kara paslay designs

A Gift For My Friends!

2012-02-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! Somehow Tim and I "unlocked" a special deal over at Fab.com and when you join in the next 24 hours, you get $10 for FREE!!!! And the great thing is, they actually have pieces that are affordable! Every day they are showcasing/selling something new and fabulous! So head over and sign up to get your free money! Here are a few things you can get right now!

DIY Modern Wall Art

2012-02-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Well I realized there was one DIY that I left out when we covered Amanda's music school makeover. So I decided today was as good a day as any to cover the modern piece of wall art that I created for free! :)

Amanda actually had a piece of art that no longer fit her style or space, so instead of throwing it out with the trash, we reused the canvas.

1. I wanted to start with a blank slate, so I simply covered the old art with a coat of light gray paint that I had on hand.

Ahh, much better!

2. Next, I used my circle punch and left over chromalux from the lampshade project to create a bunch of shiny circles!

3. Then I took each circle and folded the four sides up. I did this because I wanted to create a 3-D effect within the art.

4. After that, I started to arrange my pieces on the canvas. I kept tweaking things until I was happy with it. I then used hot glue to put the pieces in place.

At first I wanted to make things a little more random, but I ended up butting the pieces up together so that they fit together like a puzzle.

Once all the gold pieces were glued down, I took a few white circles and glued them in a way that they protruded from the piece making the art feel more like a sculpture.

The different levels are much more pronounced in person, but hopefully you can see the effect through the photos as well.

And there you have it, a piece of modern art for free!

I think the piece really works in this space because it speaks to the clustered gold cymbals above the TV!

Sometimes it's hard to know how to fill our walls. Look around at what you have and get creative. Art does not have to be conventional, as a matter of fact- it's much better when it's unique and somehow represents you!

'Til tomorrow!

"Inspire Me" Series and Reader Love

2012-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

So, here's the thing- after writing the "Becoming a Dreamer" post and getting such wonderful responses, I felt great! I felt like I was really helping others to become or stay inspired to achieve their dreams. I love hearing the stories of others throwing off all their hinderances and going after their unique calling in life. And I don't know about you, but I want to hear more!!!

So, I've decided to start an "Inspire Me" series. The series will be dedicated to highlighting people who have/are courageously going after their dreams with all their heart. It will focus on how the person figured out their calling, how they decided to fearlessly leap into their dream, and the sacrifices they've made to make things happen. It is my hope that as we celebrate inspiring people and stories, that we will all start to (or continue to) imitate those that we are surrounded by. Let's create a community of dreamers, encouragers, and go getters!

If you are interested in being featured in this series or if you want to nominate someone to be featured, please send us an e-mail! (kara.paslay@gmail.com) Sharing our stories is a powerful thing. . . it's not about bragging or saying "Look at me," it's about encouraging others. I can't wait to hear and share your stories!

Ok, so now that I've covered that, let's move on to a little eye candy!

Today I wanted to post some photos that readers have been sending in of projects they've been inspired to take on! YAY!!!

Rachel was inspired by the chevron fireplace and thought it was the perfect solution to jazz up her own own hot box!

BEFORE

AFTER

I don't know about you, but I am also inspired by Rachel's mantle decor as well! Love it, love it- especially that yellow frame and the Volkswagen van print!

Lauren took on the fish scale feature wall idea in order to out a little glitz and glam into her dining room!

Julia is a dear friend and about a week ago she e-mailed asking if she could paint her glass pantry door with chalkboard paint. I loved the chalkboard idea, but I gave her a few tips on how it didn't have to be permanent.

BEFORE

AFTER

Here are the super quick instructions I gave to Julia.

1. Go to Lowes and buy masonite board. Ask the nice gentlemen ;) at Lowes to cut it to the dimensions that you need. They won't always make "project cuts" but if you need the 4X8 sheet cut down so you can fit it in your car, you can usually get them to help you out.

2. Paint the smooth side of the masonite with chalkboard paint.

3. Use industrial strength velcro to attach the masonite board to your glass.

Oh so easy!

Finally, The Frisco Kid DIY'd there own mason jar chandelier. And it's adorable in her space!

Love the chalkboard fire! Very whimsical!

Hope you enjoyed seeing how other readers are incorporating projects into their homes! More fun stuff tomorrow!

