Young House Love Week, Day 1

Mom and I decided that a perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s Day on our blog is to feature our spin on one or two projects each day that John and Sherry Petersik developed for their book Young House Love (available here) .  Afterall, it’s all about the love, right?  And we’re here to spread it around.  So welcome to “The 2 Seasons Celebrate Young House Love Week.”

Many of you might remember this buffet  that we found at the thrift store last year, redesigned and painted with chalk paint that we made.  I’m sure you will be glad to know that since then we have changed the hardware to give it a more youthful look.  This buffet which has been a great addition to our dining room seemed like the perfect place to do Sherry and John’s Project Number 001.

I decided that this open area could use some enhancement with the addition of a background.

Like Sherry, I used foam board, but in my case, two pieces were needed.  I cut them to size and then gave the two paper possiblities a test drive.  I bought two different paper styles to use as the backdrop.  One was bold, and one was subtle.  I gave them both a test drive and went with the softer/lighter choice.  It can play a supporting role and let the buffet be the star.  But remember, the foam boards can easily be removed, and I can switch out the paper on a whim.

Here’s the first shelf after Mom and I accessorized it with some of my girlie books and a pair of ancient bar bells that were in our 1928 bungalow when we bought it.  I figured they could offset the feminine vibe the books added.

See how the paper-covered foam board just kind of does its thing in the background?

Here’s the second shelf with some colorful balls I had on hand along with a container of corks, a unpolished silver julep cup, and a horse shoe from our wedding.  The green in the balls really enhance the green in the paper backing.

Here it is all put together.  I love the way it looks.  We have a touch of that green in every room on our first floor, and it’s a great way to pull all of the rooms together.

I added a Valentine thought to our chalkboard platter and a red and white hand towel.  Here you can get a good look at the new hardware.  It’s so much better.

There’s some more of that green.

We’re thrilled with the way the new foam board background upgraded our buffet.  Thanks, John and Sherry for the idea.

*****

Cheers!

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