Reverse Psychology--A Fun Fabric Tip

Here's a quick and easy way to think outside of the box when you're working with fabric in your home: check to see whether your fabric is "reversible". The dragonflies in the frames above were made from two squares cut from the same piece of fabric. The first is the front side of the fabric, and the second is the reverse (or back) side of the same fabric.

I was introduced to this concept years ago when I read Rachel Ashwell's books. Ashwell, founder of "Shabby Chic" style, advocated using the back side of cotton fabrics (chintzes, for example) for projects such as pillows to create a soft, worn, vintage look. Here is an example of this concept in action. This photo shows the front of a bold Ralph Lauren fabric (this is a sheet)--the second photo is the back side of the same fabric:


Not all fabrics are limber enough to accomplish these acrobatic feats, but this is a good tip to keep in mind when you are refreshing a room on a budget and trying to work with what you already have. Remember also to think like a Martian. Whether you're looking at curtains, sheets, or a tablecloth, it's all just fabric in the end--fabric that can potentially be transformed into something else!

"My Really Favorite Room"--The Importance of Empty Space

This morning, I decided to move the glider chair out of my two and a half year old daughter's room. With the recent addition of her first dollhouse, the room was starting to feel crowded, and I wanted to give her more space to play. Lately we've been reading bedtime stories on her "big girl" bed, so we haven't needed the chair as much as we used to.

I wasn't sure how my daughter might react to this change--after all, that glider was the site of lots of snuggles, songs, and stories, not to mention the 3 am (and 4 am, and 5 am) nursing sessions from her baby days. I felt a little wistful as I heaved the glider through the door, and I mentally prepared to comfort her if she expressed any sadness.

So I was more than a little surprised--though maybe I shouldn't have been-- when I returned to her room after carrying out the chair and found her twirling in the middle of the carpet, her little pink purse full of LEGO people practically flying off of her arm as she spun. She was belting out a song that she made up as she went along:

"It my favorite room! It my lovely room! My really favorite room! I like my roooom!"

She has never offered any opinion about her bedroom before (in spite of all of the pretty, color-coordinated touches that resulted from my overzealous nesting phase during my pregnancy), so I asked her about her song. She explained that she was happy because she had more space to play.

I looked at the corner by the window where the chair had been and where the dollhouse now stood. The dollhouse, a pastel, plastic, 3 story structure made by Fisher Price, is not attractive in and of itself--particularly since we lost the toilet and now use a hinged spice jar lid in its place-- but sitting in front of the window on its little fabric-draped decorator table, with lots of sunlight and empty space around it, it looked pretty. Or maybe more accurately, the space around it looked pretty; the absence-of-chair looked pretty. The potential-for-play looked pretty. Lovely even.
My daughter's reaction to this change reminded me of two things:

1. How sensitive human beings are to changes in our environments (children in particular), and how a simple change can truly shift the "energy" of a space. Forgive me if my California roots are showing, but it's the truth.

2. The power of "subtraction" in redesign. Sometimes removing one element from a room can make such a positive difference. As Lauri Ward says, we need to give the eye a place to "rest" in each room. Subtraction is one of the easiest--and most affordable--ways to change a space. After all, even in the worst economic times when many can't afford to buy something new, anyone can afford to remove something! And, as my daughter pointed out, it's not about losing "stuff" as much as it's about gaining space...for living!

Have you subtracted anything in your home lately? Do tell!

Our Light Fixture Fruit Bowl, or, How To Think Like a Martian

We've recently completed some kitchen upgrades in our home. One old element that I was thrilled to vote off of the island was this dated, mammary-esque light fixture. (The popcorn ceilings are gone now too. Hooray!)

As my husband teetered on a ladder in our kitchen disassembling the old light fixture, I was itching to toss it out. But when he handed me the glass shade, I couldn't help but notice a few endearing qualities about it that I had missed when it had hung above my head in the kitchen, taunting me with its sheer 1987ness:

1. It was made of thick, heavy, frosted glass.

2. The edge along the top rim was smooth and finished.

3. It was deeper than any of the mixing bowls in my kitchen cupboards.

4. It had a flat spot near the hole in the bottom, which suggested that it wouldn't roll to one side or the other if I were to place it on a flat surface.

