Young House Love

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A Series Of Unfortunate Events

First there was a fortunate event. We found a giant piece of art in a pretty wood frame selling for $20 at a yard sale in our neighborhood. And when I say giant, I mean giant. It’s over 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall. The only issue with it was there was a small dent in the frame, which is totally not a big deal for us, so we went for it.

Cracked Painting

John wasn’t really a huge fan of the painting itself, but we figured you couldn’t even get a canvas this big and build a wood frame around it for $20, so it was a good deal if only for the “base” that it gave us (we could always paint over the artwork or place a large print over it, etc). And in the meantime, while we figured out what we wanted to frame/paint on top, I thought I would just lean it up on the back of the buffet to see how the scale looked since we were thinking about hanging it there. But before I could say crapIshouldbemorecareful I had somehow managed to knock the glass based lamp off the left side of the buffet while leaning the hulking new piece of art there.

Lamp Broken 1

Thank goodness Clara was sitting in her yellow highchair at the dining table eating (no worries about her bare feet and the glass) but we were having a random power outage (it only lasted about an hour) so that meant I had to sweep and sweep and sweep until I was sure all the glass was gone since I couldn’t vacuum that corner just to be sure until the power came back on. So that’s two unfortunate events going on (broken lamp + power outage). Not the end of the world, but… #Bummers.

Broken Lamp2

Bet you didn’t see this coming…

Second Lamp Issue1

Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up. The picture that had been leaning just fine against the wall for about thirty minutes while I cleaned up the broken lamp suddenly shifted, sending the other lamp flying over the edge along with the art itself, our bowl of postcards, and my little resin pineapple.

But somewhat miraculously, the cord for the lamp was juuuust short enough to keep it from shattering everywhere. #Luckylittlelamp

Second Lamp Issue2

As you can see from the picture above the last one, a few small pineapple points broke off in the fall, but thankfully it’s not noticeable. And the art (which doesn’t have a glass pane, just a wood frame around the perimeter) and the ceramic bowl full of postcards weren’t harmed in the fall. Whew. #CanThingsPleaseStopJumpingOffThisBuffet?

Around this time John came home from an errand he was running so I got to tell him about all the chaos he had missed. Thankfully the power was back on at this point so I vacuumed the corner while John used a heavy duty anchor to hang our jumpy little painting once and for all. Seemed like the only surefire way to get him under control (the painting, not John).

Hanging Painting

Then I let out more than a few sighs of relief. It’s not necessarily art we would have picked out in a store for $300, but for $20 from a yard sale it definitely works for now. And we’d love to use it as a backdrop for a print that’s more our speed someday – or even paint over it to see if we can whip up something more “us” eventually. Until then, I’m just happy he’s staying. on. the. friggin. wall.

Entryway Corner

So perhaps I jinxed that poor glass lamp when I mentioned that we had him for over five years in this post (they were actually from our wedding registry) but somebody was looking out for his twin brother.

Entryway Vertical

Thankfully all of the items on the buffet are just there on a “for now” basis, since we’re just working with things we already have. But someday I’d love to upgrade to two matching lamps that feel a little more special (maybe with sculptural bases like the artichoke ones in the bedroom, or a fun bold colored shade). You know we’ll keep you posted!

Art Wall Side Shot

I still kind of can’t believe that the frame somehow jumped over the faux coral and the ceramic leaf dish and only managed to topple the bowl and the lamp (neither of which broke). Maybe there were some fortunate events worked in there with the unfortunate ones.

Art Detail

And for anyone wondering where Clara was while I shot the after pics, I’ll give you a hint:

Wheres Waldo Clara

Yup, the girl likes to run through my shots. Sometimes while holding “her” iPad. Kids!

