Then & Now: Dresser Side

Ah, here we are, back to sipping from the bedroom well. I think it'll be worth it! But yeah, last time, promise.

For a frame of reference, here is the out-of-scale floor plan again:



We're talking right siiieeed today. That's where the dresser, rope shelves, TV, and most importantly, Fishy live. Here it is, pre-intervention:

Boooriiiing. The clothesline with mementos hanging from it was an attempt to bring down the height of the ceiling a bit because with all our furniture sitting so low, the room seemed empty and cold with such a high ceiling.

I have to say, I quite liked that idea, mostly because it allowed us to see all the ticket stubs, lift passes and love notes we've collected over the course of our relationship. Sappy? Nostalgic? Romantic? COUNT.ME. IN.  It was cool to just glance at that stuff and have all the good memories flood back. Ahhh, I remember our first brewery tour together like it was yesterday...

The only problem, however, is that it looked...unkempt? teeny bopper? Not sure, but I wasn't feelin it anymore. Not that I lost my sappy side. You can't get rid of it that easily.

Anyways, ta-da! Here is the after:

Booya. Ain't it fancy?! Along the way we got a new TV (thanks to my grandma's donated AMEX points!!), but the dresser, lamp, curtains and fishy are the same :).

Detailing in on a few small changes I made, here are some custom finials. (Please excuse the dust, didn't even notice it until it was uploaded. Observant, much?)

They are the same stock Ikea ones from before, but I hack sawed off the decorative part and used E-6000 glue to attach some beach-rounded quartz pebbles I found on Cape Cod way back. Up close you can see a little glue spillage, but from standing height, it's all good in the hood.

Here is another small update I made: that lamp seen on the left of the 'before' pic. It's a Christmas Tree Shop special, ('Oh my gawd, lighthouse plates for only a dollah!' Please tell me you've seen that commercial.) and was originally filled with periwinkle shells.

I emptied the glass of its contents leaving just the clear jar and updated the shade by trimming the edges with the same twine used to finish off the rope from the shelves. Looks like a whole new lamp!

The accessories on the shelves are kind of a mish-mash. (Again, I'm no whiz at accessorizing. Maybe another New Year's Resolution?) On the top shelf we have a jade plant and a series of photos that spell out our last name (an awesome wedding gift from our upstairs neighbors!). The photos are sitting in Tolsby frames from Ikea (can't beat 99 cents) and I think look pretty snazzy.

In the middle we have some frames filled with pics of us as kiddos. We love looking at our cute selves. (Really they were from the welcome table at the wedding and we still haven't changed the photos because, well, they are pretty cute. And I haven't thought about it that much.) There's also a brick I found on a Boston harbor island, some candlesticks salvaged from Mike's grandparent's old house, and a rock from a beach in Lima.

The bottom shelf is a bit more functional. Mostly because I can reach it.

We have three blue glass mason jars I found at our local flea market. One is filled to the brim with wine corks (what does that say about our wine drinking habits?), one is empty, and one is filled with mineral samples (what does that say about our rock collecting habits?). I think they make a nice trio, only it's a little too dark in that corner to see what's going on in the glass.

There are also some other rocks we've collected (the Folksy hubs is a geologist by day) sitting in front of a surprisingly very a-la-mode ceramic horn vase we found in the grandparent's old house.



When I saw that baby sitting in that old house, I finally felt like one of those holy grail thrifters who somehow find antique-road-show-worthy pieces at yard sales. 'Something fashionable! With personal meaning! For free! What did I do right?!?!'

On the right there's an oil can from M's grandparent's old farm, and a mason jar that holds all our loose change (how fun is going to the Coinstar and getting a fat Amazon gift card with just extra change?). In front is a ring tray we got as a gift from cousins that holds my earrings every night.

Finally, over the light switch is an ode to New England in the form of starfish. This little craft used to hang on our old front door when the entrance to our apartment was indoors and now it pops nicely against the new wall color in our bedroom.

Phew. How's that for a laundry list of what's going on in the bedroom? I'm pretty happy with the new digs and realize there's still work to be done, not the least of which is finding something grand for over the bed. Got any accessorizing suggestions?

**In other news, my dad is coming up from Florida this weekend. I'm SUPER excited! Woohoo for dads!