Witness Protection Program/ Spring Updates for your Casa

Perhaps it's because I lived in 21 different houses by the time I was 18 and went off to college (and no, my Mom was not in the Witness Protection Program), or maybe it's because I get bored so easily, but whatever the reason I get SO stir crazy a few times a year. I have owned the townhouse I live in now for over 5 years and that is BY FAR the longest I have EVER lived at the same address. So, since I can't just up and move, I have to redecorate every so often to keep my sanity. It has almost become a running joke. My best friend, Carrie (and regular blog photog) cracks up every so often when she walks into my house and sees new throw pillows, swapped out pictures in frames that I have moved around, new bedding, or a room that I gave a complete makeover....like, when I decided at 5pm one Wednesday to turn my guest bedroom into a closet. By 11pm it was finished and I was sending her a picture message as proof. She claims that my need for immediate gratification is unlike anything she has ever seen. The minute I have an idea I obsess over it until it is done (usually w/in hours of first having the thought). SO, it is no surprise that as the season's change, my urge to move has gotten completely out of control. Instead of giving my house away to the next person who walks by (because I sure can't sell it in this market), I opted for a more fiscally responsible option and decided to make some small changes to help spruce the place up for Spring. 

Picture #1. - I went to the home goods section of Marshalls and found this ginormous (very zen) head that I loved, and this little bluebird with a similar finish. My entire house is done in hues of browns and blues, so naturally I gravitated towards these colors. They stood kind of low on their own, and since I wanted them to make more of a statement, I grabbed these two silver candle holders and stuck them on top. They fit perfectly! The candle holders were on clearance for $7 and $10. The head set me back about $12, and the little bird, about $10. So....for about $40 I got some unique, cool pieces that I can mix and match and use all over the house for years to come.

Picture #2. - I love throw pillows. They are the quickest and easiest way to update a room and help you bring in whatever color you want to incorporate. Three of the five pillows on the couch have been there all winter, but the white and coral ones I just found (at Marshalls as well) and when I say that they spoke to me....I am not exaggerating. I fell in love with these things and had to have them. I wasn't sure how I was going to work them into my living room, but I love how they look with my existing pillows. BOOM! Score! (Admittedly, I have a real throw pillow problem. I have an entire closet full of them; pillows that  I have acquired over years and years. It is one of those closets that you cannot open without it's contents toppling out onto the floor, or your head.  My soon-to-be sister-in-law gets the biggest kick out of my throw pillow addiction, and now she is equally as addicted. <cue sinister laugh>)

 

Picture #3. - This is BY FAR my favorite Spring update. The two large windows in the dining room have always been lacking something (and always annoyed me because of this). I have had the creme/white panels on them for a little over a year, and although I loved the contract between the white curtains and the blue walls, it just looked so plain. So....when I saw these panels (in, you guessed it, Marshalls-$25) I contemplated how they would look next to my current panels. I was worried that the blue would look stupid, since it is about the same color as my walls (and if they were the only curtains on the windows they just may), but when layered with the white panels they really spruce the room up and make it much more interesting to me. I also grabbed two new (old) throw pillows from my aforementioned closet and threw them in this room to compliment the big redish/orange painting that I have one the huge wall in this room. You can see a corner of this painting in the next set of photos. 

Picture #4. - Dining room centerpiece(s).  I got both of these at Marshalls (as you can tell, it was a very successful trip)! The vase is actually made of really lightweight wood and since it is dinged up on one side, it too was on clearance for $10. I just thought the bird was cool looking and I liked how it tied in the blue, orange, and red of the room, so I put them together. One high piece, one, low. I like t0 stagger, stack, and cluster things together when I decorate. Clearly. 

Picture #6. -None of this stuff is new, but I just put this big hammered, silver vase on the breakfast table along side of these (again, very zen-like) dishes. Yes, I am THAT girl, the one who keeps a table in her table completely set up with dishes as decoration. This is not for convenience, because if someone came over and attempted to use them, and then (gasp) eat ON TOP of the place mats, I would immediately scissor kick them in the neck. I know that it is ridiculous, but hey....I don't have kids yet, so it's not totally impractical. I just like the way it looks all set up. Don't judge me. 

Picture #7. An easy way to spice up a half bath is to swap out your standard, boring, bathroom mirror, for a different one. I bought this mirror over 3 years ago at Pier 1. I did spend about $100 on it at the time, but I had been saving up to get a few new mirrors for my 2 half baths. It made a world of difference and made the little room much more personal. Which is kind of nice since the half baths are right off of living spaces and visible to anyone who comes by to visit (or pee).

Picture #8. - More birds from Marshalls. I went from having one bird in the house (on the middle throw pillow downstairs), to having five after one trip to Marshalls. These were $2 a piece and I love them. Clean, classic, and very springy! This plaque thingy pretty wonderful, right. Simple...words to live by. (I scored that bad boy at TJ MAXX years and years ago-which is just like Marshalls.) Oh, and this little framed picture makes me smile every time I see it. It is of my Mom and me carving pumpkins. I was about 5 in this photo, so we were probably in house number 4 or 5 at this point ;).

Picture #9. - I got a little panel crazy ($14 for 2 panels -Marshalls). I had layered brown panels on this window, but it made it really dark in this little room, so I kept the dark brown sheer panel from before, got rid of the heavier canvas-like one I had with it, and added two more to give the room some character. This room is very small, simple and has an enormous TV taking up most of it. The window is very important and I think the panels give it a striped effect. I like it, but that does not mean I won't get sick of it in a few months and do it all over again.

Anyway, I know this is traditionally a fashion blog, but hey, personal style is reflected in your home, too, right? Hope you enjoyed and got some fun, cheap ideas out of it. These updates calmed my beast-like urge to move....but I can't say for how long.