The odd and wonderful decor items found in my home

As I’ve gotten older, more mature (haha), and learned more about who I am, my decorative expression has grown decidedly weirder. I used to love show homes and would always want to copy the bland, one-style-fits-many esthetic that most of them have but these days the idea of blandness leaves me cold. I have grown into a sort of Alice in Wonderland meets Grey Gardens meets bi-polar 50s housewife kind of style, which I’m super proud of. Mr. Dreamy and I spend much of our free time hunting for unique items in antique shops that express our special brand of freak. In this post, I’d like to share some of these items with you. Enjoy!

I got this chair at the Salvation Army Thrift Store for $25, and painted the wood teal. I added a bright floral cushion from the same store for $3. The canvas painting of the woman is from Coombs Genaral Store on Vancouver Island (bought years ago), and the starfish on top was painted black by me. The bamboo tree and lamp are both from Homesense, and were bought to stage homes when I had a homestaging business.

This is an antique picture of an Asian boy I found in my Grandmother’s collection of family photographs. I’ve had him in different houses and different frames, and I’ve named him “Grandpa”. In front is a little Logo frame from an old coal stove, and a dead grenade, both from the Dreamboat’s collection. Books are everywhere in our house; it’s always a challenge figuring out where to put them all but I wouldn’t have it any other way 🙂

Part of my jewelry and hairband collection. The frame is found, and it was brown so I painted it white and stapled chicken wire inside to hang pins and earings on, as well as hooks on each side for necklaces. The tiered tray is from the Bellingham antique mall and the necklace holder (used for hairbands) was a gift. The round crystal perfume bottle is from my MIL, and is very old from Holland.

This painting I found at Napiers Antiques in Langley, and I painted the frame a rich yellow. We have two mini-daschunds, so it’s totally appropriate.  It reminds me of the Kramer portrait.

This is our entryway closet. I don’t like closet doors, so a long time ago I converted it to a bench and hooks. More recently, I installed paintable wallpaper, painted it teal (it was a teal phase), and put in an antique coat rack we found in an antique mall in Edmonton. I found the cushions a little later, and voila! Welcoming entry closet.  The umbrella was used over 60 years ago by my husband’s Grandma, and given to me by my generous MIL.

We found these little framed silhouettes at an antique mall in Leduc, Alberta. Look closely, they’re Dickens characters! I love the literature theme, and that there’s no way I could ever have found these on purpose.

I found this big fish thing at Goodwill in Edmonton, and decided it would be agreat place to stash my dishcloths. The picture to the right of it is of me and my now deceased brother Tyler, and the little Eiffel Tower was purchased by me at the actual Eiffel Tower.

This is a signed picture of Robert Loggia. Never heard of Robert Loggia? Yeah, that’s kind of why I got this picture. I used to travel every second week for business, and one night I was sitting in my hotel room being totally bored, thinking “you know what would be awesome? A signed picture of an obscure actor in our living room.” So I went online and found this beauty for $40. He’s been a part of our decor ever since. Behind Mr. Logia are some manzanita branches, and above him is an exit sign from Napiers and a flower painting from Goodwill.

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This little Day of the Dead skeleton was found by Mr. Dreamy this past New Years Eve in the Bellingham Antique Mall. He has moving parts, but mostly just sits on the windowsill behind our bed.

I use fake flowers in sort of an ironic way, and also because I have a proccupation with 50s vases and there are only so many empty vases a person can take. This one disguises the ugly oven clock, and above it is a picture I took in Venice.

So that’s a little bit of where I live! Let me know what you think, and share some of what’s in your home!

~B