I found two gold framed floral pieces 14 years ago at a thrift shop in Florida. They were 75 cents each and I’m still convinced that the very best thrifting is to be found in the sunshine state. Not to mention, these little numbers are two of my favorite possessions.
I decided to follow my own advice and hang them someplace unexpected. For some reason, I have never liked them hung on stark white walls, I think they pop more layerd on color. They are a little surprise when you open the armiore.
Disclaimer: please ignore that red plate hanging up there, I just haven’t gotten to that wall yet, it takes me time to process and get it right, and it’s a bear to climb up there and take it down. This home is ALWAYS a work in progress.
Where’s the most surprising place you’ve hung something?
I LOVE the prints! What a fresh, little surprise inside that gorgeous armoire!
That “accessory” on your sofa is pretty cute too. :-)
Layla
How pretty! I’m more of an unexpected art kinda girl, not really hanging it in unexpected places. They look great, though!
I love the prints, too!! That IS some good thrifting, how come I don’t have any luck when I go thrifting? Is there a secret? Or, is it random luck of the draw? I just hand stuff on walls. I wish I could say I’ve done something really interesting but I haven’t.
I painted the inside of my pantry a very spicy orange, and I love it! Inside of the pantry I hung two plates that I found at a yard sale. They have some wild colors in them, sort of a Mexican inspired palette. These two plates, that cost me all of .50 cents, were the inspiration for the pantry. I love opening that door a bajillion times a day and seeing that pop of color!
Those prints really pop against the blue. They look great. I like to layer things. So I’ll hang a mirror, and over the mirror a barn star, and over the barn star a wreath. Not terribly surprising, but it adds a bunch interest. I also have an armoire similar to yours and mine looks beautiful with the doors open. Thanks for the inspiration to hang something on the inside doors!
Love it!
I simply love the idea of hanging the prints on the armoire door. Very pretty.
Cindy
Love the unexpected! I have large used pizza paddles from an old restaurant hanging on my kitchen wall. Gotten lots of comments about them.
Once upon a time, when I didn’t have to defend my decorating choices to a husband, I had a wreath that I loved hanging on the inside of my bathroom door. It migrated to the pantry door after he came around.
So pretty….I had a similar pair purchased for a similar price that I was foolish enough to part with for a client’s project. I made a lot of money. That’s the only good part. I miss them still, and can think of about ten places I would like to use them at any given moment. sigh.
oooh, i love those there. i have always hung everything in the most expected of places, but not now. not that i’ve seen this post! we are covered in snow, snow, and more snow today so today’s project is now going to be hanging decor in all the most surprising of places! :) thanks, nester! you’re awesome!
I bought three little tiny frames (like 1″X1.5″) at the dollar store, used them to frame up some fortune cookie fortunes (my fave? “You will be hungry again in 1hr”) and then hung them w doublesided tape in the doorframe that leads between my kitchen & dining room (disclaimer-there is no door and the doorframe is about 3″deep-it’s an old house)
What a great idea…hanging them inside the armoire. I love it. And I didn’t even notice the red plate until you mentioned it ;)
Pretty prints, Nester! :) I’m learning from you to do unexpected things in my home…I don’t really have any art hanging in unexpected places yet though. :) Ought to put something on the inside of the diaper pail lid…I use it so often. ;)
yes, and on the inside of the toilet seat as well!
In our bedroom I hung curtains to the ceiling, but the windows are not that tall. The previous curtains had been hung lower, right above the windows, and the old hardware left gigantic holes in the walls above the windows. I was lazy, so I stuck a couple of porcelain mardi-gra-ish masks over the holes instead of patching them properly. Now when we open the bedroom curtains, there are little masks peeking out at the top of the window. I’m looking around my living room right now and thinking about trying it in here, too…
I am going crazy with accessories trying to tone down the sunshine that is our kitchen paint. I hung a tiny thrift store plate over the cats water & food bowl and wrote “Murray’s Kitchen” on it with a Sharpie. Hate me.
love you.
