Simple Updates | Beach Room

Remember this post: http://faithhomeandlove.blogspot.com/2011/03/beach-room.html ?

I've added a few things here or there...leaning towards a more nautical look inspired by my sister's wedding shower.

Here's a look at the room back in March...

With the addition of a matching lamp base, new lampshades edged in navy grosgrain ribbon, and a few hotel freebies, this is what the beach room looks like now...

{ Lamp base, Target $18 | Lampshades, Thrift Store 2 for $10 }

Before...

And now with some pillows, a framed print, and new rug...

{ Rug, IKEA $3 | Pillows,Target on sale, $4.95 each | Framed print, TJ Maxx on sale, $12 }

{ Ship Wheel, Amazon, leftover from sister's wedding shower $28 }

My favorite...

{ Lifesaver, Amazon $19.99 }

Crazy for Coach | Thrift Store Finds Part Deux

This past week, I stumbled into a Goodwill not really expecting to find anything. However, I found a bunch of these lovely genuine leather bags.

Someone dumped their vintage Coach collection at this particular Goodwill for some reason no one will ever know!

{ Coach | Tagged at $16.91, but got a 50% color tag so total was $8.46 }

{ Coach | $8.95 }

This was my favorite and may use it as a camera bag...

{ Coach | $11.91 }

With my ever growing collection of purses, I'm rapidly running of room and am seriously thinking of re-selling some of them on ebay or etsy online. I'm also considering in giving them away as gifts.

There are a lot of fake Coach handbags out there and I tend to follow these guidelines when I come across a good priced Coach handbag (retrieved from various sites online).

General Guidelines:

• The zipper pull has YKK mark on it
• It has an embossed label with a serial code (some fakes have this, so make sure its embossed or at least raised print)
• Stitching lines up and doesn't look sloppy
• The straps don't fray or peel

Oh, and also, I found out that you can shop for more Goodwill finds online! Hellooo Goodwill of Orange County California { they seriously dump their last season purses and clothing on this site } http://shopgoodwill.com/. 


I'm still searching for what I've always wanted though...a vintage { or new - I'm not picky :) } Louis Vuitton purse.

Lofty Changes

I want to share a makeover I recently completed on the upstairs Loft-Office-Study area.

Here's what it looked like before:

{ Yeah, not really sure where that dinosaur popped out from }

And after adding the following items...

{ Lamp, Target, $9 | Jewelry Box, Thrift Store, $3 }

{ Pillow, IKEA, $9.99 | Egyptian Cotton Cover, Restoration Hardware, $4.99 }

{ Rug, Target on clearance, $9.95 }

{ Framed Blaeu Map, Thrift Store, $15 | Potted Flower Branch, My Sister's Wedding centerpiece, Free! }

{ Set of Chairs, Target, $99 each | Table, Target, $12.95 }

The overall look:

Another view...

Goody Two-Shoes

I have an abundance of shoes.  Although it doesn't outnumber the many pairs of shoes Imelda Marcos reportedly owned, there's enough of them for me to make a mess in our shoe closet whenever I'm searching for the right pair to go with my outfit {because I'm girly like that}.


Similar to organizing clothes, pre-organizing your shoes makes it easier and faster to pick out shoes to complete your outfit.

The above shelves are nice enough { IKEA Lerber Shelf }. The problem is its not holding as many shoes as I would like {that and I keep buying more shoes} , therefore leading to a mess on the floor and making it harder to find a matching pair of shoes. Not only that, my shoes are prone to get scuffed and because I've run out of room on the shelves, my shoes and sandals tend to get lost in this pile of a mess.

And this is where The Container Store comes in. I came across this ad online and had to check it out since my home needed some happy organizing!

This was my very first purchase {online purchase} at this store. The items were ready for pick up the next day and I chose in-store pick up versus waiting for the item to ship and paying the shipping cost. 

New shoe rack PROS:

• I can fit more shoes on one shoe shelf
• More shelves {10 tiers} on one shoe rack
• The shoe shelf angles down so you can see the whole shoe instead of just the front tip
• It rolls around!

I picked it up yesterday in-person via curbside pickup which was really neat to try. I scheduled the date and time to pick up my purchase, called them 15 minutes before and again when I approached the store. When I arrived, I parked by the indicated pick-up sign and someone came out with my purchase and loaded it into my car. Really easy!

The shelves were also easy to assemble - less than 20 minutes each. After doing so, I cleared out the shoe closet {a.k.a. space under the stairs} and removed the 3 converted shoe shelves.

In the same manner I organized my clothes closet, I color organized the shoes by color on the new shoe rack.

With the 2 racks...

After that, I rolled both of the racks in the closet. Here's the final look:

Now, its easier to find my shoes, I have more room in the closet, and additional space for new shoes :)

Nightstand Makeover

This is now adorning either side of my bed:

Remember this old thing?

The nightstand has finally been sanded down and painted. The handles were also spray painted a silver/chrome color.

It had a marble removable top, but I wasn't into the beige color. Its been covered with a Waverly lattice fabric.

{Nighstand Materials}

• Valspar Paint in Gloss Black
• Valspar Brilliant Metal Spray Paint in Silver
• Waverly Sun N Shade Chippendale Fretwork Onyx

{Lamp}

• White Base from Goodwill - $8.88
• Black shade from Target - $3.24

Stay tuned for further updates on the master bedroom!

You can also see this project on:

The Thrill of the Hunt | Thrift Store Finds, Part 1

Bargain hunters get a thrill when they find a great deal. I'm no exception. I get a rush of adrenaline when I find something that I'm looking for, especially when it comes to decorating my home. It seems like a stroke of fate when you find that perfect something.

Yesterday when I popped in a Goodwill, I came across this old thing stacked among a pile of big frames and mirrors:

A faux bamboo mirror! I've seen this mirror in a number of decor blogs and love the look. Its actually not made of real bamboo, but some sort of heavy material that is white. I'm thinking of hanging this mirror near a doorway or on top of a dresser. The cost...$7.97!

Another picture of the bamboo mirror:

A great bargain, considering the price that a similar mirror is going for on e-bay - yes that is almost $600 [Sidenote: Sooooo, tempted to re-sell!]:

{Chippendale Faux Bamboo Mirror}

After swiping this mirror and lugging it back to the cart section to place it into a cart, I thought I would walk out with just the mirror. I was already happy with my find, but I looked around for a few minutes longer and came across this hanging in the bag section.

Yep, its a Dooney & Bourke Signature mini bucket bag! Of course, you always have to take checks in making sure its authentic.

Since this bag was surprisingly shockingly not specially priced, it was hanging along the wall with the other bags and priced for a mere $4.94!

A similar handbag on the D&B site goes for a $135:

A trendy faux bamboo mirror and a designer handbag - all for under $15 (and both found in less than 30 minutes)!

Its on those rare days that you find a spectacular deal such as that. On most days, I leave empty-handed. 

Other great thrift store finds accumulated over time:

{ Echo Rain Jacket - New | Original Tag Price - $72 | Purchased for $6 }

{ Coley Claire boutique dress - New | Original Tag Price - $314 | Purchased for $10 }

{ Nighstand | Original Tag Price - Unknown | Purchased for $12 each }

And my favorite find...a soft leather jacket that looks and feels brand new (no scuff marks or frayed cuffs).

{ Wilsons Leather Jacket | Originally Price Tag - Unknown, but est. $100+ | Purchased for $6 }

I have to say, you do need patience to dig through a pile of junk, but its pretty amazing what treasures you may dig up in a thrift store.

Happy hunting!

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