Hello Handprinted Fabric, Meet My Living Room

Etsy continues to be one of my greatest resources for inspiration and a shot of color to add to the home. I have visited Aunty Cookie's Etsy Shop several times and continue to daydream about the possibilites for these fabric beauties. All the fabrics at Aunty Cookie's shop are designed and hand-printed by Shannon Lamden. I love the graphic quality of these prints which I can easily envision stretched over a wood frame as art on my living room wall. Although, a throw pillow would be a nice option as well...

Letterhead Red Crane

Knit One

DIY: Modge Podge Makes a Comeback in Modern Design

When I hear the world "Modge Podge" a modern design aesthetic doesn't exactly come to mind. I usually have a flash back to craft time in kindergarten. However, I recently saw a few projects that caused me to reconsider visiting my old friend Modge Podge...

This table is also a wonderful example of how an inexpensive $10 thrift store find can be turned into the modern statement piece of the room. It is so simple too courtesy of some mod IKEA fabric. The link to the instructions for this table can be found here.

This kitchen table is truly an amazing piece of work. I can't even imagine how much time must be invested in this table top, but well worth it! This image is provided courtesy of Addicted to Decorating.

I threw in these coasters just for fun. They are super cute, easy to make and affordable. A winner in my book! The instructions can be found here courtesy of Prudent Baby's blog.

Cover Your Floor with "Flor"

Here is a new spin on area rugs for you all. The concept is very similar to individual carpet tiles that can be customized to create your own unique look and pattern. Very easy install and surprisingly affordable. Check it out!

www.flor.com

Two of My Favorite Christmas Presents

Sunburst Mirror: A bargain available at Target for $29.99.

George Nelson Sunburst Retro Clock: Also a bargain at $40 from Target (anyone who is familiar with the designer George Neslon would agree). This is a great design classic addition for your home without the "designer price".

Can you see a theme in my latest obsession in wall decor? :)

Let us Dine!

I have been researching affordable modern wall decor lately looking for inspriation. I ran across this concept... I love the way the black and white plates contrast each other and pop on the black background. Very elegant yet sort of eclectic.

Breakfast in bed anyone? These form a beautiful resemblance of a headboard.
This image is probably my least favorite, but I appreciated the painted graphic images on the plates. Creative. Affordable.

So Beautiful....It's Haunting Me

I have become obsessed with this fabric ever since I saw it for the first time in one of my design magazines. I have seen it all over for the last few months and have desperately tried to find out what it is called. Well, here it is.... I have completely fallen for Teablossom in Yangtze.

Decorative Wall Medallions - GENIUS

I fell in love with some decorative ceramic wall medallions the other week (I have been searching for some unique wall art from my home... it still looks like we just moved in 5 months later :) ). However, I have found that they are quite a splurge. Well, what about using ceiling canopies?!

These are traditionally used around the base of ceiling light fixtures and can be found at almost any home improvement store. Some of the advantages of this alternative is that they are much more affordable (approx. $15-$20 each), lightweight and you can spray paint them to match any color scheme in your home.

Silver Leaf Dressers

This is a wonderful post on creating an inexpensive and glamourous silver leaf dresser courtesy of Jenny at littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com (I have fallen completely in love with her blog).

The initial intention was to purchase a mirrored bedside table or dresser to add a little glam to the bedroom. However, mirrored furniture is really expensive and even the cheapy furniture from Target or Pier One would push the budget of this project over the initial limit.

Jenny found this picture below from House Beautiful, and began to research the possibility of getting mirrored panels cut to fit for a boxy dresser. However, that option also turned out to be pricey... several hundred dollars to cover just one dresser.

She moved onto plan C. Jenny began to explore the option of creating a silver-leafed piece and Googled several images.

She found two bombay chests at HomeGoods that were on clearance for $75 because the paint was chipping. The size and shape were perfect for the room.

Once home, each dresser was lightly sanded over the chipped parts and then given a coat of chocolate brown paint (Ralph Lauren's 'Galvenized'). Once the paint had cured, she coated both dressers with 3-hour Quick Set Gilding Size, available at most art supply stores. Jenny used about a pint between both dressers.

The gilding size acts as the glue that holds on the leaf. It's applied just like a varnish, and after waiting for a specified time, the size becomes tacky and is ready to be gilded.

There are many types of metal leaf. For this project, she used aluminum leaf because it was the brightest silver tone and looked the most to me like mirror (and the bonus is that aluminum is less expensive than silver leaf). A box of 500 5.5" x 5.5" sheets is $40-$50 and was more than enough for these two dressers.
As far as application of the leaf goes, the basic idea is to carefully lay the sheets down with as little folding of the leaf as possible. Then using a soft bristled paint brush, just tap, burnish and rub the leaf down. It gets really easy with practice - you'll feel like a pro after only 4 or 5 sheets.

Here are my best tips for gilding:

1. Do this project in the garage or outside if you are working on a large scale (like on furniture). The metal leaf bits get EVERYWHERE.
2. Start with a flat, horizontal surface (like the dresser tops) to get the technique down before you attempt the vertical front or sides.

3. Once you've burnish one leaf sheet and are ready for the next, place that next sheet slightly on top of the already burnished leaf. By overlapping the sheets a little, there will be less of a gap/crack and the resulting look will be more seamless.

4. She ended up sort of liking the cracks and gaps in the gilding (it looks like antique mirror to me, with the chocolate brown base peeping through), but if you don't want to see the "imperfections" just use a bit of extra leaf and rub it into the gap or crack with your finger and the size will quickly pick up the leaf bits

5. Jenny was shocked at how resilient the gilded surface was after the size had fully dried. The client opted not to seal the finish because she wanted it to gently wear over time, but it would be easy to apply some Wipe On Poly to protect and seal the gilding.

The process looks more intimidating than it really is.

They used vintage lucite knobs from eBay as a final touch.