Tulsa People Article and Conquered Clutter Series

2012-01-31T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! We had quite an emotional day yesterday, so today's post is going to be less writing and more linking. :) This month's Tulsa People (one of Tulsa's local magazines) is out and we are pleased as punch with our little article. If you're in the area you can pick one up, but everyone else can read the digital version here!

Also, we are excited to be participating in a great series over at Brooklyn Limestone this month. Our post won't be up for another week, but you can sneak over right now to see how other great bloggers have conquered their clutter! Here are some sneak peaks Mrs. Limestone offered up to get you excited! :)

PS- Yesterday's post may not have been up when you came by- be sure to check it out if you have some time! :)

Becoming a Dreamer

2012-01-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

WARNING- LONG POST WITH NO PHOTOS. However, this is an incredibly important post to me. I hope you will stick it out and read until the end. Your dreams may depend on it! :)

Although my passion is designing, I think it's my calling in life to encourage others to find and pursue their dreams. Periodically, I try to use this blog to be that place where others can come for an inspiring quote, an encouraging word, and hopefully proof that you really can achieve whatever it is you put your mind to. So, today I want to talk about dreaming and hopefully help someone out there who feels like they're just floating through life.

It wasn't until recently that I realized not everybody has a dream. I knew that Tim had a hard time figuring out what he was passionate about, but I thought he was one of the minority. I think I may be figuring out however, that Tim used to be part of the majority. And to be very honest, it makes me incredibly sad. Knowing what your purpose is in this life is essential, not only for yourself, but for those that you are supposed to touch during your time here.

I feel like I have identified three main reasons people can't pinpoint their passions/dreams:

1. People don't know themselves.

2. People don't believe big dreams come true- at least not for them.

3. People think they are working hard when really their efforts are half hearted.

So, let's break these reasons down.

People don't know themselves.

Identifying your passions can be difficult if you don't happen to love something that's mainstream. I was lucky because basketball is a pretty popular sport to try out at a young age. I figured out that I loved it and committed to it quickly. Designing however was a different story.

Creative outlets weren't really something my family pursued when I was younger. It was only in college, when I became obsessed with HGTV, did I realize that I might enjoy a creative career. I contemplated and tried a few things- photography, jewelry making, painting, ect. Although I enjoyed these things in moderation, I figured out that I would not want to pursue these things as a career.

Then came interior design. As I watched shows on HGTV, I became inspired to the point of actually trying some skills out. I found a few furniture pieces out by the curb and brought them home to refurbish. Through the process of redoing a couple of pieces, I realized I found great joy in turning something old, beat up, and forgotten into something functional and beautiful. Soon after I decided to take on spaces- transforming my apartment room by room. From there, my love for design blossomed I knew I had found my passion. My point here is that you have to try things to figure out what you love. You have to be willing to put in some effort to find what interests you, what brings you to life!

Here's the thing I've figured out, when you are pursuing a dream with enormous energy, passion, and heart- the only way to keep your eye on the prize is to know without a shadow of a doubt that what you are going after is what you are made to do. And here's where I go all "spiritual" on you. Pray about it. I'm not kidding. Pray about it!!! If you really want to know what you were made to do, ask the one who made you!

People don't believe big dreams come true- at least not for them.

Ever since I was a little kid I remember having goals or dreams. I think dreaming was instilled in me by my parents. I was so lucky to grow up in a home where my parents preached "anything is possible if you believe and work incredibly hard!" I've come to learn that many people don't grow up in a home where their parents encourage dreaming nor do their parents instill confidence that they can achieve anything. I think many parents project their own fears of failure on their children and instead of encouraging them to go after the impossible, they push their children towards more "manageable" goals. One thing I know for sure, having a person in your life who truly believes in your abilities is invaluable, but a belief in yourself is essential.

So, how do you develop confidence? How do you start to believe that you can achieve anything? Here's what I propose.

Start with small goals. They can be related to your ultimate goal or completely separate. Whether it's redoing a piece of furniture with a flawless paint job or running a mile in under 7 minutes. . . when you achieve something you thought of as incredibly difficult, you will see your confidence start to rise. And with each little victory, you will allow yourself to dream bigger and bigger.

