“A Day Late and a Dollar Short”

I always feel like I'm “a day late and a dollar short" when it comes to  decorating trends.   Especially  “a day late.”

It seems like no matter what type of decor or colors I want to decorate with, I’m either too early or too late to find what I’m looking for in the stores…usually too late.

Does that ever happen to you?

Because I actually WANT beachy cottage decor in soft, watery shades of aqua for my bedroom makeover, I’m having trouble finding it.   

This is July.  The middle of summer.  I live in Florida.  You would think beach inspired decor would be everywhere, right?  HA!  I’ve spent several days running all over town, to every store I can think of,  checking out what’s available.  “Cutesy” beach signs with sayings like,  “Tiki Bar” or “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere,” and lighthouses seem to be prevalent but that’s not exactly what I had in mind for our master bedroom re-do. 

About 4 months ago, Michaels Crafts had a whole section of pretty beach related decor items but, at that point, I hadn’t even considered redecorating our bedroom.  Of course, now that I’m looking for beachy decor/colors, they’ve got all the fall items out! 

As I said…”A day late…”

Here are a couple things I have found.

I thought these bathing beauty figurines were cute. The shorter one can hold  a tea light candle in her beach ball.  They were on sale for 30% off and, with the “senior’s discount,” (ahem… 50 and older…not 65!), I got another 15% off.  They ended up costing me less than $10.00 for the 2 of them. 

But, as you can see, they are not  aqua.  Actually, aren’t these just the most atrocious colors  for beach figurines?  Not to worry though.  These little cuties are going to get a makeover with paint sometime in the near future so I’ll be showing you their new look when I’m done.

I’ve also been looking for artwork.  I saw these unframed prints online at Art.com. for $14.99 each.   If you’ve ever had anything matted and framed, or mounted on canvas, you know that’s where the $$$ really adds up.

(Just a side note:  I sure would like to spend some time in that hammock!)

 

Although I thought these prints were quite charming and whimsical,  I was primarily hesitant to order them because I thought the colors might be too bright or intense.

Then lo and behold, wouldn’t you know, I found the same prints, already mounted on canvas and ready-to-hang, at the same store where I found the bathing beauty figurines.  They were only $9.99 each!  If that wasn’t enough of a deal, they were discounted another 15%  because of the “seniors discount”!   Sometimes it really pays to be a “senior” !! 

Since they ended up costing  only about $8.50 each, I thought it was certainly worth bringing them home to try them.   Actually, they look pretty good on my aqua walls so I think I’m going to keep them.  If I end up finding something I like better later on, I certainly wouldn’t feel bad replacing them since I haven’t got much invested in them.

I’m also looking at the print below on AllPosters.com.  It reminds me of my daughter when she was little.  This print is begging to be matted and put into a pretty white frame, don’t you think?  Since I saved so much money on the above 2 prints, I don’t mind splurging to have this print beautifully matted and framed.  It would be a piece of art I would probably keep and enjoy for a long time.

 

Update regarding my crown molding project…the carpenter came Monday and rechecked all his measurements.  (“Measure twice, cut once.”)  He then went to purchase  the moldings, and took them back to his shop to cut the pieces to length and paint them.  He’ll be back on Thursday to start putting them up.  I’m so excited to see this project  completed!