First there was a fortunate event. We found a giant piece of art in a pretty wood frame selling for $20 at a yard sale in our neighborhood. And when I say giant, I mean giant. It’s over 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall. The only issue with it was there was a small dent in the frame, which is totally not a big deal for us, so we went for it.
John wasn’t really a huge fan of the painting itself, but we figured you couldn’t even get a canvas this big and build a wood frame around it for $20, so it was a good deal if only for the “base” that it gave us (we could always paint over the artwork or place a large print over it, etc). And in the meantime, while we figured out what we wanted to frame/paint on top, I thought I would just lean it up on the back of the buffet to see how the scale looked since we were thinking about hanging it there. But before I could say crapIshouldbemorecareful I had somehow managed to knock the glass based lamp off the left side of the buffet while leaning the hulking new piece of art there.
Thank goodness Clara was sitting in her yellow highchair at the dining table eating (no worries about her bare feet and the glass) but we were having a random power outage (it only lasted about an hour) so that meant I had to sweep and sweep and sweep until I was sure all the glass was gone since I couldn’t vacuum that corner just to be sure until the power came back on. So that’s two unfortunate events going on (broken lamp + power outage). Not the end of the world, but… #Bummers.
Bet you didn’t see this coming…
Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up. The picture that had been leaning just fine against the wall for about thirty minutes while I cleaned up the broken lamp suddenly shifted, sending the other lamp flying over the edge along with the art itself, our bowl of postcards, and my little resin pineapple.
But somewhat miraculously, the cord for the lamp was juuuust short enough to keep it from shattering everywhere. #Luckylittlelamp
As you can see from the picture above the last one, a few small pineapple points broke off in the fall, but thankfully it’s not noticeable. And the art (which doesn’t have a glass pane, just a wood frame around the perimeter) and the ceramic bowl full of postcards weren’t harmed in the fall. Whew. #CanThingsPleaseStopJumpingOffThisBuffet?
Around this time John came home from an errand he was running so I got to tell him about all the chaos he had missed. Thankfully the power was back on at this point so I vacuumed the corner while John used a heavy duty anchor to hang our jumpy little painting once and for all. Seemed like the only surefire way to get him under control (the painting, not John).
Then I let out more than a few sighs of relief. It’s not necessarily art we would have picked out in a store for $300, but for $20 from a yard sale it definitely works for now. And we’d love to use it as a backdrop for a print that’s more our speed someday – or even paint over it to see if we can whip up something more “us” eventually. Until then, I’m just happy he’s staying. on. the. friggin. wall.
So perhaps I jinxed that poor glass lamp when I mentioned that we had him for over five years in this post (they were actually from our wedding registry) but somebody was looking out for his twin brother.
Thankfully all of the items on the buffet are just there on a “for now” basis, since we’re just working with things we already have. But someday I’d love to upgrade to two matching lamps that feel a little more special (maybe with sculptural bases like the artichoke ones in the bedroom, or a fun bold colored shade). You know we’ll keep you posted!
I still kind of can’t believe that the frame somehow jumped over the faux coral and the ceramic leaf dish and only managed to topple the bowl and the lamp (neither of which broke). Maybe there were some fortunate events worked in there with the unfortunate ones.
And for anyone wondering where Clara was while I shot the after pics, I’ll give you a hint:
Yup, the girl likes to run through my shots. Sometimes while holding “her” iPad. Kids!
Any fortunate or unfortunate events going on at your house? Did you see the third unfortunate event coming after I shared those first two? I didn’t. That’s for sure. Scared the bejeesus out of me. Although I gotta admit Clara was some good comic relief. She totally shouted “oh no, it fall down!” from her high chair. And then she went on to mutter something about “the picture fell down and hurt the head.” Pretty cute…
Just when I thought nothing more could happen, MORE stuff fell. It’s sad and unfortunate… and a little funny? We were recently hanging some photo ledges in our stairway and just when I got everything leaning and the way I wanted to, I snapped a photo and then TIMBER!!! I swear, I watched a Ribba frame crash to its death in slow motion. I remedied with sticky tack (and a new frame) and we have been smooth sailing since.
http://www.chrislovesjulia.com/2012/07/photo-ledges-o-fun.html
Oh no!!
xo,
s
Oh no! I like just the onelamp. I can’t believe that you have not painted the duck by the door; maybe white? LOL. Have i told you lately that you are my most favorite blog!
