Archive for July, 2010
Color Coordination
I recently found myself flipping through old copies of BHG and I came across one of my favorite little quote roundups ever in the February issue. It was actually an article all about “choosing, using, and loving color” and you know that paint is pretty much my BFF so it’s no surprise that I had earmarked the page and even circled a few of my favorite quotes. So when I recently rediscovered my earmarked and circled page o’ quotes, I thought I’d share the wealth and pass along all the great little tidbits that BHG amassed for that little article of yore (because frankly, we couldn’t agree more). They communicated so many things that we strive to explain in 1000+ character posts… all in just a sentence or two! And who doesn’t like a shortcut?
So without further ado, here are a bunch of BHG’s color-related musings that we just think are the bee’s knees (with little YHL sidenotes sprinkled throughout- you know, just to make things longer since that seems to be our M.O.):
1. “When you’ve found the right color on a paint card, go a step lighter. Colors look darker on the wall. The lightest two colors on a card deliver more punch than you expect. Unless you’re after drama, stick with them.”
*YHL Sidenote: If you’re going for a warm wheaty tone or even a rich chocolate hue, the first two swatches on the card won’t cut it. So we’d say that when it comes to colors like blue, green, red, pink, yellow, this rule rings true more than with neutrals like gray and brown (which can look surprisingly calming and not-too-dramatic, even when they’re applied in a rich saturated hue).
2. “Using different shades of color- such as various blues- is an easy way to pull a room together. To prevent monotony, vary the textures (play suede against silk) and add a pop of a different color in a pillow, throw, or vase.”
*YHL Sidenote: A colorful rug or even a not-white lampshade is another easy way to wake up a room.
3. “Follow the rule of three. When you pick a color, use it at least three times in a room.”
*YHL Sidenote: This is a great “beginner’s tip” and it can really add balance and easy cohesion to a room- but we’ve seen many stunning Domino magazine rooms with one amazing shot of orange in the duvet while the rest of the room is all neutral and creamy tan to prove that this is one rule that’s meant to be broken.
4. “Think of hallways as palate cleansers- the sorbet that’s served before diving into the next course. Keeping them neutral allows you to branch into any color in rooms that flow off them.”
*YHL Sidenote: For the most part this is an amazingly simple concept that can really do you no wrong. In our own house we have the lightest cream tone in our entire palette relegated to our hallways and we love how it neutralizes and harmonizes all of the differently toned rooms that branch off of them. But again, we’ve seen our fair share of gorgeous and bold hallways and entryways, so if drama is the name of the game then throw this rule out the window and go for a deep eggplant, a royal blue, or even a lime green color.
5. “Look in your closet. You are your own best inspiration for color.”
*YHL Sidenote: I love this idea in theory, but since about 90% of my clothes are black it’s not a very workable approach for me. But the colors in my jewelry and even my shoes are pretty indicative of the tones that I lean towards when it comes to home decor: neutrals, animal prints, a few metallics, and some breezy greens and blues (see more of our closets right here).
6. “Don’t sweat slight color variations between fabrics and walls. The best rooms are slightly off- stronger, lighter, softer, just not a spot-on match to a swatch.”
*YHL Sidenote: Amen! Matchy-matchy decor is the bane of our existence (read more about avoiding it here). Lots of colors “go” without being perfect matches, and you’ll end up with a room that’s textural, dimensional, and layered… which is so much more sophisticated than a flat and perfectly coordinated space.
7. “When you’re spreading color around a room, think about proportion. If you’re using three colors, try a 70/20/10 distribution. For two colors, go 70/30.”
*YHL Sidenote: I’m no mathlete, but this sounds about right. So if your walls, sofa, and rug are varying shades of tan (in the mocha, cream, beige, sand, or wheat territory) that would make up about 70% of the space and then you could add 20% of another color (like a few white painted furnishings and breezy floor to ceiling curtains) and then bring in 10% of an accent color in the smaller accessories like pillows and art to liven things up (try a pop of yellow, aqua, amber, lime, lavender- the possibilities are endless). We like a lot of layering so three or more colors in a room appeals to us (some more concentrated than others so they don’t all fight for dominance) more than the two color 70/30 option mentioned above. For example, our newly renovated bathroom is roughly about 70% soft khaki green (on the walls, in the towels, in the bath mat, etc) and 20% brown (in the mirror, shade, flooring, vanity, art) and 10% crisp white (in the trim, shower curtain, sink, and small accessories).
