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Showing posts with label home decor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home decor. Show all posts

1.29.2014

"look for less" january challenge

It's that time again! We're having our January "look for less" design challenge! (If you missed the last one - you can check it out HERE)

The idea behind this challenge is to find a look you absolutely love but cost more than you're like to spend and then DIY it on a budget for much less than what you could buy it for. Since I am always looking for a bargain (and always DIYing something rather than buying it) this challenge is right up my alley!
Please meet the other girls participating in the challenge:
Rachel | Like a Saturday
Andrea | Life Love Larson
Kayla Home Coming


my January "look for less" project:
diy bathtub caddy


I got my inspiration for this bathtub caddy from none other than Anthroplogie (it's only my favorite store). The shower caddy from Anthropologie cost $168. It's beautiful, rustic, has a little spot for a wine glass - absolutely perfect. The only thing not perfect for me was the price. Living on a budget makes you look at things differently. I looked at that beautiful shower caddy and thought "my husband could make me one of those!"... and so the project began.

Since Adam is the carpenter in our family, he took this project on as his own. I helped along the way with drawings, dimensions, etc. 

Here's how the process went:

1) I measured our new tub and came up with these basic dimensions. I knew I wanted it to be 4 boards wide (which put it around 11"-12") and the width from the wall to the edge of the tub was 29":


Doing the dimensions and drawings prior to any shopping gave us an idea of how much material we'd need to buy.

2) Next, Adam ran to Lowe's to pick up the wood we needed. If you're making your own, here's a list of what you'll need:

shopping list
 two 2x4s (or at least 10' of board)
one 1x2 for the "legs" (or at least 2' of board)
water-based polyurethane
foam brush for applying poly
wood screws

(We used poplar because it is inexpensive, easy to work with and matches other things in our bathroom.
You can use whatever type of wood you'd like - and stain it if you'd like a different look.)

3) After everything was purchased, it was time to cut the pieces down to size. Using his circular saw, Adam cut the 2x4s into 29" pieces (making sure the ends lined up perfectly). The 1x2 was cut into 2 pieces - both were 11" long.


4) Prior to assembly, everything was thoroughly sanded and coated 4-5 times with polyurethane to keep it safe from water. We did the poly before assembly because it would have been too hard to get into all the cracks afterward. Once everything had dried, Adam screwed the 1x2 pieces into the 2x4s to hold everything together.



I am absolutely in LOVE (with my husband ANNNDDD my new bathtub caddy). 
I can't wait for many bubble baths, books & wine (or orange juice) this winter.

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If you think my project is cool, make sure you check out the other projects done by the other design challenge ladies. They are so amazing - and they blow mine out of the water!!


build a focal wall headboard   

             designer inspired large-scale art & frame                         faux fur vanity stool

   glass bottle lamp                                           work bench

 

10.24.2013

wayfair giveaway

note: I was not paid or perked to write this post 
all opinions stated below are my own

As an interior designer, and a girl who LOVES a good deal, I have always been a big fan of Wayfair.com. It is like one big "eye candy" store! So many different colors, styles & textures in every type of furniture and decor you can think of. The other day, Wayfair's managing editor, Catie Parrish, shared a post about the 4 Things To Consider Before Your Next Big Area Rug Purchase. Just for fun I put together a concept board for our master bedroom (a room in my house that is in desperate need of a makeover). Yellow is one of my favorite colors and I am absolutely smitten with that area rug!

duvet | headboard | tall dresser | night stand | dresser | yellow lamp | yellow rug | art | shell dish | pillow

Are there certain items you've been drooling over but haven't found the right reason to order yet? Well... you're in luck! Wayfair has generously offered up a $100 gift card to one lucky winner to add some style into your own home. Use the rafflecopter below to enter. Good luck! (Open to U.S. residents only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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10.23.2013

guest post: 4 Things to Consider Before Your Next Big Rug Investment

*** enter to win a $100 Wayfair.com gift card HERE ***

Take a look at these important rug features before you take the plunge.


1.     Measurements
There’s no way around it—busting out that tape measure before you purchase a rug is an absolute must. Carefully evaluate the space where you want to place the rug and consider how it will fit with other items in the room. Take a look at what furniture will be on the rug as well as how other furniture will look positioned next to it. If you have a clear vision of exactly where the rug will be placed before you purchase, it will ensure the best possible look and usability of the rug in your space. For the best look, choose a rug that’s large enough so that all the legs (or at least the front legs) of your major furniture pieces will sit on the rug.