Aw thanks Susan!
xo,
s
I for one like the wooden duck! I vote au natural!
im thinking that frame might be a bit haunted.. uh ohh
Hm…is it the frame or the buffet?! ;-)
Haha! We’ll never know!
xo,
s
I think it’s the buffet
I was about to say this! Totally haunted! I also vote for the buffet. Just wait until it starts throwing fruit bowls and small ceramic animals around the room! Booooooooo!
A good tip for cleaning up broken glass is to use a slice of white bread (Wonderbread if you have it) and press it all over the area — it should pick up any shards missed by the broom!
SO smart!
xo,
s
What a great tip!
Clare, I was thinking the same thing… use bread to clean it up. :-)
That is an amazing trick!!! I am going home to do that today, we lost a frame in the bathroom and I swear there is GLASS everywhere!
THANKS!
i’m a pro at cleaning up broken glass now (4 kids!) and I have been known to use some old play-doh to pick up small shards. and even if i don’t have any play-doh, I love wiping the area down with a baby wipe when i’m all done. youd be shocked at how when you inspect it, you’ll find the tiniest glimmers of glass fragments all over it…
So smart!
xo
s
I usually use a damp paper towel to find the tiny little pieces of glass the broom misses, but since I rarely buy them any more baby wipes are a clever alternative! I seem to drop everything I touch so this may be used quite often.
Smart!!
xo
s
So sorry about the lamp! I had an unfortunate event last fall that I just blogged about last week. Basically we had a pink front door…
http://bit.ly/M9deH6
Aw man!
xo,
s
Whoa! Some serious breakage.
That frame though is the perfect size for above the buffet table, awesome find!
Oh, I LOVE the art in that frame! Please don’t paint over it :(
Oh yes, I totally agree. Maybe after time that picture will grow on you both. It is very pretty and soothing and looks great on that wall.
Agreed! I love the original painting. So elegant and soothing. And classic! Love it above the buffet!
ghosts…
Actually, I like it better with just one lamp. The pic you posted the other day with both lamps…..I thought it looked too crowded. But, that’s just my opinion ;)
I agree with Reenie! I actually like the new set-up better than the two-lamp set-up, but I know it’s what $her-dog and J-Boom prefer that matters.
I hate when something I own breaks – we try to only keep things we love in our house to avoid clutter, but that means it hurts a little more every time something gets broken.
glad to hear that i’m not the only one suffering a pile-on of unfortunate events lately. we moved recently, and it seems like everything that could go wrong with this move, has. from freak torrential downpours on the day of our move a month ago, to having to put our stuff in storage and live with a relative for 2 1/2 weeks, we thought it couldn’t get any worse.
then, when we finally moved in our new home less than a week ago, bought and stocked our refrigerator, an unexpected power outage ruined all the food and a leak from the freezer warped some of the hardwood floor planks. :S
p.s. i forgot to mention that i’m 8 months prego and have been prevented from fulfilling some SERIOUS nesting instincts for over a month now.
surely we’ve hit bottom?
Oh no! It’s all going to be better from here, right?
xo,
s
I think you mean you couldn’t vacuum until the power came on. That’s insane. I definitely did not see the art knocking over lamp #2. It’s random posts like these that are some of my favorites. :)
Yes! Thanks for the typo tip!
xo,
s
Not liking the bird on the wall – needs to fly away……
No way, we love that guy!
xo,
s
Nuh Uh. Birds are awesome especially on the wall.