I love the prints and can’t believe you’ve kept them that long. That might be another tip – put stuff away for decorating ideas later. I also love your orange touches because that’s my favorite color. Thanks for all your good ideas.
SERIOUSLY?
You mean everyone doesn’t keep stuff they love forever? Oh my goodness, I feel a post coming on!
Please do a post on that subject. I let go of some things I really loved just because they were ‘out of style’ and it’s haunted me ever since.
yes, i agree sweet friend! a brilliant post in the making. :) how to store? how to cull? how to know what to keep? yes, yes, yes.
yes, and let us know where you store it all?!!
looks just charming!
I love those pictures hung there – great find, too!
Back in my apartment days, I hung curtain panels on a rod…on a totally blank wall. No windows or anything. I just needed something big and I didn’t have much money, so tada! The funny (insane?) thing is that it was an inside wall, so there was no way a window could have possibly been there.
I’ve been wanting to hang fabric on our apartment walls and just didn’t know how to pull it off! Great idea!
And the wall I need to do it on is an inside wall too!
:)
They do look great against the blue color. Very clever! I’ve been wanting to hang to pics inside the shower walls… always thought it was to crazy, I guess I should call it “unexpected”? Thanks fro the inspiration!! Best! Vanessa
Hahaha! I just couldn’t stop chuckling about that “accessory” sitting so non-chalantly on the couch ! I love your idea and I think the gurus call it whimsy! Every home needs whimsy don’t you think? and some cute thing on the couch too!
I used to have a similar armoir and I painted the insides of the doors with chalkboard paint and kept a little bucket of chalks on the shelf. Our unexpected pop of colour was provided by my children.
I think I am pretty traditional with where I hang pictures. However, I do tend to put them on our interior doors. I love having decorated doors!
After reading this and all the comments, I need to shake up this stiff house and add a little surprise! In regards to the stray red plate on your wall, it comforts me. This is why people read your lovely blog!!!
PS… agree with Sunshine State finds! Something about retirement, purging, and sales flow in Florida! That place is full of goodies!
Yes, this is going to sound just awful but I have a feeling when some of those people die, the contents of their house just get donated.
That red plate just looks like the cherry on top! Paint a cute stem behind it and Voila!
That looks so good! I love doing things like that. It makes a home more unique and interesting. Those prints are precious. Thanks for mentioning the red plate, you made me feel better…haha :) My home is always a work in progress! I have so many things like your plate that I haven’t finished or gotten around to. Love that room, btw!
I have to agree with you about Florida. Every year when my family goes there to vacation I JUMP at the chance to shop at all my found shoppes. As for unexpected color…what a great idea!! Now to find some nooks and crannies to expose a bit of color to.
Cheers~
e
Well, this is unexpected! Love it! Can’t say that I’ve ever hung art in any unexpected places really…you’ve now got me thinking about it however!
Janell
It’s so funny about the red plate, my armoire is undergoing a re-construction project, too. I just can not find the right scale of things to put up there (plus it is super dusty!).
I am anxious to see what you do. My Mom says to decorate in threes, well, I am at a loss for that third object… I wish you were my friend and could come over and help me!
Wow…could you just invite me over to sit “outside” your house and have coffee? :D
Where in Fl did you find those? I live in NWFl and the shops here are pretty pitiful. Glad you are home….missed your posts.
Hmmm, unexpected places. I hung a large iron framed mirror outside on the back porch wall. There’s also a colorful print inside my closet, along with some old framed photos of my sister and me in our Easter outfits when we were kids.
Hi Nester, Your prints look adorable hanging there! How about hanging the red plate above the middle picture frame in your grouping? That would give some height to break up the same height of the armoire & the framed picture grouping & would look cute with the red plate that is hanging lower. That make sense? But what do I know, lol? I am just learning from you!