I can't stress how important I think this small goals are. Let me give you an example from my own life. I started playing basketball in 3rd grade. Never having paid attention to the sport before (except for one snapshot in my memory of Michael Jordan dunking) I was as terrible as every other girl starting out. Soon though I felt the desire to become better. I would come home from practice and do my basketball homework. It started out with 100 dribbles with my right hand and 100 dribbles with my left hand. Soon I began to challenge myself- I had to make 10 layups before I could leave the gym after practice, then I had to practice on my own in the heat of summer at least an hour a day. Then, I needed to be in better shape than my opponent to beat them, so I ran 2 miles a day on top of my basketball workouts. Every goal I achieved and every minute of work I put in gave me confidence. Confidence, true confidence only comes with hard work, which brings me to my next point.

People think they are working hard when really their efforts are half hearted.

Of course it takes so much more than just believing. . . oh yes, it takes work. And not the type of work where you go through the motions or do something just to check it off your list. No, achieving your grandest dream takes an all out focus and steadfast perseverance. It is hard. And that's why most people don't achieve dreams or even dare to think about them.

You remember that I told you my parents told me "anything was possible." Do you remember the words that proceeded that phrase? "If you believe" (which we've covered) and if you "work incredibly hard."

Once again I was so lucky to have parents that not only said these things, but helped me to stay committed to my chosen goals. I would often get the question, "What did you do today?" which I knew was in reference to achieving my goals. Sometimes I got mad and sometimes I felt pressured, but when I look back I am so so thankful that my parents knew that I had a goal and they held me accountable to that. They preached persistence and perseverance. I remember countless pep talks that my dad would give me not just when I was having a hard time but also when I was doing well. He would say things like, "I've never seen anyone work as hard as you." and "If you keep this up, you will achieve your dreams." I cherish those talks so much because they made me feel so validated and after my dad spoke, I knew all the hard work would one day be worth it. Not everyone is lucky enough to have that person in their life that believes in them. If you don't, I hope that I could be your cheerleader. Keep going, work harder, you can do this! It's not going to be easy, but it will be worth it.

You remember my basketball "homework?" Well, in my high school career, that turned into 2 hours of individual work (running, shooting, ball handling, working on new moves) after my team practice. When I say hard work, I mean exhausting, intense, focused, hard work.

After I played professional basketball for a season, I decided it was time to hang up the sneakers. I decided that designing and more specifically a design television show was my new goal. I had a hard time figuring out how to translate the work ethic I developed in basketball to design. Pushing my body physically was natural but designing required a different type of work. But the same idea still applied. I set goals: start a blog, learn skills, create a website, network, figure out how to take good pictures, practice paint techniques, ect. And little by little I started to gain confidence in my design skills. My efforts became intensely focused on my new dream.

When you read this, it may sound daunting, but it's the reality of what's required to achieve crazy, unimaginable, way out there type of dreams. The only thing that separates you from the Michael Jordan's, the Oprah Winfrey's, and the Dolly Parton's of the world is confidence and incredibly hard work. We can achieve our grandest dreams! I believe it and I plan on doing it, won't you join me!?

So, here's the challenge-

Take some time, sit down, and really think about your what it is you want to accomplish in this life. You may need to start with something small, like losing 20 lbs. I know some of you look at that and think, "20 lbs!!! That's no small goal!" But for how big I hope that you will dream, 20 lbs is just the beginning. Of course, you will have failures because we all do. When you have those failures, you may feel crushed and you may start to think you were stupid for going after such crazy ideals. But here's what will propel you on. . . the deep seated knowledge that you were called to this purpose and to give up on it would be forsaking the whole reason you were put on this earth.

So, let's start dreaming!!!!

Preslar Music School Makeover

2012-01-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

The last few projects have been DIY's we've taken on in order to get Amanda's music school ready for it's big reveal. The school recently moved a few blocks down the road from their original building and so the new digs called for a new look!

We stuck with the same feel as before- fun, colorful, and a bit modern- but we we freshened things up a bit.

The music school is all about fostering creative energy, so we filled the rooms with unique DIY projects, one-of-a-kind furniture, and tons of color! So, let's look at the before and after's shall we? (ps- the rooms were not actually white when we started, but I forgot to get pics before the first coat went up! Ooops!)

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

The rooms are somewhat small, so I wanted to hang floor to ceiling curtains to add drama to the space and to draw your eye up. This makes the rooms feel a little bigger than they actually are. The curtains also frame the fireplace nicely, drawing even more attention to the focal point of the room.

Beyond all this, having the same curtains in both rooms give the space a nice flow and feeling of symmetry.

Because the fireplace was obviously going to be the focal point, I wanted to give it a special treatment. Something that would really speak to the edge of the owner and the school in general. I felt the perfect bit of funk came from this black and white chevron pattern. In a few short hours the fireplace had been transformed from a god-awful red to a spunky spectacle.