8. “The back of a fabric, curtain, comforter, or area rug is sometimes more interesting- and toned down- than the front. If no telltale signs like hems will show, go ahead and flip it. Designers do it and so can you.”
*YHL Sidenote: Love it. I once picked up a leopard bedsheet on clearance, turned it inside out and made throw pillows since I loved the softer and more subdued pattern much better than the look-at-me-leopard version on the “right side.”
9. “Get out the digital camera. It’s amazing how a photo can point out problem spots. Add some colorful accessories, take a photo, and compare.”
*YHL Sidenote: So true. We often find it easier to evaluate rooms using photos than when we’re actually standing in them (things like balance, proportion and scale are so much more obvious- and it’s easy to see if a corner is feeling flat so you can amp it up with a quick tweak or two).
10. “In a small room, keep the walls the same color as the primary upholstered furniture. The room will seem twice the size.”
*YHL Sidenote: Again, so true. Of course you don’t have to take “same color” to the extreme since anything that’s a shade or two lighter or darker will work just as well. For example, you’ll notice that we have a cream sofa in our soft tan living room and a tan sofa in our creamy-hued den. Thanks to the slight-but-not-overly-jarring difference between the walls and the largest items of furniture, the room is a lot less “busy” or “full” looking.
11. “The era of the bright white ceiling is over. Paint the ceiling a shade lighter than the walls to visually raise it and avoid a jarring start-stop. Go a shade darker to bring it down and add coziness.”
*YHL Sidenote: We wholeheartedly agree! In fact we’ve been slowly painting our white ceilings (we went a shade lighter in our master bedroom, carried the wall color onto the ceiling in the bathroom, and went with a fun coordinating shade in the nursery) and we love the effect. Don’t ignore your room’s fifth wall!
12. “Paint is the least expensive mistake you can make. Be brave. The worst-case scenario is that you’ll have to repaint.”
*YHL Sidenote: You’re preaching to the choir here BHG. We like to say that we have a Nike-esque philosophy when it comes to paint: just do it.
13. “To tell if a color has a pinkish, grayish, or greenish cast, look at similar swatches side by side. It’s all about comparison.”
*YHL Sidenote: This is how we have picked every single color in our house (and avoided a slew of “too-yellow” tans and “too pastel” greens and blues). Comparison is key- and be sure to check them at all times of the day so you can evaluate how changing sunlight effects the swatches.
14. “Think of neutrals as peacemakers. They can help colors get along.”
*YHL Sidenote: Everyone can use a little peace in their house. And neutrals can be defined as so many things- not only are they tans and beiges and creams and grays and mochas- they’re also whites and even gray-blues, khaki-greens and all sorts of “muddy” colors that read as eye-pleasing neutral backdrops in a room.
15. “Wallpaper or paint the inside of a bookcase to set off what’s displayed. Use yellow wallpaper in a white-built-in and wrap the same paper around lamp shades.”
*YHL Sidenote: You can take this a step further by painting the inside of your closet a fun contrasting color (like we did in our nursery) and can even paint the inside of your kitchen cabinets to really spotlight your white china (which we also did a while back).
So there you have a whole slew of paint color picking advice and general hue suggestions to help you upgrade your home. What do you guys think? Are there any that ring especially true or inspire you to try something new? Do you have any color advice of your own you’d like to share? Spill the beans.
Psst- Looking for more paint color advice? Check out these posts for more ideas when it comes to pinning down a whole house color scheme and picking the perfect paint color.
Reader Redesign: Dresser Deja Vu
When our own before picture popped up in our inbox, we couldn’t help but do a double-take. It actually wasn’t our photo at all, but a beautiful dresser re-do that Desiree performed on the same piece that we scored and refinished for Clara’s nursery a few months back. Small world, eh? Here’s Desiree’s letter:
Technically this isn’t a Reader Redesign since you’ve already done it – perhaps it’s more of an homage? At any rate, I just wanted you to know that I followed your tutorial to a ‘T’ and then some! I was looking for a dresser for our guest bedroom and when I found one identical to the one that you redid for your nursery, I jumped on it because I knew that re-finishing it would be a breeze.
I wish I only paid $20 for mine like you guys, but everything is more expensive in the big city – even on Craigslist! I give y’all major credit, because I definitely couldn’t have done it without your tutorial… and because I think you’re kinda awesome! – Desiree
Well, right back atcha Desiree. We think your new piece is pretty darn cool (although it’s kinda trippy to see Clara’s changing table in someone else’s house!). It’s nice to know that the dresser looks just as good in a slightly lighter stain, and it definitely works in a room other than a nursery. Great job! Everyone, be sure to head over to Desiree’s blog to see more of the transformation process (not to mention how well it matches the rest of the room). Thanks for sending the eye candy our way Desiree!
