With a new season comes a new opportunity to Thrift the Look for another style of home decor. And as Spring approached, my blogging friends and I decided that Botanical Decor or Garden-inspired Decor would be fresh and perfect for this time of year.
Of course, we decided this months ago- long before the world as we know it turned upside down! But we decided collectively to forge ahead, as we all needed creative distractions to keep our spirits up.
But back to botanical decor. What do I mean by that? Well…bringing the freshness of Spring gardens indoors. Flowers, greenery, cool hues in green and blue.
For my inspiration photo, I turned to one of my all-time favorite home decor bloggers, Vibeke Design. Vibeke is Norwegian, so to read her blog posts, you may need a little help from Google Translate.
But her photos tell the story beautifully. And I chose this photo from this blog post to guide my plans for Thrift the Look: Botanical Decor.
Not only is it a gorgeous garden-inspired vignette, but I spotted items in her photo that I already had versions of at home.
AND, I knew right away how I would recreate the botanical wall art by upcycling something in my stash. But I did do a little thrift shopping anyway, specifically for the decorative bottles.
Once I had gathered everything I needed, I focused on upcycling a few things to bring my version of Vibeke’s photo of Botanical Decor to life!
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Upcycling Idea for Botanical Wall Art
First and foremost, I needed to recreate the antique botanical prints that were hung on the wall in Vibeke’s vignette. I knew I’d never find them at a thrift store, so, upcycling was my best bet.
Initially, I planned on hunting down a large collage picture frame like I did for this SUPER OLD project of mine. But after striking out on frames, I turned my attention to an old window.
For years, it held a snippet of cutter quilt and lived on our mantel. But I was able to purchase some digital downloads of antique botanical prints.
Prints that I could resize and frame inside the windowpanes!
Once the prints were sized and printed, I grabbed some laminating sheets to protect them before mounting in the vintage window.
Next, I mounted them on the glass panes with removable double-sided tape. And that was it- I had the botanical wall art that I needed for this challenge!
Then, I turned my attention to the divided drawer that I had picked up a while back in Charlotte, NC.
While it had a nicely crackled white face, the version in Vibeke’s was pale green. And I wasn’t married to the white and decided to paint it. Thankfully, I had the perfect shade in my paint locker (an “Oops” sample from Home Depot).
After the pale green paint had dried, I aged it slightly with some antiquing wax. That was it- all I needed to do was replace the knob and it, too, would be done.
Ready to see how my version of Botanical Decor came together?
Botanical Decor or Garden-Inspired Decor from the Thrift Store
Using Vibeke’s vignette photo as my guide, I arranged my thrifted bottles and other items in a similar fashion.
I used a metal toolbox from my stash that I purchased from Maliasmark years ago. And I even re-used a bottle from my Thrift the Look: Beach Cottage post, too! I simply removed the faux fish net from it for this project.
But here it is: My version of Garden-Inspired Decor or Botanical Decor!
As you can see, I also raided my stash of vintage spools and the ones I had shopped for to fill that glass jar. I wrapped some jute twine and hemp cord around the naked spools, too.
Honestly, this might be my favorite result of Thrift the Look so far! It’s so cheery and uplifting, which I really need right now.
*****
Before you go, please check out the other versions of botanical decor that my friends put together. We each used different inspiration photos, so there is plenty of variety!
Lora B. Create & Ponder | Home to Heather
One House, 2 Barns | Postcards from the Ridge
Vin’yet, Etc. | Itsy Bits and Pieces
Audrey Would | Little Vintage Cottage
*****
Finally, a side-by-side comparison of botanical decor. Here’s hoping I made Vibeke Design proud with my copycat version!
I also hope this made you smile and lifted your spirits. Pouring yourself another cup of coffee or tea and hoping around to my friend’s blog posts will be a wonderful distraction. Tune out the world for a bit and just enjoy the beauty of Spring in the comfort of your own home.
And if you enjoyed this iteration of Thrift the Look, please feel free to peruse the entire collection here before you go!
Craft on!
S
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Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
Lovely inspiration – especially during these sobering weeks. Thank you
Working on it was definitely good for my soul right now, that’s for sure. Thank you, Eileen!
I love it Sarah! Everything is so pretty and springy fresh! Great job!
Tania
Thank you!
You captured the look so wonderfully, Sarah! I love how you created the garden posters…so creative! The bottles and drawers, and all the wonderful goodies…it’s beautiful! Such a fun challenge!
Thanks, Linda!
You can’t hear my standing ovation, but I’m giving you one!!! Amazing, I love every detail and I especially love the botanical art – SO clever!
Thank you so very much, Laurie- I’m just so grateful that we continued on with the challenge. Definitely helped keep my spirits up!
I think you nailed it! My favorite part was how you laminated your prints and then used double sided tape. As a housework-hater with 2 cats and forced hot air heat, I especially hate dusting. Lamination makes dusting easy. You can later upcycle those prints into a frame with no glass (an common occurence in this household! I am bust crafting around here–and the clutter reduction is SO minimal! I feel so badly for people going stir-crazy-having time to create is my idea of a good time! Stay safe!
Thanks, Kathy!
That window is absolutely fantastic! I love it so much! Your whole recreation is bang on. It’s making me want to do my window frame – we haven’t put it up since we moved because it’s pretty large but I bet I could cram it into my office….hmmmm
Hmmmmm yes, girl, new quarantine project! Thank you!
This is really awesome, Sarah! You totally captured your inspiration pic and I’m positive you will have made Vibeke Design proud. I love the attention to detail in wrapping some of the bare spools with jute, and I actually really, really like that little jar of goodies. It’s super sweet. Thank you for all that you do for the rest of us with the challenges. I totally appreciate all your hard work!
I loved that little jar of goodies, too, and it’s so easy to recreate! Definitely a vignette mainstay from now on. Thank you!
I love the fresh, happy colors you used! Definitely lifts the spirits! Love the combo of textures too-rustic metal, wood and twine with smooth glass, paper and foliage. So pretty!
Thanks, Lora! Can’t wait to spend time looking at everyone elses’ posts!
Wow! You did a super superb job. Pretty much twin to the inspo piece
Thank you so very much, PJ!
You did an amazing job with this challenge! The botanical art that you created with the window is so pretty and the toolbox and painted drawer complement the colors in the art perfectly. I hope you have a spot in your home where you can display this vignette all spring an into summer. It’s too pretty not to keep enjoying.
Thank you, Paula! I’m so glad we decided to forge on ahead with this challenge!
You did a great job, really amazing!
Thanks, Sophia!
Love this so much! Your botanical art project is perfect for the garden theme. And your bottles are so pretty. Thanks so much for organizing this fun hop!!
Thank you for playing along!!
This is just lovely! I’ve been looking through a bunch of your other posts, as well. You’re so talented. Thanks for sharing with us.
Thank you so very much, Marilyn!!
HI Sarah! You hit it spot on. I also follow Vibeke. She is amazing. You did a wonderful job.
Thank you so much! Vibeke was incredibly sweet through the process (when I asked her permission to use her photo, then after when I showed her my version). She is truly the best!
Wow, it looks really great you did a fantastic job.
Thank you, Anita!
Absolutely stunning widows I love botanicals
Thank you, Maria!!
Great job on the botanical vignette!
Thank you!