See our painted chevron fireplace tutorial here!

Not only do the curtains draw your eye up, but so does this gorgeous purply, fusia color. I painted the ceiling because I thought it would be beautiful and unexpected. I chose a semigloss finish so there would be a reflective quality to bounce more light around the space. You also see other reflective surfaces around the room: DIY gold lampshades, wall art, mirrors, ect. I love using metallics and reflective pieces to bring a bit of bling to a space. For me, it adds an attention grabbing layer to rooms.

With this being a music school, we did want to pay homage to the purpose of the building. So, we came up with the idea to use a drum as a coffee table base (which Tim awesomely figured out how to make glow without running electrical wires- read more about that here!!) and cymbals as art above the TV.

Behind the console piece is an incredible piece of art that one of Amanda's friends made for her. Of course we had to use that in the space!

Lastly and not so overtly, we painted the "pattern" on the rug. The painted portions remind me of beams of light or spotlights, which I can very easily correlate to being a rockstar! You can even see how the beams fade out as they get to the edge of the rug- much like light would. :)

Now, not everyone will see that correlation when they come into the space, but the dreamers will. Plus, not everything should be so in your face. . . some things should be discovered over time. That's what good design is to me.

From an artistic point of view, I really like how the look of the color blocked fusia ceiling in the waiting room is transfered to the floor in the office with the use of a rug in the same color. It creates a balance between the two rooms and brings them together.

We've got a fusia ceiling and white floor/rug in one room while there's a white ceiling and a fusia floor/rug in the other room. Yes, this makes me a very happy designer! :)

Painted doors throughout the space add to the fun factor and make me think of an old gameshow voice saying, "And let's see what we've got behind the green door Jonny!" :) HaHa!

And finally, a few more pictures just for fun! :)

Well, I guess that's the end of this little tour. What did you think!?

DIY Painted Starburst Rug

2012-01-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today we are resuming coverage of all the DIY projects that we took on over at Amanda's music school. Today, we are covering one of my favorites.

I scored this rug (below) at my local Habitat for Humanity Restore. For just under $15 dollars, I transformed it from plain jane into something original.

The rug was nice and big- just what I needed for the space. It was pink as well, which was actually perfect for the space (you'll see why with the full reveal)! However, the rug was a little too plain. I needed to break up the sea of pink just a bit.

So, I decided to paint it!

1. I went to the craft store and bought fabric paints in a couple of colors.

2. The process was super easy. I simply used packing tape (any tape will do) to mask off the area I wanted to paint. This worked well because the low rug pile. You can see how I applied my tape below.

3. After a section was taped off, I applied a sufficient amount of paint to the area. It is best to do this with a very short bristle brush (I actually used a "brush pad" you use to paint around trim). This allows you to really work the paint into the fabric.

4. Besides working the paint into the material with a short bristle brush, I also used my fingers to massage the paint into the fibers. It is important to work the paint all the way through so that as the rug wears, your color stays.

I repeated the process until I felt like I had a broken up the rug enough for my taste and had created an interesting look. It was a long process, but I am very pleased with the outcome!

My favorite spot is where all the points come together. It makes me happy, just like my plaid boots! :)

Here's a very limited view of the rug in place.

Stay tuned to see a full view of the rug and space!

She Totally Nailed It!!!

2012-01-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

So, I was planning on sharing another project from the music school today, but then I recieved an e-mail from Pam. Pam's exact words were,

"Just wanted to let you know you were the inspiration for my nailhead ceiling. I love it and owe it all to you and that awesome bold pattern!!!"

Pam was inspired by this post and this photo below.

I wasn't sure what to expect as I clicked over to see what Pam had created, but as soon as I saw her ceiling, I was floored!!!!!!! Take a look at how Pam took our pattern feature wall idea and made it totally her own!!

G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!!!! Did you recognize the material Pam used to create her amazing ceiling?

Nailhead strips and tacks!

What I love about this project is that Pam saw something that interested her and then she took the idea and made it her own. She made it into something that fit her style and home. And it's fantastic!

Pam writes a blog called Simple Details, where you can read more about her initial thoughts on this project, her process (a tutorial), and see more finished photos.

It is my hope that if you see something on this blog that you appreciate but isn't right inline with your style, that you could take the idea, make a few tweeks, and create something that really speaks to you-just like Pam did!!

