Continuing the Bedroom Makeover

Even though Flylady has moved on to the next "zone" this week (the living room), I have continued to be busy working in my bedroom to make it a haven. I am really happy with another little corner that I've decluttered and redecorated using things I found when I shopped my own house. Below you can see a wooden bookshelf that was originally in this space. As I mentioned in a previous post, I got rid of a bunch of books, moved some to my son's room, and consolidated the rest onto another bookshelf that was in our bedroom.

Below you can see the "new" bookshelf in its new spot. Previously the top of this shelf was stacked with books and covered with dust. I decided to intentionally decorate it to prevent me from cluttering it up again. I found the lamp, the candle cozy, candle, velvet runner, Jesus picture AND frame all in my own closets during decluttering. Who knew?

I love this picture of Jesus laughing. My mother in law gave it to my husband and I many years ago. I had forgotten about it and was pleased to find it in a tub in one of our closets. The frame it was in was bent, but I found the wooden frame in the same tub. My husband was really excited to see this picture in our room. He thought it was lost for good.

I found the velvet runner shown below in my youngest son's closet stashed way up on a top shelf. I have childhood memories of this runner. My mom always kept it on top of a marble-topped table in our living room with a certain lamp on top of it. She gave it to me a while back and I just threw it up on a shelf and forgot about it. Turns out it is perfect with the colors in our bedroom and fits just right on top of this bookshelf. I love the nostalgia of this piece (and the fringe is fun too!).

Here is a close-up of the electric candle cozy I found in our hallway linen closet. I bought this years ago to have in my classroom and had forgotten about it. I was actually about to toss it in the donation pile when I realized it would be great in our bedroom. I used to light candles a lot before kids but haven't much lately. This is great because it melts the wax in a jar candle and distributes the scent without having to light the candle. I've been turning it on in the evening after the boys are in bed and it feels like such a treat to curl up in bed with a book and to smell a fragrant candle.

The lamp on the bookshelf is also one I found in a closet. I was just about to put it in the donation pile too when I realized that it would be great on top of this shelf. My bedroom looks so cozy and inviting at nighttime now with my new bedside lamps and this additional one. One of the decorating blogs I've been reading really emphasizes collecting a lot of lamps to scatter throughout your home to boost the coziness factor. I think I'm starting to see what they're talking about! Some bloggy decorating divas even have cute little lamps in their bathrooms and laundry rooms. That could be on the horizon for me too! I love the look of diffused light that a lamp provides. So much better than an overhead light!!

Now I'd like to show you what became of the shelf I removed from the bedroom. It is a little too country looking with the heart cut-out and I'm thinking of painting and sanding it to "shabby" it up a bit. However, we needed a place in the kitchen to store our produce. Originally we had our produce in a hanging basket that broke several months ago. Since then we've been piling them all into a large plastic bowl on the counter. This is taking up a lot of counter space that I wanted back. I had a lightbulb moment and realized that my bookshelf would be perfect for this purpose. The photo below shows the shelf with some baskets I already had on hand which I'm using to hold the veggies and fruits. I took the photo in front of the door, but the shelf is actually positioned against a wall.

This divided basket was originally on a hutch in our kitchen. The hutch was on my list to declutter this weekend and I realized I could find another use for the basket. Now it is just right for holding our produce.

Thanks for joining me on my little bedroom (and kitchen) tour. Maybe I'll post a decorating challenge complete with Mr. Linky one of these days. It would be so fun to see how others are beautifying their living spaces.