What about you guys? Have you taken on any furniture makeovers as of late? Or found any amazing pieces on Craigslist that you just had to have? Do tell.
Office Progress: Getting Wired
Offices are inevitably full of wires and cables. And if you recall from this post about building some under desk storage, ours is no exception. But we were determined to make our mess o’ cords look somewhat more presentable. Because if you know us at all, this random under-desk chaos was not going to fly here at Casa Petersik. Plus we realized that once Clara gets a little more mobile she might even get into trouble under there, so we wanted to put the kabosh on that from the start.
In addition to making things safer and more visually appealing, I also had two other functional goals. The first one was to get us down to one powerstrip / surge protector. See, we had one hidden behind the file storage (where we plugged in things like our modem) and one sitting on top of the storage shelf itself (which meant that the two wall outlets behind the desk were completely used up, each by a powercord plug). And since the only other outlets in the room are behind the couch on the opposite wall, we often found ourselves doing things like plugging the vacuum in all the way in the bathroom and running the cord down the hall. Annoying!
Our second goal was to clear off the top of the file storage shelf so that we might actually be able to use it for something other than resting a powerstrip on it (along with our external hard drive and clock radio).
So with those goals in mind it was time to take inventory before getting started. The first question I asked myself was if I wanted to squeeze everything into one powerstrip, how many outlets would that strip need? So I unplugged everything and laid it out to count. We also used this as an exercise to see if anything could be eliminated (the radio ended up getting the boot because we could easily use our computers to both check the time and listen to music- and you know we like our devices to multitask). Here are the lucky seven plugs that we were left with:
In case you’re curious, from left to right they are: our Airport Express wireless station, our two MacBook plugs, our landline phone, our modem, our Lacie external hard drive and a desk lamp plug. So off we went to hunt for a powerstrip with seven outlets (preferably eight which would provide an extra). If we could find something like that, not only would we have an extra outlet on the strip, but we’d also have an extra outlet on the wall for the vacuum since we would no longer have two powerstrips going on. We were daring to dream. Here’s what we came home with:
This Belkin Concealed Surge Protector was actually recommended to us by our friend Heather who recently used it in her home office. She told us that she got hers at Home Depot, which wasn’t a place that we expected to find such a product, but they actually had a larger selection than Office Depot (the first place we looked). Thanks for the tip Heather! And although this sucker was a semi-steep 49 bucks, we figured it was worth it to be able to close the entire mess of plugs in a concealed case that was kid-safe. Not to mention that we would gain eleven whole outlets plus the extra one that we’d be freeing up on the wall!
We were very excited until this discovery…
It doesn’t play nice with Macs. Not only were the MacBook AC adapters too big to fit into the slot that was especially built for big adapters, they blocked the cover from closing when plugged into the normal outlets. FAIL!
A bit disappointed, we trudged back out to Home Depot for a second time that day (and a second time ever for Clara) to find a replacement. Enter this guy:
We hadn’t even noticed him the first time we went powerstrip shopping, but this Belkin Conserve (which came in cheaper than the last one at Home Depot: $39 to be exact) met our minimum eight outlet requirement, plus it offered a cool eco-option. It comes with a remote switch to turn off six of the eight outlets when you’re not using them (doing away with the dreaded vampire power effect to save energy and money). After some quick plug scheming in our heads we realized this could be the perfect option. See, we really only needed our modem, phone, and Airport to stay on at all times – and the modem plug has an extra outlet in the back of it meaning that those three items could easily be plugged into the two always-on outlets. So off to the register we skipped (well, it was probably more of a happy walk).
Like most surge protectors, this Belkin guy has holes on the back that make it ready for mounting (meaning I could finally achieve my second goal of getting everything off of the top of the file shelf). Our mounting spot of choice was actually the back rail of the desk (since we didn’t want to mount it to the underside of the desk for fear that gravity wouldn’t help those plugs stay in as much as it would if we mounted it on its side). So off I went to mark a few tiny pilot holes for a few small screws.
In case you’ve ever had trouble marking for holes on an item like this (perhaps when hanging a picture frame) I thought I’d share my odd-but-it-works system. It involves wrapping a little bit of blue painter’s tape from the backside right through the middle of the holes and back around to the front side where I can see it. Oh and I draw the little arrow to remind myself which edge of the tape I should be looking at.