5. It appeared to be capable of corralling fruit, and, as fate would have it, I needed a fruit bowl.

I rinsed it out, filled it with fruit, stuck it on the counter, shrugged, and murmured, “Cool.” And that is how I came to own a light fixture fruit bowl.

I share this story because it illustrates a special kind of thinking that I use often in my interior redesign work. (For those of you who are not addicted to HGTV, interior redesign is a fancy term for redecorating using what you already have.) You might call it “creative thinking” or “divergent thinking”, but I like to call it, “thinking like a Martian”. If you can learn to think like a Martian, you will end up with a much more unique home.

So, how do you think like a Martian? You examine your possessions with fresh, Martian eyes. A Martian wouldn't use the term “end table” to describe an end table. A Martian would call it, “A 26 inch high object with a flat surface on top capable of balancing snorks and zeenies” (books and drinks). If you don't limit yourself to the label “end table”, you open up the possibility of using a stack of picnic baskets, a pile of suitcases, a dresser, or a bar stool to serve as an end table. Or you may, as one of my clients did, use an enormous flowerpot as an end table by fitting it with a round top!

With Martian thinking, you don't see shower curtains, pillowcases, tablecloths, sheets, cloth napkins, and blankets. Instead, you just see: fabric! Thanks to my tendency toward Martian thinking, I live in a house where pillowcases are made into curtains and curtains are made into pillowcases, coat hooks serve as curtain rod brackets, rusty metal burners from an old tobacco barn fill in as candle holders, costume jewelry dangles from the bathroom chandelier, and my most-beloved vases might be referred to by non-Martians as “juice glasses”.

What are some examples of Martian thinking in your home? Do tell!

This post has been linked to Tidy Mom.

Why I Love Little Vases--And Why You Should Too!

You may have heard decorators say that using a few larger accessories will create more visual impact and a less cluttered appearance than using lots of little, tiny accessories. While I agree with this rule in general (though I've found that there are approximately 872.5 exceptions to every decorating rule), I do have a special place in my heart for little, tiny vases. There are two reasons why I love little vases, and why you should too:

1. The first reason--and the one that is most relevant in the gardening "off-season"--is that smaller vases come in handy for extending the "life" of cut flowers from the florist. Here is a great "before and after" example:

I received a cheerful bouquet as a gift. Just one week later, the once-perky arrangement looked downright frumpy. (Admittedly the murky water didn't help any.)

My favorite solution? Discard the frumpified blooms, trim the stems of the salvageable blossoms, and create a new, smaller arrangement in a little vase:

You can keep doing this--cutting the stems and creating ever-smaller arrangements--until you end up with a single bloom in a bud vase.


2. If you have a garden--or even just a few pots of annuals on a balcony--little vases are a must-have item to keep in your decorating "arsenal". As a gardener, I love bringing cut flowers inside and passing along little nosegays to friends and neighbors. Little vases allow me to incorporate the humbler--hardier-- flowers and herbs that survive in my garden in spite of my benign neglect. My fresh bouquets tend to include flowers that most people wouldn't even consider to be "cutting flowers": shorter-stemmed varieties of marigolds and zinnias, lavender, azaleas, miniature roses, nasturtiums, verbena, lantana, and even the spiky purple flowers from the butterfly bush and the little white blooms of basil that has gone to seed.



If your vase collection is limited to larger vases designed to hold big, showy arrangements from the florist, you're missing lots of tiny opportunities to bring nature's beauty indoors. Incidentally, I use the term "vase" loosely. Even though I own some pretty Waterford crystal vases that I received as gifts, I also get lots of use from the other "vases" in my collection: little spice jars, juice glasses (as seen in the "after" photo at the top of this post), jam and jelly jars, mason jars, and even "topless" salt and pepper shakers (ooh, the scandal)! With spring knocking on our door, this is a great time to start rescuing little jars and bottles from the recycling bin and putting them to use!


You may be wondering where to put all of these lovely little-vase bouquets. I find that nosegays are right at home beside the kitchen sink, next to the bathroom or powder room sink, or next to the clock on a nightstand. Their smaller scale also makes them well-suited for the breakfast table, where no one has to struggle to talk over or around them. I wouldn't recommend attempting to use them on a fireplace mantel, as they'll be lost up there...unless you happen to own a miniature fireplace!