I love the bird and the dog, but I think perhaps they compete for the spotlight. Please don’t take this the wrong way! I don’t want to sound critical, (because I really do love everything you guys do and it is *your* house afterall!) but I wouldn’t mind seeing the dog moved somewhere; perhaps to the right of the buffet? Maybe stick a small ottoman or stool under the bird as a place to sit and take off your shoes? Of course, I have zero decorating/staging experience so I could be way wrong. But in all seriousness, keep doin’ what you’re doin’. One of my favorite things about your blog is how your house is constantly changing, and you’re not afraid to switch things up, and admit to loving the new placement or arrangement or color (etc) more than the original. You guys rock :)
Oh yes, things move around a lot so I wouldn’t be surprised! The dog was in the living room but Clara kept messing with him so over by the door is more out of the way for now. Haha. As for a place to sit to take shoes off, we enter in and out of the side door (laundry room) so we have a shoe bin in there! But who knows where we’ll end up with that sliver of wall!
xo,
s
Flygirl, I agree with you on this and a few other things but I love YHL, just some of the citrus color choices are not my style
I am shocked that someone that goes by the name flygirl doesn’t like a bird on a wall?????
An older friend once told me to always register for things in odd numbers, this way when something breaks you have an even set. Smartest advice I have ever received. I buy everything now in odd numbers. (well, not shoes.)
~Katy
I’ve yet to have this happen but every time I switch things up on our mantle or hang something I’m paranoid of it falling for like the first 3 days!
i felt like you were playing a “where’s clara?” game because i didn’t even see her until you pointed it out. too cute :)
Yes, I agree with above commenter. Maybe you should have the picture “cleansed” by a spiritualist or something. Lest it attack you on your way out the door.
We had a kombucha explosion the other day, which went all over our cream couch, and wool rug, and clean laundry. Yes, I had a total blond moment and didn’t think to put the top back on for a solid 30 seconds I’d say. It was like watching Mt Vesuvius erupt in slow motion. Sigh. As my sweet (and very patient) husband remarked, “of all the drinks that could have spilled, did it have to be the one that smells like foot?!”
Good thing he loves me.
Hahaha, that stinks! I don’t mean to laugh, but you tell it so well…
xo,
s
Haha. That’s okay. We had to laugh too.
Oh no! so sad!
When I first moved into my condo I was putting away a corningware dish with a glass lid and the lid slipped and shatttered everywhere (it was apparently tempered glass). Glass flew from the front door to the back and into every single bin and box i was unpacking. and I had no broom!!!
I am still finding glass 3 years later
Ugh. This is the pits. Don’t you hate how when one thing goes wrong, it seems like everything else just follows?
That would be such a cool painting to paint the frame a darker (or a color), tape or vinyl over a design or word on the painting itself, paint the whole thing white, and remove the tape or vinyl! (sorry if that made no sense! I get excited!)
Sorry about the lamp, and my son totally thinks our ipad is his too!
That’s a fun idea!
xo,
s
haha – too funny – I read Sandy’s comment and thought to myself, “great idea! I KNOW I pinned something just like that a while ago!” – and went off to find my pin. Success – here it is!
http://pinterest.com/pin/252201647852637069/
And the tutorial it links to:
http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/08/song-lyric-wall-art-diy-project.html
(not mine, not my idea – just saw it and thought it was really cool. It could DEFINITELY look awesome on that new art, $herdog!)
Love that!!!
xo,
s
Oh no! So sorry about the lamp, but that is pretty amazing how the cord saved the other one! We have a friend who is adamant that a friendly ghost lives in her house so maybe you’ve got one too :-)
OMG! That is so unfortunate. Glad no one got hurt.
Aw! I’m sorry! That’s so frustrating! Since I hold the gold medal for clumsiest person on earth this kind of stuff is ALWAYS happening around the Little House. I swear things jut throw themselves on the floor out of sheer dread of getting broken by me. Good thing most of our stuff is thrift or hand-me-downs.
Oh noes! We have disasters like that all.the.time it seems.
I love the shot of Clara with ‘her’ iPad. Those kids and their tech. ;)
You’re right. You cannot make that stuff up.
