Welcome Rust

I never thought I'd bring rust into my home decor, but it has happened. Jason and I went to Hub's place, a little shop in Ithaca that is filled with all kinds of thrown-away stuff. It's so much fun to dig through the overwhelming piles of stranger's lives. I immediately spotted some apothecary jars that I wanted along with some salt and pepper shakers. Jason found some whiskey bottles that would go nicely with our collection of old bottles.

It wasn't until we were leaving that Jason spotted the old rusty coffee and food cans. They were way up on top of shelves behind piles and piles of junk. We had to get the owner to climb up to get them. Jason and I both liked them but we weren't sure what in the world we were going to do with them or where we would put them.

As we were gathering up our new treasures, I spotted an old wooden crate that I decided I really wanted. Again, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but I just liked the way it looked.

We got home and put all of our new purchases up on the counter as a big collection -- a mishmash of items that were seemingly unrelated. I cleaned everything off and began going around my house to see how it would all fit.

Those old rusty cans are perhaps some of our favorites. We used the wooden crate to stack the cans and placed them up on top of a bookshelf. They bring so much character to the room. I love them and so does Jason. It always amazes me how we manage to incorporate whatever it is that we find into our home. The only problem is that now Jason has a new obsession. He keeps telling me he wants to fill our house with old coffee cans! I'm a little nervous.

As I said, I'm new to decorating with rust so although I see that it can add character, I need to take this one slowly . I am inspired by Junk Fest. If you get a chance, check out their blog because they do some amazing things with "junk." Look at this picture that appeared on their post "A Romance with Rust."

Another one of my favorites is Funky Junk Interiors. They have some great do-it-yourself projects listed on their site and a whole lot of pictures to inspire you to turn something old into something new within your home.

Even with all this rusty inspiration, I'm not ready for a house full of rusty coffee cans.

What about you? Have you decorated with rust? I'd love to hear about it or see pictures!