Building a Display

I recently complained to hubs that our small town left much to be desired in regards to the potential to find good stuff at yard sales. My little town must have taken offense and decided to prove me wrong because we promptly found this trunk waiting for us in a driveway no more than 50 yards from our front door.

And it was only $20!! Did we have anywhere to put it? No! But it was pretty, and we NEEDED it! I mean, look at it! The flower design on the outside,



the cute little pictures inside the lid,




the tray top just waiting to be filled with treasures with always valuable storage space beneath.



So we tossed the 3 vintage paper mache Halloween lanterns also scored at this sale for $5 total into the trunk (I KNOW! What were we thinking leaving those fragile gems to roll around inside the trunk in the back of our car like that??? Believe me, I've definitely kicked myself once or twice since then) and hightailed it home. We don't know where it will live permanently, but it is comfortable for the moment on a bit of open wall space in our living room and it has become a new decor venue for me to play with.


We aquired our new toy around July 4th so for my first display I went with a bit of a patriotic theme:




See that metal fan in the front? We got that for $3 at another yard sale the same day as the trunk! It was dirty, but we could see what a cutie it was, so hubs took it apart and cleaned it up, and we are so proud of that thing now. The barn star in the back was $10 at Ross; the candle holders are actually old feed scoops that came from a local antique shop (the shopkeeper gave us the idea to put candles in the scoops...cute!); the silver orbs are actually Christmas ornaments that were bought 50% off at Bath and Body Works at an after-Christmas sale; the small silver vase was a gift from my husband found at the same local antique shop; and the blue cup on top of the cake plate is a votive holder made of wire strung with deep blue seed beads and wrapped around the cup's metal framework. I bought it at a bead shop in Charleston, SC, when I was in either middle or high school and have just now begun to actually use it...I was a bit of a miser when I was younger with all my "special" things stuck in boxes...silly...

I've enjoyed this display for several weeks, but I've been itching to change things around. I knew I wanted to steer away from red and royal blue as they don't really mesh well with the pear green walls and deep teal end tables. So I started with this:

(bird from Pier 1)

which was nice, but not quite right...we need some color...let's try this wine bottle (yes, I know, I need to get those pesky labels off that bottle, stat)

Ok, I like it, but that bottle can't hold down the color fort on its own. Let's shop the house and bring in some back up.

Even better. But I can't call it done yet...

So I stick in a feather wreath, a teal necklace in a jar to add another bit of my feature color, and a silver tray. I like it! It's still not perfect, so I'll be messing with it a bit more I'm sure. Have suggestions? Do tell!

By the way there are some items I have to applaud for playing those all-important support roles. See the little wood box holding up the feed scoop candle holder in the middle? My man has a cigar box collection that I've commandered to spice up my displays. That trophy cup was looking kinda short behind that hunk of shell, so I put these little guys to work, too:

These coasters were a gift in honor my weenie dog Oscar. Thanks, guys! That trophy cup looks much better. (Red front door in the background...love my red front door. Yep, the man made that one happen, too. He's great :) )

I had such fun arranging and rearranging and running around my house to find things to put out. As I work toward beating the clutter monster so that my whole house sports cute displays like this one I will enjoy dreaming up new looks for this little corner. Wait till you see what I have in store for Halloween; it will be SO cute!