Five Bucks = No More Naked Wall

Sometimes I fail at life.  About a year ago I decided that I wanted to paint my dark chocolate dining room/living room walls something more neutral. Don't even get me started on the amount of primer that necessitated, but at the end of that drama, I had walls that were basically the same color as my sofa and love seat, cream.  Let it be known that I DETEST this sofa and love seat.  One day a few years ago, during a terrible relationship breakup/break, we still haven't sorted out what that was, I purchased two lovely Crate and Barrel Potomac Collection pieces on a whim.  They are not my aesthetic, too country/cutesy/shabby for my taste.  I have spent the last three years trying to make them fit into the rest of my home.  Note to self;  retail therapy is not always the answer.



Once the painting debauchery was completed, I was left with an off-white room, and have struggled to incorporate my usual black and white style into it.  Cream doesn't easily fit in with black and white, at least the way I've been doing it! Oh man, it stresses me out just recalling the thought and trial and error I have put into that room, and still come up with very little.  At any rate, the walls have been BARE.  I have resolved to do something with this space.

First step, hang something up.  Anything.  Last weekend I took the plunge and started with an Ikea shelf that has been wrapped and collecting dust in my garage for years, this was a HUGE step.  I usually like to have everything decor-wise planned well in advance, but maybe it's time to just be 'organic' about it, to see what happens without getting psycho about everything being perfect.  I moved a few framed photos in from other parts of the house, finally.....a place to start.

Later that day I was checking out a great post over at Thrifty Decor Chick about her amazing Christmas vignette.  She used the most ADORABLE ornaments to cast a little holiday spell over her dining room.........and they were only a buck at WalMart!  For the record, I personally detest WalMart and all it represents. The location near my home smells of something, nobody knows what, but it's rancid!  My next door neighbor even had a guy bite her in the buttocks in the curtain rod aisle, it's just weird there!  But because I was so impressed with TDC's finds, I put a brave face on an ventured out into the dangerous big box store in search of Christmas Cheer!  $3.00 in ornaments, $2.00 in eco-friendly snowflakes (made from potato starch), and I was set.  For the record, I was not bitten, fondled, or given the stink eye by anyone.  I came through the WalMart experience completely unharmed.

I am not one to really 'deck the halls' with Santa Claus imagery and gingerbread men.  I find I become even more minimalist during the holidays......Christmas trees are usually enough for me.  A little glitter goes a long way in my decor world, but these were sooooo cute. I grabbed some square vases from under the kitchen sink and dumped the WalMart 'finds' in.   I utilized an extra poinsettia from my tree decorating escapades and a chocolate brown tribal vase from the stuff that didn't sell in my last garage sale and done.  One portion of a wall done, about 12 to go.