House Beautiful

Monthly Archive for January, 2012

Big Tacky Plastic Clam Shell Re-Do: VOILA!

Published on January 30, 2012 in Before and After, Decor, DIY and Goodwill Hunting. 5 Comments

Purchased: January 2012

Where: Goodwill Store in Santa Monica

Price: $3

Size: 18″ x 12″

Thoughts: Why would anyone pay any kind of cheddar for a large, plastic, found-in-a-Big Lots-in-Naples-lookin’ clam shell?  Well, I’d been eyeing giant clam shells for quite some time to use as a lovely, natural accent piece in our apartment.  This summer I even participated in an epic, Saving Private Ryan-esque, hour-long haggle fest with some poor vendor at the Pasadena Flea Market.  He wanted $75 for a shell; I acted all hard, then pouted, then melodramatically stomped off, sulking to my visiting mom.  I guess these things are really, really rare (the clam shells… not my tantrums), so you’ve either got to fork over major dough for the real thing, or pay a good amount for a fake version like this one from Z Gallerie.  No thanks to both.

So this DIY was the easiest I’ve ever finished. First, I took it out back like Old Yeller and spray painted it white.  I made sure to leave the tiniest bit of the original blue color to seep through, giving it a slightly more bit of depth:

Then I went to town and filled it with darling little succulents just purchased at Home Depot.  PS, they’ve got some great cacti/succulents for those with a history of killing off regular plants.  Anywho, so I filled the shell, and…

VOILA!

My formerly cheap-a@@ looking tchotchke became a pretty miniature succulent garden that’s provided a nice organic touch to our place.  I love it.  And if I defy the odds and am the .001% of the population to kill the succulents, I’ll probably end up using it as either a magazine holder…

(via)

Or as a fruit basket on my kitchen table, to hold my new obsession, clementines:

(via)

The moral of the story?  As Steph’s pointed out a ton in her Goodwill Hunting posts, you gotta look in the most unexpected places for little gems to emerge.   Go to your Goodwills, go to rummage sales, go to Salvation Armys.  Put on your No Excuses overalls and slap some paint, some new knobs, or some new fabric on your find and there you go: a little dime piece that cost you a fraction of the fancier newer pieces out there in stores!

Jam out with your clams out, people.

Yours truly,

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Vani’s Nursery

Published on January 27, 2012 in Decor. 5 Comments

Who is that Halle Berry / Freida Pinto / Princess Jasmine-looking character under the umbrella, you ask?!  That would be one of my very dearest friends, Vani.  Vani is one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet… she’ll drop it like it’s hot at the sound of a hip-hop beat… can eat twice her weight in carbs and still rock a 22-inch waist (*cough* – hooker)… and in high school, she was a soccer star at a school with no girls’ soccer team…  so, she kicked it on the boys’ team.  Rock star status all around.  Oh, and she’s a surgeon.  Too bad she’s ugly.

If you think you’ve seen her before – you’re right.  The photo below is from my bio…  That’s her and her younger brother having a sweet, sweet moment at her wedding a few years back.

And this is Vani’s hubby, Shekhar – an ER doc, super nice guy and rock star in his own right.  Isn’t he cute?!?

On that note, won’t these two make cute babies?!!!  AHHHHHHHHHHH (!)  Well, it just so happens they’ve got one in the cooker and are expecting their 1st little peanut come Springtime.  And after I finished jumping up & down at the news, patting the baby bump and trying to find the bindi on the sonogram picture (what…  Indian babies aren’t born with those?!), I thought, dang.  That little bean has gotta have a sweet crib lined up.  And by crib, I mean nursery.  I’m picturing the munchkin that’ll be gazing up at its pretty new digs will look something like ZEESE!  …Eeeeeeeeeee (!)

So when I asked Vani for some initial direction to kick-off Operation Pimp Crib, she mentioned a mint & chocolate color palette (gotta be gender neutral – they’re kicking it old school and waiting to find out).  And when I asked her what else she had in mind, she said something like, “well, a crib, a dresser…  Oh, and a rug.”  Oh boy.  I also asked her what the existing ceiling fixture was and she said, “mmm hmm, yup.  It’s wall mounted.”  Haaaaaaaaaaaaa – God I love her.  Some of us decorate; others worry about little things like saving lives.  Decorating lingo aside, this girl has exquisite taste and a SICK eye for fashion.  Therefore, her child MUST have a gorgeous nursery.  Below are the inspiration boards I tossed together earlier to get us started:

MINT / CREAM / CHARCOAL / YELLOW


CREAM / CHOCOLATE / SAFFRON / SALMON

(…and maybe a pop of green with that dresser?)

We’ll see how the wee tot’s room evolves from there, but here are some thoughts thus far:

1) Vani has had a forever love affair with Barbara Cosgrove’s Foo Dog Lamps, so chances are, they’re finding their way into that nursery.

2) I’m leaning towards sweet and soothing decor that doesn’t read too “baby,” so the little one will be able to grow it with for years to come.

3) If that elephant hamper doesn’t end up in her kid’s room, I might have to put it in mine.  It’s the cutest *$#@ thing I’ve ever seen.

What do you guys think!?!

JAI HO!

*Photo credits:  Wedding photos (1), (3) and (4) via Amanda Wilcher.  All sources for inspiration boards available via my Pinterest page.

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