Decorating Your Fireplace For Fall: With What You Have

December is here, and I’m posting about fall decorating. I know, bad blogger. I’m behind on my posts, but I was too proud of my fall decorating to let it go unseen. Unfortunately, I don’t have a cute fall display on my fireplace mantel to show you, just a display in front of my fireplace. My Kansas City apartment is so tiny that my only option is to set my T.V. on my mantel, which doesn’t make for pretty decorating. Sigh. My apartment, which is an old house converted into two apartments, has the typical odd layout of an old home. Every single wall in the living room either has windows, radiators, or doors (sometimes more than one) taking up valuable space. This makes it extremely difficult to cram in a couch and to also find a spot for the T.V that’s isn’t directly in front of a window or a closet door. Even though it hurt my decorating heart to place a flat screen on my mantel, that’s where it had to go. With a quirky home, I had to work with what was available to decorate for fall. So, I decorated the area in front of my...

5 Ideas For Vintage-Inspired Headboards

Blue vintage bed headboard.

With the right headboard to frame your bed, you can change the whole look of your bedroom. Whether your décor just feels blah or you love your current style but need a little extra drama, a “new” headboard can freshen up your bedroom. Create an eye- catching focal point in your bedroom with these five headboard ideas. They all use vintage or salvaged items to craft stunning headboards that are do-it-yourself easy. Rustic wooden planks image: House Tweaking Talk about a freebie headboard. Reclaim some old planks from a neighbor’s torn down fence, salvage yards, secondhand stores…wherever you can find them. Leave the boards in their weathered state or stain them in a hue you like. Then, simply nail them together in a pattern of your choosing above your bed. They’ll give off a rustic feel, and can look especially eye-catching with a simple message painted against the grain. An old door image: CAPow! This idea is a-door-able. (Yeah, I went there.) Simply flip an old door on its side and mount it to the wall directly above your bed. You can do whatever you want style-wise with this easy door headboard—paint it, leave it in the same shape you...

Get Cozy: Fall Home Decorating Inspiration

The weather may just dangle on the edge of autumn at the moment, still too hot to really be called the fall season, but I’m ready to start thinking about it. Fall usually goes far too quickly, anyway. Better to get started decorating now! I’m ready to fill my home with items that give off the fall feeling. This year I want to do it differently, though. No cheesy decorations. Maybe, less orange. I’m thinking more cozy neutrals. Nothing in my home is really giving off the feeling that I want at the moment. (That’s why I included a picture of the few fall-like items I currently own above.) Lacking in inspiration, I turned to good ol’ Pinterest. Check out what I’m looking at right now to find fall decorating inspiration for my home. Some images that are inspiring me: This year I want to incorporate items from nature into my home decorating. Maybe I’ll dress up my mantle with some pretty leaves. Or stick a few twigs in a skinny vase. Pretty and cheap! Photo courtesy Better Homes and Gardens. I never thought I’d see legwarmers on a stool, but I love it! The chunky knits against the rugged...

Decorating With Thrift Store Lamps

When it comes to lamps, I might have a bit of an obsession. My living room, which is quite tiny, includes four table lamps. My bedroom, three. I even have two in my kitchen and one in my bathroom. I’d like to decorate with more, but I’ve pretty much set one on every surface available. Why do I love lamps so much? I think it’s the warm glow they give off. It makes a room instantly cozy. And, I refuse to use nasty overhead lighting. Maybe it’s just in the apartments I’ve rented, but overhead lighting tends to emit cold, sterile light that reminds me of a hospital. Not quite the feeling I’m going for in my home. Where does one vintage-loving lamp obsessed shopper like me find all of these lamps, you ask? Thrift stores and secondhand shops of course! I picked up all of the lamps in my home at secondhand shops and thrift stores—never for more than $10! I’ll let you in on some of my lamp-scoring secrets. What to look for Search for lamps that have a base that catches your eye. Sometimes I go thrift store shopping with an idea of a color of...

Industrial Chic: Decorating With Vintage Metal Fans

Sometimes you just have to buy an item for no particular reason except that you like it. It’s not practical. It may not serve any purpose. You just like it. And, that’s okay. At least I tell myself that. I tell myself that because I’m the kind of person who wants random items like a 50-75 pound ceramic elephant planter. (I’m still kicking myself for not buying that at my local Goodwill.) I’m also the kind of person that scours antique stores across Missouri and Kansas to find the perfect vintage metal fan. Just because I wanted one. Obviously I wasn’t drawn to vintage fans for their superior cooling capabilities. I like the look. Lately I’ve seen retro electric fans in almost every home magazine I open. One will be perched on a dresser, adding a splash of vintage style to the room without looking girly, as a lot of vintage items can. Or, one will sit atop a stack of books as a makeshift bedside table. Vintage fans just add a bit of industrial charm to a room. Plus, their look can fit with all types of decorating styles. See: After much searching, I finally found a vintage...

Loving My Vintage Tea Cups

Drinking out of a vintage tea cup complete with matching saucer just makes you feel elegant—whether you’re a twenty-something or a seventy-something. I’ve recently discovered a love for vintage cups and saucers. I swear my usual Trader Joes English Breakfast tea tastes better out of china. I almost never want to drink my coffee or tea out of any cup without a saucer again! Sadly, my cup and saucer routine is currently just an evening ritual. Even though I already store my own plate, bowl, mug and silverware at work to avoid wastefully using disposables,  I think I might get some strange looks if I sat at my desk sipping out of a tea cup and saucer. Although, I do already drink out of a reused pickle jar. Ha! While it may seem a bit silly to break out the fancy tea cup “just because”, why not? You can easily find mismatched vintage tea cups and saucers at antique malls and thrift stores for everyday use. Who says they’re only for special occasions? Give it a try! I bet you’ll love it. Do you use vintage tea cups and saucers to sip your favorite tea or coffee? Let me...

How To Arrange Flowers In Vintage Vases

I rarely buy flowers for myself. (I’m sure many of you can relate.) Even though they’re so pretty, flowers just don’t last long enough to justify the purchase. If I do have flowers around my pad, it’s because I snuck over to my neighbor’s yard and snipped a bloom or two. Hey, it’s a rental. They didn’t plant the flowers, so I don’t think they mind…hopefully. But, even that’s rare. So, when I do actually have flowers, I get super excited. They just make a room feel so…happy! Today’s my birthday and my sweet boyfriend bought me a bouquet. True to my vintage-loving self, I arranged the flowers in a couple of mason jars and a vase from a secondhand shop. Check out how I did it. The aisles at thrift stores and secondhand shops are usually overflowing with all sorts of vases—tall, skinny, round, glass, ceramic, you name it. Because I’m cheap, I always buy vases ast secondhand shops. I love the eclectic assortment…and the price. Most run $1 or less. I got the cute milk glass vase pictured above at a secondhand shop. I love taking a large bouquet and splitting up the flowers into several smaller...