The big chair reveal

Remember the little chair I rescued from a trash pile not too long ago? Well, she's ready for her close-up. Just as a refresher, here's the "before: shot:

 After two cans of gloss black spray paint and some stapling, this the "after":

 

Ooh, ahh!

 

The gratuitous close-up

The fabric I went with is Annie Selke's Links in Slate. I bought it online from HouseFabric.com here. For this project, I decided the "links" would look better running vertically to mirror the openings on the chair back. Isn't it lovely? I am very pleased with the makeover.

Don't forget to scout the curbs on trash day. You never know what you might find!

The weekend wrap-up

All in all, I suppose I had a pretty productive weekend. First, I put a new coat of white paint on the fireplace. Then, I repainted the wall around it in Refuge by Sherwin-Williams. Yes, you heard it here folks! We finally chose a color.


I scoped out an estate sale on Saturday morning, then returned on Sunday morning and successfully made a low-ball offer on this antique beauty...


...which I hope to turn into something like this.

photo from Eddie Ross — read the whole post here.

Not bad, eh? And I even squeezed in a short nap!

All-a-flutter

Can I just say I L-O-V-E this Bird & Branch Decoupage Chandelier from Anthropologie? Behold its awesomeness...

Here's a detail shot...


Unfortunately, my love affair came to a screeching halt once I caught a glimpse of the price tag on this 34" x 20" beauty: $2,298.00. What the what???

But before we give up on this dream, consider for a moment:

Birds Nest Tissue Paper from Ribbons and Favors – $0.56 per 20" x 30" sheet

Blue Birds on Green decorative paper from The Paper Studio – $3.50 per 22" x 28" sheet.

Bird & Nest decorative paper from The Paper Studio – $3.75 per 22" x 28" sheet

Or you could resize some of these lovelies from Vintage Printables and send 'em over to Kinkos to be printed as color copies.

Now hold on to your Mod Podge, because I believe any one of these decoupage options would work wonders on a chandelier like this one being sold on my local Craig's List for around $25:



Seriously, think it over. It could totally work.

P.S. Anyone see Man Shops Globe on the Sundance Channel? I don't do cable but I've been hoping they'll offer the episodes online after they air.

How I spent my first day of fall

Making terrariums!

I've had this idea rattling around in my head for a while now, but never managed to execute on it. One reason is probably that I've had trouble sourcing an interesting variety of small, slow growing, moisture loving, low to medium light thriving plants through my local merchants. In fact, when I'd tell people at the garden store what I was aiming for I was often greeted with mild confusion or a dismissive, "I don't think we really have anything like that." Come on, folks. You can do better.

But yesterday I left the house determined to procure the supplies I needed. It took visits to a number of different stores (including the aquarium section of a pet store for some activated charcoal) but by late afternoon my mission was accomplished.

Now that I'm able to stand back and admire my handiwork, I think they're pretty darn cool. They're certainly classin' up the dining room table at the moment. I love the idea of having a nearly self-sufficient miniature garden inside my house. By nearly self-sufficient, I mean with proper setup and drainage you hardly have to water your plants since they're enclosed in a glass jar and retain moisture nicely.

In case you're interested, here's a list of my supplies:

• Inexpensive terrarium, glass jar and vase, from JoAnn, Old Time Pottery and the cabinet under my sink, respectively (Good candidates for containers can probably be found at thrift stores too.)
  
• Small rock chips, spaghnum moss, potting soil and coarse sand, all from the garden store
• Jar of activated charcoal from pet shop
• Rocks, shells and assorted decorative doo-dads

Here are the plants I got:

• Variegated Ivy
• Fittonia (Nerve Plant)
• Creeping Fig
• African Violet
• Selaginella (Club Moss)
  
• A purple and green leafed plant I can't remember the name of.
• Rabbit's Foot Fern (Didn't end up using it yet.)
• Maidenhair Fern (Didn't use this one yet either. Love these all by themselves, so I may just pot this moisture lover and put it in the bathroom.

There are some online retailers selling more exotic options like Jewel Orchids. Depending on how these plantings do I might be willing to experiment a bit more in the future. Also, there are a number of terrarium building how-to's out there on the interweb, but here's a website and a series of videos I found rather helpful:

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/terrarium.html
http://www.monkeysee.com/play/11233-how-to-build-a-terrarium

I may head back over to JoAnn next week, 40% off coupon in hand, and get an apothecary jar like this one:


So...heads up, friends and family! If I manage to keep these two alive (supposedly this is not too difficult if you've done your homework), you could very well receive your very own terrarium this holiday season.

Another bright idea

Since we've been on the subject of light fixtures, I should mention that I dig this Colander Pendant from Shades of Light for a kitchen:

Shades of Light Colander Pendant – $195

However, that said, the $195 price tag does not thrill me. Unlike the wine glass chandelier, I believe with a little craftiness, you and I can make this one ourselves. First, I give you the all IKEA approach:

IKEA GEMAK Colander – $9.99

+

IKEA 365+ BRASA Cord Set with Diffuser – $20.00


= TOTAL PROJECT COST – $29.99 (not including tax and elbow grease)

I chose the fixture because not only does it have the cord, it also has a cover at the ceiling. I think I like this set from 2Jane even better though!

