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And this is it:  The heart wants what the heart wants. 

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Courtney became the girl everyone loved to hate. Ben knew that choosing her was going to be very unpopular because of her difficulty getting along with 24 other girls who were in competition for the same man (???)  To be honest, who wouldn’t have difficulty with that one? 

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Anywho, Ben went with his heart even when he knew it wouldn’t be popular.   We all know that black is not a popular color for kitchens:

This happens over and over, doesn’t it?  Jake and Vienna, Brad and Emily  - we all screamed at the television, “You are making the WRONG choice, you big dummy!”

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Maybe you feel like the big dummy because you have a collection that no one else “gets.” Or you have a certain piece of quirky furniture that no one understands why you love it.  You’re afraid of what other people will think.  You even know certain people won’t approve.

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Hey, the heart wants what the heart wants.  In the end, it’s your life and your home, right? You’re the one that has to live in it.  You made your bed, now lie in it.  And enjoy!

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Maybe this image is one that is closer to the real thing.   

Actually, I think it’ll be more like this one:

Praying for peace and comfort for my friend in the loss of her son.

I began working with a professional organizer yesterday because my life seemed to be teetering on the edge of disarray!   I am really good at making the surface of my home look lovely, but there’s a lot that lies beneath the surface . . .

You have no idea what all is in those drawers . . .

In preparing for our next appointment, my head is spinning thinking of all my collections and what she is going to challenge me to part with.  Of course, this gets me thinking that I need to be even more mindful and creative in making those collections functional and beautiful, otherwise they may be headed to Goodwill!

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I love cake stands and use them for parties and decor, but I recently found a few inspiring images for even more ways to use them creatively.  A cake stand is a perfect fit for this vanity area – it corrals perfumes and pretty bottles with style.

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 Even soaps and detergents look nicer on a small sink-side cake stand:

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I have so many vintage frames and vintage framed art that I don’t always have the wallspace for all of it them.  I LOVE this idea for repurposing a pretty frame as a vanity tray.

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There are waayyyy too many paint cans in my home, what with trying out paints and creating sample boards for clients.  It only makes sense that a Color Consultant should repurpose a few paint cans to use in her office!

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I featured this image a long time ago in this post about stylish storage, but I love it so much that I have to share it again.  Even vintage teacups can be functional if you can think outside the box a little.

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Ok, I’ve got to go and get ready for the next area of my house we will be organizing – my bedroom.  Stay tuned for exciting news about The Decorologist’s expanding services!

You know I *heart* hanging eclectic plate groupings (see my post about it here).  Check out Lisa’s artful arrangement.

Aren’t her colorful retro kitchen ceramics happy?

Grouping objects by color keeps collections from looking to cluttered.

Displaying your collections together always make them more interesting, more of a statement.

Here, Lisa simply used push pins to hang all these vintage photos in an assymetrical grouping.  There’s no way a visitor is going to walk into this room and NOT spend time looking through this collection.

Here is Lisa’s fun office in her home.  Somehow I imagine it is not usually this tidy.

For a gal with so many collections, her house looks surprisingly minimal.  The trick to making that appear to be the case is keeping everything off the floor and on the walls!

“Even mundane objects add up to something beautiful when they’re grouped in a thoughtful way.”   Check out some of Lisa’s more unusual collections:

Lisa has compiled a book of all her posts for 2010.   A Collection a Day comes out in March of 2011.

Photo Credits:  Apartment Therapy, A Collection a Day 2010.

This is a collection I started by accident.  A few years ago, I found  a couple of framed vintage Mother’s Day cards at an antique mall.

Over the years, I have occasionally found one at an estate sale or antique mall along the way.

I’ve hung them in different places in my home, but I recently decided to group them together for more of a statement.  Because I didn’t have enough of them, I added in a couple of other vintage pictures.  These hang in my stairwell going up to the childrens’  bedrooms.

When I had a Mother’s Day dinner with friends (which I posted about here), I used these framed cards as a display on my front entry table to set the mood for the evening.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day filled with family and love!

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Asymmetrical or Symmetrical?  Symmetrical is more formal  and traditional.  The central focus is on mirror images and using pairs of objects.  To create this look, you simply start with a central object (large picture or mirror), then add items in pairs on either side until you have enough items to “fill in” the space.

An assymetrical mantel grouping is less formal and more arty.  The key here is to have an approximately equal visual weight on either end of the mantel.  Visual weight doesn’t mean you have to have an equal number of items on either end, it means you have a balance or even distribution within a display.

A dark-colored item has more visual weight than a light-colored one, and heavy or fat items have more visual weight than light and thin ones.   In an assymmetric grouping, you can use peaks and valleys wherever you choose.  Keep stepping back and looking to see if the visual weight looks fairly equally.  Just add or take away an item to even things out.

