Pallet for Home

Decorating with Crates

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

I redecorated one of my "top shelf" areas today. I'm ignoring the fact that our A/C return vent is here. Big eyesore, but it's actually better blended-in now. It could almost pass for a shutter now, I just noticed that! What USED to be here were a set of two giant, dark wicker hamper baskets. I've had them since we got married (almost 9 years ago!) and they are completely faded on the back sides because the "top shelf" in our last house had lighting behind it. I've been gathering wooden crates, and I had no idea what I'd end up with today when I started pulling all of this together, but I. AM. IN. LOVE. with how it turned out!
Yesterday was my second trip to one of my best friend's mother in law's house. She is a antique dealer and has oooooodles of treasures. They might not LOOK like treasures when you're digging through dirty piles of cobwebs and spiders, but they are like gold to me. ;) This big frame is the larger of the two I bought for $5 total. All I did was wash it off, I left the crazy paint the way it was. I actually like it that way. The bottom drawer I bought for $2 and added a metal knob from the BAG of knobs, pulls, and metal pieces I bought from her collection! After we treasure hunted there, my sister in law and I went to Rocky Hill Antiques in Exeter and I found the top greenish/tealish crate. It was actually from my friend Luci's section in the store!

The green crate standing on it's end was $2 from my friend's house. The bottom crate on the right was one of the crates I made and stained for the wedding I did last year. I needed to give height to the smaller turquoise crate that I got for my birthday last year. I believe it was from Marshall's or Home Goods. I love how you can marry old and new when you are buying distressed pieces. You can't tell the difference. The tall piece in the back I got from my first trip to the antique dealer's property. It was also $2.
Here is what it looked like with only crates. I toyed with the idea of only doing an arrangement of empty crates, but once I started adding things from other areas of the house, I liked it better. The tall piece on the right is a chippy, architectural-type of candlestick.


Keeping it REAL... here's what the other side now looks like because I pulled so much stuff to finish it the way I wanted. And LOOK at that pile of dust! Ahh! Now I've got some work to do to make the other side equally satisfying. I may have to buy some more stuff from her when I go pick up my new big furniture piece I'm buying for the dining room! I'm SO excited, I can't wait to get it!

One last look... I'm in love!!

Labels: crates, decor