Footstool Makeover

I went to visit my mom this past weekend, and as always, she had a few things waiting to give me. One of them being an old footstool she picked up at the Salvation Army for $1.00. The moment I saw it, I knew I could turn this bad boy into something much more appealing. I had some orange chevron fabric that I had been itching to use, and a half empty can of gold spray paint lying around. So, the total cost to make this little bench was zero dinero. I'm pretty thrilled with the end result. It will go perfectly in the guest bedroom, after we pull up that horrendous vinyl, snowflake floor. Yuck!

BEFORE

(Complete with stained fabric)

AFTER

(Because an Hermes bag classes it up a bit. ha)

Hangzhou Holiday

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend the last 9 days in China. (Hence, the lack of recent blog posts.) Of course this was my fantasy vacation, because of my obsession with all things Chinoiserie. Because we visited four different towns during our China visit, we stayed in quite a few hotels; Ritz Carlton, Kerry Hotel, Shangri-La, and The Opposite House. (Just to name a few.) Here are some pictures of the decor in these beautiful, luxurious, hotels.

 (Please note, these are all stock photos. The ones I took turned out extremely crappy.)

 (Here's one of the pictures I took. See, I told you. ;))

A Nice Piece of Brass

Whether it's jewelry, a musical instrument, a form of weaponry, or the title of a Beastie Boys song, everybody loves themselves a nice piece of brass. My home would be a brass museum right now if I didn't have the slightest shred of self-control. I just love how a cute little brass figurine, sitting on top of a coffee table, can make me smile. Or, how a brass candle stick holder can jazz up a vignette. Here are some beautiful pieces of brass for your viewing pleasure...

And here's just a few of my brass items I have on hand. (The rest of my collection is in boxes I've yet to unpack from our move. One day...)

Once these babies are all shined up with my favorite product, BRASSO, they should be lookin good as almost new!