Row, Row, Row Your Boat

I did a lot of thinking and browsing and trying to find some kind of unique art to hang above our new gorgeous bed. I had been saving these pictures (below) in my idea files because I love the look of oars used as room decor.

I loved the look so much that I decided that I wanted to hang oars above our bed.Photos courtesy of Pottery Barn

Photos courtesy of Coastal Living

Photo courtesy of Just Beachy

Slight problem though...
I didn't have any old oars.

I spent nearly 2 months obsessing over finding oars.
I knew they had to be old and rustic.
And cheap. I wasn't willing to pay more than $25 on them.

I searched craigslist every day. I even put a 'wanted' ad on craigslist.
Nothing.
I looked at thrift stores. Antique stores. Garage sales.
I called all of the boat yards in the area. They all said, "Have you looked on craigslist?"
I put a 'wanted' ad on freecycle.org. Again, nothing.

I was about to give up and buy some new oars and try and rough them up to look old.
I decided to give it one last ditch effort and ask everyone I knew if they had any oars.
Someone had to know someone who had some old oars lying around.

So the first person I called was my mom.
Shockingly she told me that my step-dad had tons of oars lying around!
I was ecstatic!!!
Why didn't I ask her sooner!?

So I got my oars. Finally.Originally I thought I would clean them up, sand them and maybe stain them.
But after seeing them in the room as is, I decided that I like them looking really rustic like this.
I did clean them and sand them a bit, just to get rid of the dirt and splinters sticking out.

And then to give them a bit more personality, I did this...
Seven-nineteen. Our anniversary.

I got the idea from Karla's blog, It's the Little Things that Make a House a Home
See her tutorial HERE on how to transfer letters/numbers onto wood.

I'm very happy with how they look!

Thanks, Mom and Ken!