Any fortunate or unfortunate events going on at your house? Did you see the third unfortunate event coming after I shared those first two? I didn’t. That’s for sure. Scared the bejeesus out of me. Although I gotta admit Clara was some good comic relief. She totally shouted “oh no, it fall down!” from her high chair. And then she went on to mutter something about “the picture fell down and hurt the head.” Pretty cute…

Comments

  1. Gabriella @ Our Life In Action says

    Ahhh – maybe the painting is haunted. Just kidding. ;-) I am so clumbsy that I am constanty shattering our glasses. We are down to 4 (out of the original 12) no joke. My go to excuse with my hubby is “I didn’t break that glass….must have been the ghost” ;-)

    Reply

  2. Carla says

    You guys need more symmetry in your home, so the Case of the Broken Lamp was a most fortunate event. And although I love the idea of repurposing canvas, the painting is lovely. Maybe out it on Craigslist and then insert a canvas board for your next project? :o)

    Reply

  3. Melissa says

    Maybe the painting is… eep.. haunted. You hear about stuff like that all the time, creepy dolls, pianos, etc. 0_0 lol

    Reply

  4. Nicole Y. says

    Whenever you guys share about unfortunate things happening in your house, I immediately think of the picture John drew of the picture frame falling on the ceramic dog. Sad, but so funny.

    Speaking of ceramic animals, one of my friends decided to be a jokster by visiting Home Goods every once in awhile to buy a random white ceramic animal and then secretly hides it in another friend’s house. The giftee kinda gets annoyed that random animals are popping up around his house, but last night I thought to myself, “Sherry would love it if ceramic animals secretly made their way into her house!”

    Hope the story lifted your spirits in light of the unfortunate events!

    Reply

  6. Kari says

    It would be super cute to alter (and personalize!) the painting by adding a little white silhouette of the three of you playing on the beach!

    Reply

  7. Marie says

    It must have been that kind of day. Yesterday was our anniversary and because we have had some very expensive car repairs I decided to cook a nice dinner of homemade pizza (my husband’s favorite) and homemade fruit tarts for dessert. I was washing my beautiful red ceramic mixing bowl from Crate and Barrel and dropped it in the sink. At first I thought it was okay, then I found the little dent and the crack quickly became apparent in the water. Oh well, maybe I’ll get a new mixing bowl set for our anniversary next year!

    Reply

  8. Ashley says

    That is crazy and something like this happened to me a few years ago when I was still living with my parents. Within about a week I first got into a minor fender-bender. No one was hurt but I did kind of leave a Honda “H” imprint into this guy’s brand new BMW X5… hey, LA freeways are crazy and people were going 65mph and all of a sudden! A couple of days later, when I got home, I walked into my bathroom and the wall-mounted mirror, which was probably 2-3 feet tall and real heavy, had fallen off the wall and shattered all over the place. This mirror had been affixed to the wall since 1995! It chose 14 years later to fall? Then the next day, a large-ish framed photo of me that was on the wall in the parent’s hallway fell down off the wall and hit the light switch, completely freaking me out, thinking a burglar had come in! Always in threes, right?

    I hope your unfortunate events are done with!
    Ash

    Reply

  10. Jen says

    You should get the Van Gogh print that’s on the right side of your blog, in the “We’re Digging” section. It would look good in that space and it’s inexpensive!

    Reply

  13. Christine says

    One of my friends is from Jamaica, and she told me about a saying there for when a relatively minor thing happens that still really makes you mad. It’s in patois, so I can’t quote it directly, but it’s along the lines of, “something bad was destined to happen at this time and place, so it’s good luck that it was a small thing instead of a big thing.” I try to remember that when I break or spill stuff. Which means I remember it a lot.

    Reply

  14. Tracy says

    Ok, I’m beginning to think that it’s just that strip of floor/hallway that is haunted. Seriously, hasn’t every single thing that’s broken been along that path? Even straight into your bedroom where ramsey met his demise?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, Ramsey actually jumped off the wall in the kitchen (he was hanging there for a book shoot). Poor guy! But our ceramic pooch was on that same strip of flooring/hallway when the frame fell on him!

      xo,
      s

  16. Susan @ Retro Restyling says

    Oh no! Being minus one lamp sucks! Seems like the other one was saved like one of those action scenes in a movie… “Right before the plunge to his death the rope snags and keeps him from falling!” haha! I DO love the buffet though, I’m painting one for a customer as we speak. :)

    Reply

  17. Michelle says

    Oh NOOOOOOO!! I have had so many incidents just like this one and we just have to clean it up and move on. I have been looking for art lately for my new beach house and I think I recognize the art you just purchased for $20. Here is a link http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Caroline-Gold-Shoreline-Unframed-Canvas-Art/4745952/product.html. You might want to check it out before you paint over it. Or maybe just paint the frame. I love your blog and look forward to it every day!

    Michelle

    Reply

  18. Katie Payne says

    I love the painting! If you all decide to get rid of it for a print, please let me know. I live in Richmond, too, and would be happy to buy it from you!

