Belle Maison, Neighbor

I am a retired health care professional, who has always wanted a beautiful well-decorated home. I have champagne taste and a beer budget, so I could never afford a  professional decorator. With a knowledge of good furniture, fabrics, etc., I learned to purchase items in a store, sew some things on my own for a more "custom" look, and put them together, so they looked good. My friends, and others, admired my choices and would ask, "How did you do that?" Did I mention that I am quite a bargain shopper and that I do not care to shop for something when I need it? When I see a real bargain I focus on future possibilites and purchase it if the price is "rock bottom."

In the late '80's I had done all of the work to open a retail store selling small home furnishings and decorative accessories. Just as I was about to sign the lease, the owner sold the property and the new owners only wanted "name" retailers in the plaza. The positive side of that was that there was a downturn in the economy and success may not have been a reality.

I have since developed a knack for changing an item to meet my needs by using spray paint and "regular" paint, stencils, glitter and more. I have labeled myself the spray paint queen. It does require a bit of vision to see an item and recognize that it has more uses than are obvious to the eye at that time. There will be hits and misses, but take a risk and get to work on making small, affordable changes.