2Jane Co. Hard-wired Ceiling Fixture for Pendant Light – $25.90

I'm sure there are a number of colander color choices out there. Of course, you could also spray paint your own, but I like the silver trim.

If the center hole in your colander isn't big enough to thread the cord through, don't dispair. There are bits for your drill (You do have a drill, right?) that are made for metal. The IKEA colander shown above is steel, so in that case I think a carbide bit might be best. Ask your helpful hardware man to be sure!

Installing a hardwired fixture isn't very difficult at all. If you're new to all things electric, I recommend the Home Depot 1-2-3 book on wiring as a good starting point. If you have an older home like I do, what you have in your ceiling might not look a whole lot like the example in the photos. The first time I installed a ceiling fixture I flipped between that book and online tutorials till I was sure I had it right. Still uncertain? Ask a dad or a handyman for assistance.

New Perspective

Happy Friday all!

I've been contemplating the disheveled sensation in my inner and outer environment lately — I'm pretty sure they're at least somewhat related — since we're still trying to put the house together from the floor install. I keep coming back to the subject of perspective.

Perspective can be a wonderful thing. It can also be rather off-putting occasionally. All depends on how you see it. And that's just it. When we become able to see something differently a whole new set of possibilities can open up to us. Sometimes that's stressful at first, particularly if you're prone to wondering who "moved your cheese" or in this case your nesting tables. But I submit to you that it's important to just go with it. Really.

The stress of moving every item out of our living/dining room and hallway has turned into an opportunity to see these spaces in an entirely new light. Suddenly we're shifting furniture around and I'm thinking of introducing a new contrasting color into my current blue/green/tan color scheme. Suddenly the palette seems less restrictive. That led me to rescue a painting, done by yours truly incidentally, that had been languishing in an unremarkable location and give it a new place of honor in the main living area — something I never would've contemplated before!


Sorry for the ramble. I'm not trying to get all philosophical on you or anything, so here's a practical tidbit: There was a piece of decorator advice I read recently in one of my shelter mags that struck me as clever. She suggested rounding up all your accessories from various rooms in one place, like the dining room table. Take a look at them and try to imagine them in a new location in your home. Then give it a shot. The upside is it's free and it makes you feel like you've got new stuff in almost every room.

Hey, why not? You can always change it back.

Yet another creative use for wallpaper

I'm gonna go ahead and start beating my drum again for the Wallpaper is Great Marching Band. Check out this inspiring idea from Canadian House and Home:

image via Canadian House & Home

Frame it out for a fantastic faux headboard! Of course it doesn't hurt that the rest of the details in this room are pretty spot-on too.

And now I must return to an old favorite of mine, wallpaper on the backs of shelves. Take a look-see:

image via Canadian House & Home

Love it, love it, love it! That turquoise cabinet really pushes all the right buttons for me.

I probably spent a couple hours today mesmerized by the website of this inspiring publication. Get on over there and check it out! And stay tuned, as you'll likely see a lot more photos in my posts.

How I spent my weekend

Tearing out the last of the icky old laminate in the living/dining room that was damaged by the air handler leak in back in May, and busting out the horrible white tile by the front door. All of this was done in anticipation of our new bamboo floor being installed, which will look like this:


Yay!

Bone nuit

No, that's not a typo — just a really, really cheesy title. Forgive me, I'm very tired and no doubt I have no business coming up with any titles at all at this hour.

But you know something, I've been thinking. I've accumulated enough shelter photos from the Interwebs to realize I seem to like the look of inlaid bone and mother of pearl furniture and accessories. This mirror from Wisteria might be my personal favorite of the bunch:

Wisteria Inlaid Mother-of-Pearl Bird Mirror – $449

Here are a few more examples, three out of four appear via a great post on the subject by Jenny at Little Green Notebook:

via Little Green Notebook

via Little Green Notebook

via Little Green Notebook

Wisteria Inlaid Bone Floral Mirror – $429

What I don't like so much is the fact that these pieces are made from...well, bone. And mollusk shells, respectively. Which led me to ponder how I might somehow mimic the look without (a) the by-products and (b) the hefty pricetag that normally accompanies such pieces.

I'm generally not opposed to the idea of hard work in the name of craftiness, so I'm thinking of trying an experiment. I believe perhaps a similar, although not as intricate bone-like effect could be achieved through decoupage using cutouts of iridescent paper, such as the quartz color sold at Blue Dot Paper Shop — $12.99 for 50 sheets. Similar things are no doubt available by the single sheet, but at this point I'm not sure how many paper cutouts it would take to cover say, a side table. It would require patience but to put it in perspective, if you've ever done mosaic this wouldn't be nearly as messy.

I admit that hand-cutting a bazillion of those things would probably get pretty tedious, so I propose the solution of paper punches available in leaf and flowery type shapes from your local craft store. I bet you'd only need about three shapes to create a motif.


