I realized that I could not remember buying a brand new lamp. It’s for sure that I didn’t buy any since I’ve been married. I’ve bought new shades, but the lamps have been from thrift shops, yard sales, and hand me downs from others. That’s about 20 years of no new lamps. Somebody tell me I’m not the only one! How would the lamp industry survive if everyone did that?

This lamp was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

This lamp looked pretty pitiful.

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The main living areas of our house are all wide open to each other. The living room, dining room, and kitchen all flow together. I decided to aim for a Tuscany style of decor; that style is one of the few that I like in all of those 3 rooms. Example: I could handle a contemporary living room, but strongly dislike a contemporary style kitchen.

Design tip: A wall mural makes a big impact and adds a lot of color for less than $100 and one night of work.

While browsing the web and pinning decor ideas I found a beautiful wall mural. It was marked down so I bought it before we even signed the papers for the house.

Dining Room Wall Before

This week we pasted it to the dining room wall. Yes, pasted. Not peel & stick. Who’d ever think that I – lover of faux painting – would use wall paper!

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