Not nearly as epic as yours, but this mornings funny event in our house involved our 15lb cat Charlie (aka Bear). He LOVES baskets, boxes, whatever he can sit in. Over the weekend I picked up 2 non-matching lamps. The shades were different colors, so I ran out to get 2 matching shades to unify the lamps. I left the extra shades on the floor while I made up my mind about the shades. See where this is going? Well, this morning, Charlie discovered the shades and decided it looked like a good basket to sit in. or try to at least. When he jumped in, he got caught up in the metal, knocked the shade on its side and ran away startled. I was already at work when this happened, but Hubby called me laughing hysterically. I need to inspect the shade this evening for any Bear damage.
Haha, that’s pretty funny! Hope the shade is ok!
xo,
s
Didn’t even read the whole post yet, but LOVE the art! I need to start hitting up yard sales/thrift stores to get some good (and cheap) finds.
Could we discuss where that buffet came from????????
Sure! Here’s that post for ya: https://www.younghouselove.com/2012/07/ok-ok-im-on-the-train/
xo,
s
After a recent post where you explained how you guys need a new TV console table, I got to thinking about this new [old?] buffet. I have one that is now painted fire engine red living in my kithen [love it!] but a good friend is about to convert hers into a TV table, with the help of another blog post she found, see below. I immediately thought of you guys & your new purchase/living room.
http://lollyjane.com/mustard-yellow-buffet/
Oh yes, we love the idea of converting a buffet or a cabinet! We’ve been on the lookout for one!
xo,
s
I also am in the midst of converting my aunt’s old dresser into a tv console table. It’s one of those baroque deals that were so popular in the 60’s. I totally need it for storage of DVD’s since my 18 month old thinks it is hilarious to toss them everywhere! Right now we have a cheap black on from Walmart and it is not working out lol
wow! That buffet looks so much like its YHL twin!
I’ve had the same thing happen with a framed painting that was temporarily leaning on a dresser until I was able to get to it. Luckily, it was in a carpeted room so everything survived. Then last week my bf dropped a glass of water on our huge ottoman that ran under our Mac, and bam, $800 to fix it. Utter fail.
But a least your new buffet didn’t get damaged!
I’d say that the frame may have the “clumsy” gene. Maybe that is how it got it’s first “dent” in the wood. Here’s to hoping no more “clumsies” for it.
Haha- seriously! I wonder what stunt he pulled to get that dent before coming to live with us?!
xo,
s
A few weeks ago my kitty got very excited about the first cool night/open window in awhile and knocked over my totally-a-splurge Viva Terra bottle lamp http://www.polyvore.com/vivaterra_vivaterra-small_french_bottle_lamp/thing?id=28833226. The base came unstuck from the bottom of the bottle (I think some gorilla glue can fix that) and the very top of the bottle chipped, leaving the shade and actual light seriously crooked. I’m trying to figure out what I need to level off the top of the bottle so the whole things works again…right now it’s being temporarily steadied by an old eye pencil shoved between the bottle and the lamp harp. Surprisingly, it’s working.
Wahoo! Thank goodness you were able to fix it for now!
xo,
s
That sucks! I would have been so frustrated.
Also, are you back to using the slip covers? I thought you had spray painted them all ORB because you didn’t like the covers anymore?
I’m just lazy and we put those on for Clara’s birthday party since we brought the chairs outside and with a bunch of toddlers and cupcakes we wanted them to be washable- still haven’t taken those covers off and washed them! Hahah. We don’t love them either way, but they work for now :)
xo,
s
It’s okay to say that the spray painted chairs just didn’t work out.
Hey Kasey (Kate),
You know I love to report when something’s a flop so if they cracked or peeled you’d get close up shots and a whole post about it! Like this old post about a chair gone wrong!
xo,
s
Thanks. Neither is my real name- I try to remain anonymous where possible on the web. This was not a snarky comment, but you obviously took it as such by trying to “out” me.
