Completion!

Sometimes projects take longer than expected to be completed.  Life gets in the way and interests shift.  That might explain my temporary disappearance on here, but really that doesn't mean I haven't been creative for the last few months.  No, it just means that I've been thinking and planning and completing less.  However, I did finally finish decorating my office at work.  As a follow up to two previous posts on the same subject, Circle, circle, dot, dot. and Office Space, I have done just about everything I would do in an office space that isn't at home.  The biggest project I gave myself was the wall photo collage.  If you recall, I purchased a dark brown metal wall hanging from Home Goods.  The wall hanging has interlocking circles and before I ripped them off mostly with my bare hands, had candle holders on hinges at the bottom of the circles.  I spray painted the remaining wall hanging white and proceeded to cut out silver matte boards to fill the background of the wall hanging.  I purchased from A.C. Moore white picture matte boards in various sizes and cut out sections of the larger silver matte board to accommodate them.  Let me tell you, that was not easy!  And by no means did it come out perfect.  But, I think it looks cool.  

Back to the rest of the office for a moment... Remember, the cool clock I got from Home Goods?

 I also got some vases and a really cool hourglass.  I love hourglasses!  I learned my lesson from David Bromstad of Color Splash, group things in odd numbers.  Either one item, three or five.

I already put up a series of three photos that I took and a really cool faux succulent planter that I painted white (also from Home Goods). 

 

Putting it all together!

 

 

 

For the photo collage, instead of pictures of flowers and such that I've taken and which I already have on the wall to the left, I decided that I would pick some of my favorite and most happy memories of places I have visited. When I look up at my photo collage which is directly over my desk, I am transported to those special places once again and I feel happy.

 

And now for the final reveal of the photo collage!

Okay, so I know that it is a little hard to see the pictures clearly but..... 
Bottom left - California coastline near Big Sur off of Pacific Highway 1
Middle left - Ghost Tree along 17 mile drive in CA (right near the famous lone cypress which was a great picture too, but this one won)
Top left - Building facade in Old San Juan, PR
Middle right - The Palace Riu Hotel in Aruba from my balcony overlooking the fabulous pool with the ocean as a backdrop!  Palace Riu take me away!
Top right - Pretty mysterious gate leading into a lush green garden in Nantucket, MA
Bottom right - Close up of tiny pink flowers covering or rather carpeting the rocks and moss along the coastline of Lover's Point in Pebble Beach CA.  I hadn't and probably never will again see anything like it! 

Thanks for stopping by and Stay tuned for more creativity!!!

Office Space

I can't help but to make all the spaces I occupy, my own. And that includes my office at work.  It's not very big and there is no window, but there is a door and my name is on the plaque outside the door. Plus it has space for all of my supplies and things, so that's all I really need.  The walls are beige - obviously, I had no part it that decision, not only because employees don't usually get to choose the paint color for their offices, but also, I most likely would never paint my personal walls beige when there are so many other glorious colors (yes, I said glorious).  But, I can work with beige.  It is a great neutral backdrop on which to add my own little touch. 

How about this really cool wall clock made by George Nelson from my favorite store Home Goods. Isn't it cool!  It would look great in my apartment too.  Too bad the nice guy that hung it up for me, didn't center it on the wall very well.  Oh well.  (Apparently, I took this picture at 1:37pm one day).




My office is basically a square and there are two walls that are empty above the furniture, the third one has a wall of high file cabinets and the other one has the clock and the office door.  I have three framed photos that I am going to put on the wall behind me, stacked vertically.  I just have to get nicer frames.  But on the opposite wall which is the space above my desk, I've decided to do something special.  It's too wide to just put some dinky frame on the wall, so I happened to see this really cool metal wall art piece with interlocking circles in various sizes (from my favorite store) that I am turning into a picture collage.  You'll notice the color is dark brown and of course it wasn't going to stay that color and since you know me by now, you'll know before I even write it - I painted it white!  I spray painted it actually and it's now white.  You will also notice that there are candle holders which I hope to be able to use to attach matted photos to.  You won't even know they are there when I'm finished.  I'll talk more about that in the update to this post.  In the meantime here's the before and after of the wall hanging.  Do you see the two tiny circles that are used to hang this piece?  See that they are not aligned?  The left side needs to be lifted up a little bit and that is how the piece will really look when on the wall.  Do you see what I mean?  Another way to say it, is that the two big circles are actually horizontally even when hung on the wall.  I am bothering to point this out and explain it because I want you to be able to picture it. Anyway, I think it's going to be really cool when it's done.

 

 

Before:

After:

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and Stay tuned for more creativity!

No One Puts Baby In The Corner

Things have been a little slower in the projects/decorating department because I started a new job.  But, I am committed to keeping up with this blog!  So don't worry, I'm not going anywhere.  And I have a long list of things to do.

The Dining Room, okay really it's an area with a dining room table, but hey, it's more than I had before and so to me it's a dining room!  So, my dining room is about 8 X 11 and is mostly white.  I have posted pictures of it before but here's a reminder.

