Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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An Old Wood Duck For The Walls

Duck! No, nothing’s being hurled at your head (at least we hope not). We’re just sharing our latest purchase:

Duck Duck

I guess he’s actually a goose. Where he’ll go and what color he’ll be painted is still up in the air (oh look at that, a flight pun). But we figured we could do something fun with our plucky friend, so we brought him home. It was actually my suggestion – although we all know my wife has a penchant for collecting faux animals – I guess this old-school bird was just calling my name this time. And I didn’t exactly have to twist Sherry’s arm. Perhaps it’s the beginning of our own pink duck collection a la HGTV’s Antonio. Well, pink’s not really my jam but I would go for lime or navy or pretty much anything else. Sherry mentioned bold glossy plum about an hour ago. Could be interesting…

We spotted him during a day of thrifting on Richmond’s northside. Our goal was to find some nightstands or even a dresser, but in the end we only came home with El Goose and a silver quatrefoil tray that happens to resemble a certain mirror that we purchased a few weeks ago.

Duck Dish

Not quite sure where that’ll end up yet either, but the ol’ ball and chain loves to place random trays on top of stacks of hardcover books, dressers, console tables, and nighstands for everything from lip gloss and hair bands to jewelry or keys. And Sherry murmured something about loving the fact that it’s not ceramic/breakable, which fits into our attempt to make this house virtually kid proof (hence all the ceramic animals being stored up high in the built-ins). This goal means we’d love if the whole extended family could come to stay and we wouldn’t worry about nieces and nephews blowing through and shattering things as they go. Of course it’s not exactly toddler friendly if it’s used as a weapon, so we’ll have to keep it out of reach of the little ones. But it should be great up on a console or dresser.

Total cost for both buys: under $12. Not a bad price for a bit of art & a smidge of organization. Btw, the duck was from Pass It On in the Lakeside Towne Shops and the dish was from Consignment Connection, also on Lakeside Avenue for any locals who are wondering.

Duck Pricetags

So now at least you have the backstory in case you happen to spot what looks like a goose migration going on in the background of one of our pictures in the near future. Why not add a wooden friend to a house full of white ceramic ones? The menagerie madness continues.

Psst- Who doesn’t love a little organizing? Check out this week’s BabyCenter post all about Sherry’s system for storing outgrown baby clothes, blankets, the Boppie, and her not-gonna-need-that-for-a-while maternity stuff.

Comments

  1. Kim T. says

    I personally don’t go for the ceramic animals, but you guys really make it work! Can’t wait to see what color the goose gets and where he’ll go. BTW – I just love the mirror over your bathroom sink and esp. how it looks at night! So creative – I wouldn’t have thought of doing that. Makes the window look so much nicer too! Also, went to the baby clothes storage post and I do the exact same thing! We have 2 girls now and it’s been such an easy way to go ‘shopping’ for little one when she reaches that clothing size. They are 3 1/2 yrs. apart, so we have quite a few bins now, but totally worth it when we can save so much moolah on clothes! And when little one grows out of her clothes, they go into another bin that I use for consignment sales twice a year (fall/winter, spring/summer). Those consignment sales are da bomb for getting great deals for kid’s clothes. I usually get around 25 outfits for $100! How’s that for being thrifty! The plus side of consigning with those ‘outgrown clothing’ sales is there is a special two-hour presale for consigners only – bonus! Love your blog – have already gotten some great ideas from it. Hubby and I went out this past weekend looking for ‘SherryandJohn’ esque type organization stuff. Found bins to put wrapping paper, cards, bags, etc. into and put them into a hall closet for easy access. Keep up the great ideas!

    Reply

  2. Wendy says

    Hi! I have been lusting over your yellow rug (pictured above) every time I see the blog. Can you let me know the details of said rug? I would like to hunt for something similar in my reading room.

    Thanks!
    Wendy

    Reply

  3. Kim says

    I have always wanted a pink duck in my house after watching that episode from Design Star! I am so jealous I have been looking for a pink duck for years, it will go in my kitchen once I find one!!

    Reply

  5. Wendy H says

    Hey! I recognize that goose! My mom had a set of three of them flying over the sofa in the living room most of my childhood (circa late 60’s- early 70’s). I do believe there was some green shag carpet involved in the scheme also.

    Can’t wait to see what you do with him :)

    Reply

  7. gk says

    hmm, i skimmed some of the comments, but am i the only one who likes the duck/goose as-is (not painted)? maybe it’s b/c i don’t have cable so i don’t know this antonio person that everybody’s talking about. maybe the duck/goose looks way worse in person than in the picture. i like him/her as-is, though – seems like it has character. but, different aesthetics. i’m sure it will look fantastic no matter what you decide to do!

    Reply

  8. Stacey says

    Glad you made it over to my side of town with our pretty cool shops. Love the Lakeside area! It is even better when the farmer’s market is open :) Love your finds!

    Reply

  10. Anastasia says

    While I can’t say I “love” the duck, it does remind me of all of the lake homes around Minnesota where real and wooden water foul cover the walls!! I recently saw your ceramic dog at a gift shop in Minneapolis and I instantly recognized it! I can’t wait till I have a place of my own to start DIYing!

    Anastasia

    Reply

  11. reyanna says

    First thing I thought when I saw the goose?

    “OOOH! Are they gonna paint that one white to match the others?” ;-)

    I think it would look great any color. But I think white or plum would be my choices. :-) I’m so digging plum lately!

    Reply

  12. Rebecca @ the lil house that could says

    I wonder if Antonio likes being the pink goose guy, because like everyone else that was the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture too!

