I didn't ask for this, but I'll take it!

We have an involuntary bathroom remodel underway at our house. In the midst of this, we uncovered a pretty snazzy tile floor we are going to try to preserve. This is not a very good picture of it. It is that 50's baby blue. I have found my inspiration for the remodel:

I found this picture in a Google search, and I tried to find it again to credit it, but I can't find it.

I like how everything is white except the brightly printed curtain and the vintagey floor. (You can see just the corner of it.) Since I don't have a window in my bathroom, our brightly printed curtain will be the shower curtain, so I am currently searching for the perfect one. Ikea has a nice wall hung sink I want to check out. I just don't know where you get those nice pipes they have under it...

rock it

Continuing on with the chair theme, I found this painted rocking chair collection, also on Design Mom. I will steal it. Eventually. Really, this little blog of mine is more of a collection of things I eventually want to do...

have a seat

I have two favorite things to buy when it comes to home decor. Lamps and chairs. If I had actually bought every lamp I have seen and loved at the various and sundry thrift stores I frequent (both here and in ND), we would not be able to have any furniture. Except chairs. We would have a house full of reading nooks. I love chairs. Folding chairs, side chairs, armchairs, rocking chairs, the list goes on and on. Chairs are easy to makeover. (Unless you buy a wingback or something.) Check out two of my most recent chairformations.

I inherited a set of unusual dining room chairs from a generous donor. I currently only have room for two in my house, but I plan to one day have an actual dining room, or at least a larger eating area, and use them all. Not only are they incredibly stylish, they are also surprisingly comfortable. The original cushion was in terrible condition, as is generally the way with dining chair cushions.

I wanted to recover it with a bold botanical print. Maybe something a little Swedish looking. Then I thought about going graphic/nature inspired. In the end, I happened to find myself in the Wal Mart fabric section where I found a fabric that went perfectly with the other current fabrics in the room. And it is busy enough that you won't see the inevitable pizza stains.

I don't really think these pictures do the fabric justice. It looks a lot less 80's calico in person. You'll just have to drop in and check the chairs out. Or take my word for it.

So, I also grabbed this awesome white vinyl chair for my living room off of my neighbor's curb a few weeks ago.

It is in pretty good condition; she just needed to make room for a small table and chairs in her living room. There was some tearing along the sides of the vinyl, and I was going to ignore it.

One day, I was looking at the chair, and came up with the idea to recover just the damaged parts. Then I thought, maybe just all the sides. But how do I do this with a vinyl chair? I use a glue gun, of course. In the same trip to Wal Mart, I found this fantastic bird fabric that does not match anything in the room, but I love the fabric, and it looks great on the chair.

You can't even really see it.

What was I thinking when I took these pictures?

Suffice it to say, I have a feeling it will henceforth be known as "the bird chair."

a calling?

I originally posted this on my family blog, but as it is more relevant to decorating, I decided to repost it here.

You may know that I have a borderline obsession with kitsch. Also, I like Jesus. Those two things together work well for me. A few summers ago, we went to the homeland, and while there, I, of course, thrift shopped. Thrift shopping in NJ is a whole different animal than thrift shopping in Florida or North Dakota. Things there are so much... livelier. (Some might say tackier. I'm choosing diplomacy to their name-calling.) Anyway, I cleaned up. It was a tchotchke-lover's paradise. One of the treasures that has managed to dodge all my subsequent tchotchke editing extravaganzas (goodbye owl holy water wall font) is what was lovingly dubbed "the Jersey Jesus." (That would be the bottom right Jesus in the picture, naturally.) The Jersey Jesus started it all. It is in an ornate frame, and made of that weird grooved plastic that seems to move when you move. Very Jersey. The following summer, I found the North Dakota Jesus. (top right) It is that famous picture of Jesus having dinner with a bunch of his friends. (Because that is what you DO in North Dakota. That is why I like it there.) Of course, the picture is superimposed onto a mirror and put in a very rustic looking frame. North Dakota is nothing if not rustic. About three weeks ago, I found Gainesville Jesus. I was at the Goodwill on 34th, looking through the "art" when I found a fantastic paint-by-number of Jesus. I have been hoping for a paint-by-number Jesus at some point, I just did not know what kind of town would be a paint-by-number Jesus town. Apparently, it's Gainesville. And a collection is born.

So, my question to you is, what kind of Jesus will your town produce? When I come to visit, I will be on a mission to find Jesus, so if you can't answer the call, I'll answer if for you.

Lucy's gift to Schroeder

I was reading through Design Mom one day recently, when I came upon this piano she painted green:

Now, many of you know that my current house cannot hold a piano, but don't think I won't file this away for future use. I would not necessarily paint it green. I like the idea of mustard yellow, actually. Or hot pink. Or turquoise. It all depends on what room it's in. And it would have to be a color I really like, as I probably won't paint it more than once. Even though I can't fit it in my house, if anyone local sees a free or cheap piano (a smaller scale one like this) anywhere, let me know! Accommodations could be made... we'll just eat dinner outside every night. We are almost to the time of year where that is a reasonable compromise.

Also, I have really been wanting to paint our interior doors black. What do you think?