quick fixes

 One time at dinner my brother who was going to a school called "expression" (it's a real college, I know) said "inspiration comes from limitation". I looked around the table and laughed and said "did you learn that at expression?" But, over the years, I've found that to be so true. Inspiration comes from limitation. Whether it be a church activity we are planning, or decorating my house. In this case, here are a few quick fixes that arose out of limitation.

My lamp was looking a little dated. I wanted to update it but didn't want to buy a new lamp, plus I like the ladder look. So, I unscrewed the ceramic bowl at the top and added a new cheap drum shade from Target. Overall, I think it looks much more modern.

We rent, so there are some limitations that come with that. Our bathroom has this faux-finish on the walls that the owner was kind of attached to (I think). There were these round towel bars over the toilet where I would never need to hang a towel. For a year and a half I looked at those empty towel rings and then finally decided to take them off. Normally I would have patched and painted the holes but in this case, I couldn't match the paint. Instead I hung $5 mirrors from Ikea that I painted gray.

Across from the mirror in the bathroom is the other towel bar. I worked with the color of the walls here and used gray and white towels and a thrift store painting of Venice. To add a personal touch, I stuck our own picture from standing at that very bridge in the frame.

Inspiration from limitation. The color of the walls, un-fixable holes, and money were all factors that forced me to find new solutions. I still wish I could change some things, like the kitchen cabinets, but thinking outside the box helps me create a home I love being in without the drama of wishing all the time.