A huge thanks to Pam for sharing her project with us!

DIY Chevron Fireplace Before and After

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! Today I am revealing a fireplace before and after! Not long ago Tim posted this pic. . .

Tim got a lot of great feedback about the drum table (which is what the picture was about) but we also got a lot of comments about the chevron fireplace in the background! :) Well today I am ready to reveal the fireplace in its entirety plus give you a little insight into how we did it. Shall we take a look at the before first? I think so!

BEFORE

And AFTER!!!

Fun right?! There's a lot of personality in this room (which I will fully reveal later this week) but the fireplace is definitely the show stopper! :)

Now I know you are all ready to paint your fireplaces, so here's a quick run down of our process.

1. We painted our background color- we chose black.

2. I took a stack of regular computer paper (8.5X11) and cut it in half long ways, which gave me a bunch of 4.25X11 inch pieces.

3. I taped the pieces together to create the chevron/zig zag pattern. Just like Dana did here! Hint- You overlap the paper ends to get a more squatty look or butt up the paper ends for a bit taller look.

4. Next we taped the pattern up on the fireplace. Once it's in place and level (very important!) we used a pencil to draw the pattern onto the brick.

5. Then we removed the paper pattern and used painter's tape to create the painting boundaries.

6. Finally we got to painting! But not with the color you would expect. We used back again to "seal" our edges. Basically this just ensures that if there is going to be any leakage underneath the tape, it is with the background paint color.

7. Since the edges were sealed, we were ready to paint our 2nd color (which was white).

8. It took a couple coats, but once we got good coverage we pulled the tape before the paint dried! Pulling the tape before the paint assures the tape won't take a chunk of dried paint with it.

And we ended up with this! :)

So, what do you think?! Such a bold choice might not be right up your design ally, but hopefully you can agree- in the right space a black and white chevron fireplace is totally rad! :)

'Til tomorrow!

DIY Gold Lampshade

2012-01-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

Well I hope everyone had a great weekend. Kara and I got the chance to put some finishing touches on Amanda's music school and take some pictures. We should have a DIY project for you everyday this week. When I say we, I really mean Kara. I am getting my post for the week out of the way so I can focus on some furniture I am working on. I promised a friend I would have a coffee table for him in time for the super bowl.

Speaking of, what about the games yesterday. I scheduled my projects so I could watch the second half of each game and it wasn't worth it. I really thought the Ravens were going to win it with the last drive. Poor Joe Flacco. Tom Brady gets the good looking girl, gets to go to the Super Bowl and all poor Joe Dirt gets is his awesome mustache.

Christopher T. Assaf, Baltimore Sun / December 11, 2011

On to the stuff you really care about. I am going to show you how to make a "slip cover" for a lamp shade.

Amanda already had two lamps for her waiting room, but Kara wasn't happy with them. She didn't like the color of the base or shade. Fixing the base was easy. A couple of coats of spray paint and we have new bases. The shade could have been even easier, but that ain't Kara's style.

She could have made it easy and sent me to find an alternative. I am kind of a professional scavenger hunter. When we work on movies or commercials, I am in charge of finding the random stuff. So maybe she knew it wouldn't be a challenge for me and came up with another plan.

I started with two sheets of Chromalux poster board (it comes in gold and silver). Kara picked it up from Michael's. If you forget your coupon, just let them know, they are usually kind enough to give you the discount anyways. The shade I was covering was a fairly good size so I had to tape my two sheets together to create one long piece. Let them over lap about an inch and make sure they are as straight as possible.

I carefully wrapped my shade with my "new" long sheet and temporarily secured it with scotch tape. You don't have to worry about the tape tearing your poster board, because the metallic finish effectively releases the tape when you remove it.

Basically what I have now is an oversized slip cover for my lamp shade. I was kind digging this look, but I didn't even try it with Kara. I used a pencil to trace the top and bottom edge of the shade on to the back of my poster board. I rolled the shade with one hand while I traced with the other.

After tracing both edges I removed the tape and laid my piece flat. You can faintly see my pencil lines. They are curved because the shade is tapered. If you had a drum style shade you could just measure and cut a straight line.

Before you start cutting, be sure to mark where your two pieces overlap with your pencil. This will help you align them later when you are adhering them together. I carefully cut out my shape, barely leaving the line. I would rather have a hair too much poster board than leave it short and leave a bit of my old shade exposed.

