Finding the perfect display shelf (hopefully)....
I haven’t really been MIA…I’ve been here. My computer however has been with my accountant for two weeks while she did my taxes. AAUUUGGGGHHHH! I seriously dislike taxes. Which is why I pay an unGodly amount to have someone else do them.
Last year was a nightmare….first year I didn’t have a “kid deduction” and I sold the apartments and bought rent houses through a tax exchange.
Nightmare I tell ya.
But it is done and life goes on. Just one of those annual unpleasantries in life like mammograms and having your teeth cleaned…painful but necessary.
When last we spoke I promised to share the board and batten in my entry. I think I will wait for a full reveal until the custom bench I ordered comes in. The problem is I have put the walnut table back and I am really digging the “entry table” look. But I put hooks on the wall specifically for guests to have a place to hang coats so I HOPE I love the bench look!
Sooooo….what have I been up too. Well, nothing of any great consequence. The past two weeks have been typical winter weather so I have had to limit myself to “inside work” and since many of my inside projects entail some outdoor time, I haven’t accomplished much. It has warmed a bit this week so I am hoping to start getting more done!
I did get my Easter decor up. I have decided that rather than just decorate for fall and Christmas, I am going to do something for each season that will carry me through the entire year. So after Christmas came down, I did a little for Valentine’s Day…after that a little Easter…after Easter I will do Spring, then Memorial Day/ 4th of July, then Summer, Fall and finally Christmas.
Nothing HUGE like fall and Christmas but table decor on the dining room table (since we rarely use it)…
A wreath on the front porch…
Seasonal pillows on the porch chairs…
A little kitchen froo-froo…
And a few knick knacks and pillows here and there.
Simple but fun!
I love this little sign.
I bought two, not knowing whether I want to go with white or black.
I love the black by the front door. They each have a simple bow on the top (like the white one) and I discovered you can take the bows off…the little wire that holds the bow and greenery is fed through a little hole in the sign. At Christmas I made a Christmas bow and it was so cute I decided to make one for each season…a little seasonal ribbon and a little bit of greenery. Cute as a bugs ear and super simple!
I have spent YEARS propagating my fall and Christmas decor, and I REALLY don’t need to add to those collections. I have decided that every year I will start adding to my other “seasonal” collections….I so dislike how “bare” the house looks after the Christmas comes down and it will be nice to look forward to keeping the house festive year round. Again it will all be much more scaled down than fall and Christmas, but fun all the same!
My next big project will be shelving for my living room. I want to put a display shelf/bookcase to the right of the fireplace.
I thought seriously about doing a credenza type look with tall art or some such but I feel like I need something with more height since the shelving on the left is “low.”
I have to keep in mind too that eventually I want to reface the fireplace…I have NO idea what I want to do, but eventually that may impact this area.
I think I went into EVERY furniture store in NWArkansas looking for the perfect shelving. Nothing.
I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted, but I knew when I saw it I would know.
When I saw this “industrial” style unit in the store where we purchased our dining room table, I loved it.
Now, I didn’t think I wanted “industrial” style shelving but again, that is the great thing about being somewhat “eclectic” in my design choices…I can add just about any style and it will work.
The bad news was the price….waaaay more than I really wanted to spend on a bookcase. Not that their furniture isn’t worth it, I just know me well enough to know that this is a “design choice” that may not be one of those “heirloom” pieces like our dining room table was.
So I kept looking and found this….
Waaaay less expensive…and for obvious reasons. The frame is metal vs welded steel and the shelving material is MDF vs. beefy solid wood.
But here is my thought process. The look and style is very similar…almost identical sizing…and I can replace the MDF shelves with beefy wood shelving. It won’t be one of those “heirloom” pieces like the walnut shelves that were my grandmother’s (left of the fireplace) but they will serve their purpose and HOPEFULLY give me the look I THINK I want. Considering the savings, if I don’t like it, I can relegate it to a spare room with out feeling bad! And I won’t feel like I have to factor it into any decisions about the fireplace because if it won’t work, the “cost” won’t be a big factor.
The shelves arrived yesterday so we will see how my “best laid plans” work out. Hopeful they will turn out to be exactly what I want and I can share them next week!
Hopefully….
Until then….
