A favorite nook

I thought I would share a favorite little nook in our family room today. This is where my vintage camera collection is currently residing, though I'm sure that will change when I start decorating for Christmas.  I painted the white buffet a few years ago - it was my first major furniture-painting project.  It came from the Habitat Restore in a matching set with a china cabinet, a table, and four chairs - all painted this hideous shade of green.

I also hand-painted the sign a couple of years ago.  I salvaged the huge piece of wood from the side of a dog pen the previous owners left in our yard.  I painted it black and then hand-painted some of my favorite old sayings.  The sign is around seven feet long so this was a looonnnggg project. But I love it - and it is definitely a conversation piece. 

And that brings us to my camera collection.  These cameras have been collected from yard sales, thrift stores, even a couple antique stores.  I love the unique look of each camera, but I also love to think about all the happy moments each camera probably captured - vacations, birthdays, weddings, new babies.  Plus they just look so darn cool.

I threw in a little hidden message too.

I actually use the camera peeking through on the right side of the picture above to take my through-the-viewfinder pictures - it is a Kodak Duaflex IV.  I shared more about that awesome method of taking pictures using vintage cameras here if you missed it.  The pictures turn out so beautifully and you don't really need special photography skills to try it. 

I think this little nook sums up my decorating style pretty well - it is full of unloved stuff transformed with a little paint and some patience.  Though I will say this is the only spot in my house without any real color - I'm not a monochromatic, all neutrals kind of girl.

The one thing I really go back and forth about is how to best display my camera collection.  Sometimes I like collections displayed all together for a bigger impact.  Other times, I prefer them scattered around so that each item is able to stand out more.  What do you think - are collections better in one big mass or spread out more?  My husband has a collection of around 50 nutcrackers and this whole display question stumps me every Christmas when I get ready to put them out so I would love some input!

Have a great week!

I am sharing this post at Knick of Time, Mod Vintage Life, A Diamond in the Stuff, Primp, Southern Lovely, The 36th Avenue, Crafty Scrappy Happy, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Simple Home Life.