Then I can hold the item against the wall (or in this case, the powerstrip against the desk) and mark how far down my holes should be. Next I draw a line, and then mark on the line how far over I should drill. It’s not the most clever thing in the world, but it has always worked for me!
Anyway, with my two holes drilled and a bit of manhandling I finally had the powerstrip mounted securely to the back rail underneath the desk. Ta-da! Note: Those long holes on either side are leftover from constructing the desk. Since they were hidden I didn’t bother to fill them in. Yes, I get lazy sometimes.
With the strip in place, I plugged everything in and watched a new mess of cords unfold before my eyes. Boo! Even with the cord wrangler that Belkin provided (at least it pulled all the wires off to one side… see that folded flat tan ring on the right?) it wasn’t looking too hot. I guess I was finally getting a look at the jungle I created by plugging all seven cords into one surge protector. Sheesh.
Not to worry, I still had a few more tricks up my sleeve when it came to making the excess cordage disappear. Such as these cable organizer clips that we snagged at Office Depot for just a few bucks. They have a small adhesive strip on the back so you can stick ‘em anywhere that cords need wrangling.
I started on the backside of the desk. By placing one every foot or so, I was able to guide all of the cords for our desktop items (the computers and the lamp) so that they were hidden behind the desk until the very spot that they were needed (i.e. my computer cord now pops up right next to my laptop) and by wrapping some of them I eliminated any sagging excess from making an appearance under the desk (which Clara could have someday tugged or nibbled- you never know!).
For the rest of the wires (most of which were going straight down towards the modem hidden in one of the white storage boxes on the blue shelf) I just used a twist-tie leftover from the surge protector packaging to at least corral everything into one thick strand. Beyond that, I let myself relax a bit knowing that everything else would be hidden behind the file shelf (not to mention that unless you were sitting on the floor under our desk you’d never see anything to begin with).
Of course one other eyesore was the cords coming from the wall outlet. I already helped that issue by eliminating one plug (since we no longer needed a second powerstrip) and I solved the remaining loose cord issue with my handy cable clips. Thank goodness both the cord and the clips were basically the same color as the wall. Oh, and for the ugly black coaxial cable that connected to our modem (which the previous owners so lovingly fed through a drilled hole in the floor) I just hammered a small nail into the quarter-round molding to keep the black cable hidden against the dark brown floor.
Then we just pushed the blue shelf back into place so the cords looked nice and clean and parallel.
While I’m completely pleased at achieving two of my goals (#1 – freeing an outlet, #2 – making room on top of the file shelf), I was kinda bummed my cram-all-plugs-into-one-surge-protector tactic left me with that mass of plugs hanging from the back of the desk (even though no one will ever see them unless they’re sitting under the desk). But, with goal #2 completed, Sherry and I plan to further obscure the whole thing with a small tray for keeping things like her paint fan decks on hand, which will truly hide that gang of plugs once and for all. And I shouldn’t forget to point out that the whole thing looks great when viewed from a normal sitting or standing angle:
Before we leave this topic though, we wanted to share one other wire-related project that we tackled this weekend: going wireless with our printing. Our four year old HP printer/scanner/fax that sat under Sherry’s old desk was still kicking, but the fax component made it a bit bulky for this office and it of course it didn’t have any wireless functionality. But while shopping at Office Depot for our other cord-y goodies, we spotted this HP PhotoSmart C4780 printer/scanner/copier on sale (down from $100 to $79). And it definitely was an upgrade thanks to the wireless capability, the sleek and much easier to use scanner pad, and the smaller and thinner footprint. So as much as we had initially wanted to hold out for a shiny white Mac-esque printer/scanner, we couldn’t pass up the deal, the shelf-ready size, and the fact that it would add tons of wireless printing and scanning function to our office. Woo hoo!
I’ll skip the details of setting up and installing the printer itself, but just know that the wireless function works (thank goodness- and yes, we held our breath during the test) so there’s no need to keep it within cords’ reach of our computers. And the power cord actually slipped nicely through the small space between the bookcase and wall, making it easy for me to feed it to our other outlet behind the couch without creating any sort of messy wire chaos in the process. Perfecto!
Thus concludes our tale of wires, cables, and cords. And since we know that no two cord situations are alike, we’d love for you guys to share any techniques that you’ve used, products that you’ve relied on, or tricks that you’ve pulled from your sleeves to make your wild wires behave.
