Showing posts with label diy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diy. Show all posts

Monday, June 18, 2012

A New Wall Color That I LOVE!

Happy Monday to you all!  We had a nice weekend with our family visitors and a lot of R&R...however, the house projects continue around the visitors.  :)


As many of you know we recently moved into our new house.  My husband keeps reminding me, as my house to-do list keeps seems endless, that I said I loved this house when we looked at it.  Well, I do, but...well, you know how it goes.  :)  I think unless/until we build our dream house I will never settle down on wanting to change/enhance/beautify things around the house, and perhaps not even then! 


Anyway, one of my latest projects was to change the wall color in our powder room.  The guest powder room is small and windowless, but I am OK with that.  The big challenge was that the walls are not in perfect condition.  I am not sure what the history is there but they need a lot of hard labor to make them perfect again...and that won't be happening anytime soon!  


That meant making the most of it for the time being.  I would have loved to go with a bold wallpaper or grass cloth such as the powder rooms below, but given the texture of the walls that would have been a major undertaking.  Check back for a blog post on that in a few years!  


Powder room wallpaper.
via

Neutral color pallettes don't have to be blah as long as you bring in lots of rich texture. And grasscloth wallpaper is back and beautiful.  Check out the rich drawer pulls and the heavily textured tile flooring.  Nothing boring here--all drama!
bhg.com

So of course that led me to paint.  I was debating on lightening it up with a bright color, but in the end I went with a dark color.  The dark color hid the imperfections and gave it a cozy, moody feel whereas the light paint showed up all of the flaws with no forgiveness.  


The paint I went with is called Cracked Pepper from Behr and I'm so crazy about it I wanted to share it all with you:

BEHR Ultra 8 oz. Cracked Pepper Interior/Exterior Paint Tester

I don't know if your computer will do the color justice.  I was going for a dark charcoal, which it sort of is, but it also has a deep blue hue to it that - although unexpected - is absolutely gorgeous.  It came with primer already built in, so I only needed one coat!  To me, that was huge since I tend to lose steam after the excitement of the first coat.

Here's a collage of two angles of our bathroom.  The picture doesn't look like it, but the new wall color blends well with the (already-there-when-we-moved-in) granite counters, too.  (Please ignore the very odd looking orchids that I didn't arrange better before the photo!)


It ended up having a very Asian vibe - the soap holder was purchased in Bangkok on our honeymoon, the wooden sculpture was found in Singapore on a business trip years ago, and the photo was taken on our recent trip to Bali.  Who knew all of these things would come together in one small spot?  I'm sure I'll change it out regularly, but that's how it's going to start.  

What an improvement over the odd pumpkin color that was there before.  I love pumpkin/orange in decor, but in this space it was all wrong.  Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you all because I'm crazy about it! 

By the way, for those of you that read my privacy post a while back, this picture (as well as the one I posted here) is the kind of snippet I was thinking about.  
Hope that works for you wonderful readers!



Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Vintage Tins: A Few Decorating Ideas

Vintage tins have caught my eye at the markets both in the US and Europe.  Here are a few pretty, simple ways to use tins in decor:


Belle Maison Blog

Design by Sussie Bell via Adore Magazine

via
What a great subject for unique photography!


via pinterest simplygrove

jacksonofalltrades
This clever etsy person decided to make candles out of the old tins!

El Corte Ingles

 


I hope you enjoyed these ideas - I thought they were fun, simple and a bit rustic which can be quite nice with spring flowers.  Have a great Wednesday!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Easy DIY Ideas

Hope you're all having a good weekend... we continue to explore Seattle and are making lots of progress on our "to do" list of getting settled back on US soil.   As you can imagine with so many expenses involved with moving back to the US (we bought two cars in the last week for example!) DIY solutions have also been on my mind. I thought a round up of some of my favorite ideas might be fun to share:


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These will be so pretty for a BBQ in our back yard this summer!

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A clever use to maximize garage space...

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DIY Roman Shades - the house we want has several separate windows so we will need several of these!

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I'd love to find a spot for antiqued mirror, and this shows how...


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A beautiful deck needs lots of potted flowers and plants and I love the earthy "lived-in" look of mossy pots.

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I'm thinking of this for the kids' bathroom - there are so many possibilities!

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I love this sweet, fresh look for the quickly approaching Spring.

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I'll be on the hunt for a few interesting chairs, perhaps flea market finds with potential. 
I haven't ever re-done a chair, but I'm itching for the challenge.


Thank you to all of you for the kind wishes on the house negotiations - with all of that positive karma swirling around good things will have to come out of it. :)
PS: I haven't forgotten about sharing Bali and Hong Kong pictures - coming soon!

Sources and DIY instructions can be found here.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Scandinavian-Inspired Christmas

You may remember the posts I did over the Summer about Scandinavian design as part of our trip to Denmark and Norway.  In the process I discovered some beautiful inspirations for Christmas, and I have added to my collection of images of Scandinavian-inspired* designs for the holidays ever since. 

(*BTW, as with other posts inspired by various countries, I realize these all may not actually be in Scandinavia, but are nevertheless inspired by this clean, organic approach to design...  I have gotten some comments along those lines and didn't mean to mislead you wonderful readers!  The same is true for my French, Spanish, etc. posts - ie, in some cases these images are actually from the US or elsewhere!  Isn't that the great thing about blogland?  That we can be inspired by the decor of one place but realize it in our own homes in another?  :)) 

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites! 


via Bright Bazaar

Notice the writing on each drawer - love that!


via emmeline's blog




Slettvoll

 
via emmeline's blog
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via Color Outside the Lines Blog


stockholm vitt


The White Company

Miss Mustard Seed Creations
IKEA

blomverkistad


Stockholm Vitt
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splendidwillow.com
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 tidningenlantliv.se
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What do you think of this look?

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Little Touches For Thanksgiving

I can't believe Thanksgiving is only a week away!  Without the hype and participation of everyone around me here in Europe, the holiday just kind of slips off of my radar...  However, I thought at least a post with a few ideas covering decor for this wonderful time of year was in order.  :)  And, since I seem to be drawn to very simple, nature-based accents at the moment, all of these fall in line with that theme:

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This is my ideal inspiration image for Thanksgiving!  I am loving the mis-matched silverware and that nutmeg velvet ribbon on the rustic table...




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Isn't this wreath gorgeous?
It can transition from Thanksgiving into Christmas beautifully!

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Another sweet wreath...



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So clever to use pumpkins as risers, don't you think?


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I have posted this table before but I think this is a great, rustic, beautiful table for Fall!

So, since we won't be celebrating, let me live vicariously through all of you that are in the US:
What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year?


Sources and more ideas can be found here and here.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Decorating with Greek Key

Greek Key is one of my favorite design elements because it is timeless, yet stylish, and can be modern or traditional.  Here are some images that show greek key in its many beautiful forms.  See if you find a favorite of your own: 








Not sure if this is officially greek key, but it's along the same lines... 

I love the look of a roman shade to soften a kitchen...adding some greek key trim makes it even better!




I wouldn't think to put ikat and greek key together, but wow!!

Notice the greek key detailing along the top of the wall...





Greek key and monograms together - two of my faves.




Geek goes greek.  Haha!  :)




I'm really liking this idea too - greek key detailing on the edges of the pillows...divine.

 



I thought this was a very cool idea.  What a transformation!

So...have I sold you on greek key?  Were you already sold?  Or is it not your thing? 
Whatever the answer, I'd love to hear.


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