Part 1: Garage Sale Revival- $0.25 Conch Shell (from hell)

Way back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth Leah and I were in elementary school, we'd hang out a lot in the summer time. We'd ride bikes through her neighborhood, get a rootbeer float at the drive-in diner, and visit her grandparents. But most importantly, we would go to all of the neighborhood garage sales and pick up ugly, useless, used junk and cart it all back home.

Among all the chintzy feather boa picture frames, sweaters, and high heels, some of our random finds have managed to survive the past 10 years with the rest of our junk. Only about a year or two ago, she got rid of some of the clothes we had bought to share, and I still run across things I had bought for myself.

Do you remember me mentioning an old ugly conch shell awhile back? Well. here it is, in all it's $0.25 glory (ignore the mess of crap around these pictures, I am still in the process of moving)... I saw this at one of these summer garage sales way back in the day, and for whatever reason, I fell in love and felt like I needed this thing. Had I ever been to the Bahamas? No. Would I ever go? Probably not. But, it was another gawdy addition to the wretched beachy decor I had going on in my bedroom at the time. So home it came.

So why do I still have this hideous beast? Well, mostly because it sat untouched and out of the way in my parents' attic for the better part of those 10 years, on an old bookcase filled with miscellaneous other crap that I had accumulated as a kid. But partly because when I moved back into my parents' place last month, my mom asked if she could throw it away, and without question I said "yeah, whatever." 

But...then I saw it when I moved in and remembered why I liked it. It is HUGE, hideous, and heavy. And I like heavy things that could be used as a blunt object in desperate times (like when someone is trying to rob my house and all I can reach is a giant hideous conch shell).

But this thing doesn't have to be hideous, does it? I can put a new life into this neglected monster, right?

But I am stuck. I need your help. With the color scheme that I am going for, which color do I choose? Pure white? Silver? A loud coral color? Or a light blue?

Leave your vote in a comment below or on Facebook, and it'll help tremendously. My living room thanks you!!