I'll leave you with a tiny vase link. White Forest Pottery on Etsy sells these tiny wildflower vases for $10 apiece. I think that they look pretty en masse, and as the mother of a toddler-botanist, I was charmed by the fact that this Etsy seller pointed out that these little vases are great for displaying childrens' "prized dandelions".

Happy almost-spring!

This post has been linked to Tutorials and Tips Tuesday at The Stories of A to Z.

A January Mantel

Happy New Year! I hope that your year is off to a great start! If Santa, Rudolph, and Frosty are still languishing in your living room, it's time to pack 'em up and give your room a fresh start for the new year. I wanted to share a few photos of my January mantelscape--maybe they will inspire you to try something new this year!

On the left side of the mantel, I filled a pair of tall, glass vases with aqua and pearly white Christmas balls to add a little snowball-inspired shimmer. For the right side of the mantel, I was plumb out of tall, wide, glass vases, so I had to improvise a little. In the spirit of use-what-you-have decorating, I propped the balls on a tall bud vase, a few wine glasses of different heights, and a silver tumbler. I like the cascading effect--it reminds me of champagne bubbles. Large, framed numbers in fun fonts, a black barn star, a silver cookie tin, and a tiny framed silhouette of ice skaters complete the arrangement.

To help with my Christmas light withdrawal, I twined a string of white lights through the whole shebang. Here's how the mantel looks at night:


Happy New Year! I'd love to hear how you decorate for winter after the holidays!

5 Minutes to Festive--Frame a Gift Bag!

A store called Carolina Pottery opened in my town not long ago, and I stopped in to have a look around. Carolina Pottery is a Southern chain of stores selling home decor items, furniture, housewares, wicker sets, craft and floral supplies, and holiday goods--but, oddly enough, very little actual pottery that I could see. I spotted some fun,vintage style gift bags and thought to myself, "Those are pretty enough to hang on the wall!" One look at the price tag clinched the deal.

To frame the gift bags, I just removed the ribbon handles and popped the bags into frames with the folded side down. Being the uber practical person that I am, I untied the knots in the handles rather than cutting them, just in case I ever want to use the gift bags as...gift bags!

For an investment of $1.98 and ten minutes of my time, I have some fun holiday art. This simple idea can be adapted to a number of holidays and occasions. Keep it in mind if you need last-minute decorations for a holiday party, birthday party, bridal shower, or baby shower in the future!

If you have an appetite for more framing irreverence, you might enjoy this post that I wrote about framing silk greenery.

My Alternative Home Decor Database offers examples of more wild things--from framed doilies to wall-mounted oars--that can pass as art!

This post has been linked to Tatertots and Jello. Stop by for loads of crafty inspiration!

Bargain Alert: Charleston Side Tables!

I just spotted these Charleston Tables from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. They're priced right at $99.99 for a set of 2. If you use one of Bed Bath and Beyond's uber ubiquitous 20% off coupons (they'll even accept expired coupons), the price for the pair drops to $79.99, or $40 per table. With their clean lines, these side tables would fit in well in most contemporary or transitional settings. Their smaller scale makes them great for tight spaces. Wondering whether these tables will work with your upholstered furniture? Measure the height of your armrests--aim for the top of your end tables to be the same height as your armrests or a few inches below them.

Sherwin-Williams Paints on Sale Today!

Sherwin-Williams is having a one-day-only sale on paints and stains today. Paints and stains are 40% off and other painting supplies are 30% off. This is a great excuse to stop putting off your painting projects! For a list of participating Sherwin-Williams stores, click here. Happy painting!

Photo credit: Stock Xchng

A Kinder, Prettier "No Soliciting" Sign

For some reason, our subdivision tends to attract solicitors of all stripes. When the doorbell rings, we never know who we'll find standing on our doorstep. Will it be school kids selling overpriced chocolate cashews? College kids urging us to save the rain forests? Juvenile delinquents peddling subscriptions to obscure-magazines-that-will-never-ever-arrive? Landscapers wanting to save our lawn? Zealots wanting to save our souls? With three vocal dogs and a toddler who only naps once in a blue moon, I've come to dread the sound of our doorbell.

