From Raggedy Ann to Tacky to What Now?

Last week we were on spring breakand one of my projects was to freshen up my front porch. We have lots of plants and a wicker settee that reside there. The wicker settee was a great find last summer while I was out walking in my neighborhood. I happened to walk by a house as a man was just putting a sign on the wicker piece that read $40! I checked it out and it was in great condition. As soon as I got it home and started cleaning it up, I saw a metal label attached underneath. I went online and found out that I really got a bargain. This was a Lloyd Loom piece!

My 3 seater sofa originally sold in the hundreds! There were also two chaise lounge cushions accompanying it. The cushions ended up on some chairs in my back yard. A perfect fit! But that left my wicker piece in need of accessorizing.



Quite honestly I haven't wanted to spend the $$$ to outfit the settee in style. Yet. I'm waiting until I see what I want for a price I'm willing to pay.

The picture above is a piece from Lloyd/Flanders online: Mine is not in this pretty natural tone. Mine is a teal green and except for the color it is the exact piece.
Last week I gathered all of my old king sized bed pillows and my coordinating pillow cases and shams. A few years ago I was using a Ralph Lauren blue pattern on my king sized bed so I had several coordinating cases and shams. I went through my stash of table cloths and found a white and blue checked cloth. I arranged the cloth over the back of the settee and positioned the pillows in their pretty blue floral and striped cases to form seat and back cushions. I put a painted chair to the side of the settee with a denim throw pillow to tie it all together. Sounds pretty, huh?

For the week of spring break I really enjoyed my freshened up porch with the pretty and cushy shades of blue. Sunday morning after church as we drove into our driveway, I said, "Doesn't the porch look cute?"
My 15 year old responded, "It looks like a Raggedy Ann."
"Really?" I asked. I was met with silence from the rest of my bunch. Tactful silence? Hmmmmm.

A couple of days later my daughter came in the front door from running and I asked her, "Do you think the settee looks cute?"
Silence. Then, "It looks kind of tacky."

Ouch. Tacky? Raggedy Ann? Second guessing myself and wondering if my neighbors thought the same thing, I removed my raggedy, tacky pillows and old table cloth from the settee.

This is how my decorating goes. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don't. I have a friend who has a great "eye" for getting it right all the time!
So since she and the fam are coming from NC to visit family for Easter and since they will be stopping at my house for a visit, I am going to borrow her "eye."

I think my "eye" is most often hampered by lack of funds. But maybe not. Because some people are able to decorate beautifully on a budget!
I guess my frugal "eye" is sometimes a little "Raggedy Annish."

Yes, I took pictures of my spring break porch but I think I'll wait to post those when I have an "after" to put with my "before."

Can you relate to my frugal frustrations? Can I get a witness?

Update:

Okay, I have "bravely" posted a picture of my Raggedy Ann Porch. It's different now though. I have a grapevine wreath on the door instead of the tin w/flowers. And the settee is bare. Pup is sitting in the kitchen smelling the coconut cake I am baking for Sunday. It has sugar in it but it's a holiday. A real one...not like Groundhog Day! So you be the judge. But if you are thinking, "Bless her heart..." then I know what that means!

Happy Easter. He is risen. Risen indeed!