Decorating Dilemmas SOLVED!

For months I have struggled with this. I have questioned what to do. I have slowly been filled with disgust as clutter built and yet nothing fell into place. At last, I am happy.

This thing that plagued me for so long? What on earth to do with the space above the TV armoire.

The armoire was given to us by my great aunt, collector of all things cute and country. I'm not sure what she opted to do with it, but I sure had a hard time figuring out what to put up there. It is deep, for one, and painted almost the same color as the walls (this is the problem with moving a lot). Because of this, it felt like a huge empty space. I put several items up there, but it just wasn't working. Several of the things I selected were nice, such as the birdcage filled with antique books (the one item that remained) and the mantle clock. But the only way that I was going to solve this dilemma was to take everything off and start over.

To get some ideas, I went to the free design studio at Pottery Barn and described my armoire and its general situation in the living room. The woman I spoke with suggested moving my Renoir print from above the fireplace and hanging it instead above the armoire so that there would not be so much empty space above it. Well, that alone made a big difference. She also suggested selecting only three items to go on top; two to one side, one to the other. I could change these items according to the season, she said. I selected, along with my birdcage which will remain there year round, a pitcher of fall flowers and a small pumpkin. Already I really liked how it was looking, but the amount of white was still bothering me. So I took a fall table runner and ran it across the middle of the armoire. This pop of color broke up the white and fixed the depth issues! This is how it turned out:

Step 1: Remove junk from the armoire; replace with simple styling. 

This set up can easily change with the seasons!

I really loved how that looked, so I decided to finish the project by finally hanging the artwork I had been planning to hang on each side of the armoire. I put a mail sorting system on the side closest to the front door (we have no entryway here), with an antique map of colonial Algeria above it. On the opposite side, I hung my homemade canvas art over another map, this one of the Louisiana purchase.

Dougie checks out the new design! 

The last thing I did was clean up Dougie's area. I moved his toys (which previously would just end up anywhere around his box) and draped the same Turkish cloth that I have over top of the coffee table over his cage. It lightens up the harsh black wire. Plus the arrangement of his favorite stuffed toys on top looks so cute!

Dougie's new clean area! Er..minus the measuring cup! I use that to scoop out his food. :) 

All in all, I'm really happy with how it turned out! Two more smaller things that I also did today include a "WATER CLOSET" sign hung over the half bath and the return of the mantle clock to- surprise- the mantle! The last thing that I want to do here (which the woman at Pottery Barn suggested to me) is add a rectangular mirror to go above the mantle where the picture previously hung!

Love this sign from World Market! 

New mantle set up with the mantle clock! I think this was also from Aunt Joanne? Thanks! :) 

The moral of the story: if you are stuck, ask for help! Going to Pottery Barn helped move me in the right direction, and the best part was all this advice was free! Thanks PB! =)