Shabby Chic Finds for the Dining Room

“It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire.”

~ R.L. Stephenson

Happy Monday, friends! I’ve been wanting to share some shabby chic finds in our dining room for a little while.

I think you all know I love shabby chic and my french / coastal dining room can always use a little more romance and shells.

My mom and I were walking around Scituate Harbor having coffee and we popped into Goodies II to have a little rummage. I wasn’t looking for anything particular, but I always like to look. Doesn’t everyone?

Down the back of Sandy’s store I found this sweet little corbel, I think from the 1960s, tucked down under a chair in a crate. I knew right away it was coming home with me. I didn’t even have to think about it. If you find something you love when out antiquing grab it! Buy it then and there as it probably won’t be there next time. I carried it around the little shop crammed with goodies. I also found a few design books – one on Nantucket and a few other coastal style ones. I really love good design books for inspiration. I know we all get it nowadays on Pinterest, but I still love looking at books (especially with a cup of tea or coffee).

Anyway, we took our time looking around Sandy’s and I ended up finding a great ornate mirror that had a Marshall’s sticker on the back but it said Made In Italy. I thought the shelf & the mirror might look perfect together.

We had this bare wall in the dining room that just needed something.

You can see here:

Here’s how it looks now.

Ah, much better.

The corbel has a few chips and a little crack, but I love things when they aren’t perfect. Do you?

I added a few shells to the mix. Some coral I found at the Animal Shelter yard sale last year and some other shells from my collection. I love how the shells pair so nicely with the gilded details and my white walls.

What do you think?

Simple.

Easy.

Perfect by the sea.

Hope this gave you some inspiration for adding corbels into your home and also mixing new and old together.

Working on some furniture and hoping to have one makeover for you later this week. Fingers crossed.

Oh, and before I forget, a little birdie told me (actually it was Matthew Mead) that Upcycled Style has been reissued and is on newsstands now! I know some of you couldn’t find it but I’ve been told it’s at Safeway, Barnes & Noble and Walmart. If you see it please let me know!