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.
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| 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. |
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| This was a brassy mirror tray that I spray painted and now use to show off my lotions and potions. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| Just as an added fun thing. I use my exercise ball as a vanity chair. It's the perfect height and works great! |
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| 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. |