I knew that something had to be done, but I wasn't about to hang up a ghastly orange and black plastic "No Soliciting" sign from the hardware store--you may recall my aversion to choosing guaranteed ugly--so I decided to make my own DIY "No Soliciting" sign.

I started with a small wooden 3" x 3" frame from the Dollar Tree. This is what the frame looked like before I started:
Thanks to blogger Melissa at 320 Sycamore for permission to use her "before" photo--I forgot to take my own.

Making the sign is a snap. It's an easy toddler nap time project--assuming that you can find that elusive window of time when a) your toddler is napping and b) no one is ringing your doorbell.

Step 1. Remove the glass and backing and spray paint the frame white.

Step 2. While the frame is drying, create the text using word processing software. I used a font called "Calligraph421 BT" and bolded my text. The words "No Solicitors Please" are in a 28 point font, and the "Friends Welcome" is 24 point. The little graphic in the middle was created with a 22 point "Wingdings" font. (On the off chance that you don't speak Wingdingian, you'll need to type in the letter "V" to create this character. )

Edited 8/11/10 to add: A few people have written to ask how to create the "white text on black background" effect using word processing software. To do this, start by using the "insert" drop down menu to insert a shape onto your blank page (a square, in this case). Use the "fill" feature (the icon looks like a little paint can with paint pouring out) to paint and fill the square black. Insert a text box into this square--change the text box fill color the same way that you did the square, if needed--and then change your text color to white (the icon for changing text color is usually a capital letter "A" with a bar of red under it). Voila!

Step 3: Print out your text and set it aside.

Step 4: After the paint dries but before reassembling the frame, drill two small hanging holes along the top edge. Run a ribbon through the holes and tie in a knot or bow at the top. (I plan to replace my ribbon with a slightly longer one the next time I get a chance to run to the craft store--the ribbon that I used for my sign was actually a handle from a gift bag!)

Step 5: Reassemble the frame, inserting printed text. Tear off the bulky cardboard stand on the back of the frame.

Step 6: Hang the sign where solicitors can't possibly miss it! Sign=$1 Silence=Priceless!

Step 7: When that small neighbor child on your doorstep earnestly points to the word "Solicitors" on your sign and asks, "I'm not a soul-sitter...am I?", go ahead and buy some overpriced chocolate-covered cashews anyway.



If you don't have time to make your own sign, you can buy this one through the Target website for $29.99. Like mine, it's not designed for true outdoor use.
Can't resist picking up more than one of those cute little Dollar Tree frames? Here's another great use for this frame from blogger Melissa at 320 Sycamore, who first introduced me to this particular frame:


This post has been linked to Finding Fabulous and The Shabby Nest.

Five (More) Surprising Things That You Can Transform With Paint

You're on a first-name basis with every employee in the paint department at your local Home Depot. You collect paint chips the way that kids collect baseball cards. You anxiously await the arrival of Spray Paint Season (referred to as "spring" by non-DIYers), and your neighbors hold you personally responsible for the hole in the ozone layer. Think you've painted every paintable surface in your home? Think again! Here are five more surprising things that you can transform with paint:

1. Beaded Trim:

The formerly-beige beaded trim on this (formerly-beige) lampshade did little to enhance the shade. To paint the trim, I started by removing it from the shade (the beads dangle from a band of ribbon, which was attached to the shade with double-sided tape). I used fresh double-sided tape to attach the trim to the edge of a piece of cardboard, and then I painted the trim with spray paint in the backyard, rotating the cardboard so that I could hit both sides in one coat of spray paint. Once the beads were dry, it was easy to adhere the trim to the shade again with more double-sided tape.

2. Art Mats:














Many people use spray paint to paint picture frames, but did you know that you can also transform the mats with a light coat of spray paint? Here's an example from my own home. I loved this collection of black and white photos from my childhood, but the frame had become dated and the formerly-white mat had yellowed over the years. Rather than spring for new custom framing and matting for the photos, I just removed the photos, took the frame apart, and hit the mat and frame with spray paint. The "new" mat and frame look much crisper, though my mom still shakes her head and wonders why the photographer didn't advise her not to wear a shirt with such a busy pattern! Ah, the seventies!