2.     Materials
Location is paramount when considering the material and price of a rug. If it will be placed in a high-traffic area or room, then splurging on handmade, 100% wool will offer the best results. Rugs made from less expensive synthetic fibers won’t last as long, but can be useful in a quieter space as a trendy statement piece or accent. As far as investment rugs go, handmade woven or knotted rugs offer unparalleled craftsmanship that will last a lifetime and are worth the money.

3.     Shape
Keep the big picture in mind when choosing the right shape rug for your room. It helps to think about what types of shapes are already present in your décor, and how a rug will frame the whole space. Your best bet is a rectangular rug—it will never go out of style and will work well with most room arrangements.

4.     Color
When making a big investment in a rug, it can be scary to decide on colors and style. Oriental-style rugs often incorporate a variety of colors, which are ideal for matching all kinds of color palettes as your décor changes throughout the years. Don’t be afraid to go with a colorful rug, but evaluate what potential color schemes will work well with it before you buy. Select a rug color that truly aligns with your personal décor style, and then you can be sure it will fit whatever you choose to combine it with in the future.

For rugs you can shop by size, materials, shape, and color, we of course think Wayfair is a great option.

Bio: Catie Parrish relishes the opportunity to inspire others to create thoughtful, stylish spaces in their homes. A graduate of Drake University, Catie lives in Boston with her news-nerd husband, Chris, and their wrinkly rescue mutt, Gus. An ardent enthusiast of all things tasty, curious, or pretty, when Catie isn’t writing, you can likely find her whipping up a batch of guacamole, captivated by a good book, or on the hunt for the sofa of her dreams. Catie is the managing editor at Wayfair, the internet’s largest furniture store.

10.10.2013

guest post: decor for tiny rooms

Hello I am Amber from The Vanity Room. I have a passion for interior designing and blogging is the perfect platform to quench my creative thirst.  I love to indulge in the internet and dig for ideas as I feed off the inspiration. I am very thankful to Shannon for letting me contribute to her blog. She is an extremely humble person with an amazing down to earth personality. Today I will be sharing with you some of my favorite DIY ideas to decorate tiny rooms in our house.

Decor For Tiny Rooms


Small rooms can be frustrating as they are difficult to decorate.  Many of us have small rooms that we have to live in and deal with on a day to day basis. This means that most of us, with more meagerly proportioned rooms, are left wondering how on earth we can make the best of our tiny rooms.

Good choice and use of furniture is key in any small room – more so, in my opinion, than in a larger room. Choose furniture that precisely fits into place, whether it is a table under the window, a bookcase across the narrowest wall or even a storage unit fitted along the longest wall. While these bigger than expected pieces of furniture may take up a reasonable amount of room, they more than make up for it by optimizing the storage space available in the room – which frees up the rest of the room, making it seem that little bit bigger! 

Mirrors should be installed in every small room. Different types of mirrors can be used. Choose the biggest mirror you can find, or even use mirror tiles. Position the mirror across the narrowest point of the room, as the mirror's reflection will appear to double that small area, opening the room out to a more generous size. 


Make good use of the full height of any room – whether it is in the kitchen, conservatory or living room! Bookcases that reach up to the ceiling are considerably more capacious than one that only reaches to head height! You can buy some incredible bookcases from Ikea.


Bathrooms are often low-level rooms, which is a sad waste of all that space near the ceiling! Install narrow shelves that run around most of the bathroom to make space for bulk purchases of soap, shampoo and toothpaste and you will make the bathroom seem bigger in the process! I saw some amazing bathroom accessories at My-bathrooms. Under basin storage is a must in any small bathroom, as this makes good use of otherwise wasted space. Apply your DIY skills here; all you will need is some paint and an old table. Paint the old table in matching color to your bathroom and insert it under the sink. If your shower has a frosted glass or plastic door, think about changing this for a fabric shower curtain which can be pushed to one side to 'open' out the room a bit more.


In the kitchen there is often a huge array of equipment, tins and other foodstuffs that need to be stored safely. Invest in fold-out, rotatable cabinets to maximize the use of every inch of available space. 


Large televisions, while much thinner and less bulky than older models, still take up a fair amount of space. Limit their footprint by wall mounting large TVs, which then removes the need for a television stand. 


Choose plain furniture for small rooms as bright, busy patterns can make the furniture look big and bulky; too obtrusive for the dimensions of a smaller room. Use light paint or wallpaper to further add an open feeling to small rooms, and think about raising the pelmet as high as possible. Small rooms acquire an air of grandeur from a long, graceful fall of fabric. Use optical illusions to transform small and poorly proportioned rooms; for example adding stripes to counteract the effect of a long thin room, and picking out unusual room features (such as a large chimney breast) in contrasting paint colours. 




