they will have to be relocated when I do my Christmas decorating.

These are just a few of the "non-negotiables." There is also the massive safe that required a complete restructure of the master closet pantry. It is filled with his knife and coin collection. I had to clean out the large dresser to make room for his hoard of socks, under shirts, undies and such...I say hoard because, seriously the man has more undergarments than any reasonable human really needs. Especially considering I do laundry every other day! The Bow Flex and elliptical (we now have a "work out" room!) His "electronic" obsession...2 computers, an ipad, blue ray players, stereo systems and OMGosh how many TVs does one person really need.

Truth of the matter is, he made waaaay more sacrifices than I. And in the end, at our age and with the wisdom we have acquired over the years, the "give and takes" aren't really even sacrifices.

I wish young couples REALLY understood this...

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Little Ms. Tammy's tuffet....

My friend Tammy is always in awe of all my little projects. And I tell her the same thing I tell everyone. YOU CAN DO IT TOO!! But she always says she can't....

So I was a bit surprised when she sent me a text last night with a picture of an ottoman she paid $10 for and a note saying she was going to recover it. Honestly, I assumed she was fishing for help, so I was quick to reply that JR's funeral was last night....to which she replied "Who's jr?"

SERIOUSLY! I know she is not THAT much younger than me. We are both "girls of the 80s." Who's "jr"? What, were you raised in the rain forest girl?

Imagine my surprise when she sent me a picture of her completed project 3 hours later.

YOU GO GIRL!!! I am sooooo proud of her....she proved my point....YOU CAN DO IT!