This umbrella stand was a cute, if unremarkable, thrift store find, but Jenny Komenda of Pearl Street Interiors transformed it into an elegant, even striking signature piece. If you ever read her blog, Little Green Notebook, you'll know that imaginative projects like this are all in a day's work for Jenny. Check out her results, along with her clever DIY monogram method, after the jump...

Inspired by the monograms of Leontine Linens, Jenny transformed the lackluster umbrella stand into a dramatic accessory, perfect for her preppy-chic aesthetic.

We love the way she used white paint to bring out the best in the umbrella stand, highlighting its pretty trim. And her method for producing the monogram was really quite smart...

Since the real Leontine Linens were out of her budget, she cobbled together a few of the monogram designs from their website to produce a monogram of her own in Photoshop. Then she taped a piece of freezer paper over her computer screen and traced the initials. She cut them out carefully to produce a stencil...

...and painted over the stencil with a roller. We love how it turned out!

For lots more DIY décor inspiration, or to read a detailed account of the umbrella stand project, visit Jenny's blog, Little Green Notebook.

(Images: Jenny Komenda/Little Green Notebook)