Saturday, March 23, 2013

How to Create a Fab Coffee Table Centerpiece for Less than $10

So I'm still in the process of redoing my kitchen and dining area (kitchen reveal to come soon), but due to the open floorplan I have, a living room redo is also in order.  You kinda' can't do one without the other.  The good news is that you don't need to take out a small loan just to obtain a new look.  With the right placement of odds and ends, a little paint and some colorful throw pillows, you can really give your home a facelift on a budget.

Today, I'm going to give you a couple of tips on how to create a cute coffee table centerpiece with little time and little money.  It just takes a good eye.

A little background -- I'm a thrift store junkie.  Love, love, love garage sales, thrift stores, etc. Trash to treasure is a real obsession with me.  So this morning as I'm sipping coffee and reading the paper, my mother calls to tell me she spotted a beautiful white apothecary jar at the local thrift store for four bucks.  Wha?  Seriously?  I nearly spilled the coffee I jumped out of bed so fast.  She knows my love for white accessories.

Thirty minutes later, I arrive at this little piece of heaven and in less than 10 minutes, I had three design must-haves in my arms.  So here are my finds of the day from the local thrift store in good ole' Plaquemine, Louisiana. 

1.  The initial mission: the white apothecary jar - $3.50.


I instantly fell in love with it because of its color and its height.  You always want to have one item on your table that has some height to visually keep it interesting.  Also if you stick with neutral colors it gives your centerpiece a calm uncluttered look, not to mention you can continue to use it even when you change your color scheme six months from now.

2.  My beautiful portugese bowl - $4.  Okay, so it was really $5 but I asked him to come down a bit.  I wouldn't have paid more than $2, but I flipped it over and noticed it was actually porcelain and made in Portugal, so for some reason I was intrigued and wanted it all the more (but not enough to pay the full $5. Ha.)



This bowl was perfect for my centerpiece because I needed something lower to complement the taller apothecary jar.  I also needed something to carry either fruit, greenery, flowers, etc. to break up all the white.

3.  Finally!  My favorite find of the day!  My hand painted ceramic horse straight from Brazil.  $2!!!  Always, always, always find just one piece that is either quirky, exceptionally pretty or some kind of conversation starter.  This was the perfect find and as always, the fact that it was made in Brazil was yet another reason to snag it.



So I get my goodies home and the first thing I do is find a touch of greenery to soften my centerpiece and I also found some fruit to place in my bowl.  I don't mind vases being empty but I've never been wild about leaving a bowl empty.  I dunno.  That's just me.  So after adding a couple of books to hold my quirky item, I had created a beautiful centerpiece in about an hour and for less than $10!  

 
So there you have it!  You can easily create a centerpiece with a few odds and ends and keeping a few handy rules in mind.

1.  Keep it inexpensive. Shop garage sales and thrift stores! You don't have to invest a lot and three months from now, you won't feel so bad when you want to change things around... again...

2.  Keep the majority of your items white or neutral.  This allows you to have that one "pop" of color or interest elsewhere.  Less is more when it comes to colors and patterns in a centerpiece.

3.  Vary your heights.  Choose a taller item, a shorter item and something in between if you must.  Prop things on books to get just the right size scape.

4.  Always add a quirky item.  And sometimes that one super cool find at the thrift store or yard sale will be just what you needed.  As they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure!

Hope you enjoyed this. Do you have any other suggestions for creating a special centerpiece?  Please share them here!


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