Great thrifting finds! And I love them hung on the doors of the cabinet. Never would have thought of that! Makes me realize I am not very creative about where I hang things…I must remedy that!
I LOVE it!! Very charming! And, I adore the pictures of your kids, too! It’s all coming together =]
Love the idea of unexpected color. I find little treasures at thrift shops with the intention of gifting a friend and usually end up keeping them for myself. Love the prints.
Love that their is a PERSON in your picture! Proof that your decor is working… it is providing a pleasant spot for *living*… not just a tasteful spread for a magazine.
And I love those on the doors! What a clever idea! I have a guitar hanging in my living room, I guess that is unexpected? Seemed logical to me… get this up and out of the toddler’s reach! ;)
I love those little prints! You did a great job of following your own advice. That makes me think that I really need to do something to the inside of the pantry door.
Yesterday I risked life and limb to hang a clock of family photos in my stairwell. I love how it turned out, but I almost got the surprise of a trip to the hospital. (Just in case you were wondering, it’s not a good idea to balance a stepstool on a pile of books.) There are two people living in this house who are taller than six and a half feet–why I, the shortest member of the family, has to do things NOW, when the tall people aren’t home, is kind of a mystery.
By the way, I love that this photo includes your tall man!
Love your little prints. I like to hang “art” objects above my door frames, with 9 foot ceilings, it draws everyone’s eyes up and accents the height.
I would never have thought of that….very nice! Love they way they look!!
Super cute idea. Love it! I really need to get around to painting my GIANT armoir one of these days. I love how it looks, i’m just overwhelmed even thinking about it!
I have a few framed photos of myself and my two sisters when we were very small hanging inside my closet… along with a few other favorite childhood items. Hanging on the closet door is a little wooden plaque my aunt painted for me when I was 4.. It’s Winnie-the-Pooh and says “Laura’s Room”. For some reason, these things cheer me up each day when I open my closet door.
Definitely on the stairwell to our basement, facing you as you come down the stairs. My sister-in-law, who is an artist, gave us one of her pieces, but it’s a long rectangle and I didn’t really have a good space to put it. It fit in that spot perfectly, and it makes me smile every time I head downstairs.
Those prints are just adorable!
Beautiful prints. Exactly my style.
I hung a framed postcard on the back wall of a bookcase so it could be seen as part of the vignette. And I have, in the past, hung art for my cats… down by their bowls. Who knows if they appreciated it, but I iked it!
Very pretty! You’ve got me wondering what I could in my home that’s a bit unexpected. I love the blue too!
That’s a great idea! They look great on the armoire. I’m still trying to learn how to accessorize my walls and such. I did just post about hanging a sign above my window. It’s pretty big and that’s new for me. I’m not sure if I’m totally crazy about it, but it is special to me.
Thanks for sharing! (And it was so nice to meet you!)
Traci
Those look really pretty on that blue/teal color! I think the back of a door is the most unexpected place I’ve hung something… and I hung it there just because I was out of logical wall space :)
I lived in the Sunshine State for 9 years and, unfortunately, didn’t start ‘thrifting’ until I moved back to Hoosierland. Bummer. I love the prints, though. And I like how you were bold enough to leave them in their gold frames. You go girl!
I hung a wine rack in the bathroom and use it to hold towels
I LOVE the prints there!!! Good goin, sister!
Love the homespun feel prints!
Honestly? I’m not even sure what constitutes an unexpected place. Anything that’s vertical is fair game in my eclectic world. I’m looking around and it all looks so normal. To me. :D
I have a heavy duty metal shower caddy hanging on one side of my armoire doors. Would that fit in with this?!?
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-uses-formore-metal-stuff-of-course.html
And then there’s the metal clad siding inSIDE the armoire..
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2009/11/funky-creation-alert-lets-line-armoire.html
That’s just one small area. I’ll stop now. This reply could definately get out of hand.
Donna