Next, I decided to go ahead and glue my two pieces together. I placed a piece of tape along the pencil line I made to align my pieces. This made applying my glue a little easier.

I used contact cement to glue my pieces together, I am sure there are some other great products that work just as well, but I doubt there are any that smell as good as contact cement...Sike! Try to use it in a well ventilated area. I applied it to both pieces and then waited until it was dry, about 15 to 20 minutes. You can check it by touching it and it shouldn't smear or leave figure prints.

When you go to stick your pieces together be really careful. Even though the dried glue doesn't feel like it will stick to anything, when it touches something else you have coated with contact cement, it WILL NOT let go. You really only get one shot to align things so make it count.

Next, I wrapped my piece around the shade again. Where your piece overlaps you will most likely have a slanted seam. I wanted to fix this so I marked a vertical line with tape and trimmed my piece.

I wrapped the shade once again and marked where my seam would land with another piece of scotch tape (use any tape you have around). I like scotch tape because it shows up so well in my pictures. Ha!

Now you are ready to repeat the contact cement process. This time it is a little trickier because the sides you need to adhere are on opposite sides. My piece was long enough that I could roll it back on itself without creasing it (Sorry Kara was eating dinner during this part and I know better than to bother her while she is with her food, so I don't have a picture of that).

I would leave the tape on while I was applying the contact cement and then pull it before it dried. The cement leaves a visible enough line that you can easily align your pieces when you are ready.

Finally your lamp shade slip cover is done. You should have a slip cover that is just slightly larger than your original shade and fits right over the top. I thought I might need to using some sort of adhesive to stick the cover in place, but as long as you are careful and precise it should fit securely in place without anything extra. If you make one for a drum shade you will definitely use some rubber cement or hot glue to stick it in place.

So, there you have it. Kara informed me that the reason she didn't send me on a scavenger hunt is because she wanted gold lampshades and had never seen them before. I could have found them, but probably not for the $2o that we spent to make these two.

Well that is it for me, y'all are stuck with Kara the rest of the week.

I see what you did there

2012-01-19T00:01:00.001-08:00

Kara is sneeky. She figured out that if she told y'all that I would be posting today, I would be forced to write a post. She knows I don't like to disappoint anyone.

After getting an email this week, asking about ideas for displaying photos in a creative and unique way, we realized that we don't really display lots of pictures in our home. Kara said she didn't really know why this was, but I do. She is ashamed of me and doesn't want anyone to have to look at my ugly mug. I can't blame her, but since I am the reason Kara doesn't spend any of her creative ability coming up with ideas to display pictures, I felt a responsibility to come up with some.

So, I started my normal rounds for inspiration... and I ended up looking at lots of furniture. Here it is, 1 a.m. and I am looking at tables without a single picture frame insight. Instead of fighting it I am going to embrace it. I will share with you the neat things I found tonight.

Notcot.org is one of my favorite places to go for inspiration. Not all of it design related, but that is one of the things I love about it. Most of my favorite ideas come from outside the interior design world, but tonight it was furniture on the site that stopped me dead in my tracks.

My interest was piqued by this picture:

Which led me to the website of John Houshmand.

With good reason, he was awarded Interior Design Magazine's Best of the Year, residential furnishings award for this table.

I like that he describes his work as functional art, disguised as furniture.

He selects wonderful material and does enough to showcase it without over complicating.

There aren't any prices on his site, but I am pretty sure it falls under the category of "if you have to ask about the price, then you probably can't afford it." I know most of you will probably just cut down your own tree and recreate these masterpieces yourself, but for those with the cantankerous landlord that prohibits you from making one inch thick glass in your apartment living room, I have other options.

Kara and I recently found two sites that are like the Groupon of the design world. Everyday they have a new batch of limited-time sales. Instead of buying laser hair treatments for your husband's back on Groupon, you can buy this at Fab.com

Or instead of another hour long massage on Living Social you can go to theFoundry.com and get a rusty metal T, so you can always remember your favorite male home design blogger... (John PeTersik, of younghouselove). You don't have to lie, I know it isn't me.

Kara would probably be mad if this was all I showed you, because I picked stuff that I liked, so hear are some of the things I would bet she likes.

If you want to see more awesome internet finds be sure to follow us on Pinterest. I don't know if you can just follow my awesome board, so just do your best to ignore Kara's boring pins without missing any of mine.