P.S. Oh yeah, and thanks to everyone who suggested collecting reader postcards for our postcard art wall in the comment section of the last post! We’re happily accepting them at PO Box 36665, Richmond, VA 23235. And a big thumbs up to those who already sent us cards from their home states (and countries). We can’t wait to share our progress on that next week!
Psst- Wanna follow the entire office/guest bedroom/playroom makeover? Click here for the intro post, here to read about the big sleeper sofa hunt, here for the DIY desk play-by-play, here for the homemade light fixture project, here for our hacked Ikea bookcase, here for how we built some file storage, here for how we added some toy storage, and here for how we picked out some DIY art that we could agree on.
Fab Freebie: Bootylicious
***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries***
First I’ll take a moment before revealing this week’s freebie to let Destiny’s Child start playing in your head (click here if you need some help).
Ok, now that that’s out of the way we’ll explain why this week’s prize is bootylicious. Well, it comes from the cheeky folks behind Booty Bean Bags. They’d like to remind the world that bags o’ beans aren’t just for kids, gamers, and college students – they can actually have a place anywhere that anyone (even us grown-ups) would like to get comfortable. They’ve even extended the bean baggage to outdoor furniture, ottomans, and multi-person loungers. And we love that they don’t take themselves too seriously (the fact that they’re called Booty Bean Bags was a dead giveaway).
So in the spirit of having some booty-tastic fun, they’re giving one person their choice of either a Chofa for One or Two (pictured above) or the Brawny Bag, which is durable enough for the great outdoors – and can even go in the pool! In fact it can reportedly hold five guys without sinking. Not that I understand why you’d want quite that much company when you’re floating around… but if it floats your boat bag, we say go for it.
On to the all-important entry details (and don’t forget to stay tuned for an exclusive YHL discount on Thursday):
- PRIZE: Your choice of a Chofa for One, Chofa for Two or the Brawny Bag in any color from Booty Bean Bags.
- TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “BAG ME!” (or, if you’d prefer: “I’M BOOTYLICIOUS”) and…
- BONUS QUESTION: … tell us about your absolute favorite place to relax at home. Is it a well-worn leather recliner? A bed with a sea of plush pillows? A lazy hammock in the backyard?
- GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, July 14th at 8pm EST
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
- PRIZE SHIPS: The lower 48 United States
- USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday. Good luck!
See our Giveaway FAQs page for more info. Pics courtesy of Booty Bean Bags.
Our Favorite Go-To Tabletop Accessories
We actually get this question pretty often so we thought it was about time that we broke down what home decor objects we find ourselves grabbing all the time when it comes to adding style to a dining or console table and even a fireplace mantel or the kitchen counter. So without further ado, a roundup of foolproof tabletop classics:
1. A cake stand. This handy accessory can be used to create charming dining centerpieces (topped with everything from fruit to holiday decor) or even a sweet display on your kitchen counter (with fresh cupcakes or even a collection of ceramic faux fruit).
Find it on the cheap at: Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, World Market and HomeGoods.
2. Vase filler. We like to think outside the potpurri or polished stones box for this category. Some of our favorite vase fillers around here are collected matchbooks from restaurants we’ve enjoyed, wine corks that provide some nice neutral texture, woven orbs that we snagged at Target for less than $4, some simple brown rice with a nice pillar candle in the middle, and even ornaments for some seasonal bling.
Find it on the cheap at: well, matchbooks can hail from restaurants (for free) while wine corks can be collected at home (or by friends and family members- my mom and a good friend are our best “suppliers”- again for free). You can also try places like Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, and HomeGoods for woven orbs and other decorative vase filling options.
3. Glass cylinder vases. We love loading them up with all of our favorite vase fillers above. We discovered they were amazingly diverse after we grabbed a bunch at Michael’s for our backyard wedding (and kept dragging them out of storage to display other collections over the years).
Find them on the cheap at: Michael’s, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, HomeGoods, garage sales and thrift stores.
4. Glass hurricanes. These are another staple when it comes to adding some height, texture, and gleaming airy style to any surface (from the console table near the front door to our dining table and beyond).
Find it on the cheap at: Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, HomeGoods and Walmart.
5. A decorative storage box. Be it lacquered or even white cardboard from Ikea, these babies are super versatile and functional (they can keep anything from receipts to TV remotes out of sight).
Find it on the cheap at: Ikea, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, HomeGoods, West Elm and Crate & Barrel.
