Have you guys enjoyed this weeks Pillow Confessions? I have had a BLAST sharing them with you!

You cant talk pillows without talking about the pillow chop.

A pillow chop (for those that are unaware) is when you fluff a pillow and then chop the top of it and put a large dent in it.

There are 5 different degrees of Chop-ology, or Hell, if you are not a chop fan, that I want to bring to light today.

If you are as much of a Bravo addict as I am, you will probably remember Chad from the first few seasons of Million Dollar Listing.

He is the quintessential Over Chopper,  also known as The Chuck Norris. There is major brute force involved in getting these pillows chopped…so much in fact, that you have either:

a) Hurt yourself…yes, on a pillow

b)  Severely damaged the unfortunate furniture that the pillow was resting on.

This is what The Chuck Norris does to a pillow. I mean, it is basically changing the pillows entire DNA structure. Doesn’t it look like it is in pain?!

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Level 2 is The Botox Chop (also known as a mid chop) is something that I do fairly often. It makes the pillow look younger,  fresher. Like it has someone to look fancy for. To achieve this look,  I lightly chop the top and then pat the pillow twice on the front. Like it has a big belly. This softens the top chop a little. And always makes me think of a fat man. So there is that fun visual for you.

The third level of Chopology is the  Gigli Chop aka the Barely There Chop. You are looking at it,  and cant actually tell if it has been chopped on purpose,  or if the pillow was just made with a dent in it. This look is easily achieved by lightly chopping an overstuffed pillow. Or by pulling the upper corners out after you chop.

Fourth on our list is the Bimbo Chop aka the Fluff . This look is achieved by shaking the pillow so that it fills up with air. There isn’t a ton of dimension to this chop, and there is definitely no channeling your inner Mr. Miyagi. (I know in the picture below that the lack and white pillow is a little chopped, but for this example look at the other ones.)

And last but not least, level 5 is the Ke$ha Chop. Which means, you guessed it, the pillow is what it is. There is no sprucing, no fluffing, no washing. Nothing. You sit on it and leave it exactly how you found it. Squished and not attractive.

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I know people have strong feelings toward the chopping situation, and I am SUPER excited to follow along with the debate in the comments, so weigh in below my lovies! Are you pro or con on the chop?

The post Confessions of a Pillow Addict: The Five Degrees of Chop-ology appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Thank you SO much for all of your awesome comments on my post  about how to build your own shelving! You guys rock my world! As fun as it is to build them, what’s the point if you don’t know how to decorate them?! Its pretty much pointless. Tons of the questions/comments were about how I staged them so I wont keep you waiting any longer!!

Now, you should know I am going to say the word shelves a lot. And instead of making it a drinking game with alcohol I though it would be great if every time you hear the word shelves you eat a handful of Bran. (Because its SO good for you!!)

Shelves. (just thought I would get the party started.)

My Mother in Law is AMAZING at creating vignettes and so every time I have a chance to learn at the master’s feet I am ALL over it. Sometime soon I am going to be giving you a tour of her house that Court has been working on remodeling since the beginning of the summer. It is MIND BLOWING. So heads up on that.

We are going to have a middle school flashback. Just like in school we are going to watch the video and then discuss.

Tip #1 Start with Books! Books are not only space fillers, they are visual fillers too. They are cute and fun but they will probably never be the star of the show, unless all you had was books,  Then they would totally be the star. I LOVE decorating with interesting books from the thrift store,  they are pretty much on every flat surface of my home. You can stand them up, lay them flat, have the spines facing in or out, rip the covers off for a old school feel, bind them together with twine, perch them at a perfect angle. There SO many options friends. Books are a staple.

You can find funky readers digest books for as cheap as $.25 (hit up estate sales for great prices, old people LOVE Readers Digest Condensed books) the going rate at our thrift store is $2.00 for hardbacks. Is it the same where you live?

Tip #2 Add large visually weighty things next. This is where large things like the globe or the art or the xylophone come in. I am OBSESSED with that colorful piece of art. I found it at the DI (Utah’s version of Goodwill) for $2 and I think I will keep it forever. The xylophone is the item that gets the most attention, I found that for $4 and I LOVE the colors in it.

Tip #3 Its time to add all of the small details. These are the things that bring so much character to the space. You know, the things that make you step in and look closer. I love using vases, animals, plants etc..