Use like objects of differing sizes, like crystal or wooden candlesticks of varying shapes and heights, grouped in 3s or 5s.  Or cream pottery of differing shapes and sizes.  For a more interesting display, choose 3 materials to use:  crystal, pottery, and shells, for example.   Oh, and if you choose to use a mirror, make sure it reflects something pretty – not a blank wall or the ceiling.  Use wire to tilt it slightly downward.

Layer things forward and backward on the mantel.  Start with largest items, work towards smaller to add interest.  Edit, edit! Don’t overdo it.  Less is more.

You can hang items like pictures, candle sconces, and decorative plates on the wall. Hang your picture/pictures or mirror closer to mantel (approximately 6 inches) rather than centering it on the wall space. Or, you can lean a picture against the wall without nailing it.

Decide if you want to go vertical or horizontal – if you have soaring ceilings, go vertical;  if ceiling height is more typical, go horizontal.  You want to match/extend the shape of your furniture (mantel) or wall shape.

Have fun with your mantel.  Use unique art and flea market finds.  If  your mantelscape has been the same for the last 6 months, maybe it’s time for a change.  Go see what you can do!

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I have a few pieces of green depression glass that belonged to my grandmother.  I keep them in a cupboard in my dining room.  I saw an episode of Cash in the Attic last week where a couple sold their depression glass for over $1000.  They had a whole lot more of it than me, of course!

I also have a very large set of pinkish glass dessert plates, dessert bowls, glasses, and parfaits that came from one of my husband’s great aunts.  I use them for special dinners and both wedding and baby showers.

But what I find to be the most ultimately functional, as well as beautiful, is the heavier colored glassware that was manufactured in the 1970′s.  Glassware in the colors of that era was widely popular and affordable to most people.   It is heavier and less fragile than glassware from earlier decades, making it totally practical for everyday use.  And, it is extremely easy to find and exceptionally cheap.  I find it at almost every estate sale I visit.  The two most popular colors were amber/gold and green.  Your mother or grandmother probably has some still up in her cupboard or maybe packed up in the attic.

30 years have past, and its time has come again!  Remember, it’s all about context.  Green and gold glassware with avocado green and harvest gold accessories looks like a flashback to the 70′s.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Today, vintage 70′s glassware can look totally current.  Pair amber or green with white or crystal for a sophisticated look.  I like to use amber glass in the fall or winter.  I use green both at Christmastime and during the spring or summer.

 Blue glassware was not as common in the 70′s, but there’s still some of it out there.  I found 7 blue water glasses at an estate sale for $14 total.  I like it in the spring and summer with white and pink.  Or even with my green for an unexpected mix.

A collection of vintage colored glassware can be an inexpensive way to add color and interest to your dinner table, whether you are entertaining or just decorating your tabletop.

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You’ve seen how trendy it is to have glass vases, hurricanes, and domes, and cloches on tabletops and in tablescapes, but some of us have difficulty coming up with ideas of what to put into them.  So, here are some ideas for you to try.  I often load them up with fruit like apples or pears when staging homes to sell.  Hemingway Hurricane Vase by Southern Living at Home.

You’ve probably seen them filled with little brown woven balls and colored rocks - Target even has an aisle full of vase filler material.  But that’s a little too easy, if you ask me.  I like to use the opportunity to display small items or collections that you don’t want to see scattered all over table.  Fill a fat vase with old jewelry, beads, shell necklaces, shells, holiday decorations, marbles, etc.    

Try using glass trifle bowls, punch bowls, glass kitchen canisters, or other glass containers.   Fill them with rice, beans, sand, pebbles.  I’ve even gathered chestnuts from the backyard of a client to bring in some browns and texture to the kitchen.  Think in themes – this picture is an example of a nature or spring vignette.  Devonshire trifle bowl is from Southern Living at Home.

Drop a cloche over any little vignette.  Bird nests and vintage photos are my favorite.  Upon a small stack of books, of course!  If you don’t have a garden cloche, how about using a glass cake or cheese dome?

After Christmas is over, keep the wintry decor going with some vases filled silver balls, white and crystal napkin rings, and shell necklaces.  And top them with vintage black and white photographs, like I did here.

In January, this small punch bowl holds Christmas ornaments that don’t scream Christmas – just winter.

I found a bundle of vintage birthday candles at an estate sale – never used, still in the original packaging.  All for 50 cents.  Who else would want those but me?  But look at the cool retro graphics on these – the colors are so cool.  What a perfect way to show off a quirky grouping of things you love!

Display things that express what your family loves or enjoys to do.  How about a hurricane full of golf balls, matchbooks from favorite restaurants, vintage silverware, bird feathers, even billard balls for a pop of color?  My husband thought of a few more:  old bills, metal screws,  cigarette butts, and gallstones.  That’s why I do the decorating around here.