13 articles Articles posted in Interior Design

An Art Makeover

by on May 27, 2011, 7 comments

Hi there! I completed a project this week I thought I’d share. At my old house, there were these great vintage oil paintings by a Vietnamese artist in their original frames. It was a set of two, and this one in particular I wasn’t really a fan of, but I loved the frame. So I decided to give it a makeover.

I taped off the edges to paint the widest part of the frame a very light mint color.

Then I took off the back cover of the frame and just stretched some new white cotton canvas fabric over it. I secured it to the back of the frame with a heavy duty staple gun. Then I just created fabric flowers using this concept (but made mine slightly flatter) and hot glued them on. Very simple! I love the results.

It will give my otherwise flat wall some dimension.

What projects have you been up to this summer?

Punch Drunk Color

by on May 27, 2009, 1 comment

It was hard to ignore these vibrant colors from a recent Bridal Soiree at Ruby Press.

colorlove1

The electric yellow and green tones go really well with their picks of bright pink, coral and reddish hues. I wish I was this bold with color!

[ Via Housemartin ]

Interior Aesthetics by Catherine Martin

by on April 22, 2009, 3 comments

I’ve fallen in love with the aesthetics of designer, Catherine Martin. I love the color and pattern pairings in her interior designs for rugs and wallpaper. In the past I’ve thought it would be hard for me to commit to a wallpaper design, but not these. They are just beautiful! There are also  some great desktop wallpaper graphics that you can download on her website.

Catherine Martin

[ Found via Absolutely Beautiful Things ]

Christmas Decor

by on December 12, 2008, 1 comment

My Christmas decor is a collection that I add to each year. Over the course of 2008, I’ve picked up lots of vintage ornaments of all shapes and sizes. I can only put so many in glass vases for display, so I decided to make a little “tree” to hang them on. I picked up this gnarly looking branch at an estate sale (yes, I bought a branch) and I painted it white. I’m sure you can find one on your own for free in your own backyard. Then I just hung some ornaments on the branches and put the rest in a pool at the bottom. The colorful baubles look pretty, if not a little whimsical. My husband said it reminded him of Dr. Seuss. What do you think?

Screen Printed Furniture

by on May 29, 2008, 1 comment

I love to see tried and true techniques used in new applications. Such is the case with these modern screen printed birch coffee tables from Gezellig Print. Designed by artist Jennifer James Wright, the art is inspired by East Austin’s neighborhoods and the unique organic structure of succulents that are common in the city. Amazingly, the table and screen-printing is all hand-crafted and hand-printed. Wonderful!

Something Beautiful Afoot

by on March 11, 2008, 1 comment

I’m really picky when it comes to rugs or floor mats. But I’m fond of these leafy floor mats made of Astroturf and then laser-cut to resemble an explosion of fallen autumnal leaves. This floor-adorning product is designed by Joanna Goszczynski for White Moose and is a perfect blend of beauty and simplicity.

Autumn Floor Mat

[ Via Design Spotter ]

Serving Tray Redux: From Bad to Beautiful

by on March 3, 2008, 10 comments

I picked up this ugly un-finished serving tray with a duck motif at an estate sale a couple weekends ago. It only cost me $3, and it wasn’t too difficult to have a vision for its makeover. I decided to use some vintage wallpaper that I purchased a year ago to decoupage the inside of the tray. The paper was being saved for something special so I could maximize my enjoyment of the pretty gold pattern.

Serving Tray Redux

Here are the steps:

  • First I painted the entire tray (bye bye ducks) in an off-white color.
  • Then I measured the inside of the tray using some junk paper as a template. I placed the template over my vintage paper and used it to trace the shape.
  • I cut it out and used some sepia toned decoupage and brushed the underside of the paper.
  • I placed the paper on the tray being careful to align it properly. (One tip is start with one side and work your way over to the other side, otherwise you might have a lot of air bubbles.)
  • Let it dry then apply a top coat to seal the paper.
  • I thought it needed something else, so I just stenciled a pattern along the outside handles with a brown acrylic paint.

I really enjoy looking at it in my living room, and it looks great with accessories placed inside. The possibilities were endless when it came to redoing this tray and it could have a million different looks depending on what paper you use, the colors, etc. It made for a great weekend project.

You can see more photos of this fabulous project here and here.

Sculptural Window Covering

by on February 6, 2008, 0 comments

Sculptural CurtainsCurtain designer Florian Kräutli has brought window treatments to a whole new level of beauty and design. His creation incorporates magnet technology into every panel. Hundreds of tiny magnets are embedded into a grid of prefab folds, allowing for easy manipulation of the silhouette for light or privacy. This would be like creating a new piece of art everyday, and would be perfect for an industrial space or modern interior.

[ Via Yanko Design ]

Dutch Design: Cardboard Rugs

by on January 14, 2008, 0 comments

Cardboard RugsThese artful cardboard “rugs” from Dutch designer Wendy Plomp are so inspiring. I don’t know how practical they are, but it’s a great example of refashioning something that’s normally thrown away into something beautiful. Who would have thought dull brown cardboard could look so good?

[ Via Ambatalia Fabric Society ]

A Completed DIY Project: Reupholstering a Vintage Chair

by on January 11, 2008, 3 comments

Reupholstered ChairWhen I was around 16 or so and developing my own sense of interior style, I found this gold vintage chair in a rundown antique store for $30. I had big dreams of reupholstering it, and now almost 10 years later, I finally did it.

It was pretty simple to do, but very time consuming. The chair was expertly constructed (not sure who the manufacturer is) and the fabric was stapled about a thousand times to the frame. I started with the bottom and worked my way up, saving each piece that I removed to use as a template for later.

The only part I sewed was the tufted back, which wasn’t too difficult. I did use fabric glue on some parts where I didn’t want an upholstery staple showing. Everything considered, I’m pleased with the results. My expectations were pretty low with this being my first big reupholster.

Chocolate brown fabric $18 + vintage chair $30 + sense of pride for completing a 10-year old goal = priceless.