    – Katie

    Reply

  21. Beth G says

    Every time I see your dining table I get green with envy – I want a dark stained round pedestal table SO badly! Where did you get it?

    Reply

  22. Mandy says

    I don’t know if this has been said yet, but I really love the way the painting ties things together over there. It might not be your usual type of art, but the colors are great. I’m willing to bet the longer it sits there, the more you like it… unless it breaks other stuff… if that happens you have to get rid of it ASAP!

    Reply

  23. Raquel says

    I can surely relate. For months I had a large frame (with glass) leaning against the wall on my dining room hutch. (Yes, probably dumb.) One evening as we’re sitting at the table the frame just decided it was tired of leaning there. It came crashing down on my head. No injuries, thank goodness, but shattered glass everywhere. Ugh…No more leaning things against walls. Everything gets hung. Glad you all were okay.

    Reply

  24. Catherine says

    I actually like the way the art looks in these shots. The colors go well with the space. Of course, replace it with something you love when you can, but in my humble opinion, it’s not a bad placeholder at all. :)

    So sad about the lamp though. I can commiserate because a year ago I was putting a bunch of stuff in storage, and I set a pair of beautiful vintage ginger jar lamps (my dad got when he was deployed in the Navy, so they were kind of sentimental on top of being awesome) on the curb while I was emptying the van. Within two minutes a breeze knocked one over. And second later, before I had time to do more than gasp, the other toppled over and shattered too. Still so sad about that loss …

    Reply

  25. Lauren@FilingJointly says

    About a week ago my husband bumped into our kitchen cabinets and a delicate wine glass fell off the top shelf and broke, I kid you not, on my head.

    Things just tend to get broken (bones, wine glasses, etc.) when I’m around. Sometimes I think I could probably shatter something just by looking at it and concentrating really hard.

    Reply

  26. Karen F says

    (this is a weird thing to notice) but it’s strange (and lucky) that the bowl and postcards landed on TOP of the painting – if the painting knocked it off, you’d think the painting would be on top! Anyway, I prefer the one lamp look – too bad the other one shattered, though! Cleaning up broken glass is the worst!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I know, right?! Isn’t that crazy!??? The whole thing happened so quickly I have no idea how the coral and dish remained on the buffet and the bowl landed on the painting!

      xo,
      s

  27. Aubri says

    You say you’re not loving the painting, just the frame… that painting looks almost EXACTLY like the beach we went to immediately after my fiancee proposed. If you *do* get rid of the painting, I would TOTALLY buy it from you! I can reframe it, but seriously, that’s crazy-identical to our special sunset-watching spot from our proposal. (Which actually just happened on Saturday… WOOHOO!!!!)

    Reply

  28. Tae says

    Thanks for the wide shot of the room! Something seems arye with this room to me from this angle… I think it needs some tweaking a la your recent bedroom overhaul. Maybe brighter chair slipcovers? Maybe duck needs some color? But the buffet is awesome.

    Reply

  30. Annalea says

    Oh . . . I’m sorry about your lamp! (I hate it when things “die” that way . . . ) Fwiw, though, I like it better with just one lamp. The side without the lamp feels more open and clean, imho. If it were me, I’d take the other lamp outta there, and go for some wall-mounted sconces (whether hardwired or just wall-mounted lamps with cords painted to match the wall) to free up the visual space on the buffet.

    If you do want to keep the lamps and the huge frame, maybe redoing the art with the frame in portrait orientation would work better, leaving more room for lamps on either side. (I love the artwork the way it is, though, so it was hard to type that! lol)

    Reply

  32. Bambino by the Bay says

    We were just talking the other day about how my parents huge antique armoire doors came crashing down (while moving the piece) and shattering the mirror fronts into a million pieces years ago. It prompted them to replace mirrors with glass and use it as a display cabinet. So happy mistakes do often happen!

    Reply

  33. Lori says

    For my “leaning” pics, I use the picture hanging command strips. It’s just enough “grip” to keep it leaning. Give them a try sometime…

    Reply

  34. Lindsey @ A Pear to Remember says

    The hubs and I collect modern foreign film posters (snobs or WHAT?!) and back in our apartment with the very thin walls the entire picture nail ripped out of the wall. Several times. Making a huge black scrape mark down the wall from the frame, and increasing bigger holes in the wall…

    Better luck so far in our condo. Fingers crossed.

