Yes, that’s an SNL reference, and a fitting start to a truly heartwarming moment! Before we delve into the exciting details of home decor, I simply must pause to extend my deepest gratitude and love to all of you. Your incredibly kind words and overwhelming support from this morning have genuinely lifted my spirits, transforming what was a soggy and rather sad day into something much brighter. You guys are absolutely amazing – thank you for being such an incredible community.
Now, let’s turn our attention to a highly anticipated topic, one that many of you have eagerly requested: a detailed look at how we’ve styled our fantastic new (to us!) Craigslist buffet. This isn’t just about putting things on a surface; it’s about carefully curating a collection of items that are both functional and deeply special to us, reflecting our journey and personality. Hence the title of this post, which perfectly encapsulates our philosophy. Get ready to see how this central piece has transformed our entryway into a welcoming and inspiring space. Here’s a peek at what our entryway looks like now, with the newly adorned buffet taking center stage:
The Evolution of an Entryway: A Glimpse into Transformation
For a fun little trip down memory lane, let’s rewind to late 2010. This is what the very same corner of our house looked like when we first laid eyes on it, a blank canvas awaiting our touch. It’s always fascinating to see how spaces evolve and adapt with new owners and fresh perspectives.
Isn’t it truly remarkable to observe the same corner of a room, reimagined and decorated by completely different people? I absolutely adore this comparison. It highlights how personal style can dramatically alter a space, bringing new life and character. Honestly, I often wish I could just poke my head into every house in our neighborhood, just to catch a glimpse of what unique touches and styles they have going on inside! This curiosity is precisely why, whenever anyone asks me what superhero power I would choose, invisibility is always my immediate answer. Not for any grand heroic feats, mind you, but purely for the unparalleled house-snooping opportunities it would afford me. Imagine the decor inspiration!
Curating the Perfect Display: Our Buffet Styling Journey
On the subject of how I went about decorating that magnificent buffet, I have to confess: figuring out what to place on top of any new (to us) piece of furniture is undeniably one of my absolute favorite pastimes. There’s a certain thrill in the creative process, a joyful challenge in making a new acquisition truly feel like home. So, I wholeheartedly relished the precious thirty minutes I found during Clara’s nap time, dedicating them entirely to playing around with various items we already had scattered throughout the house. It’s amazing what you can uncover when you look at your existing possessions with fresh eyes and a new purpose. The selection process involved a delightful mix of old favorites and newfound potential. Our initial candidates included:
- Classic Glass Lamps: These elegant glass lamps have quite a history with us. They first illuminated our first house’s living room, then transitioned to our bedroom, until we eventually upgraded to some charming artichoke-inspired ones. These versatile pieces were a wedding registry find from Target, making them cherished companions for five wonderful years and counting. Their timeless design makes them adaptable to almost any space.
- Vibrant Yellow Urn: This substantial yellow urn previously resided in a cozy corner of our kitchen, adding a bright pop of color. It was a delightful discovery from HomeGoods just a few months prior, and its journey to the entryway buffet has given it a renewed sense of purpose and prominence. Its striking hue draws the eye and anchors the display.
- A Stack of Inspiring Decorating Books: Pulled from my secret stash of design literature, typically tucked away under the built-ins in the dining room and on my hallway ottomans, these hardcover books are not just for reading. They offer a fantastic way to add height, texture, and a touch of intellectual charm to any surface. Plus, they’re always there for a quick dose of inspiration!
- Elegant Scalloped Bowl: Originally from the kitchen, this beautifully scalloped bowl caught my eye as having potential for something truly special and sentimental. Its unique shape adds a touch of sophistication, and its ultimate use turned out to be one of my favorite elements of the entire display.
- Charming White Resin Pineapple: Purchased from HomeGoods about a year ago, this white resin pineapple is more than just a decorative piece. Pineapples carry a rich history of symbolism, often representing hospitality and welcome, making it a perfect addition to an entryway.
- Bold Faux Red Coral: This striking piece of faux red coral, acquired from Kohl’s approximately six months ago, introduces a vibrant splash of color and an organic texture to the arrangement. It’s a fantastic example of how modern accents can invigorate a more traditional or vintage piece of furniture.
- Quirky Thrift Store Leaf Dish: A true bargain at just 50 cents, this charming leaf dish from a thrift store serves a practical purpose. It’s the ideal spot for loose change, keys, or other small items that tend to accumulate in an entryway, keeping clutter contained with a touch of character.
My “buffet decorating” process is surprisingly straightforward, relying heavily on trial and error. It’s a continuous dance of placing an item, stepping back to observe the overall effect, then shimmying something over an inch, or swapping pieces entirely. I often liken it to picking the right outfit – but for my furniture! It might sound a little quirky, but it’s a completely normal part of my creative process. My goal is always to strike a perfect balance, mixing equal parts meaning, function, and sheer beauty. Because, in my humble opinion, that’s the ultimate trifecta of successful home decor. Many people emphasize the importance of form and function, and while those are undoubtedly critical, I believe we can – and should – up the ante by tossing “meaning” into the equation as well. After all, something that is useful, aesthetically pleasing, and holds personal significance is truly exceptional, isn’t it? It elevates a simple arrangement into a storytelling display.
Anyway, here’s the current iteration of our entryway buffet. You know me; I love to swap things around constantly, always seeking fresh arrangements. Plus, I’m already eagerly anticipating decorating the top of this buffet for various holidays throughout the year, adding seasonal cheer to our welcoming space.
The Trifecta of Decor: Functional, Meaningful, and Beautiful
Let’s break down each element of our buffet display into those three crucial categories: Functional, Meaningful, and Just Plain Pretty. This approach ensures every item serves a purpose, tells a story, or simply adds visual delight.
