Summer Salvage Yard

Summer is coming!

It means time to change my decoration. I get bored easily, so changing the look of my living space is one effective way to channel my inner anxiety and creativity.
Unfortunately, though, I'm not genius enough to create an image from scratch like many professional interior designers do. I just pick a few things from around the house and "scatter" them around in the nicest way possible.
It also helps that I have this eccentric tendency to collect (not to hoard, mind you) pretty jars, cans, bottles, and other containers. I just arrange them all in an extra cupboard, and whenever I need something to decorate with, I just browse through the collection, and I almost always come up with something relatively nice looking. It's cheap, it's fun, and it's environment friendly since I recycle things!
Check this out. Here I use a wicker basket from a Christmas parcel sent to my office last year. Inside I arrange some plastic flowers (also from last year's parcel), some dolls from my younger years, and a heart-shaped red decorative pillow I received as gift from a friend during a business trip to the Phillippines. Ow, the pink ribbon on the handle I took off from a wedding invitation card. Do you notice the bottle and the Oreo container? They're just lovely and cost nothing.
The only "real" decorative item here is the small Japanese clay painting you see on the right front of the basket.
I want to add some color to the beige couch, so here goes the Forever Friend bear that I got in the gift bag from a friend's son's birthday party.

The "tower" of used Christmas parcel containers, with two cute koala dolls inside.

Have you ever noticed that bookstores have the most wonderful centerpieces made of books and stationeries as their decoration? Anyone can create a similar effect using books with colorful, interesting covers, adding some fun knick-knacks and you're done. Here I add empty tea and mouth-freshener tin cans, with a miniature red robin on a bough that also came with.. .guess what? Another last year's parcel. I think the red bird and the green leaves on the bough represents spring and summer pretty well, don't you think?

Another delightful empty pink biscuit can from Bengawan Solo Coffee. Just eat the cookies, wash the tin can, and you get yourself a fancy container without spending a dime.

Now, this is a rather expensive table spread, which actually is a batik print handmade, handpainted piece of fabric. It's totally a beautiful work of art, and costs a fortune. I didn't buy it, though. It's a gift. I'm such a lucky girl to have this high quality Indonesian craft.

Aaaaand... this is the finished look! Not bad considering that it costs absolutely nothing but a little bit of work and imagination.

Linking up to Thriftaholic Week #8