Design Dilemma

Have you seen Madagascar? Not the new one, the first one. Okay, so do you know that part when Alex the Lion is running through the grassy field toward the watering hole and his eyes bug out, his hair frizzes and he completely loses it? Well, that's me when I spot something that I just HAVE to have.

Two days ago, it was these vintage kitchen canisters in Aqua. I saw them on Ebay. The seller wanted $40, I offered $20 (just to see, not expecting to actually get them) and the next thing I know, I have an email from the seller congratulating me on my purchase. Hmmmm. Now I love them...and I just HAD to have them. But they totally don't match anything in my kitchen, which is fine because I hate my kitchen and want to do something different anyway, but Aqua canisters?


So once I eased into my purchase, I began my hunt for a new tablecloth. The one I have now is horrid. It's this ugly army green and well, not what I really wanted for the breakfast area, but hey, I needed a tablecloth and there it was. Anyway, I came across this Martha Stewart damask tablecloth at Macy's and immediately fell in love...until I saw the price. Eek, just a little out of my price range. SO, back to ebay to land on another Martha Stewart tablecloth, similar colors, a bit bolder and vinyl. And I'm happy with vinyl as I have two small children and no need to add to my ever increasing laundry piles. So, I bought it. Two aqua things for my kitchen.

Now I LOVE aqua. I love teal, I love robin's egg blue and I love blue green. Definitely one of my most favorite colors (that and orange, just check out my bedding). But what the heck do I do with it?

No...for real. What do I do with it? Here, let me take you on a journey. It's the same journey I've been on for the last two days, ever since the canisters.

I've been wanting to recover my chair cushions for ages. They badly need it. I cannot afford a new table, and my old table is fine, but the cushions are wretched. They used to be white and now they are a dingy gray, yellow, pink...it just depends on what exactly was dropped in the particular spot you're looking at. Anyway, with an aqua tablecloth, what kind of fabric do I use for the chairs? Lime green? Orange? More aqua?

Here's some fabric samples I found at J Caroline fabrics online. Tell me what you think. For real...tell me.































What do you think? Okay, and for the walls...what about this? I found it at Target but I'm pretty sure I could recreate it for less than half the price. Just a good piece of stretched canvas and some orange acrylic paint. Keep in mind that I live in military housing and we tend to move every 3 years so painting the walls is kind of out of the question unless it's a VERY neutral color.


And then what about the floors? I'll need a rug. Orange? Lime? Aqua? And curtains! What about the curtains?!? (pant, pant) Do you see my dilemma?

Okay, let's stop talking about it, I'm going to have a conniption fit. Don't you just LOVE this bag I found at Etsy? Yep...I'm in love again.