Functional Elements for a Busy Entryway
An entryway often needs to work hard, providing both a warm welcome and practical solutions for daily life. Here’s how our buffet items achieve this:
- Essential Illumination: The two lamps are absolutely vital. Our entryway, much like a good SNL sketch, currently boasts “zero point zero zero” overhead lights. These lamps provide much-needed ambient light, making the space feel more inviting and practical, especially during the darker hours. They banish any gloom and create a cozy atmosphere.
- Organized Clutter Solutions: The leaf-shaped dish serves as a designated catch-all for loose change, keys, stray buttons, and other small items that inevitably accumulate on surfaces. When you acknowledge that small clutter is bound to happen, providing a stylish little tray, dish, or basket to contain it proactively makes managing daily life significantly easier and keeps your entryway looking tidy.
- Hidden Storage, Open Charm: The big yellow urn isn’t just a pretty face; it offers ingenious concealed storage that’s incredibly easy to access. Inside, we currently stash an extra dog leash and some other “Burger-phenalia” (our beloved dog’s essentials), keeping necessary items close at hand but out of sight, maintaining a clean and uncluttered aesthetic.
Meaningful Touches: Infusing Personality and Story
Beyond utility, true home decor should resonate on a deeper level, reflecting who you are and the memories you cherish. These items do just that:
- A Symbol of Welcome: Placing the pineapple near the door is a deliberate choice. Historically, the pineapple has been a universal symbol of hospitality, warmth, and welcome, signifying that guests are cherished. It’s a subtle, yet powerful, way to say “welcome to our home” without uttering a single word.
- Personalized Details: In the change dish, I purposefully placed 43 cents – our very own lucky number. It’s a small, private detail that might go unnoticed by most, but it never fails to bring a smile to my face, knowing that little hidden number is nestled there. While it won’t always stay precisely that way, this personal touch makes the functional item feel uniquely ours.
- Treasured Memories on Display: Perhaps my favorite meaningful element is the collection of vacation postcards that we’ve sent to ourselves over the years. These aren’t just pretty pictures; they are miniature time capsules, bursting with memories from the last seven wonderful years we’ve spent together. Displaying them openly allows us to revisit those cherished adventures whenever the mood strikes. We’ve written more about this heartwarming tradition here.
Just Plain Pretty: Aesthetic Appeal and Visual Interest
Sometimes, an item’s sole purpose is to delight the eye, to add beauty, and to contribute to the overall aesthetic harmony of the space. These elements do exactly that:
- Styling with Books: The stack of cute hardcover books serves multiple purposes. They instantly add a layer of sophisticated color, visual texture, and much-needed height to the arrangement. Beyond their decorative appeal, they offer a constant source of inspiration whenever I choose to crack them open, blending beauty with potential knowledge.
- Modern Pop of Color: The bright red piece of faux coral provides a fresh, vibrant pop of color against the more muted tones of the buffet. Adding modern or unexpected pieces to an older item of furniture is one of my absolute favorite techniques for seamlessly integrating it into a contemporary room, ensuring it feels current and dynamic rather than “theme-y” or stodgy. This contrast creates visual interest and personality.
Without a doubt, my absolute favorite element on the buffet is that scalloped serving bowl. I “purloined” it from a cabinet in the kitchen specifically to house all of our vacation postcards. I simply adore having them out in the open, constantly reminding me of all our past adventures and future dreams. The best part is the flexibility; I can easily read through them, reliving those moments, and switch up the one in the front whenever the mood strikes. Right now, a breathtaking postcard from Hawaii gets top billing, purely because I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything prettier. It’s a daily dose of wanderlust and joy.
The Unexpected Harmony: Color and Personality in Our Home
Oh, and you might be wondering about that cheerful pop of yellow from the urn, basking there all sunny and happy. While it contributes to the overall aesthetic, its placement is also a deliberate nod to another key feature of our home. I thought these next few pictures would best explain the delightful connection:
Doesn’t it look simply sweet, harmonizing perfectly with our vibrant yellow front door? This thoughtful integration of color helps to create a cohesive and welcoming flow from the exterior to the interior of our home, making the entryway feel like a true extension of our personality and style. It’s these subtle, deliberate choices that really make a house feel like a home.
Life in the Midst of Decor: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes
And for anyone who’s ever wondered where Clara is when we’re busy shooting things for the ol’ blog, rest assured, she’s almost always right in the middle of everything! She’s often doing something utterly hilarious, adding an unpredictable and joyful element to our day. For instance, during this very shoot, she decided that kneeling at the front door and enthusiastically waving at the school bus as it drove by was an absolute necessity. Told you. Hilarious, right? We still have no idea why she thought waving and kneeling should go hand in hand, but it certainly made for a memorable moment and a great photo op. It’s a wonderful reminder that our home is lived in, full of laughter and spontaneous moments, not just a static display.
Looking Ahead: The Buffet’s Future and Beyond
So, there it is – our newly styled (and actually very old) Craigslist buffet, now beautifully adorned with a thoughtful collection of meaningful, functional, and just plain pretty items. While nothing is being stored inside it just yet, you know I can hardly wait to fill its spacious interior! I’m envisioning it as the perfect spot for more formal dining essentials, such as cloth napkins, elegant table runners, a few large vases for fresh flowers, and other serving pieces that don’t quite fit in the kitchen cabinets. This buffet is set to become a powerhouse of organization and style.
Oh, and that big, inviting blank wall directly above it? That’s definitely crying out for a little somethin’ somethin’. Whether it’s a statement piece of art, a grand mirror to reflect light, or a curated gallery wall, we know it needs the perfect finishing touch. You can bet we’ll keep you thoroughly posted on its transformation!
Psst- We just announced this week’s big giveaway winner! Click here to see if it’s you. Fingers crossed!