I have a thing for French style chairs with pretty legs.  I am drawn to any piece with traditional lines, and love to revamp something and give it modern flair. I really needed an extra chair in my new home office for a co-worker or a visitor.  So when I spotted one on the floor of the local thrift store for $15, I quickly grabbed it with the intention of repainting and recovering the seat.

Here’s a glimpse of the Before and After:

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There’s a little saying that goes through my head every time I see woodwork that is extremely unattractive.  I don’t know where I picked it up.  Was it during those embarrassing days as a teenage cheerleader?  Is it from a movie? The little ditty goes something like this:

“U.G.L.Y. You ain’t got no alibi, you ugly, yeah yeah, you ugly.”

Sometimes you own see a piece of furniture, and at that moment it strikes you.  You simply must grab some paint and transform the piece that very instant.  When I feel the need, the need for speed, I turn to my trusty spray paint. 

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Sometimes, you get really lucky being in the right place at just the right time.  My local Villeroy & Boch outlet was closing its doors last month, and they were selling all of their display cabinets for $20 dollars each.  My jaw dropped.  I was giddy with excitement!  At those prices, I could redo my entire home office/library for a fraction of the cost of new bookcases. 

Here they are in the store the day I found them.  Oh joy, what luck!

I bought two of the taller shelves you see in the middle for the desk and window side of the library, and two of the twin towers for the sofa side of the room.  I brought them home with the help of a friend with a truck, and they’ve been sitting in my garage ever since. 

They were a buttery yellow shade with country blue trim, and the paint was a little nicked up from traveling across town.  I really wanted a bright cream color to showcase my books and collectibles. 

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I’ve got this thing for wall mirrors in sets of three.  Come to think of it, I try to display anything in sets of three.  To me, in décor, odd numbers reign, and trios are just more interesting than pairs. 

So I found this set of mirrors last week at the local Goodwill that called out my name.  “Kate, over here, over here !”   Alas, the poor downtrodden mirrors had been sitting in a corner all by themselves.  Apparently, from what history I could gather, these mirrors used to belong to a dresser, but sadly had been abandoned by their bigger mate.  But oh, the potential within !  You know I have a soft spot for hidden potential, so naturally I brought said mirrors home with me.   

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