3. Your Plastic Paper Towel Holder:

















Let's say that you move into a house and find that the previous owners have left their formerly-white-but-now-yellow plastic paper towel holder for you. And let's say, just hypothetically mind you, that you're too cheap and/or lazy to drive to the hardware store and plunk down $20 to buy a new one. Well, my hypothetical cheap, lazy friend, if you've got a can of metallic spray paint, you're in luck! There's no need to prime the towel holder; just give it a good cleaning, hit it lightly with a coat or two of spray paint in the backyard, allow it to dry, and hang it back up. Voila!

4. Cabinet Hardware:


It's the oldest Realtor trick in the book, but many homeowners haven't tried it: to update the look of cabinet hardware, simply use spray paint! The cup pulls on this armoire were on sale at Lowe's for 99 cents because they were an odd brushed gold color. After a coat of Rustoleum oil-rubbed bronze spray paint, they fit in nicely with the cabinet knobs, which were factory finished to be oil-rubbed bronze. One painting tip: to avoid paint drips and pooling, opt for several light coats of spray paint rather than one heavy coat.

5. Light Fixtures:





















Who doesn't have at least one outdated shiny brass light fixture lurking somewhere in the house? With the help of a little flat white spray paint, a string of costume pearls, and some inexpensive chandelier shades, this fixture was easily made over from "brassy eek" to shabby chic. A handy way to paint chandeliers is to disconnect them (turn off the electricity first, of course) and hang them from a tree branch in the yard so that you can paint all sides easily.

Can't get enough painting? Click here to read my earlier post about five other surprising things that you can paint!

This post has been linked to: The Shabby Nest and Finding Fabulous

Celebrate!

Wishing you a safe, happy, and relaxing Fourth of July!

Five Surprising Things That You Can Transform With Paint

If you are a decorating blog junkie, an HGTV junkie, or even just a... junk junkie, you know that paint is an affordable way to transform even the humblest rooms, furnishings, and accessories. Maybe you've painted your walls, furniture, or a picture frame or two. Even if you're a seasoned painter with a closet full of paint-splattered clothes and a spray-paint-trigger-finger-injury to prove it, here are five things that you may not have thought about painting:

1. Your Blinds:

Blogger Stef of Frugal Home Ideas boldly went where no painter had gone before and transformed her outdated, almond-colored blinds using espresso spray paint. She hung the blinds from a swing set outside to do the painting! Bravo!

2. Your Floor Vents:

The super creative and ever clever Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick used spray paint to transform ivory floor vents into something altogether more current!

3. Glass Bottles:

Glass bottles take well to spray paint, as evidenced by these Starbucks-Frappucino-bottles-turned-vases from Maize Hutton. Her instructions can be found here.

4. Your Stairs:

When the wall-to-wall carpeting on our stairs waved the white flag, we pulled it up and painted our stairs with oil-based paint. You can read all about it in my earlier blog post here.

5. Your Doorknobs:

Armed with spray paint, Beckie of Infarrantly Creative banished her shiny brass doorknobs. She shares step-by-step instructions here.

Guest Posting at Tatertots & Jello

I'm thrilled to be guest posting today for one of my favorite bloggers, Jen of Tatertots & Jello fame. I don't use the term "fame" lightly, folks; Jen's been on T.V. for goodness sake, so she's officially famous! If you've never visited Tatertots & Jello, then you're in for a treat. Jen is more creative than ten Martha Stewarts lined up shoulder-to-shoulder in the glitter aisle of a Michael's Crafts store, and she's a very sweet person as well. Here are a few of my favorite projects from her blog:

She made these decorative polka dot plates by adding round, white stickers to black plates. The project only took 10 minutes! Brilliant!
She made these fun burlap tassels from things that she already had around her house, such as old doorknobs and medicine bottle tops:

She transformed some plain pillows from Target by adding fabric yo-yos:
She made this whimsical spring wreath out of plastic soda bottles. Yes, I said Plastic soda bottles! See? Just like I said--beyond creative! Need I go on?If you'd like to see my post--and, more importantly, all of Jen's great posts--hop on over to Tatertots & Jello today!