A Little Project to get Back in the Saddle

Home ownership has been a trip so far. We've been in our place for just over a year now, but I've yet to find my inner domestic goddess. Sure, I was hot and heavy for home decor mags when we first moved in. HGTV was the go-to channel and I could imagine all the amazing projects I would be tackling to make the house our home. Each room was an adventure and it seemed like the sky was the limit. But, it's crazy how every day busy-ness can put a damper on the dreamer inside. Reality set in, and my priorities temporarily shifted. For several months, it seemed like my enthusiasm for domesticity came to a screeching halt. When the whole home decor thing didn't come easily to me... I got a little frustrated.

Perhaps it's the warm weather or the spring showers - or maybe it's the constant parade of house guests - but suddenly I'm itching to get back into interior decorating mode. Sunday afternoon I finished a project that's been in the works for several months. And I couldn't be more happy with it. It all started with a piece of furniture that I was given forever ago when my college room mates got married. I've always loved it's storage capabilities and clean lines, but it needed an update.

After painting it with flat black paint, we put it into the dining room to store all 5 bajillion of my serving dishes and our ever increasing linen napkin collection.

The wall above remained bare waiting for JUST the right piece. Then it hit me. Months ago, I saw a wall decorated with a collage of empty picture frames in one of my many, many home deco mags (thank you, Christina). It was love at first sight ~ but I wasn't sure WHERE to install my own collage. Turns out, the barren dining room wall proved to be the perfect spot. My plan was to find a bunch of antique frames, paint them black and make my own kitschy collection. That seems easily executable, right? So why did it take me 6 months to finally finish?? Probably because I'm all about big ideas without a ton of follow through. (which is a whole other post for a whole other day.)



Not surprisingly, once I actually shopped for them, they were pretty easy to find and not overly expensive. I even had a few empty frames hanging out around the house that I incorporated. They weren't antique but I liked the more modern ones thrown in the mix too. Turns out when I got the frames on the wall, I fell in love with them au natural. So, I returned the black paint and left them as is. I'm pretty excited about how great the little project turned out. The collage proved to be a simple and inexpensive way to fill the giant space over my newly updated sideboard. Plus, we came in under budget, which makes my handsome husband smile!

And you want to see something crazy? I got on facebook yesterday, only to discover that my cousin in Florida hung an eerily similar arrangement in her entryway! Either great minds think alike or my seemingly creative idea is super unoriginal. Oh well, I still love how it looks and I'm hopeful that this little project will kick start my interest in home decorating! I doubt I'll ever be Donna Reed, but I'm feeling a bit more comfortable in the domestic role. Now, if I can just stop obsessively straightening them every time I walk through the dining room...