Homeowner Cathy O'Donnell calls her style "Early American Garage Sale." Her colorful rooms provide the perfect backdrop for the lucky finds that she creatively incorporates into her home. The result is interesting, colorful, and fun.
- To create a fireplace where one did not exist, O'Donnell found an old frame-style fireplace surround and secured it to the wall. Next, she hung a mirror above it, and hid its damaged corner with some artificial ivy. She also decorated the mantel with artificial greenery and flowers. Then O'Donnell filled a wrought-iron fireplace grate with beautiful white candles that can be lit at any time to simulate a fire. She sat the grate on the floor, directly centered in front of the fireplace frame to complete the striking effect.
- O'Donnell used an old garden trellis to display pictures in her garden theme room. The trellis is covered with artificial ivy and blossoms, and clothespins are used to secure the pictures to the trellis. The pictures can be changed frequently, and the piece gives the room a personalized look.
- The coffee table in the living room had changed hands many times by the time O'Donnell acquired it -- and it showed. But that was before she refinished it with a decoupage technique featuring one of her favorite things -- pigs! The pigs are hidden in the design, and the table has a one-of-a-kind look that works perfectly in O'Donnell 's home.
