Decoration Renovation

I am officially changing the theme of this apartment.  Through the collection of various odds and ends from here and there, we've been heading in a classic stuffy European direction, which was fine for a while.  I've been feeling the call to a more rustic, craftsy theme for a while now; seeing it come together at Meredith's wedding just sealed it.

So, I'll be trying for less of this:

And more of this:

The greater part of this renovation will involve retouching and repurposing a lot of the things already collecting dust around here, so I expect to be buying a lot of paint and decoupage paper.   Hopefully any new things I need can be repurposed from the thrift store.  Whenever possible, I want to make things from scratch.  I'm cooking up an idea for a new bedspread which, unlike garments, I think my sewing machine and I will be able to handle.

I will be heading out to work tomorrow armed with coupons and my employee discount.  Before and after pictures will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, here's the first major project already completed.  This wall used to feature a flimsy poster frame with a cheap poster print of Raphael's School of Athens.  I replaced it with a nine-panel display of John 1:1-5 decoupaged onto the pages of an antique (1907) Latin commentary on St. Thomas Aquinas.