    Can you make a list of all of the animals in your house? I think that would be entertaining to see the mix. Ram? Check! Goose? Check! :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, here’s what I can think of off the top of my head:

      1 ceramic dog, 1 concrete dog, 1 ceramic frog, 1 ceramic rhino, 1 ceramic squirrel, 2 ceramic birds, 1 white cardboard rhino, 1 ceramic giraffe, 1 ceramic elephant, 1 iron bull, 1 ceramic horse head, 2 ceramic antlers, 2 white lacquered antlers, 1 resin ram… and now 1 wooden goose!

      I bet I’m forgetting at least one or two friends though…

      xo,
      s

  14. Sarah says

    I’ve just got to say I love your rug as a backdrop for your finds… The color and design would look awesome as a wallpaper on an accent wall. (And now I have a serious itch to go on a second-hand treasure hunt!)

    Reply

  15. Erin C. says

    I know this is totally unrelated to this post but because it was in the background I have to ask: How do you keep your yellow rug so clean? We have the same rug and it seems I am always seeing spots on it. I love it but maybe such a light color wasn’t the way to go.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We have a shoes off policy at our house and lots of door mats everywhere to catch mud and leaves and dog paws, etc. Seems to work pretty well so far!

      xo,
      s

  19. lonely wife project says

    How hilarious would it be if we all counted up the faux animals or faux animal parts (aka antlers)in our homes? I think I’m nearing a scary number. Even the number of real animals in my home freaks me out ;)

    Reply

  23. Rebecca says

    *****In response to babycenter post – I used plastic ziploc type airbill shipping pouches (free from a major shipping company to remain nameless but rhymes with ted-mex)on my plastic containers so that if i need them to store something else, i can just pull out the paper and re-label. so now i have 12-24 month in one, but later it could read 3t-4t with just the change of the inserted paper.

    Reply

  24. Allison says

    I’m curious, what size do you typically resize your photos to in terms of pixels (if that’s how you do it)? I like how they easily fit on one computer screen without having to scroll down to finish the photo, for example.

    Reply

  26. Sue says

    I can’t wait to see where the goose will land. I bought three flying geese from a thrift store awhile back but can’t seem to find that perfect place or color. I am in need of some inspiration. Love your blog and that you both are so generous about sharing your ideas:)

    Reply

  27. malibou says

    LOL All I can think of when I see that duck is a song from the Kinks: My baby has the most deplorable taste, but her biggest mistake is hanging over the fireplace. She’s got ducks, ducks on the wall. Ducks ducks hanging on the wall.

    Enjoy your duck!

    Reply

  28. Trisha Castle says

    I assume you’ve noticed but…the shape of your bathroom mirror and new bowl is the same repeated pattern in your yellow rug! Fun!

    Reply

  30. Kristen says

    love the tray and LOVE that you know what a quatrefoil is!!! that is my sorority’s symbol and i’d love to have a tray like that!

    Reply

  31. Melissa says

    ok, I love the goose. But maybe it also brings back fond memories of my parents house, they have a lot of wooden birds.

    On an unrelated note, we’re expecting our 2nd baby in the next 3 weeks, and I received my one dozen BumGenius organic cloth diapers today, and I can’t wait to get home and start washing/drying. Everybody has been telling me I’m crazy for going the cloth route, but reading about your diapering experience really has sold me on it!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      You’re so not crazy! Ah I remember the day my cloth dipes arrived like it was yesterday. It’s so much fun. Seriously, enjoy it! I’m already sad at the thought of eventual potty training. There’s nothing like snapping on a fresh cheerfully colored cloth diaper to make ya smile.

      xo,
      s

  33. megan says

    The duck is beautiful, lovingly hand-carved in a gorgeous piece of solid wood. Why on earth would you spray paint it and stamp it with a early 21st century modern label and ruin it? Do you guys have to paint over every piece of natural wood? It is kind of gilding the lily if you ask me… just food for thought. Other than that, I love you guys!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      To each his own! We adore deep wood furnishings (remember when we lovingly stained Clara’s mocha dresser ourselves?) and rich wood floors (which we always refinish instead of replacing them). We wouldn’t dream about painting those items! But an $8.99 thrift store goose? Yup. We’ll slap that bird silly with color!

      xo,
      s

  37. April says

    As soon as I saw the duck/goose I assumed you’d paint it glossy white so it’d look like a ceramic animal.

    Guess not! :)

    Reply

  39. Megan says

    I see that Sandra already mentioned this, but I just wanted to reiterate what she said about Keep Good Company (right across the street from Consignment Connection on Lakeside). It is my favorite store in Richmond! Great home decor., awesome sales, and super nice owners! Definitely check it out!!

    Reply

  40. Kristin says

    I am always on the hunt for quadtrefoil items thanks to the fond memories I have from college sorority days. It is our symbol. Great find!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re definitely keeping the rug (it’s probably moving to the guest room) but it’s from Pottery Barn – called the Moorish Tile Rug. They no longer sell it, but maybe try ebay?

      xo,
      s

  46. Lindsay says

    I absolutely LOVE your quatrefoil dish! Any ideas where I could find something similar? One of my sorority’s symbols was the quatrefoil and I have always liked them.

    Reply

  47. eileen marie says

    Any possibility that the silver tray is an ASHtray? I’ve found some really cute ones I would have loved to repurpose. It’s hard to tell the size, but I have seen some pretty huge ones.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s possible! The only thing is that it doesn’t have those little cigarette cut outs for resting the cig like most do. but it’s totally possible!

      xo,
      s

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