Free Things Need A Destination
So this is a story about a renovation next door to me. This home was unoccupied for years and finally someone came along, got it on the cheap, renovated it (beautifully I might add) and sold it for a profit. It’s always nice as a nearby homeowner to have eyesores like this transformed. So, over the months that the contractors/owners were at the home we were friendly with each other. Somehow in one of our discussions he mentioned he needed to find a place to trash the old mantles. Assuming they were in bad shape I told him where he could probably take them and someone would use them for something – at least firewood. But then when I went into the backyard and saw how nice they were I knew I wanted them for my house. Afterall, my 112 year old home that’s next door is surely similar enough that the two mantles would fit in my space as well. Got hubby on board, we measured and sure enough, it was a match.
And here we are with the mantle in the backyard before being painted. I am sad to report that the one to the left needed a little more work and is still in our mudroom awaiting spindle repair. Can’t win ’em all…maybe this summer!
Here we are with it in the dining room but not ready yet since I still have to paint the walls. Eeek, the pressure!
Finished product, installed in our dining room (before tin installed behind it – an afterthought).
The ‘for real” finished product with tin installed on wall for a textured look.
My husband has been really good about reminding me that things need a destination. When I’m at stores and get sucked into the sale going on I MUST stop and ask myself, 1 – Do I need this? 2 – Do I have the money for this? 3 – Do I have the time to do what’s necessary (or resources) to make the most of this item? Free things should get lumped together here. Just because it’s free doesn’t mean you need it. Today I saw a “has a lot of potential” chair in the neighbor’s trash. I was very close to snagging it, but then I remembered that I don’t have a garage, the mudroom is full of stuff already, and I really don’t have time to dedicate myself to yet another project. So I let the trash men get it (even though it was a little hard to see, I’m not gonna lie).
Always, always make intentional acquisitions, free or otherwise.
How do you make intentional acquisitions?
intentional girl 
I forgot to mention that getting the mantle is what jump started our idea to paint the walls blue. We decided on Sherwin Williams Duration in Eggshell; color was Languid Blue. Really great paint and a fantastic color with the Drifting Dune (Olympic Brand) semi-gloss on the mantle.
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