Decorating around the ugly thermostat

A while back, I posted about the vintage cabinet that got a makeover.  Today I thought I’d share what we did with that corner since we moved the cabinet to the opposite wall.  I’ll admit it took me a few days to decide what to do because there’s a thermostat and a large a/c return vent to contend with.  My Mission: Decorating around the ugly thermostat and minimize the huge A/C return vent.  My solution:  Incorporate it and do it on a budget.

Would you look at that?!  The walls were the color of a dirty baby diaper filled with pea soup and mustard.  I know you’re thinking you can see for yourself and don’t need a description, but the picture doesn’t do it justice my friend.  Trust me when I say dirty. baby. diaper.

To go along with that scrumptious color was all of the stuff that came with it; heavy dark furniture, a few antique goodies, linens (oh my a lot of linens), a fan, boxes, junk, animal tea pots, etc.   Nothing that really said vintage charm or farmhouse style that’s for sure.

After the new paint job, here is what the corner looks like now – fresh and bright.

The tea cart had been shoved in the small pantry area.  Before I painted it black, it was white with a green sponge painting technique.  Sorry, I don’t have a picture of that loveliness.  It was changed before I ever thought about blogging or trained my brain to think about recording everything I do.  Even so, it was obviously from the days back when sponge painting was a thing.  A trend I have to say will not be missed.  I replaced the wooden knobs with two mercury glass knobs from Hobby Lobby and now I think it conceals the ugly A/C return vent a bit better.  Don’t you?

My mother-in-law already had the iron plate rack so I reused it and added vintage white plates and a couple of old lids from broken pots.  Found the “EAT” print in a booth at an antique store for $4.00.  It goes along with the dining theme and felt it was perfect for the thick bulky frame which I got at a neighborhood garage sale for less than $10.00.  Mhmm, that’s me, bargain shopper!

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Besides budget queen, you may also know by now that I have an obsession with antique silver, especially if you’ve checked out my Instagram account.  Well because of that collection, I was able to make the hook that holds the flat bucket filled with lavender.  The Mister bent the fork for me and screwed it into a scrap block of wood.  Okay, I guess he really made it but I told him what I wanted so that must count for something.  Oh yeah!  The lavender is real and man does it smell delish.  There’s actually a pick-it-yourself lavender farm in Chappell Hill, TX which is super close to Navasota.  They have everything from lavender jelly and lavender lemonade to lavender linen spray and soap.  Definitely worth the visit.

I gathered various frames from different garage sales and painted all of them white for consistency.  Keeping the same color is important for a fresh look.    I added a mirror to one and left the other empty so I could change things out.  Right now it has a vintage looking card with cupcakes on it.  You know, because of that whole eat/dining theme and I’m a total cake (cupcake) eater so I think it’s cute.

The silver tray was purchased at the dollar store.  Yep, it cost a whole dollar.  I hot glued a scrap piece of ribbon to the back to use as a hanger.  Painted the inside with left over chalkboard paint and drew on it what I was feeling at the time – thankful.  Another cool piece I can change depending on my mood.

Cotton is a big farmhouse style décor item.  You can find artificial cotton just about anywhere – even Magnolia Market.  Got mine in Round Top, TX and the cotton ends are huge.  They came in a bunch with 6 stems but because they are the real deal, I had to clean them a little.  It was quite messy but totally worth the $5.00 cost.

There you have it.  Mission accomplished.  The corner is decorated, the two eyesores aren’t as ugly as before, it’s different, it was a very inexpensive collage, and I think it now says farmhouse style.   The room is definitely brighter after the new paint and now when we’ve walked through it for the hundredth time in a day, we grin instead of grimace.

Next time I talk about the other corners, I’ll show you the new light fixture… she’s a looker! 😉

If you ever need some help decorating your difficult area, send a quick email with a picture.  I’m not shy about spilling my opinions and I’ll do my best to help.