All is Vanity.

Each of the upstairs bedrooms in the Parsonage at St. John's has a dormer window complete with a window seat.  I  just love that about this house.  I use the one in the master bedroom as my personal vanity.  Unfortunately, my "vanity" is often neglected.

One of my problem spots was the storage of my jewelry.  I use the term "jewelry" loosely here, as not much of what I own is of any real value to anyone else but me.  No matter, it still doesn't deserve to be thrown into a heap at the bottom of a glad food storage container.  Mostly I end up with unmatched earrings and tangled necklaces.   

I decided something needed to be done.

I have taken some ideas from Pinterest and used them as a guide to customize my vanity area.  Here's some of the things I did... all on a strict budget, of course.

I found a few things at Goodwill and a couple other local thrift stores that looked promising.  One rule of thrifting... if it moves you, and it's the right price- buy it.  You don't have to have a purpose for it right then. 

(Don't tell my husband I told you that!)

 I often bring home pieces of junk that I have no clue what to do with them.  Focus on shape remembering that nearly anything can be spray painted.  

Here are a few of my thrifty finds cleaned up and freshly painted... or not.

Anyone  born pre 80's should recognize this lovely.
We had one in fashionable burnt orange when
I was a kid.  It's a mug holder turned bangles hanger.
I didn't even bother to paint it.  

This was a brassy mirror tray that I spray painted and
 now use to show off my lotions and potions.

This is another simple silver tray that I spray
 painted. I use shower curtain clips to hold it
onto my cafe rod.  The hooks are magnetic.

This is where I say, if you like the shape buy it.
I have been collecting glass bottles and jars for a while
with no idea as to what I would use them for.  Well, add
some candle sticks and voila,  you have great makeup
storage for the vanity area.  I used coffee beans in one vase
to hold my makeup brushes.
Oh and a cheap silver tray spray painted perty.

This piece gave me a bit of trouble.  I really
wanted something on which I could easily
remove and replace my earrings.  I looked
into purchasing some decorative tin, but it
 was so costly for a small piece that I
wandered around Home Depot searching
 for something else that might work.  I ended
up in the painting area and bought this paint
dripping grid.  $3??  SOLD!!
Bonus was that it came with bent ends to
hang easily over the cafe rod.

Just as an added fun thing.
I use my exercise ball
as a vanity chair.  It's the perfect
height and works great!

     

So this is the cafe rod I keep mentioning.  I think I paid $10 for it at Walmart.
Which is quite pricey for my standards, but I hadn't had any luck for a while
finding one at a thrift store, so I finally bit the bullet and bought it new.
You can see how nicely it extends and helps to keep my jewelry organized.
It really is worth the $10.