shelling out pennies at tj.maxx

Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m obsessed with T.J.Maxx. And I’ve been obsessed for quite some time (not just since they started coming out with those commercials about the buyer in Paris who over-ordered 5,000 designer silk blouses). When the budget allows, I find myself making a weekly foray into this little bit of discount heaven…often rummaging through the sale shelves of the housewares department–my personal crack den.

Which is precisely where I found—how do I say this nicely?—a really unattractive, gigantic, dirty-yellow faux shell. Clearly, plenty of people had passed on this ugly duckling, because the red sticker was marked down to $11. But I’m big into beach-house-style and took one look at this oceanic monstrosity and thought to myself, “Can of white spray paint.” Today, the now-pristine, high-gloss shell sits on a bookshelf in my bedroom, looking like something that just walked out of the Pottery Barn catalog.

I think I love it even more because I know its hidden secret. So what’s the most clever camouflage job you’ve ever done to something in your home? Would anyone ever guess?