Progress and some life lessons and hideous hues along the way

This weekend was pretty productive. The fiance's nightstand makeover is coming along nicely. I had to sand off all of the dark stain he put on it after acquiring it from an old neighbor. In the process of stripping it down to the original wood, I found a surprise. And it wasn't the kind you eagerly anticipate on your birthday or Christmas.

The neighbor had stained it a hideous salmon color. Ugh. I asked Bruce why anyone would choose that shiny shade of nastiness for a great vintage piece? To which he replied, "Well, it was the 1950s." And my response: "There's no excuse for ugly." With the salmon disaster behind me, I'm excited to paint the nightstand white to show off its fabulous shape, which the dark stain was hiding.

Even though I have a clear vision for a piece of furniture when I begin, I seem to underestimate how involved the projects turn out to be. Maybe it's because I've only done three including the nightstand? Maybe it's the perfectionist in me? Each piece seems easier than the last when I begin the revamping process, but turns out to be more time consuming. Despite that, these projects are giving us "new" furniture that isn't mismatched and helping me become more handy and patient. I really had no expectations other than pretty furniture when I began these makeovers. But my confidence in properly navigating around a garage is growing. If you need something wood puttied, sanded, primed or painted, I'm your girl. And I definitely couldn't say that three months ago.

May flowers ...

Bring a sneak peek into the progress of the townhouse decorating venture. 

 

I chose these lovely flowers at the grocery store for the mason jars I got last Saturday. Please pardon the paper towel holder. Glamorous, I know.

 

Pink, yellow and white are really inspiring me right now, so I divided up two bundles for the four jars, and you have "custom" arrangements for only $9.

As I was trying to find places for the blooms around the house, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to update you on the progress of the townhouse design. I couldn't very well let the sight of these pretties go to waste.

Please remember this is totally a work in progress. I'm not sure any space is ever truly finished. But ours still has a long way to go. But for now .... glimpses of the living room and master bedroom.

Living room

Master bedroom

Any thoughts and suggestions would be much appreciated!

I love lamp

Lighting ... One of the most overlooked elements in interior design. I never really thought much about lamps and their ability to totally transform a room until I started reading interior design blogs. Well, those days are over, and I'm on the pretty lamp bandwagon. HomeGoods, the center of all that is easy on the bank account and stylish, has made it easier for beautiful lighting to exist in the townhouse.

They ALWAYS have a modern and stylish selection. These are the types of lamps I see on high-end retailer's Web sites for hundreds of dollars at a fraction of the cost.

I purchased these two for $51 and put them in the living room on top of the made over bookcase.

Any of these dynamic duos would have a place in my casa. 

But I only chose this pair.

You probably guessed from my hints in the previous post. I'm not that great at keeping secrets.

Even though we have been using the hallway and bathroom lights to illuminate our bedroom [there aren't overhead lights in either of the townhouse bedrooms],  I made my way to the lighting section with the intention of only window shopping.

The rose lamps caught my eye immediately. I almost put them in the cart without even looking at the price [$69.99 a piece]. But then I saw the ones with the circle shades and glass base, and  found myself with a difficult decision. 

The rose lamps were pretty. But then I thought they maybe looked too feminine and I had to take my fiance, who I share the room with and who is not feminine, into consideration. My shopping companion and good friend, Correne, also pointed out the potentially time-consuming task of cleaning the intricate divots of the roses. Who wants to vacuum a lamp? Not this girl.

And then I went back to the circle-shaded beauties. I love the look of clear glass. And not to mention my growing obsession with circles. They looked gender-neutral. Another plus. And with a price take of $49.99 each, I literally was sold on them.

What do you think? Did I make the right choice?

Do you feel lighting can make a room or are you apathetic to it as I used to be?