Big Design Post!
Because this was the best thrift-store-run weekend to date. :D And I finally bit the bullet and started the revamp-mira's-office project.
First, the scores:
The big one was this bookshelf. Now, it's currently ugly as sin. But try to imagine it with some very dark brown, oil-based paint. Or maybe black. Or maybe I'll be crazy and do something bright.
Cujo Cat and his full hips agree. And at $3.95 (!!), I'm willing to pop my DIY-furniture cherry with this piece.
Next up, we have this awesome old owl mug (the brown one), $0.80.
At some point I started thinking that old owls are cool. I don't know why. But now I buy pretty much anything with a 70s-style owl on it...it's beyond my control. And I know that the mug on the left looks like a penguin, but it's actually an owl, promise. :)
BUT it doesn't have an ass, like the brown one!
Hee!
Next: vintage LIFE books, $1.80 each. (I also cannot say 'no' to old books. It's sort of a curse since I have absolutely no space for them.)
They came in these old-school cases:
The pages are surprisingly bright and are pleasantly arranged.
Next: Vintage Equal tins, $0.69 each. Normally I'm not a tin person (at all), but these could be very fun in the kitchen I'm imagining in my new place (eta January 2010!).
And lastly, we have this...this.
That tree is actually a cut-out from another piece of paper. On the back of the 5x7 frame is taped a piece of typewriter paper that explains that this particular form of art is called "Scherenschnitte" and was widely practiced in the 17th and 18th centuries by German settlers in Pennsylvania.
"The delicately cut designs were used for home decoration, love letters, and house blessings. Many of the symbols used carry specific meanings. The pineapple represents hospitality; the heart, love; the tulip, good faith; and the distelfink bird, a favorite Pennsylvania motif, symbolizes good luck."
I wouldn't be a good anthropology student if that symbol business didn't excite me. $0.80 for this lovely piece entitled "Tree of Life" by Carol Lango.
Next, the office DIY project:
My desk is this large corner thing, which is cool. I have plenty of space. My only complaint is that there is also this shelf/hutch thing that becomes a very dark cave.
This is my desk:
It's getting really old. :P But as I do not own the desk, I can't really go hacking away at it to remove the back and shelf. My idea is to attach some brightly patterned paper to the backing underneath the shelf (NOT the underside of the shelf, for clarification); in theory, this will be great for me as I'm sitting at my desk and will brighten things up, but the paper won't be immediately obvious to anyone standing nearby. (I work in an all-male office, so while I'm all for girlying up this masculine desk, I also don't want to be "the girl" of the office any more than I already am.)
Found some paper today. I'm in love with almost all of the designs; it might get difficult to choose one, but the beauty of this plan is that the papers can be easily switched out.
This is my favorite at the moment:
What you can't see is that those lighter flowers are actually a silver foil which give a subtle reflection. I think this might be sort of awesome in a dark space.
But these are also favorites:
I figured that while I was at it, I might as well brighten up the insides of the drawers, too. I have to decide between these two:
(that green isn't so nauseating in real life, I promise)
This picture doesn't do the paper justice; here is a close up:
How rad is that.
Shopping for paper excites me the way that designers get amped about fabric. To each their own. :)
That's all!
First, the scores:
The big one was this bookshelf. Now, it's currently ugly as sin. But try to imagine it with some very dark brown, oil-based paint. Or maybe black. Or maybe I'll be crazy and do something bright.
Cujo Cat and his full hips agree. And at $3.95 (!!), I'm willing to pop my DIY-furniture cherry with this piece.
Next up, we have this awesome old owl mug (the brown one), $0.80.
At some point I started thinking that old owls are cool. I don't know why. But now I buy pretty much anything with a 70s-style owl on it...it's beyond my control. And I know that the mug on the left looks like a penguin, but it's actually an owl, promise. :)
BUT it doesn't have an ass, like the brown one!
Hee!
Next: vintage LIFE books, $1.80 each. (I also cannot say 'no' to old books. It's sort of a curse since I have absolutely no space for them.)
They came in these old-school cases:
The pages are surprisingly bright and are pleasantly arranged.
Next: Vintage Equal tins, $0.69 each. Normally I'm not a tin person (at all), but these could be very fun in the kitchen I'm imagining in my new place (eta January 2010!).
And lastly, we have this...this.
That tree is actually a cut-out from another piece of paper. On the back of the 5x7 frame is taped a piece of typewriter paper that explains that this particular form of art is called "Scherenschnitte" and was widely practiced in the 17th and 18th centuries by German settlers in Pennsylvania.
"The delicately cut designs were used for home decoration, love letters, and house blessings. Many of the symbols used carry specific meanings. The pineapple represents hospitality; the heart, love; the tulip, good faith; and the distelfink bird, a favorite Pennsylvania motif, symbolizes good luck."
I wouldn't be a good anthropology student if that symbol business didn't excite me. $0.80 for this lovely piece entitled "Tree of Life" by Carol Lango.
Next, the office DIY project:
My desk is this large corner thing, which is cool. I have plenty of space. My only complaint is that there is also this shelf/hutch thing that becomes a very dark cave.
This is my desk:
It's getting really old. :P But as I do not own the desk, I can't really go hacking away at it to remove the back and shelf. My idea is to attach some brightly patterned paper to the backing underneath the shelf (NOT the underside of the shelf, for clarification); in theory, this will be great for me as I'm sitting at my desk and will brighten things up, but the paper won't be immediately obvious to anyone standing nearby. (I work in an all-male office, so while I'm all for girlying up this masculine desk, I also don't want to be "the girl" of the office any more than I already am.)
Found some paper today. I'm in love with almost all of the designs; it might get difficult to choose one, but the beauty of this plan is that the papers can be easily switched out.
This is my favorite at the moment:
What you can't see is that those lighter flowers are actually a silver foil which give a subtle reflection. I think this might be sort of awesome in a dark space.
But these are also favorites:
I figured that while I was at it, I might as well brighten up the insides of the drawers, too. I have to decide between these two:
(that green isn't so nauseating in real life, I promise)
This picture doesn't do the paper justice; here is a close up:
How rad is that.
Shopping for paper excites me the way that designers get amped about fabric. To each their own. :)
That's all!