The table is from Ikea circa 1997 and will be replaced eventually with something similar but sturdier and nicer.  It does the trick for the time being.  You can see the wallpaper swatches on the left and right side.  Isn't that going to look great.  It's call Darcy and its made by Graham and Brown.  I love my chairs from Home Goods, rock on!  They are pearlized white.  Before I moved in, I had bought those chairs because I knew they would be chachacha.  I got two different types in the same material to mix it up. I have three of the high-back T-shaped studded chairs and two of the low-back studded chairs with the silver rings on the backs.  I have four of them around the table and one in the corner.  They are really comfortable too!  Here's a pic of the empty dining room, with the one chair in the corner.



I actually have moved that chair, which is an extra, to the opposite corner by the window.  This corner was empty for awhile.  I thought about getting a corner cabinet of some sort, so I could put some chotchkies out and a lamp for another source of light.  As it turns out, I had a fortuitous moment whilst I was visiting with my friend.  I happened to notice she had a really cool corner table that looked like it would be a perfect fit for my empty corner.  It was on the small side which was perfect because I needed a small piece.  And, the table really didn't match any of my friend's other decor, so I offered to buy it.  My friend explained that she had gotten the table from her other friend and it cost her nothing, so I could have it.  Wasn't that nice of her?  Before I got the table, my friend sent me this picture!

That adorable little girl happens to be my god-daughter imitating a monkey.  While very cute, I certainly thought it would be best to get the table sooner than later.  Now the corner table occupies that empty corner in my dining room.  I just love it.  Here is what it looks like now with the light off and with the light on. 

I love my ceramic bowl of faux lemons and the silver buddha head just rocks.  The crystal lamp was one of many that I took home to try out.  This one won because it was the right height and scale for the table. All items from Home Goods of course.  On the second shelf, I have a brown wooden box that houses my glass pen and my special inks.  I am always on the hunt for a white vinyl croc box to use instead.  I actually found two of them at Home Goods but ended up using them in my bedroom above the armoire.  Home Goods has them periodically but I keep finding them in colors and colors that don't work.  So, the hunt will continue.  Back to the corner table, I had originally pictured a larger piece as I have a little extra room, but this one is just so classy and pretty that I'm satisfied. And that's decorating, one corner at a time!

Thanks for stopping by and Stay tuned for more creativity!



RedRum, RedRum

Does anyone get the reference to that title?

In my previous post "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day"  I showed you the beginning of the evolution of my red bedroom.  Here's a little more.

As usual, I was in Home Goods one day and I saw this armoire which was the right size and was the same color wood as my vanity desk, so I went for it.  I had been looking at all the furniture stores in my area for a white armoire, which of course they didn't have, or one that would fit my needs and that perhaps I could paint.  The ones I saw along the way were either way too big, just not the right configuration or extremely expensive.  The one from Home Goods is great.  Every now and then I look at it and think about painting it.  It goes pretty well as is.  What do you think?

Also along the way, as I was looking for a red chandelier for my bedroom ceiling (see my first post and the inspiration red room picture), I had a tough time finding anything and then one day, I came across this red acrylic chandelier.  It looks like crystal, you really can't tell that it's not crystal until you get up close and touch it.  I got a really good deal on it.  Here's my sister graciously holding it up for me to see how it looks.  I haven't had it installed yet, but it's on the list.

Picture the chandelier without the little shades and also, I was considering putting a cool white border to highlight the chandelier. I'm still working on that.  Do I center it over the bed?  or center it to the room?  I've read about different schools of thought.  What do you think?

The next thing I had to do was to figure out what decorative items to put on top of the armoire because it was just dead space.  Don't laugh, but I bought like eight or so types of vases  all at once from Home Goods, some very modern and some classic, all white.  I had to bring them all home in order to try them out on top of the armoire.  The modern pieces I got turned out to be way to tall to fit but that was fine because I really liked the ceramic ginger jars instead.  I needed something to group with them and remembered that I had bought these white vinyl croc boxes.  Here is what it looks like now:

I love the fact that the ginger jars have the trellis like pattern, in two different sizes, which will echo the Red Trellis fabric pattern I created on www.spoonflower.com and will eventually use to make curtains. The white boxes just were perfect.  I had found them at Home Goods as well and planned to use them for other things.  In fact, I keep looking to see if I can find more, but I'm having trouble finding white again.  I'll get lucky one day.  Here is the Red Trellis fabric, see how it all ties in together? 

There is one more element that echoes the trellis pattern that I would like to share in this post.  One of my former work colleagues was cleaning out his office and was going to get rid of a shadow box from pottery barn.  I didn't have anything specific in mind, but I asked if I could have it instead of it being thrown away.  The frame was brown wood and the inside was lined in beige canvas.  I took it home and after some thought, settled on a plan to recycle the shadow box into a cool wall art piece.  Because it was going on the red wall, I painted it all, what else but white.  I bought red crystal chandelier pieces from ebay and using clear Elmer's glue, I glued down the crystal pieces in a pattern.  When I hatched the idea for this project, I thought about using a very large canvas and making a large wall piece, but then I decided the shadow box was better and that I would like to paint an original artwork on a large canvas instead (see earlier post).  I absolutely love the finished project.  Here are the visuals.

