The grocery store is an awesome (and affordable) place to pick up cute things you can use to decorate your home. I popped into one of our grocery stores this past weekend to gather some inspiration. (Sorry for the iPhone photos - it was all I had with me!)
Fruit can be so beautiful - pile something interesting (and delicious - we don't want to be wasteful!) into a beautiful bowl on the counter or table.
You could also use many of these as centrepieces for a dinner party or event, just by popping them in a vase!
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| Artichokes (that are fresher than this sad one) look amazing as a centrepiece! |
The grocery store has bottles galore. Buy them in colours you enjoy or shapes you find interesting. Group empty bottles on a window ledge or drop them in different locations around your home (e.g., bedside table, bathroom vanity) and use them as bud vases!
Or you could follow the "kitchen photoshoot styling" classic and arrange 3 Perrier bottles on your kitchen counter. Of course, they don't have to be the classic Perrier. Grocery stores usually have tons of different bottles and labels. Choose whatever you like best. Remember that things usually look best in groupings of 3!
Cans make for great storage. You could go Andy Warhol, and use the classic Campbell's soup can (or just one you think is pretty) as a pencil cup or to corral hair brushes. You could also remove the label and leave the can as is (or do something like
this) to use for jewelry storage! How pretty would dangly earrings look hanging around the edge of a tin can?
I LOVE this old-school Heinz can. It's so huge. Once you use the contents (um... fries for EVERYONE!), you could set the empty can next to your stove and use it to store your kitchen utensils! In an all-white kitchen, I think this pop of retro colour could look seriously cool.
What about using glass canisters to store cereal and pasta? Some food is SO pretty - why not display it? (In an air-tight container, of course). Picture this spiral pasta in a tall glass canister. All natural tones and so visually interesting! You could also use mason jars to store bulk food you have in smaller quantities - my boyfriend's mother does this on open shelving in her pantry - it looks amazing! Martha Stewart has some great kraft and chalkboard labels that you could use to label the contents. Another idea would be to use baby food jars to store spices in a drawer - just add a label to the lid (or paint with chalkboard paint!) for easy identification.
For items you leave on the counter often, go for ones that look as good as they taste. Olive oil, in particular, comes in so many gorgeous containers. If you like the look of one brand more than the taste, you could always rinse and refill the pretty bottle with the oil you like the best.
This next idea comes from my friend, Heather - she stores sugar cubes in a beautiful dish next to her coffee maker with a little pair of tongs. Functional AND classy (and a little bit sparkly)
These basmati rice bags are gorgeous and a quick peruse through Pinterest shows the many ways you can repurpose this beauty (e.g.,
a pillow,
a tote bag)
And of course, there's always flowers - most grocery stores have a floral section where you can pick up a small bouquet for less than $10. I rarely like their mixed bouquets, but I think there are few things prettier than an interesting container full of one type of bloom. You could even put them in one of the cans or bottles above!
So what do you think? Did I miss anything? Do you use any grocery store finds to decorate your home?