Don't worry I am done for this week, but I will be back next week with a tutorial if Kara will go take some pictures! (See what I did there, revenge is sweet!)

Life's Too Short and Sneak Peak

2012-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello! My goodness, I can't believe it's already Wednesday! I've been having those "life's passing me by way too quickly" feelings lately. I caught a glimpse of Betty White's birthday celebration on TV Monday night. There were a few times when people said something like "I don't doubt we'll be here celebrating 100 in 10 years." Those statements really made me think.

I hope Betty does reach 100, but I wonder what it's like to know there's a good chance you have less that 10 years to live? None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, but I wonder how I would live if I knew that I only had 10 years left. I love what I do, but sometimes I forget to enjoy the process and instead focus on the deadline. I definitely need to spend more time with friends and family. . . and less time with the television! I don't think about death often, but the moments when I start to worry about life ending here on earth I have to remind myself that Heaven is going to be so much better than this! Such an important thing to remember especially when life is rough but also when things are going well. One thing is for sure- Life is too short to spend it doing something you're not passionate about. So figure out what it is you love and live out what you were created to do! I believe with all my heart that the Lord wants that for each and every one of us!

So on to what I love to do. . . Tim and I are in the process of designing an elegant yet casual (yes, this is possible!) dining room. Things are really starting to come together and so I thought I would post a few sneak peak photos to get you excited! (I know I still haven't posted finished photos from the last sneak peak I did, but sit tight they're coming at you next week!)

Above- Beautiful wood feature wall highlighted with sunburst mirror. Below- New DIY chandelier!!!

Below- Some sweet fans we found for an amazing price. . .they just needed a small modification- we'll fill you in soon!

Well, that's it for today. I've got to get to work! Tim's checking in tomorrow! Bye Y'all!

Be on "'Til Design Do Us Part"

2012-01-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hey Y'all! Today we are officially starting to take applications for our show "'Til Design Do Us Part!" Although we are not ready to shoot yet, we are getting all of our ducks in a row and finding couples for our first season is the next thing on our list!!!

Click here to find out how you can apply for the show!

And while you are applying take a look around our new "'Til Design Do Us Part" website! We've still got some content to add and a little tweaking to do, but we really feel like the site is right in line with our personalities and our style!

We're back tomorrow with more exciting content!

DIY Herringbone Art Installation

2012-01-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

Well the weekend went by way too fast once again, but hopefully today's DIY will help to start your week out right! I designed this installation (below) specifically for our photo shoot, however I also knew that I would proudly display it long after our day of posing was over.

I chose a wood tone, silver, and gold color palette because I wanted it to feel rich and knew that our outfits would bring the color to the photos. Here are a couple of fun shots we took with the piece.

Ok, so are you ready to hear how we made it?

1. First, I had my mom and brother's girlfriend stain and paint hundreds of wood pieces. And here's the big tip- we used shims!!!! They are already cut, are fairly cheap, and are easily bought in bulk- perfect for this project!

2. Once all the pieces are painted, it's time to come up with the exact pattern you want to pursue. We laid out a couple of different options and then chose a favorite.

3. Once I was confident with the layout, we started to glue (with construction adhesive) the shims onto a piece of masonite (you can find masonite at your local home improvement store, it comes in 4' X 8' sheets and is very thin). Be forewarned, this whole process takes a while but it's totally worth it!

4. Of course, once you've been on the job for a couple hours, it's customary to take a dance party break! Nothing improves morale like a good let your hair down, shake what your momma gave ya dance party! :)

4. Once everything is glued down, we let it sit overnight to make sure the construction adhesive was completely dry.

I wanted this piece to be a bit more interesting than art you simply hang on the wall, so I designed it with the idea that the piece would come from the wall and continue out onto the floor. To do this, Tim simply used a circular saw and cut the masonite about 3 feet from the bottom. That piece was then place directly on the floor while the other piece was placed on the wall.

I love the dimension that this element brings to the piece and to our pictures. I also love that the herringbone pattern brings a movement to the piece as it resembles arrows. Lastly, I like that the art and our clothing choices show a bit of native american inspiration, which hints at and celebrates our Oklahoma ties. Ok, so Tim's shirt really spells it out rather than hints at it. . . but I'm ok with that! :)

So, that's how we created this pretty awesome DIY art installation! Are you a fan?

PS- A big thanks to my mom and Madison for their help! We couldn't have done it without you lovely ladies!