I just love how this project came out!  I got to add more jewels into the decor which is always good and it looks great on the small wall between the closet and the door.  It was a really easy project to do.  The white painting took most of the time. 

Thanks for stopping by and Stay tuned for more creativity!

The Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire wasn't built over night and I should know, I have a bit of Turkish blood running in my veins AND I reupholstered my ottoman.

I don't know about you but high design ottomans are expensive!  And I'm designing on a quarter?  Let me explain.  From my previous posts you will know that I am working with a lof of color in my apartment and a lot of the furniture and accent pieces are white/light.  BTW, white furniture is very hard to find in your typical furniture stores like Raymour & Flanigan, Bob's Furniture, etc.  So a person like me has to be clever and patient.  Now back to the ottoman. I wanted a white ottoman, of course.  I was searching on line for images of ottomans to see what was out there and I came across the most beautiful ottoman I have ever seen. Pic below.  It is made by www.shinebysho.com. They have very beautiful things but they are very expensive.  I love the circle design in upholstery studs - so cool.

Isn't it a work of art in itself?  Since I couldn't afford this gorgeous piece, I thought I would just borrow some of the look and make one of my own. I knew mine wouldn't look anything near the real version but then I don't keep a picture of that one around so people don't have anything to compare mine to, usually.  I have never upholstered anything before but I've watched a lot of do it yourself shows and so I plotted.

First, instead of making an ottoman completely from scratch, I would use one already made and go from there.  I found this round medium sized ottoman at Home Goods for a very reasonable price.  It has a croc pattern which I wanted but ugly brown color!. 

Ah, to find bright white vinyl with a flat croc pattern.  Also not easy but after sending away for several samples, I found the croc I was looking for.  I found this website http://www.exoticleatherco.com/ and ended up buying the White Croc Nuvtex Dundee vinyl.  It is bright white and has the same exact pattern as you see in the brown ottoman.  In order to create the stud design, I purchased upholstery studs in silver nickel in bulk (I bought too much, so if you neen any let me know) from ebay.  The next step was to buy foam long enough in order to surround the ottoman where the ends would touch. I found two large foam pieces from Jo-Ann Fabrics that would be long enough and wide enough and then I needed a piece that was big enough to cut the diameter of the new ottoman's top piece.  I found that online at www.fabricempire.com where I had gotten other swatches.  I wish I had taken pictures along the way to illustrate.  Picture this: one long piece of foam to wrap around the ottoman making it wider and then a circle foam piece to sit on top to make the ottoman higher.  I used a scissor and a sharpie to cut the pieces to the right size after careful measurements.  The next trick was to figure out how to glue the pieces of foam to the ottoman and to each other.  I got this yucky, smelly, spray glue also from Jo-Ann Fabrics, called Fast Tack upholstery adhesive.  Lots of danger signs on this thing.  I put on clothes I didn't care about, took a plastic tarp, surgical gloves, facial masks and safety goggles, went out on my terrace and carefully spray glued the pieces together.  I never want to use this stuff again. In fact, the spray can is mostly full, so you can have it. 

The glue did the trick though.  Now the real fun begins.  How to sew the thick, really big pieces of vinyl together so that it fit this now large ottoman made out of foam.  It was a real struggle because I don't have an industrial sewing machine.  My machine did a pretty good job considering - I have a Husqvarna Viking machine - but it was such a large project and trying to get a perfect fit that was skin tight - not possible for me.  On top of the sewing being difficult, once the pieces were sewn, I had to get the "cover" over the foam.  The inside of the vinyl was coated with an almost felt like layer which stuck to the foam like crazy.  I had to just keep working the cover over and down until it finally fit.  I'm sweating just remembering it. 

Once the cover was on the ottoman, it needed to be fitted and tacked down to the wooden shell of the original ottoman.  Using scissor to cut off excess vinyl, little sharp pointed tacks and a hammer, I pulled the vinyl as taut as possible and hammered it all into place.  This cover ain't going nowhere!

Okay, design time.  In order to replicate the circle design in the upholstery studs, I measured, did the math and made a template for the circle that would go around the ottoman. I took graphpaper and a compass and drew a circle of the correct size.  Which was dependent on the size of my ottoman but could be different for someone else and depending on the look they wanted. Then I took a hole puncher and punched holes going around the very edge of the circle.  I used the same method to make a bar shape that would go in between each circle.  The holes were used to mark on the ottoman where the design would go.  Here's how I did it.  I used painter's blue tape to center the design in the middle of the ottoman by marking the top of where the circles would go. I did this all around.  Then I took my circle template, lined it up against the blue tape mark and with a pencil, marked where the hole punches were.  This gave me a circle where I would insert the upholstery studs, one by one, all around.  Then I took the bar template, lined it up and did the same.  I repeated this process until I connected the design back to the starting point.  That was a lot of pushing in studs.  But it was worth it!  Finally, here is the finished, not perfect but still awesome, product at a much better cost. (excuse the mess and the kitty)

Here is a detail view.

Please post your comments below.  I would love to know what you are all thinking of my posts and my projects.

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more creativity!