There's also pearlescent paint out there. This company sells stuff that was made for painting cars. It's a powder you can mix with paint and it's $9.99 a bag. Could be tricky to work with initially, but I'm trying to think creatively here.

So what do you think? Is this just extreme fatigue playing tricks on my brain, or is it possible that with enough effort I could make this $15 coffee table for sale on my local CraigsList...



...into something not entirely dissimilar to this?

More fabrics to love!

Jan was kind enough to comment on my last post with a link to a fantastic fabric group at Calico Corners. Thanks, Jan! It's called All About Orange. See them all here.

They look so pretty all hung together there and they're all great — especially the coral-ish ones! It appears I'm sort of crushing on coral recently. I think it would be a wonderful foil to the light robin's egg walls in my office/art room. Aside from the Thomas Paul I mentioned before, this one might be my other fave of the bunch:

Blossom in Cinnabar – $23.99/yard

And just for kicks, here's another lovely specimen I forgot to include yesterday:

Silhouette in Ebony – $24.99/yard
I'm intrigued not only by its beauty but by its slightly Rorschach-ian quality. :)

Fabrics to love at Calico Corners

The birthday is over, the Anthropologie gift card has been spent (15% discount applied, thank you) and now it's back to business — and by business I mean wandering around the web coveting pretty decor-related things.

In addition to the slipcover book I got recently, I've been semi-obsessed with the idea of learning upholstery for a while now. Unfortunately that obsession didn't spur me on to do anything about it until recently. I guess all things in good time, right? Anyhow, I started with a Google search for any classes available locally which turned up zilch. Then I sent away for info on a sort of correspondence course in upholstery. I am as yet undecided on the school option, I thought it wouldn't hurt to order a book or two from Amazon.

In the meantime, I think I'll draw inspiration from some of the fantastic fabrics available from Calico Corners. If you're any kind of a fiber-holic or a pattern addict (I am both) check 'em out. Here are a few patterns of note:

La Mare in Summer – $17.99/yard

Fabriano in Cocktail – $27.99/yard
I think this one has a Josef Frank vibe to it. I approve.

Mandarin in Summertime – $17.99/yard

Dahlia in Aegean – $20.99/yard (in stores only)

Stockholm in Sungold – $23.99/yard

Aviary in Tangerine – $23.99 (in stores only)
I'm pretty sure I dig most things by Thomas Paul.

Is it just me, or do these make you want to pick up a staple gun too?

A quickie

No, not that kind. In case you're wondering, the title refers to the length of this post and the quick and easy nature of the project below.

I may have mentioned this before, but...binder clips! As evidenced in the above photo, this little office necessity has transformed a group of vintage prints into a charming (and cheap!) art display. Looks great, no? Everything about this vignette is just right as far as I'm concerned.

By the way, you can find some ideas for obtaining vintage prints in my previous post here. I suspect the binder clip method would also work great for a postcard collection or a group of black & white photos. What do you think?

That said, feel free to put your mind back in the gutter. Who am I to judge?

A quick pick-me-up

Have some tired old shelves? Paint the back of 'em for contrast. The result? Fantastic. See below.

Hmm...what DON'T I love about this room?

Wallpaper looks great on the back of bookshelves too, but it can be a pricier proposition when you have to buy it by the double roll. Ebay can be a good source for bargain wallcoverings and tends to have some nice vintage options, but often you have to wade through a sea of Little Mermaid and Nascar patterns to find them.

Photo via Room Envy

Photo from Lovely Design

Photo from Country Living

Decorative paper is a another solution for a pop of pattern. I recently lined the back of a metal institutional cabinet in our dining area that serves as a bar and china storage with some paper from Paper Mojo. Will have to remember to post a pic, but in the meantime, here are a couple of my current Paper Mojo faves:

Asian Lattice


Snow & Graham Designer Prints, Collection 2

Have a fun paint or wallpaper project? I'd love to see it.

I Heart(h) Fireplaces

Ha ha. Yes, I know I'm a total cheese-ball. But it's true. This Florida native has always loved the charm a fireplace brings to a room. Case in point: when we bought our house two years ago, I prioritized having a fireplace over a pool.

But here in the Sunshine State, where the "summer" (I consider this May – September) feels not entirely unlike vacationing in the devil's butt crack, the old hearth can start to feel a little neglected. So while I pine away for the respite of fall, I'm thinking about doing a little fireplace makeover.

Photo from Sunset Magazine

As far as I'm concerned, this looks great. Not only does it keep your fireplace in service any time of the year (wasted space bugs me), it's just the thing for anyone who has a non-working fireplace in their house. And you don't have to mess around with balls of newspaper and pokers.

In my opinion, this look works best when your candles are all the same color and of varied heights. That can be accomplished cost effectively though. A trip to a dollar store or discount place like Tuesday Morning, et voilà — you're in business. If you're only able to score one size of candle, you can still get the multi-level effect by placing the back row on top of a couple bricks.

Is anyone out there already rocking this look? If so, how do you like it? Send me a pic.