Pillow Switch

I am not big on seasonal decorating, but this year I had the itch to change things up for winter.

The easiest way to change the look of a room is with accessories, so I figured I'd switch out the cushions in the living room to something more seasonally appropriate.

A few frustrating fun shopping excursions later, and everything looks like this!

The cushions are all relatively inexpensive and were picked up at Urban Barn, Pier 1, Home Sense and The Bay.

With the change in cushions and the addition of our new custom cabinet, this room now looks and feels like a whole new space.

A punch of black

I have had this pair of candlestick lamps for about 10 years. When we got our first apartment together, Mr. Mel was living in another city, about 8 hours away, so he left all of the home decor shopping to me. I admit, I did indulge my girly desire for beads and glitz and, when he arrived to see all I had been up to, he was less than impressed with how - uhm - feminine everything was. He took a particular dislike to these lamps, and ever since then, cringes whenever I insist on using them in a room.

I have, reluctantly, agreed to revamp these lamps. It was the only way he would agree to have them in our living room. It's nothing spectacular, a coat of black spray paint and new shades and, bam, they are now much more - ahem - masculine. Mr. Mel is happy, I am happy. It's win, win!

I'm not sure about keeping the lampshades white. I think they need some colour. That's a project for another day (wink wink).

Here is the breakdown of costs for this project:
$6 for black spray paint
$6 for spray primer
$11 for lampshades
Total Cost = $ 23