I have found that when I am doing something as huge as an entire wall of shelves, that instead of running all over my house looking for things to use it helps save time and energy to gather my entire hoard on one surface and shop it. When I do this I never regret it.

Did you know that everything except the pink and red love silhouette, the wood and brass antelope, and the succulent inside the fish bowl came from the thrift store? I know! See in situations like this it pays to be a hoarder!!

I hope this helped you guys visualize a little bit more the process that goes into decorating shelves!! If you have any questions just leave them in the comments and I will answer them there!

Love Your Guts, Mandi

The post How To Stage Shelves (and a VIDEO!!) appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

One of the best ways to bring personality and interest into your décor is to use elements that you would never find together in reality and DIY your own awesome mash-up.

I found this awesome primitive raw wood bowl at Homegoods this weekend for $30 (I might have squealed a little!)  When you are decorating with something like this  you have to make sure that it doesn’t get TOO primitive…like I wouldn’t put bones inside it.

The opposite of primitive in my mind is the world we live in today. Full of technology and industry. I love these old lightbulbs, they are HUGE and I love the odd shape.

One of the best secrets when it comes to adding character is to ask yourself if YOU find it interesting. If the answer is yes then there is a fabulous chance that someone else will find it interesting also.

I paired them with a stack of old books that I found at the thrift store for $1.00 each and a cute brass apple (that is actually a bell) that I found for $2.00.

What are your favorite opposite elements to put together?

Love Your Guts,  Mandi

The post Juxtapose THIS: Primitive Industrial Mash-Up appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Did you know that there are some people that HATE decorating with Thrift Store items? (Its nuts, I know.)

They don’t hate that the stuff was used. They don’t hate that there might need to be a little work involved.

They hate that they lack this little thing called vision.

They look at crap and see crap, not the awesome piece that is hidden in the crap.

Today I am going to give you 5 tips to boost your thrifting vision!

Don’t  become  set  on  an  exact  item. Thrifting is sort of a roll with the punches type of decorating. While looking for chairs for my living room I knew I wanted something sort of Mid Century Modern-ish without being TOO MCM,  I want my living room to feel modern but not ONLY modern, that’s why I love thrifting, because it sort of forces things to be eclectic. I love the hard angles in these chairs but I wanted something a little curvier and softer. None of these chairs cost less than $800. The thing that I kept going back to was the arm situation. It had to have some cool arms. And have both wood and fabric/leather/whatever.

Last night I was checking out KSL (online classifieds in Utah similar to Craigslist) and saw  an ad for these chairs. They had great wooden arms and leather I think they will be great once they are a little updated. And the price was killer $35 each!

Be willing to hold out for something you REALLY want. My couch is a perfect example of this. I knew I wanted something tufted and a color. For months I searched the DI and Craigslist hoping to find something and came up short time and time again, until the heavens parted and I found this one:

Which brings me to point #3.

Be  Patient. Decorating your house with Thrift Store items means that its not all going to be done at once. Its not like shopping at a regular store where you can walk in and walk out with a complete living room group (blech.)  Its like a puzzle that comes together a little at a time.

Be Willing To Buy and Try. Lets say you find a pair of chairs one day that you *think you like. But you are not 100% sure. Have your store tag them (so no one can swoop in and grab them) and buy yourself some time to think. This post is all about questions you can ask yourself before you commit.

Come To Grips. Sometimes the item that you want just isn’t going to be at a thrift store. Find stores in your area that you can find other great home décor items. Homegoods is my favorite store because it has a bazaar/thrift store feel, meaning it is a new store EVERY time you go in and you never know what treasure you are going to find. I love the hunt. Are there places on the other side of town that you have only been in once or twice? How about consignment stores? There is one in St. George called Urban Renewal that is amazing! It can be expensive so I don’t buy there too often but I love getting ideas there and finding things that I just cant live without.

Now that you have a few guidelines don’t be afraid to try and change things up in your home a little!

If you want more thifting tips check out these other great Thrifting 101 posts:

8 Questions To Ask Yourself BEFORE You Buy From A Thrift Store

10 Secrets From A Thrifting Goddess

5 Thrift Store Must Haves

Love  Your  Guts,  Mandi

The post 5 Ways To Boost Your Thrifting Vision appeared first on Vintage Revivals.