It's the little things: "pillow jewelry"

So you know how sometimes things around your house just begin to look - blah? That's how I felt about throw pillows I have in the master. They are down pillow forms with brown velvet cases from Ikea. They were pretty inexpensive, and because the cases are removable, they are extremely versatile. I originally bought them to go on the sofa. But the dogs took them over and I was constantly brushing dog hair off of them.

About 2 weeks or so after Christmas, I was at Target shopping their seasonal sale items (and by the way, 50% off is not really mind-blowing to me...75% off and I'll likely buy crap just because it's a good deal). I found these two monogram pins in the Christmas clearance section. I don't know why they were Christmas items, but that's ok. I got them for about a buck each. I love monograms, and for that price, I'd find a home for them.

After letting them sit on the kitchen table for a couple of weeks, the thought occurred to me to put these on those brown velvet pillows. Why not?

I think it's just what they needed. Simple, cheap, and cute.

It's the little things: knobs

Sometimes you need a pop of color or just a little refresher for a room, a piece of furniture or your wardrobe. And it can be done easily and without breaking the bank.

I have this gorgeous antique chifferobe that I bought in college. It actually wasn't even for sale, but was a display piece at an antique store. I convinced the owner to sell it to me since it was such a cool piece. For years I used it in the living room as an entertainment center, which worked out well. The TV fit on top of the drawers. The drawers held CDs, DVD, etc. The "door" portion held the VCR, DVD player and stereo. It has since retired to the guest room and houses extra quilts and afghans.

This poor thing has seen better days though, as it's been moved around from house to house and room to room and has become a little wobbly. Drawer bottoms need regluing, joists need fixing. But it's a great piece, and I love it.

So in the interest of sprucing it up, I decided to give it some new knobs. The current knobs are plain wooden ones - simple, effective, but boring.

I checked out Hobby Lobby's selection since they were 50% off and found these cute ceramic knobs with a fun patina look.

After a couple of minutes of switching them out, this is what we now have.

Much more interesting I think. And it adds a small touch of color and interest.

Have you done anything recently to spruce up an old piece?