I’m sorry if the comment offended you in some way, it was not meant to do so. I, as one of your readers, simply wanted to share a message of acceptance. I don’t expect you to be perfect with your decorating choices or diy projects, but I’m getting the feeling that there’s a level of fear of being wrong here. To me, you’ve come off a bit defensive lately with your design choices. It’s almost as if you don’t think it’s okay to be wrong about things without having an instant solution to the problem. Like with the bedroom choices- you defended them for months in the comments and then finally changed your tune once everything was (or was about to be) painted, rearranged, and reconfigured.
This probably still sounds like snark, but it’s just me saying that I think it’s okay for you to decide that a soft fabric cover is much easier to sit on than a spray painted one… or that the spray painted ones don’t photograph well for the blog. Heck, I wouldn’t care if you spent $500/ chair to replace the set if that’s what would work best for you.
I know that you took that as a snarky comment, but I was honestly trying to give you a message of acceptance. I wanted you to know that I, as one of your readers, would be fine with you admitting when you’ve made design choices that you’ve had second thoughts about. From what I’ve read recently, it seems as if you have a very hard time admitting that your original idea wasn’t working out *without already having a solution on hand*. For example, you were very firm on all of your bedroom choices in the comments and very defensive towards naysayers right up until the point where you made all of the recent changes.
I got the sense that you were too embarrassed (or something) to say, “yeah, we’re having second thoughts.” Today, I made a comment showing my support of those type of admissions. Maybe the spray painted chairs aren’t as soft as the slipcovers, maybe they don’t photograph well for the blog, or maybe you really don’t want to take the five minutes to pull the covers off and I was totally off base in thinking that you would have done it months ago when people first started commenting on the covers? Either way, I’m sorry that my comment hurt your feelings.
Also, I know you were trying to “out” me with the name thing, but neither of those names are my real name. I try to keep my privacy on the web and don’t want any of my user names connected back to my private email, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
I obviously cared enough to type out this long response so I hope you took the time to read this. I do not plan to make further comments on this issue or others, but feel free to block this IP address as well.
No worries Kate! Your comments weren’t blocked, they were just in moderation since we were eating dinner :)
It’s definitely true that someone may suggest something that we can’t “see” right away, and after living with something the light bulb finally goes on. We hardly ever get things right the first time! I promise you it’s never a malicious “we’re afraid to be wrong” thing (we often do things thanks to commenters and call them out to say thanks!)- it’s just a “we can be slow to realize something else works better” thing. Also, sometimes it’s not post-worthy to write “we don’t love our old tv stand anymore” so we’ll wait to get a new one and then write a “we’ve wanted a new tv stand and here’s how we found one” post, since it’s more of a complete story.
I do think we end posts without the perfect solution though! Our chair painting and chair spraying posts both ended without any success/long term solution (we said “we’re on the fence – we’ll probably recover/replace them down the line.” We’ve also shared a bad shower curtain we bought (a pure we-picked-the-wrong-thing admission) and our failed deck inspection post listed all of our regrets/mistakes. So we do try to call out where we go wrong, and will take your note to embrace that even more!
xo,
s
If you are not a Wonder bread family. Wet newspaper is great for clening up broken glass.
Thanks Mary!
xo,
s
What a wacky series of events! Sorry your pretty lamp had to bite the dust, but I’m with the other commenter that likes the buffet-scape better with one lamp and the yellow jar balancing it out. You have matching lamps in the bedroom and living room, so it might be good to have a lone ranger in this spot ;)
As for the picture, you could stencil a phrase on it like Emily Henderson did here! http://www.stylebyemilyhenderson.com/storage/JR0M8533.jpg
That’s so much fun! I love it!!!
xo,
s
For safety, after sweeping and vacumming broken glass, wipe the area with a damp paper towel to pick up any tiny remnants that could be left over. Then put the towel straight into a bag (don’t carry it to the bin in case glass shards/chips fall off) and put it in the bin :)
Smart!
xo,
s
I’m so sorry about the lamp but I’m glad that everyone’s okay. I LOVE your hutch and and your “for now” is beautiful! I’m about to hang a 12 foot long x 1 foot tall chalkboard in my studio: 9 feet off of the floor above a table full of supplies. Your post came as a sad but timely reminder. I’m purchasing heavy hooks and mirror hangers for this bad boy! xo, Kimberlyg
Off topic but: Where did the fab bowl on the dining table come from?
