Wall Decor: A little living room makeover!

TRUE STORY: When we moved into this house, the movers could not get our bedroom armoire up either set of stairs. The thing was massive, the stairs were tight, and there was no way to take it apart and make it any smaller-- it just wasn't happening. And because the front part of the house has lower ceilings, we couldn't put it there, either. The thing ended up stuck in our living room for over a year, completely out of place and becoming a dumping ground where I would quickly stash the kids' toys when people came to visit. I'd even forget it was there sometimes, despite its enormous size-- I got so used to it!

So... We tried to sell it. Lots of times. We dropped the price lower and lower... There was a lot of interest, but nobody could ever manage to get their act together to actually come and pick the thing up (it needed a LARGE truck or trailer or something to move it... it was huge!). I tried to donate it, but no place would take it because of its size. It became a joke-- the armoire we were going to be stuck with for the rest of our lives!

Finally, I posted the thing on CraigsList as a FREE item to the first person who could come and get it. I had thirty emails in under ten minutes! I replied to the first few, and one person could come the next day. And they did! Better yet, it was a very nice couple with five young kids, and they had recently lost their rented home in an electrical fire. Not like that's a good thing, but I didn't know their story until they were loading the armoire into their van-- they truly needed it and appreciated it. They didn't have renter's insurance, and lost everything. I felt really good about the whole transaction-- my furniture went to a good home. Awwwww!

That being said... I walked back into the living room, and it suddenly looked gigantic! No more huge armoire taking up all this space! The wall where the armoire had been looked long and bare, and the whole room felt off-balance. Project time!

I wanted to keep the floor space open, because it made the room flow so much better. But the wall was so empty! Two stops about about $40 later, and I had a decorated wall!

I bought the shelves at Wal-Mart for $9 each, and the knick-knacks at A.C. Moore (letter "P", three small glass bottles with corks, a silk flower, and a votive candle holder). I already had the frames and the square mirror, and I just chose a few pictures to print out as black-and-whites. And that was it! I think it turned out really nicely!

TIP: When hanging shelves, drilling pilot holes and inserting wall anchors is a must!

I used to be lazy about doing this, because it added an extra step. But I feel good knowing that those shelves aren't going anywhere, especially since my kiddos play right underneath them throughout the day! I would also recommend securing the objects on the shelves using museum/mounting putty or 3M strips. Maybe it's the Californian in me, but preventing falling objects is never a bad thing, right?