Perfectly Imperfect

Update, July 17: Linda at the perfectly perfect Restyled Home had lovely things to say about my blog post! Thank you so much, Linda, and everyone go check out her Beauty In Imperfection blog round-up.

Despite our disappointment with the paint color, we’re embracing the bluer-than-expected walls and starting to pick up some items for the fairly-neglected-to-date Master Bedroom.

What makes this room (strike that: the whole house!) so “perfectly imperfect”? Well, for one it’s the bits and bobs that we’ve scooped up at flea markets, antique shops, thrift stores and the like. I enjoy putting them together in a random way to form – to me – a happy room with a story to tell. No generic tales of, “I saw the entire room in a Pottery Barn catalog and bought it as-is!” here (though, if budget would allow, that may be nice). It’s all about bargains and creative use of cast-offs at the shore house.

And as you know, I’m happy to talk about my bargains!

These past couple of weeks have turned up some inexpensive goodies for this room. Check out this chair I bought from Reclaimed Home, the most excellent Brooklyn-based business (and blog of the same name, which is information-packed and hysterical) operated at the Brooklyn Flea and online (where I found this gem.). Her tagline: “Low impact housing and renovation options for thrifty New Yorkers.” I mean…it’s a match made in heaven.



At $90 it was a deal given the good shape it’s in. I think I’ll polish up the wood a bit with some Howard’s, but I’m kind of liking the fabric (and fabulous nail head trim!). I popped one of my $15 cushions from Quiltification’s Etsy shop on top.

And…drum roll…here’s that $125 dresser I recently acquired. What a gem.

It’s definitely “imperfect” – here’s a close-up of the top:

I don’t really want to refinish (nightmare) and besides, overall it's in good condition and I really like the piece with its original stain -- despite the shop manager’s insistence that I go home and “Shabby Chic it immediately." (I told her we had a lot of dark wood work that this piece complements nicely, and she looked at me with a sort of, “Oh, you poor thing” expression.) I think I might like a large tray to place over the damage to the top? Then, I can find some interesting bowls and containers (thrifting, naturally) to use for jewelry and the like.

The room needs some artwork. I’ve mentioned my love of (bordering on stalker-like obsession for) the band The Avett Brothers. At some of their shows, their artsy friends create very limited edition serigraphs, signed and numbered. I was totally thrilled, thanks to my fast-moving brother, to land one at the show in Asbury Park for $15! (They sell for only $20 online, but sold out immediately.).

The colors actually work well, and while I may be getting a little too old for rock posters in the bedroom (sorry, Metallica) this is a pretty fun way to bring a personal touch into the room. For framing I think I’ll keep it simple; a wide white matte and a black frame, perhaps? It will hang above the new/old chair:

The most personal touch is the photo *I* took on the boardwalk. Nothing short of a miracle for this untrained photographer armed only with her point-and-shoot digital!

It cost only $2.99 to print an 8” x 10” at Kodak Gallery, and another $12 to buy the frame (on sale, naturally) at Michael’s. All of which I probably shouldn’t have admitted, because now the cat’s out of the bag and selling them on the boardwalk may be out of the question. :-)

So there you have it. The start of another perfectly imperfect room. Hop over to over to the Restyled Home blog for others' quests towards being delightfully imperfect.