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!

Picture, Picture On The Wall, Which Of You Is Fairest Of Them All?

Deciding what to put on your walls is not easy.  There are so many different ways to go design-wise.  At the end of the day, you need to pick a vision and just go with it.  I like to put things up on my walls that mean something to me and or really appeal to my aesthetic.  In my previous posts, you can see some of the things I've chosen, but here I want to talk more in depth about my favorites.

In my old apartment, while redesigning, I found on ebay these gorgeous very large jade carvings.  I had to have them.  They came from far away and when I opened the box, my expectations were exceeded.  I got the idea to frame them and hang them on the wall which was a fantastic way to display them.  I was lucky to find shadow box frames from Michael's Craft Store that were the perfect size.  The frame and the matte inside were boring white.  I wanted to customize the frames.  I purchased a red matte board for the back of the shadow box.  I then took the white matte boards and cut out a cool design in the corners (you'll see).  The jade carvings were relatively heavy and I had no idea how to secure them in the frames.  So I sought expert advise.  I went to my local picture frame store and asked them what to do.  I couldn't believe my ears when the gentleman told me to use regular Elmer's glue.  Who knew?  It worked like a charm.  But I'm not done yet.  I got some gold spray paint and painted the wooden frame around the shadow box.  It was in keeping with my design palette.  One means longevity and the other good health or maybe it was good fortune or good luck, I'm sure I wrote it down somewhere.

Here is a picture with these in context.

Sadly, I can't figure out how to use them in my new place. Anyone want to buy one or the pair? I could change some of the coloring and potentially use in my red bedroom.  I could also paint the jade but that would be a shame.  If you are wondering what those pieces were in between the two frames, I got these Indian looking ashtrays at Urban Outfitters and took plate hangers and put them up.  You would never know they were ashtrays. 
I also got this silver beaded candle holder and it was pretty when the candlelight flickered. 

Another, more recent favorite wall hanging was inspired by a childhood memory.  At the house I grew up in, there were these bushes that flowered and smelled so good to me.  I remember cutting off some of the little white and pink bouquets and bringing them to my mother.  Or putting them in a cup in my room to enjoy the scent.  A few years ago, I remembered them and had no idea what they were called.  I searched online looking at the pictures, hoping to recognize the flowers. I remembered that they looked like little puff balls or little wedding bouquets.  I even went back to my old house on a covert mission, but sadly the occupants seemed to have just bulldozed the bushes out and all that remained were shreds of dead wood.  My friend and I even stopped along the road a few times thinking we had found it, but they didn't have the scent.  Finally, I went to a nursery and described the flower and scent, sort of similar to lilac, to the guy there and he knew exactly what I was talking about - the thing I was searching for was a Viburnum Carlessi Bush, otherwise known as Koreanspice Viburnum.  This bush only flowers for a few weeks in April of each year AND to my delight they had some bushes for sale! Even though it was past the time of flowering for the year, I was in heaven.  I promptly asked my good friend, who was driving around with me trying to find them, if she would plant the bush in her yard if I bought it for her.  She said of course.  I had to wait almost a whole year but sure enough it bloomed with the beautiful fragrance I had yearned to experience again.  So, for the last couple of years, "Ilana's Viburnum bush" has happily flowered.  I tell you this story because I want you to understand the importance and meaning this flowered bush has for me.  Naturally, I kept a clipping and pressed it and now the Viburnum has a place of honor in my home the whole year through, a little reminder of something that made me happy in my childhood (I'm getting teary).  I found a great big frame at Joanne Fabrics and a matte that had an 8 X 10 opening.  I found a pretty pearlized textured stationary sheet of paper from Michael's to serve as a background and elmer glued the pressed flower to the stationary paper and then put it all together. It is now hung in my dining area. I wanted white on white and remember that there will be the Graham and Brown Darcy wallpaper behind it eventually (www.grahambrown.com or see previous posts).  Here are the visuals, I wish I could somehow post the scent too. 

Thanks for stopping by and Stay tuned for more creativity!