    Reply

  35. isabelle says

    I love how that area is coming along!! It looks great. Question… have you guys ever thought about gussying up your interior doors? Maybe by adding wood trim or molding?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s definitely on our long to-do list! There probably isn’t an inch of this house we don’t dream of re-doing! It just takes us a while to make a dent! Haha.

      xo,
      s

  36. Laura D says

    I think this actually was a fortunate event: the lamp looks better solo. I love the lamps in your living room and the ones in your bedroom. But I wasn’t totally sold on the ones on the buffet. I think one is enough, or now maybe you can go buy two other ones for the buffet and put that one somewhere else….guest room maybe?

    Reply

  37. Sandy A says

    What a shame with the lamp-it is so pretty. Can you find another to replace?? As for the art–I say keep it. It is very calm and soothing to look at–and pretty too. I think it works very well in your beautiful home! Good luck with the lamp….

    Reply

  38. Laura D. says

    I am so glad I’m not the only one that this happens to! Seriously, ALL.THE.TIME. Except it’s normally something that I JUST bought that gets broken while I’m trying to find a place for it :(

    Reply

  39. Patty says

    I don’t have an Ipad (yet!), but I do remember reading another blog where the toddler dropped one and the glass screen shattered…
    And I did break my Iphone screen.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We have a case on it called The Otter Box that’s super durable. The demonstration in the store is they throw phones and ipads hard at the floor with it on and they miraculously survive. It’s a life saver!

      xo,
      s

  40. Heather says

    Sorry, but I totally saw that coming. It was a little painful to scroll through the photos looking for the one with the fallen art. Glad one of your lamps survived and that your pineapple only ended up with a little haircut.

    Reply

  41. Teacher says

    The buffet looks great and so does the arrangement on top. But when I look at pics like this (and I see it all over the blogs), what my eye is drawn to is the cords hanging from the back of the buffet. It is an irksome little quirk that I have to see those cords hanging. But even still, your vignette looks lovely and the colors are perfect.

    Reply

  42. Christine says

    I have to agree with the others – I’m really digging the one lamp. And, good instinct with the scale of the art – I think it’s perfect over the buffet.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Maybe the haunted buffet or art is really into decorating? Haha. Seems like a happy accident. Although I do with the lamp had survived and just decided to live somewhere else. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  43. Jen says

    So sorry about your beautiful lamp! I’ve had things like that happen to me before too. It makes a person want to crawl into a corner and say “I give up for today!”.

    Even without the lamp, I love the punches of color you have going on in your entryway. The curtains, door, and console table tie in so nicely together!

    Jen

    Reply

  46. Kate K says

    This morning, as I was (hurriedly!) getting ready for work, I pulled a top drawer a bit too hard and I guess the entire thing is a bit top heavy because the entire dresser FELL OVER! The drawers either fell out (and scattered their contents of course) or were weirdly wedged in between the bed and the dresser. And of course, I keep all of my favorite jewelry on top of that dresser in various containers and bowls. Tonight is when I start searching for wayward earrings, rings and necklaces. Not the best way to start a day.

    Reply

  48. Vinnie says

    Hi Sherry,

    So sorry about the lamp! I feel the painting is hung too low and in the long shots makes the ceiling seem lower.

    I love your blog and you guys are doing a great job!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Vinnie! We just hung it to line up with the other art hung in the room, so as a whole in the space it all feels balanced and on the same level. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  49. Joanna says

    Two things:
    1. I really like the asymmetry setup on the buffet, now with only one lamp on the right and the yellow apothecary jar on the left, it looks great.
    2. I think the painting is perfect. Maybe it’s not your style, but its colors match perfectly, but not tooooo perfectly to all the colors in your room. I think it’s also nice to have an eclectic mix of styles that still complement each other. I think this does the trick.
    I vote two thumbs WAAAAYYYYY up.

    Reply

  50. Laura says

    Ugh! I hate it when things like that happen.Although it did remind me of the time many years ago that I stayed at my folks’ house to house & dog sit while they were out of town. I swear the house either had nervous breakdown or decided it didn’t like me. I forget everything that broke or quit working but there were three or four things that just gave up while I was there. My folks got home & I pretty much greeted them with, “I didn’t do anything but house broke.”

    Reply

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