When shopping in Palm Springs, I love visiting all the retro furniture and accessories stores but my favorites are always the little mid century gift shops that offer a ton of different articles, big and small. The inventory changes often and you can always find a fun item to transform into something else. Here's one of my most inexpensive find that turned out surprisingly well.
One of my regular stops is the Just Fabulous store at 525 North Palm Canyon in the Design District. In the back of the store, there was a small sandwich-style ladder acting as a display for gift wrapping paper with beautiful and various designs. One in particular got my attention. It was all mid century modern, in a colourful square pattern, very original and unique. I immediately thought to myself that this could easily be used in so many different ways. A friendly lady walks to me just as I was admiring the paper's design and thinking to myself. We had a little chat on mid century style and Palm Springs in general. Then it switched to a local artist that designs the clocks on the opposite wall. That's when I realized she's the store clerk and we had an instant laugh. She turns back to me and, seeing the paper in my hand, she agrees as I was telling her how nice it was. As I was sharing that I have a few ideas on what to do with it, she looks me in the eye: "The last customer bought a few sheets and said he might frame one since it's so beautiful". Bingo!
That's what I did! I picked up an extra frame at IKEA on my next visit and voilà! It really pops out on the orange wall in the hall and makes a fun and welcoming entrance. This is the cheapest DIY hack I've done but one of the most beautiful frames in my Palm Springs condo. Sometimes, you just need to look at things not for their original use but in another way...
