Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Feature Friday: Parlour
If you haven't seen this beautiful Living Room that Nichole designed yet then today is your lucky day! Today I am featuring her and her wonderful blog Parlour. It is filled to the brim with easy and budget friendly DIY tips. I asked Nichole to describe her style and this is what she said:
I am definitely eclectic in every sense of the word. I love old silhouettes done in fresh, modern finishes. Mixing and matching of patterns, colors, styles, finishes and even eras makes me giddy. I prefer to be different and unique in every way I can, while still holding to the general ideals that make any interior design successful and cohesive. And of course, there is some element of femininity in almost every nook of my home, thanks to my super understanding hubby.
Check out her home!
That amazing light fixture is a giant paper lantern with glued on coffee filters. Genius! See more about it here.
The colors in these framed photographs are beautiful and tie in all the colors in the room.
This silver piece used to be dirty and black and look at it now!
I love those little pink slippers she put on her chairs.
The table was a $50 estate sale find. She decoupaged the top to make it completely unique.
She turned a boring white shade into this great black and pink shade. It looks so great all lit up at night!
That great Cameo piece was purchased at a Flea Market. What a treasure!
The print above the sink is from Made By Girl.
This hallway collage is full of color variation.
Here is her cute bathroom. See more about it here.
Thanks so much to Nichole for sharing her home. Make sure you check out her blog and her shop. She has some great items including this cool chevron chair!
I hope you all have a wonderful New Years Eve!
Drop Leaf Love
I don't often consider a drop leaf table in my decorating schemes. But I loved this idea of having one as a side table with one side dropped down. Then when you need more table space you just lift it up. It's such a fun and functional idea.
I like this little drop leaf table from CSN and you could totally make it unique. I would add some silver wallpaper to the top and then spray paint the base. This would look awesome next to a sofa or chair!
Before/After
I completed my first two projects for the new place. I bought a Pillow Cover from Ikea for $8 and stretched it for two projects in the kitchen.
Our new building was built in 1923, there are tons of original details, including the built in display cabinet in the kitchen. One of the boxes I had with me in the car was my collection of Jonathan Adler pieces, I really didn't trust that box with the movers so it came with.
I took the pillow apart and used Velcro to secure it the back, folding in the raw edges so it looks clean. Doesn't it make the white and green vases pop?
We had to buy drapes and I didn't want to spend a whole lot so for the interior panels I bought these. Simple, plain and cheap. So with the left over scrap I put top and bottom trim on the panel using no iron/no sew hem tape.
I took the pillow apart and used Velcro to secure it the back, folding in the raw edges so it looks clean. Doesn't it make the white and green vases pop?
We had to buy drapes and I didn't want to spend a whole lot so for the interior panels I bought these. Simple, plain and cheap. So with the left over scrap I put top and bottom trim on the panel using no iron/no sew hem tape.
I used everything but the zipper on that one pillow! Once we get our desk and chair in the kitchen I might redo the chair with another of the same pillow.
Before/After
The office is almost whole again, we got the new dresser for the cds and are in the process of putting them in the new sleeves, the new rug came today and I've recovered the office chair. I got a great fabric from reprodepot.com called "Pavo" in berry.
Here's a before and after:
Here's a before and after:
Perhaps by next week I'll be able to post finished pictures of the room
Call 2 Recycle
Call2Recycle is a rechargeable battery and cell phone recycling program.
On their site are some great DIY projects, My favorite is the reglazed silhouette plates.
This is so easy and looks so great, you can easily find these is stores for hundreds and it's a great way to save your old plates or ones in thrift stores from landfills.
With Halloween coming up you could do some really spooky ones, or gift them with a person's favorite objects or something with special meaning.
Redo
We're taking the opportunity to redo our cd storage and 2nd bedroom while it's being fixed.
Right now we have a MONSTER cd tower, it's about 6' tall and 5' wide and together we have about 2,000 cds.
We're tactile people so we'll never get rid of the liner notes and cds themselves but we need a new way to hold them, the cd tower is rickety and the cases are heavy and cumbersome so we're doing this (For a demonstration click here).
Then putting them in this
Which believe it or not will hold almost 5,000 cds in those sleeves.
We're debating whether or not to make it a complete lounge with a futon or lounge chair and moving the turntable in there for a real groovy feel.
We're going to move the treadmill so it's takes up less room and install a shelf in front of it for our portable dvd player so we can watch movies when we work out or rest our ipods up there so we don't shake the hard drives in them.
I'm also going to recover the office chair so it's more attractive than just plain black and we'll need a new rug as our old one got damaged in the ceiling cave in.
Here's a mock up before and after:
Right now we have a MONSTER cd tower, it's about 6' tall and 5' wide and together we have about 2,000 cds.
We're tactile people so we'll never get rid of the liner notes and cds themselves but we need a new way to hold them, the cd tower is rickety and the cases are heavy and cumbersome so we're doing this (For a demonstration click here).
Then putting them in this
Which believe it or not will hold almost 5,000 cds in those sleeves.
We're debating whether or not to make it a complete lounge with a futon or lounge chair and moving the turntable in there for a real groovy feel.
We're going to move the treadmill so it's takes up less room and install a shelf in front of it for our portable dvd player so we can watch movies when we work out or rest our ipods up there so we don't shake the hard drives in them.
