Confidence Booster

Is your favorite furniture piece too short to make an impact? Take matters into your own hands by adding a set of turned-wood legs, as Val did on a cedar chest made by her father that’s now on display in her living room. The miniature farmhouse was crafted by her uncle and is a replica of the house she grew up in.

Val brightens a corner of her entryway with a small spring vignette in a whitewashed firkin featuring a birdhouse shaped like a mailbox and a handmade sign pointing the way to spring delights.

Make a simple sign with a few scraps of wood and stencils as a finishing touch.

Val holds a key piece of her jadeite collection as she lounges in her living room. This coffee cup, marked with her grandmother’s red fingernail polish, was the one that started it all.