Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Crafty Home Decor

Isn't my lamp adorable? Personal touches are the little things that make a house into a home.  It doesn't have to cost a lot (or anything at all, if you're creative), but I'm a firm believer that the way you decorate your home speaks to your personality and lifestyle.  My little apartment screams personality, from the minute you walk into the turquoise blue hallway.  Since moving in last year, I've been working on all those little touches that just make me smile when my eye lands on them.  It's not quite done yet, I still envision a lot for my apartment (including a full wall of photos, framed and matted in white, behind my couch), but it's definitely getting there.
 Here are two of those little things that I'm going to share with you today:


before & after of mirrors

First up - my Ikea mirrors.  It's a series of three square mirrors, in a natural maple that I actually found at a thrift store, with the hanging hardware installed on the back and everything (saved me some work!) ... I hung them up on my wall as is, and lived with them for a while, but I always knew I wanted to do something with them.  Amy and I had a craft day, and I decided to decoupage my mirror with pages from a French book I had found at a thrift store.  I did two layers and they dried opaque, so the maple cannot be seen at all underneath.
I'm still debating whether or not to add a little velcro circle at the bottom of the mirror so that I can interchange embellishments with each season (IE, maybe some yellow flowers for right now, spring time... some holly at Christmas, etc).  Because the actual mirror is so neutral, it would probably work well.  What do you think? Should I try it?

ruffle lamp Then there's my lamp.  This started out as a plain old lamp that I took from my parents place.  It was fine enough, since it wasn't too gaudy or tacky (no offense, mom & dad!), but it was just kind of boring.  So I decided to hand sew some strips of white cotton, and pull out my trusty glue gun, and voila!  A couple of hours later, I have the girliest lamp on the planet.  Seriously, how cute is this?  It kind of gives me the urge to sew ruffles onto everything I own - but then I'll probably get sick of them, so I'll resist for now.

What little touches have you added to your place to make it feel like *your* home, rather than just a house that you live in?

P.S. If you really want to see all the little things in my living room that make me "LOL" - check out the version of the first photo, that I labelled with all the things on my shelves right here.

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4 comments:

  1. I love your home! I like the mirrors as is.. but I'm sure you would make it super cute if you added something to them :)

    I don't know where to start on my home. I have personal touches EVERYWHERE! I have plants and personal artwork everywhere. I buy trinkets and random stuff from thrift stores all the time. I have photos around. I have books everywhere. I like to think I have decorated well... but in the end, I love it. That's all that matters! :D

    One thing that is totally out there, I have a weird obsession with mugs. I like them all different. I buy random mugs from thrift stores all the time. They make me happy :)

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  2. I LOVE what you did with your mirror! I'm totally stealing that idea! I'm moving in a month and am quite exciting about being able to personalize my space. My space now is rather blah, but moving to a bigger place will allow for more personalizing! I may even try your mirror idea on some photo frames!

    @ Lauren: I LOVE mugs too! Seriously, I have an addiction!

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  3. I love all of it! When I'm rich, I'm flying you out here for a week to decorate my home...I know exactly what you're talking about.

    Right now a lot of the personal touches in my home are my photographs that I have up...I'm waiting until I get my kitchen done before I really complete the "me"...but I do love you idea of a "photo" wall! I'm hung a few pictures and next I think I'm going to get a bunch of other frames to hang up!

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  4. Thanks for the responses, ladies!

    Lauren - that's exactly how I feel about my place... I love it, and I don't care if no one else does LOL... It's my place and It makes me happy :D

    Erin - Photo frames would be perfect! Make sure they're wood and not plastic, because the glue probably won't seep into plastic frames as well. That'd be totally cute!

    Kelli - I would LOVE to decorate your place! hehe.

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