These few ideas and hints are very easy to implement and will hopefully inspire a fresh determination to decorate your small rooms, and give you some ideas on how to make a small but perfect interior – no matter where in your home it may be!

10.07.2013

sweater vase

This was originally published as a guest post for Cocktails With Mom.

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Fall is all around (even though it has been 80 degrees in PA all week). One of my favorite fall decorations is this cozy sweater vase. I have a number of generic, glass vases sitting around my house so I decided to spruce one up for Fall.

... here's how I did it ...

I started by disassembling a sweater I picked up from The Salvation Army. I had originally gotten it to make these sweater pumpkins but had plenty left over for other projects. For this, I used a section of sleeve and slid it on over my vase.

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To cover the raw edge at the top, I simply made a linen "ribbon" by cutting a piece of fabric to the length I needed, sewed it together, turned it right side out and top stitched it to finish it off. After trimming off my loose threads, I tied it nicely around the top of my vase.

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I used a glue dot to keep the "knot" secured to the glass, however the rest of the sweater just fits snug enough around the vase to stay put. I decorated my finished vase with our wedding flowers we had left over (we used all artificial and I love having them around the house). This inexpensive, simple spruce up was perfect for turning my "blah" vase into a fun, centerpiece. 

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8.20.2013

guest post: small decor projects for the home

Hi I am Jessica Christian and I am really thankful to Shannon for letting me do this guest-post. It is all about creating small home decor projects which will brighten up your home. Enjoy!

We all want a beautiful home, but few of us can afford to walk into a furniture store and simply order a full room's worth of furniture; soft furnishings and accessories all in one go. However, with a little forethought and planning, not to mention a significant input of time and a reasonable budget; it is possible to have beautifully put together rooms. The following small projects do not cost a lot, and can help you get the rooms your desire.

Learn to Upholster

Upholster your plain furniture with leftover curtain fabric to bring it into harmony with the room as a whole. A plain wooden bedside cabinet can be improved very simply. First of all, measure the area that you want to cover. It does not have to be the entire cupboard door, sometimes there are panels that make a 'ready-to-use' space, otherwise you can simply measure an area in the middle of the door or panel. Experiment a little until you find a look that works for the room. Then carefully cut a piece of thin foam and glue it in place. Next cut and hem the fabric that will go over the panel, taking great care to make the corners exact right angles – any variation will show glaringly and make the piece of furniture look 'home-made' and awkward. Finally glue or staple the fabric cover in place, starting at the top and smoothing it tightly over the foam as you work for a fabulous padded motif. If you add these marvellous panels to your bedroom furniture, you can match it to the wonderful bedding available from yorkshirelinen.com – they have such a wide variety that you are sure to find the perfect bedding set for your ideal bedroom!

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You Can Never Have Too Many Cushions…

Use remnants of curtain fabric or buy contrasting or toning fabric to make a set of cushions. If you are not a brave seamstress use the simplest possible design, if you are skilled at sewing you could try something a bit more daring! Cut out large squares – slightly bigger than the size cushions you want. Place two squares, right sides together and sew around three sides. The fourth side needs to be left just open enough for you to get your hand, filled with stuffing, inside. Fill the cushion to the desired size – more stuffing makes a firm rounded cushion, less makes a floppier, less rigid one – then carefully hand-sew the opening shut, using invisible stitching. You will be amazed at the difference that perfectly matching cushions can make in drawing the décor of the room together – and at how little it cost to make them! A lot of variety of cushions is available at:  cushionsonline.co.uk

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Put up Some Defenses!

If you have a large open, but clutter-filled unit do not be afraid to literally draw a veil over it! Use curtains to hide clutter and create serenity in any room. It is a simple matter to screw in an eyelet at each end of the top of a bookcase, wall unit or similar piece of furniture (even a table, if you have lots of things tucked underneath it!) and run a piece of curtain wire between the two. Choose the fabric for the curtain to go with the general décor, perhaps even using fabric that is leftover from the curtains, or go for something different to create a focal point in the room! You can use many yards of light fabric gathered to create a pretty frilly look, or you can opt for an elegance heavy fabric that will fall straight, without any pleats or gathers. Once your cluttered shelves and half-completed projects are hidden from view the room will immediately look cool and well put-together – perfect for impressing guests!

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When in Doubt – Go Up!

Use the full height of the walls in every room, to free up the maximum amount of floor space. When choosing a wall unit or bookcase, always pick the tallest one that you can. Be sure to use the wall fixings for tall furniture as you do not want it to topple onto the floor, or worse, a person passing by… If you furniture is standard height and you have over a metre of 'wasted' space between the top of the unit and the ceiling, you can install some shelves. If you have an idea of what you want to store up there you can measure the distance between the shelves to suit. Once you have installed the shelves and have packed away items that are seldom used, but that are still necessary, you will be amazed at the transformation 'on ground level' so to speak!