I'm also going to recover the office chair so it's more attractive than just plain black and we'll need a new rug as our old one got damaged in the ceiling cave in.
Here's a mock up before and after:
Great Idea!
In this month's Blueprint Magazine, they featured a DIY coffee table made from a $25 cot from ebay, baking sheets and paint.
So easy, this would be great outdoors as well, I love the idea of moving the trays and being able to sit on it.
So easy, this would be great outdoors as well, I love the idea of moving the trays and being able to sit on it.
Tablescapes
In this month's Blueprint Magazine they show a DIY on how to create several tablescapes/Centerpieces for your next dinner party.
I loved these two, the top has so much textures and beautifully plays the glass against the wood and the candles, the bottom I like for the bright orange backdrop with the blue and white plates and bowls from Pearl River Mart (one of my favorite stores in Manhattan, a must see).
(sorry for the scans, the images aren't on Blueprint's site yet)
Blog Link
I found this great cafe press shop via Design Milk.
Puzzle* was created by Ana Romero in Lisbon/Portugal.
My favorites include the Flowers Mug ($14.29), The Slices Mousepad ($14.29) and the Color Jungle Small Framed Print ($38.99).
Puzzle* was created by Ana Romero in Lisbon/Portugal.
My favorites include the Flowers Mug ($14.29), The Slices Mousepad ($14.29) and the Color Jungle Small Framed Print ($38.99).
Glass and Wood
Such complimentary textures, smooth and rough, polished and natural.
I love this candle holder, such an easy DIY.
Before/After
About a year or so ago, My husband found a pair of Heywood Wakefield Cats Eye Chairs that someone had tossed in our building. I was impressed that he had such an eye, I never knew, of course he didn't know who made them he just knew that I would like them. They had certainly seen better days.
So I cleaned them, although they probably could stand to be refinished there just isn't the budget for that right now, and I recovered them with some spare fabric I had.
Finally I got some great fabric I knew would be fantastic on these chairs, they still need to be refinished but they are so sharp looking right now. I also gave them a once over with the Tibet Almond Stick. I'm still waiting for whomever got rid of them in the first place to let go of anymore gems they've got!
Succulents/Mini-Terrariums
I saw these on Apartment Therapy's House tour of Lorena & Esteban's Modern Yet Folksy Abode.
So cute, so easy. My cat, Lola, likes to eat plants, so I'm always in search of ways to prevent my plants from becoming appetizers, They're high on shelves but this is great, using CB2's Whirly Hanging Candleholders (at $3.95 each, not too shabby) Lorena and Esteban found a great vessel for their succulent plants. Their's aren't hanging but you better believe mine will. I'm sure Lola will just turn them into a kitty tether ball.
Marilyn
June 1st is what would have been Marilyn Monroe's 80th Birthday on August 5th she will have been dead 45 years. In that 45 years she's become a juggernaut of a legend, so appealing, so out of our reach, Marilyn is sex and because she died so young, she will always be beautiful always be sexy.
I've had a girl crush on Marilyn since I was 9 years old, totally fascinated by her as I'm sure most people are. Anyway I say that to say this, two weeks before she died Marilyn did a nude photo shoot with photographer Bert Stern. He shot some iconic photos of her including this one.
His book Marilyn Monroe: The last sitting is truly gorgeous. It is a beautiful look at the last moments of her life. Included in the book are photographs that Marilyn had vetoed, she marked the negatives with an orange X or scratched them out. Part of me believes it's disrespectful to print this against Marilyn's wishes, but the other part sees them for the stunning pictures they are.
One photograph in particular I have always loved, In my mind it would be Perfect blown up and as a centerpiece in an all white bedroom, unfortunately for me the photo is several thousand dollars and it just goes up up up the bigger it is.
So I bought another copy of The Last Sitting and cut out the print I wanted, I do feel very guilty for cutting up a book but I do have another copy and I believe I will be using some more photos from it.
So here's what I did, I put the picture in a great brushed silver frame and hung it above my nightstand, over sized it's not but it still remains very sexy and very graphic.
Low and behold I saw this image on a blog.
I'm such a trendsetter (kidding)! Sometimes I swear my apartment is bugged.
Crafty Part Three.
So far on my week off I've done nothing but sleep and sew. It's relaxing, the only thing you really have to think about is creating or what's for lunch.
My new tote.
My new tote.
Crafty Part Two.
I finished my first few Lotta Jansdotter projects!
Using her new book, and this fabric from Ikea. I made Lotta Jansdotter's Doorstop. It took me a couple hours and I had to use filling because the 5lb bag of rice I had wasn't enough. The backpack I made with some fabric I've had laying around forever and the tote was a pillow case from Target that I bought solely because I loved the fabric and knew I'd find a use for.
I think they look great, can't wait to start on my next project!
I think they look great, can't wait to start on my next project!
Crafty!
Have you checked out Lotta Jansdotter's New Book?
Tons of great and super cute projects await you! There's a whole flikr group devoted to them, see them here http://www.flickr.com/groups/lottajansdottersimplesewing/
I can't wait to start on some of the ideas, I'm thinking I'll do the doorstop first. I found some great fabrics for it too.
(Echino Patchwork from Superbuzzy.com)
(Echino Patchwork from Superbuzzy.com)and some great fabric remnants from Henry Road (also check out the Gloria note cards, they're so graphic, would look great in a frame)
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