6. Sleek white planters. We have a bunch of them from Ikea all over our house, and at just a dollar a pop they’re definitely a huge bang for your buck. Nothing makes a room feel fresher than a nice green plant in a sleek white goes-with-anything planter. And the subtle striped and petaled detailing that Ikea adds is the icing on the cake.
Find it on the cheap at: Ikea, Target, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, and HomeGoods.
7. A small colorful vase. We have a pink one from Crate & Barrel that looks amazing with backyard blooms (especially anything in the white or pink category) and we also grabbed a similar light green one and a light pink one at Ikea, which even work when it comes to setting the table with style.
Find it on the cheap at: Crate & Barrel, Ikea, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, HomeGoods, Walmart, Pier1, World Market, garage sales and thrift stores.
8. Ceramic animals. Ok, so this is definitely in the quirky category, but I adore some tabletop interest in the form of sleek white creatures like birds, horses, and even rhinos.
Find it on the cheap at: Z Gallerie, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, HomeGoods, garage sales, eBay, Craigslist, and thrift stores (you can even spray paint them white if they don’t originally come that way).
9. Decorative cups, mugs, or planters. We use these to store everything from pens on our desk to cotton balls in the bathroom.
Find it on the cheap at: Target, Ikea, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, HomeGoods, West Elm, Crate & Barrel, World Market and Pier 1.
10. Lidded glass jars. Whether they’re full of clothespins in our laundry nook or vacation momentos in our sunroom, glass jars of all sizes are super affordable and perfect for displaying everyday items in a fresh and polished way.
Find it on the cheap at: Target, Michael’s, Walmart, eBay, garage sales and thrift stores.
11. Green wine bottles & colorful vases. We love recycling wine and Pellegrino bottles to create free green vases which we mix with a few blue glass vases and votives on a tray to create a grouping that’s cheap and easy- but looks like stunning 3-D stained glass.
Find it on the cheap at: well, the wine bottles come free with the purchase of wine (and can even be hunted down at a local wine store that does tastings- they’re usually happy to dole out their empties on the house). The colorful glass vases can be found everywhere from Target, Marshall’s, and HomeGoods to TJ Maxx, Ikea, Pier 1 and Crate & Barrel.
12. Stacks of hardcover books. Just take off the plastic-y paper covers and let those pretty fabric spines steal the show.
Find it on the cheap at: Barnes & Noble’s clearance section, a used book store, garage sales, thrift stores, eBay and amazon.com.
13. Textured candle holders. We adore this lotus flower ceramic version that we grabbed for just a few bucks at HomeGoods and the mercury glass ZGallerie guys that we also picked up on the cheap.
Find it on the cheap at: ZGallerie, Pier 1, HomeGoods, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, Walmart, thrift stores and garage sales.
14. Fabric runners. We love breaking up all the wood in our rectangular dining table with this dead ringer for a pricey Potter Barn version (we snagged ours for less than $9 at Target). And two colorful runners displayed in the opposite direction are always fun too. We even use swatches of rough burlap fabric (no sewing required) when it comes to accessorizing our console table for everything from Thanksgiving to Halloween.
Find it on the cheap at: Target, fabric stores, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, World Market, Walmart, HomeGoods and garage sales.
15. Candlesticks of all varieties. From white ceramic lovelies and clear crystal ones to mercury glass versions we’re all about having a slew of candlesticks on hand. They always look pretty en masse on a dining table- or even a coffee table- and they can also serve as seasonal decor for Christmas (just pop some ornaments on top in lieu of candles) or Halloween (melt red candle wax down white taper candles a la Martha Stewart for a goulish & bloody effect).
Find it on the cheap at: Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, HomeGoods, Z Gallerie, eBay, thrift stores and garage sales.
16. Faux shells. From the jumbo fake clam shell that we use as a fruit bowl in the kitchen to the smaller faux versions where we store jewelry or bathroom accessories, we just can’t get enough of this beachy look. And of course we love light and airy capiz shell frames and even a few other shell varieties to serve as everything from book ends to side table accessories.
Find it on the cheap at: Z Gallerie, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, eBay, Kohl’s and HomeGoods.
17. Something personal. We love wood block printing letters like these, or even an initial leaning against a window ledge for interest in a space
Find it on the cheap at: flea markets (where we got our wood block letters), Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Target, HomeGoods, Crate & Barrel, Anthropologie and Pottery Barn (where we picked up our P).
So that’s a little roundup of our favorite go-to tabletop accessories. But what about you guys? Do you have any others on your must-have list?
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