The Shelf

I purchased this plain off white shelf from Craigslist for $15 and spent some time trying to figure out what to do with it. My initial reason for the purchase was to use it in the kitchen for tea and such, but it was so deep it blocked my light above the sink.

When Claire was visiting we did some brainstorming. Tried it in both bathrooms and the dining room. The dining room won and we chose the paint colors - chocolate brown and type of robins egg/teal.

David and I happened to be near Home Depot one weekend so we stopped in and got the paint we needed. They now have those nifty sample sizes which are perfect for projects like this. The very unhappy paint mixing lady got us all set up and we were off to begin our project.

You may note this became "our" project. This is because David really likes to paint. Not only does he like to paint, he prefers tedious or detailed painting. This is yet another reason he completes me. I prefer a large flat surface to slather paint all over, no edging for me.

It took me a little while to figure out what to put on the shelf, but eventually I found a few things that I think come together nicely.
Sorry the above and some of the following photos are blurry and ill composed. It was late and I was being impatient with the camera.

The coffee pot on the top shelf is a Jebena from Ethiopia, it survived the journey home with David, surprisingly. The clay cup next to is one I picked up in Swaziland. The yellow basket is a very old sewing basket passed down to me from David's grandma Helmuth.

On the shelf are some books on dyeing yarn and tying climbing knots. The pipes on top of the book are also both from Africa. The hand blown glass sand timer is a gift from my mom ages ago. Then there are a couple of vintage cards and a photos of my brother and I from back in the 80's.

Oh and the pretty orchids on the table a generous gift from my boss, and so far I haven't killed them, hooray!