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These four projects require some time and patience, but can help you to transform your house into a thing of beauty and elegance with a place for everything. Once you begin to enjoy using your hands to create useful objects for the home you will find it hard to stop until your home is the haven of beauty that you have always wanted!

9.13.2012

wedding art

Adam and  I just spent a fun weekend in Detroit celebrating the wedding of our good friends, Dan & Kelly. I wanted to make a sweet little gift for them, so I decided to do a spin off of my "quote art" and make them a little wedding memento for their home. 

Since art is such a personal thing, I decided to make them a small 6x6 picture with their last name and wedding date - I kept it simple and neutral. This project is fun and easy - plus, in the end you'll have a personalized gift for any occasion.

5.21.2012

dino art

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend my cousins wife's baby shower this past Saturday. I hated to miss it, but knew I wanted to make them a special gift. When I found out they were planning a dinosaur theme for the nursery I decided to make them some wall art.


I'm absolutely thrilled with how they turned out [and I hope Mikie & Patrick like them too].
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Here is what you'll need to make your own:


Wood frame
fun paper
scissors
Mod Podge
foam brush
computer/printer OR hand drawn design
small foam roller

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5.01.2012

diy flower picture ::guest blogger::

Dana from Lets Meet For Lunch is here today to share a fun and creative DIY project. I'm already itching to make one for myself. Enjoy [and check out my Apple Dumpling recipe on Dana's blog here]. There's nothing wrong with eating and crafting at the same time!

DIY Flower Picture


Hey Sewing Barefoot readers! I am so excited to be here today with a little DIY project of mine. I’ve always loved crafts and DIY stuff of all kinds. I was even an Arts & Crafts Counselor at a summer camp for 4 years running in college (Listen, it was that, or being an Athletics Counselor... which was completely and TOTALLY out of the question). I’m not always the best at them, and my stuff hardly looks professional... no judging! I’m sure you could do far cooler things than I did with this little project, but the thing I like about it is that anyone can do this. The hardest part is cutting out the petals and deciding where you want to place them. If you used a template, they would look even more consistent, but I kind of liked the idea of free-form petals. You can do whatever you want to get the effect you are going for!  

I normally take a picture of all materials needed, but for some reason I became a cutting fiend and totally forgot that part. So imagine that you have a picture here of some scrapbook paper in varying colors/patterns that you want, and scissors. A little further on I’ll show you what else you need.

Cut some strips of the paper, about the size that you want the petals to be. I made mine around 2 inches. Then stack the sheets on top of each other, to make quick work of cutting them (I have 6 stacked up in the picture).


1.21.2012

paper flowers


I'd be the first one to tell you that I sort of went crazy with DIY projects when we got married back in 2011. I had so much fun with wedding planning I knew that the small details were really going to make it memorable for us and our guests. One of my projects involved attaching paper flowers to ballpoint pens which then sat at our "guest book" table - they were not only functional but they were cute!

photo by Heather Brincko
We loved them so much that we now have these paper flowers a few different places in our home. They are fun, easy to take care of, and are a unique alternative to the real thing. 

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Here is what you'll need to make your own paper flowers:


vellum paper
another type of construction paper (I used a bamboo paper)
Scrap piece of cardboard
Pencil
Compass
White glue 
Floral cloth stem wires
Scissors
Decorative beads (mine are pearl-like)
Needle nose pliers (not pictured - but they'll come in handy)

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Start by using your compass to make a 3-1/4" circle template with your cardboard. You'll use this template to create the circles on your vellum/bamboo paper for your flowers.

Trace and cut out 10-15 circles (the more - the merrier... trust me, once you get started you'll want to make a bunch!). Follow the steps below (fold your circle in half... then again in quarters... and finally once more in eighths). You'll end up with a pie shaped piece.


Next, take your scissors and cut your wedge into an "ice cream cone" shape. Then, unfold your circle. Cut off a single petal on your flower (you'll now have 7 petals).


Add a few small drops of glue to a petal next to the one you just cut off and overlap the two petals to form your flower.


Allow your flower to dry. 

Once dry, crease each petal in half to give your flower a more defined look. Using a cloth stem, poke a small hole in the bottom of your flower. Slip a bead on one end of your stem and fold the wire over and wrap it around itself a few times to secure the bead (this is where those needle nose pliers come in handy)! Slide your stem through your flower and secure with a small dot of glue.


Repeat the steps above to make a whole handful of paper flowers to put in your house. These are the best, because they never die and you don't have to water them!




                              

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