For the longest time I’ve been wanting to paint a piece of furniture bright Kelly green.  It started when I found this Reed & Barton color glazed silver bowl from the 1960’s in a thrift shop for a dollar.  A dollar for this beauty!

So I wanted to bring this fun color into our home and once I found the perfect piece, this small campaign desk, off to the paint store I went to color match it!  Here’s the  desk I found at (of course) a thrift store for $40 – the hardware alone is worth that to me, but the added benefit was this desk with faux bamboo legs that would tuck nicely into the kids study/art/craft playroom.

Before:

After:

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Did y’all ever see the movie Auntie Mame?  It’s one of my top ten favorite movies of all time, the book is hilarious too.  Rosalind Russell is so brilliant in this role as the eccentric yet glamorous Mame Dennis who is assigned the caretaker for her orphaned ten year old nephew Patrick in 1920’s New York City.  Auntie Mame is colorful and unconventional, a lover of art and theater, with a quick wit and a disdain for stuffy or snobbish society. 

The character is divine and the movie sets are magnificent.  The apartment Mame lives in takes on a completely new and different look every few years based on her iridescent theatrical personality.  During the movie, viewers get to see six separate and completely different designs, and to quote Jonathan Adler, “Watching Auntie Mame is a right of passage for every aspiring decorator”.  For a full tour of the six different makeovers during the movie in Mame’s apartment, visit Julia’s post on 3 Beekman Place.

So I have a neighbor named Tatiana and we met eight years ago at my annual garage sale. Tatiana is the closest person to Auntie Mame I know. Up my driveway eight years ago she walked with her husband Miguel and Tatiana and I became instant friends.  When I first met her, her name was Jennie, but then she decided she wanted her name to be Tatiana because she preferred Tatiana so she legally changed her name to Tatiana.  At the age of 45.  I love that.

Tatiana is my Auntie Mame, she eats and drinks and decorates as she pleases all with a zest for life that’s rare these days.  She lives around the corner from me and we meet for coffee from time to time to catch up. She always wants to come to my house because she finds it so soothing, and I always want to go to her house because I find it so inspiring, so we take turns.  But on our last coffee visit I won and got the pleasure of visiting with her in her home.  

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One thing is undeniable in the DIY and design world, brass hardware is back and lately I’m totally loving it on furniture. As a child of the 80’s I admit shiny lacquered brass fixtures still don’t appeal to me, but I am drawn to the golden glow of real or antiqued brass with its warmer patina.

In the past two weeks, I’ve fixed up two pieces, one dresser and one campaign desk, and both had brass hardware I wanted to reuse.  One set of hardware was real brass, the other brass plate, and both needed a good polish.

Over the last year, I’ve also narrowed down two great substitutes for faking the patina with other hardware that you want to give a golden glow.  If you’re curious how to tell the difference between real brass and brass plate, how to polish unlacquered brass, or how to fake the look of antique brass hardware, here’s how I do it.

Real brass is an alloy of copper and zinc and if it’s not lacquered, will tarnish with exposure to air over time.  There are two methods I use to bring back the mellow antiqued patina, one is Brasso if I have it on hand and the other is natural lemon juice and salt paste mixture.

But first, before you polish, you should know whether your hardware is real brass or brass plate.  Here’s the simple way to tell the difference.  Take a household magnet and see if it will stick to the piece, if it won’t that means the hardware is real brass, like these campaign pulls.

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Greetings all and happy weekend to you!  This decorative pillow giveaway is brought to you by Stylish Furniture and Decor, an online source for chic modern furniture and home accessories.  They offer something for every room from lighting to rugs to wall decor.  This weekend Stylish Furniture and Decor is offering one winner their choice of any one designer pillow (up to $270 value) and their pillow collection is divine!

Eligibility to win the designer pillow up for grabs:

1)  Hop on over to visit the Pillow Collection and pick a favorite, then name it in a comment.

2) For a second chance to win, link to this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter, then leave a second comment naming where you linked (FB or Twitter).

One winner only, US and Canada only, up to a $270 value.  Giveaway ends Tuesday February 7, 2012 at 8 p.m. PST.  By entering this giveaway you agree to this site’s giveaway policy and Official Rules of Entry. 

**** Also Centsational Girl readers receive a 10% discount at through the end of February with the code CENTGIRL  – happy shopping!

Good luck and have a fabulous weekend!

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Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and it’s not a holiday I decorate for but my elementary school kids look forward to it.  Apparently, word on the playground among second graders is the passing of the valentines is kind of a big deal.

Typically I buy those store-bought packs of kid Valentines and attach a lollypop, but my daughter was asking for something a little more special for her besties.  I came up with this inexpensive paper treat box made from cardstock scrapbook paper and embellished it with washi tape.

They’ll be perfect for inserting a few sweet treats and a Valentine too.

To recreate, here’s what you’ll need:  11 x 11” cardstock scrapbook paper, scissors, double sided tape, measuring tape, pencil, washi or decorative tape, embellishments (optional).

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