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Friday, January 30, 2009

It's A Beautiful Life Lessons and Decor...

"You learn something every day if you pay attention."
~Ray LeBlond~
Beautiful living is sometimes a very messy thing. This week in keeping focused on my beautiful living goals, emotions have been messy as acceptance of a life long fractured relationship is what it is and due to the circumstances it will not change. I know that nothing is beyond the scope of God's power but in order for Him to work there has to be cooperation on our part. The person involved wants no part of me or of God. This weeks lesson has been to accept what I cannot change, to have the wisdom to realize that I have no power to change the other person, and to persevere in hope through prayer. Only God can change a heart and that is my hope.

Beautiful living is also sometimes identifying what is and what is not working for you. This week in the area of environment some things were not working. One of those things was this messy basket of shoes.
This has been an ongoing battle for me. I have tried many solutions for storing our outside shoes. Living in a rural setting requires old and often dirty outside shoes plus a pair of work shoes or boots for Handy Hubby's daily trek out into the world of gainful employment. We don't have the luxury of a mud room to hide them away from view so they reside in the front entry of our home, a lovely sight to greet our guests to be sure. NOT! I have been scouring shoe storage solutions in both stores and online but nothing has appealed to me. I wanted them out of sight but within easy access.

Yesterday I left home to peruse my favorite flea markets with my wish list, paint chips, and swatches in tow.
Foremost in my mind was the design philosophy of Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer, authors of the book, "Junk Beautiful", "When you look at junk, forget what is was and think about what it could be." With this mind set I discovered a delightful shoe storage solution, a very affordable antique music cabinet. It is in need of some very minor repair which my Handy Hubby will see to this evening, a thorough cleaning, and new screws on the handle. What was intended to hold records will now serve as a quaint shoe caddy. I can well imagine a large vase of fresh flowers resting atop this little cabinet greeting my guests rather than the former mess.

Now that I have beautiful shoe storage I needed something to fill the void at one end of the entry. We used to have a lovely iron bench that was made from an antique bed. While it was ornate and beautiful it was the most uncomfortable thing to sit on. It has retired to the garden and the space has stood empty for some time now. I had a dream piece in mind which would have been equally as pretty but not practical. Sometimes beautiful living means letting go of something or adjusting our expectations which can often lead to the surprise of something equally delightful to fill that space. This was my discovery this week.

Friends of a newly combined household were getting rid of excess furniture and I was able to purchase a chair from them that is fashionable, functional, and fits our needs.
Now we have some place lovely to sit to put on our shoes, to curl up to read, or to watch the wildlife. I shopped my home and moved a few pieces around to create a seating area. A narrow folding table from the hall, a lamp from the living room, old favorite books from various places about the house, a pair of corbels from a shelf, a rug from the kitchen, and an old unused Italian bed spread from the closet were used to cozy up the space.A stop in Hobby Lobby netted more beautiful abundance than I could ever imagine possible in such a short span of time to complete this space. Usually when I decorate a space it evolves over time as budget allows. It so happens that I have been setting aside a bit of savings here and there for a decorating fund. With funds at the ready I was able to purchase the music cabinet for shoe storage for 10% off the tag price, three decorative pillows at half price, and fabric and trim for window treatments at 30% off with a bit of savings left over. Generally I enjoy making pillows and such but figuring fabric, trim, pillow forms, and thread, buying them was actually a savings in this case. In the very near future I will give you the two cent tour of the completed space.

Beautiful living is often seeing the potential in people and and the spaces we occupy. Beautiful living is an every day learning process. These were some of the beautiful lessons in my week. To me beautiful living is also in sharing and giving. To incorporate the giving aspect of beauty into my week next week, I will be having a give away! You might remember when Queen Winter first paid me a call, well, she has returned and I have completed the collage I started on that day and it is the prize for the give away! Check back next week for sign up details and to see the completed project.
In the spirit of sharing I will have a project how-to for you week after next and the sample I make up will be a Valentine give away prize! I hope you will drop in for that too. For more ideas on beautiful living, please visit Melissa at The Inspired Room where you will find a link up post to share or gain beautiful living tips.

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the pretty music cabinet for storing your shoes. The book you refer to sounds good. Our recent painter was a pro at looking at something and figuring out what it "could" be. I wish I could just keep her around!!! God bless and enjoy your weekend.

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

What a wonderful solution for the shoes! I love the way the chair, etc area is coming together. It looks so cozy!

Vee said...

