Let There Be Light (by my new reading chair!)

I have a bunch of projects finished, but I'm going to post them individually rather than trying to cram them all in one post. First on the list is my lamp revamp.

Remember the lamp I got for a $1 on THIS shopping trip to Helping Hands?


I had actually planned on fixing it up and placing it on the console table under the giant clock, but it just so happened that I finished it right when my new little seating/reading area came together and so that is where it ended up.



So cute right!? I can take credit for the idea of how it was finished, but the actual work was done by my kiddos! I'm so proud. *beam* We actually did it right after dinner on a school night.

We didn't use primer. I just handed over the can and let them go to town. (ignore my yard, we are in a severe drought and I'm going to play that excuse up.)



See all that "snow" in the photos? That's spray paint in the air! You can't see it, but it's there, making this an OUTSIDE only project.


*I think the shirt Ms. Thang is wearing is the nerdiest thing I've ever seen, but my comments won't sway her lol

I set my camera down for a minute and of course the kids used it in my absence. You know how that usually leads to multiple pictures of extreme close-up eye shots, and a bunch of ground shots? Well this is what I found on the camera...






I big fat LOVE it! He is inside of a giant road cone my mom brought over for him to play with.

So add photography and decorating to my kids long lists of talents. Lets take a look at their handy work again..

Before:




and After:


I still needs the perfect little pillow for this chair, but I think the area is coming together really nicely. The chair came from Target when they recently had all their furniture on sale. I sold both my recovered chairs on craigslist and it covered the cost of this new one down to the dollar with a few cents left over. I never was happy with the fabric choice on those anyway. It really opened up the room to take out the two chairs and replace the hall tree with this one chair. The hall tree is now in the corner of the kitchen. I accidentally broke one of the turquoise plaques above the chair and now only have three. Of course it was my favorite in the bunch, but 3 is the magic decorating number anyway. Still, I miss it!
The little aqua glass bowl was a thrift shop find. My husband actually pointed it out. Its details are so pretty and the piece is flawless. Honey said it was probably an antique. Antique or not, I loved it and bought it for a dollar. After a little searching online, I found out it's vintage KIG Indonesia, circa 1960s. Here is an online shot of my candy dish. Exactly!

The detail is so pretty and so is the color. I found it listed HERE on Etsy for $16.99, and listed for up to $20 on other sites. I think I got a pretty good deal!


I added the little framed picture (actually a piece of handkerchief my brother-in-law brought me from his trip to Japan, the rest is tucked inside the frame) to complete the decor for now. It was originally a part of the collage above the sofa. It was just tacked onto a brown corduroy covered cork board I picked up at the Salvation Army a few years ago. I replaced it with a plaster pear (you KNOW how I feel about pears) that a got at a consignment shop and although it hangs off a bit, I really like it there. This time I had to really secured it on to be safe.


You can click HERE for an older photo of the area with the handkerchief in place.

The side table is a really heavy spindled table I got in the Target clearance section for $22 marked down from $89! I left the tag on the underside of the table cause I'm just that proud of it lol. Such a pretty pedestal right?


If you look closely at at the "ball" portion of the spindle, a little to the left there is a natural crack in the wood and the reason this table was marked down. I'll be turning that back towards the wall and no one (except you) will be the wiser. ;)

Chair- major online sale (paid for by selling 2 recovered craigslist chairs)
Table- $22 marked down from $89
Lamp- $1 plus a shade I had in the closet (traded a friend 2 smaller shades for it)
Art- Souvenir from Japan, stolen from another area of the room
Vintage bowl- $1

One last look:


Now I plan on making a throw pillow with some vintage linens my mom gave me, but I'll save that for another post and if it goes well, I might just do a really fun give away :)