Coffee Table Update: Easy as 1,2,3

After I gave my couch throw pillows a facelift it was on to tackling the outdated coffee table.  Here is the before:

It’s not that I didn’t dig the long curvy candle holder, but, I felt that now that I was in a place where I could really update the space to my tastes rather than décor of convenience.  And I also never really had the time/energy to realize that doing things my way didn’t have to be expensive! This motivated me to start a mission update my coffee table with a cluster of three separate “pieces” at varying heights.

I began my search at the thrift shop near my home town.  I had a picture of my new throw pillows on my cell phone and was using the blues, greens, whites, and browns as my compass for my color scheme.  I never know what I will find at the thrift shop, but I was looking for animal figurines that I could paint white, hardcover books with bindings that would coordinate with the pillows, and anything else that would work for the coffee table.  The sky was the limit! 

A pair of two brass birds caught my eye immediately, but looking at the price and seeing $15.00 I just couldn’t commit.  But, my gut told me I couldn’t walk away.  After carrying around the birds for about 10 minutes I figured I better go up to the counter and see what they could do for me.  “I’ll give you $8 bucks for these” I said casually as my heart was about to beat out of my chest.  This was the first time I had ever attempted a solo bargain.  The nice lady countered with $12, and I came back with $10. Sold! I was holding back the urge to do a fist pump right then and there as I resumed my shopping adventures.  I also walked out that day with 4 books in varying shades of blue and one in light green.  Score!  So, with one cluster down (the stack of books with the birds perched on top) I had two to go.

For my next cluster I ventured to Home Goods.  I fell in LOVE with a hurricane vase and decided it had to be mine.  I was drawn to the clean and simple look of the base, but the uniqueness of how the hurricane was wider on the bottom and slightly slanted narrower towards the top is what had me sold.  Since I had wanted to create a beachy feel to the living room without making it scream tacky, I added sand and a starfish to the mix and topped it off with one of my favorite spiral shells I had picked on one of my beach vacations.  This thing had followed the hubby and I through three moves, and was once on the brink of being thrown out.  FINALLY I had a place to put it! Cluster two? Check and check!

For the third cluster I was inspired by the Palmer’s Fall 2010 mantle décor from The Lettered Cottage.  They used twine and wrapped it around candles securing it with a push pin to create a really funky look.  I decided that instead of using white candles like the Palmer’s did, I would use bold blue candles.  I felt the texture and neutral color of the rope would really compliment and pop with the blue.  I bought a regular white serving plate at Home Goods to set the pair on after I finished wrapping them in rope.     

Here is the final product for my DIY coffee table update (don't mind the huge wave on the TV in the background):

Budget Breakdown:

Two Brass Birds: $10.00 – talked down from $15.00 at the thrift shop

Four Books: $1.00 at the thrift shop

Glass Hurricane: $6.99 from Home Goods

Sand: Free from my wedding!

Starfish: $3.00 from Michaels

Small Spiral Shell: Free from my beach adventures

Plate: $2.99 from Home Goods

Candles: $3.50 for both at Ikea

Rope: $3.00

Total: $30.48!