That is a wonderful solution for your shoe storage. And, to have a comfortable chair to enjoy far outweighs the decorative aspects of uncomfortable seating especially when the comfortable chair is also attractive and can be cozied up so nicely! I'll be sure to check back to see how this space evolves.

Sometimes, people "come around" much better once we have taken our hands "off." God is still on the case!

I was enjoying your playlist while cooking dinner...decided not to come back to the computer to move on...sorry!

Lady Farmer said...

Now why didn't I think of that?! :~} Like you, I have no mud room and our outdoor shoes pile up in a basket by the front door. I will be searching for a music cabinet to store them in.
Can't wait for the two cent tour ~ I'm sure it will be delightful!
Thank you for sharing your "lessons" on Beautiful Living.

Susie said...

Sandy you came across some wonderful finds. What a great way to hide shoes and love the new chair. You accessorized it wonderfully. I want to grab a book and come right over to test it out. Can't wait to see what is next!!!

Anonymous said...

Miss Sandy, I wanted you to know that you have inspired me with your words from the bible and the way you make it fit into the world as it is now. You have made me a better person for it. Love your cozy little seating area you can come and decorate for me anytime! Vicki Page

vikki said...

wow, it was like i was to visit you. sucha God thing. i, too, put myself into a turmoil & know only God can change a heart ♥. i believe it is the 'mother'ing thing that we can 'fix' it or make it all better, soothe it... we can to a certain extent but in my case i have to let go & let God. i have to follow what He is saying... thank*u m'dear. sucha earth angel, friend you are. Gods' timing is awesome. love. your storage for shoes. it is a wonderful find. everything looks soo great. treasures to make one smile. =) hugs & blessings, vikki♥

Ki said...

What a terrific solution to wrangle your wild herd of shoes! Thanks for the credit...I bet you knew that before we wrote it! I spent a little time at Hobby Lobby this week myself. My sister introduced me to the clearance section. According to her, everything ends up marked down, sooner or later. Great post!
Peace,
Ki

Cindy Is Crafty said...

Lovely cabinet, Miss Sandy! I so love older furniture.

Anonymous said...

I love your thoughts on beautiful living, especially letting go of things we can't change or things that won;t work.

Shopgirl said...

Everything old is new again....I love the chair, it looks so ready for a good book to be read there. Your shoes will be very happy in the cabinet....I like to find things and give them a reason....
Hugs, Mary

Gina said...

That's a great find for shoes, we have the same shoe backup issue at our house too-snow shoes, play shoes, work shoes....I love how you find something that would work and be pretty too!

KathyB. said...

What a grand idea for the shoes. We too have a lot of shoes we need to take off at the front door and no mud room...the area we have is different than yours which means I will have fun searching for just the right cabinet! I like the challenge of being creative in decorating with what we have, but maybe using our old stuff in new ways..it is fun, isn't it?

Tiffany said...

Wow! That cabinet is BEAUTIFUL! Your deals really made for what appears to be an amazingly cozy and heart warming place. Wonderful.

Oh, and about your traveling...

DO IT! :)

kathy said...

Sandy , such lovely ideas from a lovely lady -- can't wait to see the finished room and the valentine idea - kathy - ga

On The Wings Of Love said...

You did an excellent job with your cozy corner for your new lounge chair. I love the antique books with the corbels and what a fantastic find for your shoes!

I can totally relate to your dilemma about wishing you could fix something. I know when I've tried I tend to muddle it up more LOL. It's a huge release when I can just accept things the way they are and turn them over to God. Although God's time is not always our own and I have to be patient, I am always amazed and surprised at his solutions and how they come to just gently sit on my shoulder like a butterfly.

Now worries about the wreath ..... if it worked it works , if it doesn't , it doesn't. I kind of try to grab moments when I'm inspired and go with it because I have limited time to create. I haven't even painted since this summer which makes me kind of sad.Anyway, I love the fork idea !

Cheers and take care !

Bre

Catherine Holman said...

Sandy,
You are amazing! Great post and great ideas. Stay warm.
Hugs,
Cathie

Anonymous said...

Sandy, you've picked a beautiful solution for your shoe problem.

Thanks for visiting me on my blog space and let me know how your corner clean up turned out. Did you use the truck? LOL!!!!

Ele at abitofpinkheaven said...

Wonderful solution for the shoes! The chair is great and it looks very comfortable!

TAL said...

I'm really liking the corbel idea.

I've seen someone do the same thing with corbels on another blog...and I think it's a great way to display these (besides hanging them on your wall).

Thanks for all the useful suggestions.

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