Won it!

So, I know those of you who are blog-reading fools like myself know this, but maybe some of you don't: most blogs that are in the same genre as mine host giveaways. Like, all the time. Okay, maybe not all the time, but seriously - I feel like there are at least two giveaways in my feed at any one time. (You likely won't ever see a giveaway here because usually, the prize is contributed by a sponsor. Marv Minnie is sponsor-free!) Despite their popularity, it was only very recently that I entered my first giveaway. And, I WON!

Back in October, I noticed a giveaway of some really neat state art over at Home Coming*. I decided to enter the contest, and I was lucky enough to get to pick out some State Art from WordLust! A few weeks later, I discovered the mailman had left a special box for me in the lobby at my apartment building...

Open up the box!

And here it is! Yay!!! When I won the giveaway, I had the chance to select which color combo I wanted from the WordLust Etsy shop. It took me some time to decide, actually. You guys are probably aware that I already have some other state art in my place - some that I made, and some that I didn't. I didn't want to overwhelm my living room, so I had to think outside the box about where I might want to display this piece.

I went with the hallway!

This is the view coming out of the bedroom, the study and the hall bathroom. The doorway opening to the left is into the living room, and directly to the left (out of view) is the front door.

One of the choices I was allowed to make was whether the art would appear on a "dark" stained background or a "light" one. I saw some images on the WordLust site that showed a background that was nearly black - I thought that was going to be way too dark. Nevertheless, I was a little surprised by just how light the background was on the one I received!

I was skeptical, but I tried it out in the hallway. And then I realized it worked! When I was making my selections, I was thinking that I wanted something that matched the frame on the little basket chest below. That surely would have been striking. But what I got instead was something that matched the baskets - and which offers some nice contrast with the black mirror, the bronze basket, and the brown wooden awards on the right. It worked out better than I'd planned!

So here's the money shot - this hallway is such a gigantic pain to photograph. There isn't all that much natural light in the rooms that open onto it - especially in November, grrr! And given this hallway's size and shape, none really makes it through. But, I hope in this last one you can get a little sense of what it's really like in the hall - including the reflection in the black mirror! My place is updated -- and I won it!

* Please note, these links are not sponsored in any way. It was not a condition of winning the prize that I blog about it. I decided to share these links with you because I enjoy Kayla's blog and think the product from WordLust is pretty darn cool!