That was from HomeGoods a while back.
xo,
s
I got a bug up my tush last night to clean out my kitchen tool drawers. Unfortunately, I forgot about the 8 inch chef’s knife I had shoved into one of them. I still have a thumb, but also now have a 1/2 inch long gash in the side of it to remind me to be more careful! Thankfully nothing a couple tightly wrapped bandages couldn’t control. :)
Oh no!!! So glad you’re ok.
xo,
s
I kid you not, Sherry, I broke TWO glasses vases in less than 24 hours while rearranging a shelves in our living room. SO unfortunate. Luckily, both were thrift store finds (great ones at that), so the damages weren’t as debilitating considering I think I only paid like $4 total for both. Either way, a blow to a glass object is definitely a pain in the *you know what*. Clean up is a real pain (literally, I actually stepped on a piece of glass during my catastrophe). Glad everything is back to normal now…great find on the artwork!
Aw, sorry for all that breakage!
xo,
s
Sometimes we just can’t keep up with the little catastrophies. Things got pretty crazy there for a little while! I definitely didn’t see that coming! That is amazing it didn’t break everything up there. But, I like one lamp better. I would prefer the other not be broken of course, maybe just in another spot. :) Hoping for smooth sailing for you now!
Ann
Shabby French Country Cottage Basement
We once had a large, heavy picture fall down from a high spot on the wall, shattering the glass and setting off our burglar alarm, since we weren’t home. We were able to re-hang the picture without the glass, so now it weighs less, and honestly looks fine without glass since it’s so high on the wall (we have a 2 story ceiling there).
This may not have helped with your picture falling situation, but something I find super helpful for anchoring fragile decor items is a product called Museum Wax. I found it at Amazon and it is super cheap since you use it in very tiny amounts. It helps keep stuff from slipping or toppling over. I use it on lamps and other stuff I’m afraid people will bump into accidentally.
Great tip!!
xo,
s
I have to tell you that I like it more with one lamp and this beautiful yellow vase instead. The red coral is also my favorite! This buffet looks more fun now!
xo,
Magda
Aw thanks Magda! Maybe it happened for a reason. Poor lamp though, dying in the name of a new look. Haha.
xo,
s
I’ve read that a piece (or pieces) of bread are great for getting little shards of glass off the ground since they can stick around for months and you don’t even know it! So if the power goes out again and you break another lamp (knock on wood that it doesn’t happen) you can sweep and then use some bread to get up the smaller bits!
Love that tip!
xo,
s
Haunted?? lol. Oh, and love that Clara calls it “her” ipad. My little one calls it “my PIE pad” hahaha
Haha so cute!
xo,
s
Thought of you today as I perused the daily offerings on Zulily. These are your colors!!!!
http://www.zulily.com/e/kitchen-brights-072612.html?pos=0&tab=home-gear
Cute!
xo,
s
I swear, every time the vacuum is broken or the power is out, I manage to break a glass something. I’ve found that a wet paper towel works really well at getting up the teeny tiny pieces. I’ve even used is after vacuuming and gotten up some shiny bits. It’s a life saver and keeps the pups paws intact. They all come running anytime they hear a crash.
oooh, I’m with the above posters who LOVE the art as it is! Wouldn’t it be cool to put a quote you love over the scene, like this: http://pinterest.com/pin/120119515030803990/ or http://pinterest.com/pin/120119515031877633/
Just an idea!
Love that idea!
xo,
s
well, bad things happen in threes – looks like you may be all clear on this one!
Whew!
xo,
s
I like it better wih one lamp too. It will give a better view of the painting as you enter the house.
Perhaps you should move the grey hound over to the side of the buffet to guard the still existant lamp…
Haha, seriously! Maybe he needs a bodyguard?
xo,
s