I’ve been binge-watching decorating videos on YouTube, particularly a gal named Sherri whose channel is called Canterbury Cottage. In a video I watched recently, she gave examples of some things around her home that she did not like and then explained something small, decorative, or DIY-ish that she did to improve the spaces with minimal expense. All of this had the effect of really changing her perspective on these areas. And because I didn’t want to just be a slug who lays on the couch and thinks about making tiny improvements around my space, I picked out a few things in my own home that I wasn’t crazy about and completed four small decorating projects that made a BIG difference! Here they are:
Replaced an old clock insert with a new one. I recently purchased this amazing mantle clock at a local antique mall, for fifty percent off the asking price. The body of it may be a vintage Linden clock, but the mechanism was a modern-ish insert that was battery operated. It also didn’t fit that center hole very well and was glued in. It did work after adding a fresh battery, but I wasn’t crazy about how un-attractive and ill-fitting the mechanism was.
I ordered a new mechanism for about $9 from Amazon (here is the one I ordered – this is an affiliate link, which means if you buy this item via my link you pay nothing extra but I earn a small commission to help off-set blog hosting fees. Thank you!) and to my delight it fit snugly into the opening due to a rubber gasket that helped account for irregularities in the shape of the hole.
I liked the clock before, but now I think it’s just stunning! And goes so well with my small collection of blue and white figurines!
Added and styled a shelf under a framed picture. I love this picture and its vintage wooden frame, but it looked small and lonesome on the wall next to the hallway.
I knew it needed a an appropriately cottagey shelf underneath it, and over the weekend I found the perfect chunky yellow piece – for $1.50 at a local charity shop!
SO much better, styled with a cranberry vase and “French girl” figurine filled with faux greenery!
The shelf was the only new expense on this project – everything else was already in my stash. I think it looks SO charming!
Disguised an ugly door! I’ve been living with the awful 1970’s back door of my little mobile home for five years. I’ve tried a couple ways to hide it, especially in Winter when its nearly non-existant insulation wreaks havoc with my energy bill. To make it worse, the inserts in the windows are yellow plastic, which casts a hideous glow during the day time. This door is just awful, 24/7/365.
Well it finally – FINALLY! – occurred to me that I had everything already in my stash to actually do something to hide (if not insulate) this door. All it took was a spare sheer, a spare drapery panel that matches the living room (I knew I kept those for a reason!), and a thrifted tassle (which also matches the ones used in the living room). I even had the necessary curtain rods stashed in the closet!
Now I realize this isn’t perfect – my drapery-hanging job leaves a lot to be desired – but it is such an improvement over what it was just 30 minutes previously, that I don’t even care right now. And for ZERO new dollars!
Added lighting to cabinets and kitchen counter. For this final project, I added mood lighting to three areas: my hutch/step-back cabinet, my curio cabinet, and my kitchen counter. In the kitchen, I pulled this small lamp from storage and the shade from a Goodwill “to be donated” box (sorry, Goodwill shoppers!).
Added a lightbulb already on hand and this unlit corner now looks cozy in the evening.
I purchased a set of five small tap-lights (here’s the Amazon affiliate link for the ones I bought) and tried them in two places: first, I put one on the center shelf of my home-built hutch/step-back cabinet. Loved the look, so I tested them under the other two shelves but they didn’t have the same lovely effect in those spots. I’m not sure why – I’ve ordered another set so I can experiment a bit more.
These are stick-on, battery-operated lights. I really liked the look on this particular shelf:
Because I didn’t like the lights on the other two shelves of the hutch, I decided to try the remaining lights under the wooden shelves of my curio cabinet.
Here’s the curio with all the shelves lit up. It sure lets me enjoy all the collected treasures!
I need to re-locate the vintage wooden box, and hide the cables, in the corner at the foot of this cabinet but let’s stay focused on the lighting for now! 😀
I absolutely love the results of all these projects! I hope you will take a peek at Sherri’s channel if you get a chance – she’s also the absolute QUEEN of upcycling thrift store items on a small budget!