Dolly Love Fest

2012-01-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's Friday!!! Yippee!!! I am extra excited today because tonight I am going to see "Joyful Noise!" That's Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah's new movie which opens today!!! You can watch this trailer if you want to get excited with me!

I usually wait for movies to go to Redbox or the $1 theater, but there's no way I could wait that long to see this movie!! I expect to be fully uplifting and ready to attack my dreams with full force after this one! If you've been around for any length of time, you know that I adore Ms. Dolly Parton and today, I thought I'd celebrate her new movie by showing off some of Dolly's interior spaces!

Now, if you don't know much about the Queen of Country, you may not realize that Dolly grew up in a one bedroom cottage with her parents and 11 brothers and sisters!!! Dolly describes her family as "dirt poor." I love that even though the odds were definitely against her, Dolly chased after her dreams with all she had!! Below are a few photos I found of Dolly's home which has been replicated in her theme park "Dollywood." I have to say even though I can't imagine living in such small quarters with so many people, the place looks very charming.

I found these photos at Hooked on Houses. You can click the link to see the rest of the tour!

Next, I have a few photos of Dolly's tour bus. These came from a tour Dolly gave Oprah on her show a while back. There was a lot of pink, and glitzy finishes as you might expect with Dolly's style, but there are also a few things you might not expect. . . like a touch of Moroccan design!

Above, Dolly shows off her bed and prayer area to Oprah. Below, we get a peak of Dolly's wig collection. . . she doesn't leave home without it!! :)

This little bitty bathtub on the bus is way too tiny for most people, but for Dolly, it works just fine!

In the other bathroom area, you can see a little glitz and glam with the silver leafed walls and the shinny mosaic tiles.

If you're still interested, you can watch the whole video tour by clicking this link!

I looked for photos of Dolly's Nashville home, but I couldn't find any. :( So, I guess it's about time for this love fest to end. I know you all are extremely upset! Have a great weekend!!!

Storage Wars Won

2012-01-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, if I'm having a creative block, I will visit other blogs to see what they are writing about. When I see posts about closet makeovers or junk drawer organizing, I always think, "Who would want to see my closets?" They are somewhat organized (1/2 the time), but definitely not worthy of a blog post. So I started to think about an issue that I'm guessing many of us have.

Living in an older cottage style house, our storage space is pretty limited. This style of house was built with small closets that are few and far between. Because of this, I have found ways to conceal a lot of my ~~clutter~~ necesseities. Let's go over a few ideas that can be adapted to any home that needs some extra hidden storage space!

1. Skirting- Skirting tables or desks can be a great way to unsuspectingly store things that you would normally put in a closet. You can simply pick up a tension rod from Target, sew or use fusible table to create a little skirt, place the skirt on the tension rod, and place up underneath your table or desk! That provides a whole lot of space to stack some magazines or a few boxes of craft supplies!

2. Buying or building pieces of furniture that have lots of drawers provide you with instant organization! Below you can see the media console that my husband and I built with a bunch of old drawers we found at flea markets.

We not only love the look, but we love that each drawer or space is used to organize/hide a different thing, like this drawer which fits our DVD's perfectly. . .

and like this mirror that rotates to reveal our DVD player on movie night, but conceals it the rest of the time. . .

We also designed the piece to have an opening that perfectly fits a collection of our magazines.

We built this piece of furniture, but we've also purchased a couple of flat files to store and organize small office and craft supplies around our space.

3. Of course another way to hide things that you don't necessarily want to be visible to to use baskets. This extra large basket under our kitchen island serves to hold table linens, cloth napkins, and tea towels.

4. Old suitcases are a great way to stylishly hide anything in plain site. You can stack them to create a charming sculpture of sorts or use them separately to hold everything from photos to out-of-season clothes. Below, I used one beside this bed to hold a couple of extra blankets.

Those are some ways that we have increased our storage space around our house. However, sometimes rather than trying to hide things that need a place, I choose to artfully display them. Let me show you what I'm talking about. Sometimes I think we try to conceal things that are just too pretty to shut behind a door or hidden in some box. For me, things like jewelry, cosmetics, vintage dishes, and more can be artfully displayed in full view. Thinking of these items as small pieces of art allow them to do double duty for you. Not only can you use jewelry to finish off an outfit, you can use it to finish off a room!

Tim and I were just on the The Nate Berkus Show talking about this very thing! You can watch our video here if you haven't seen it yet!

Below are a few ways that I like to display jewelry. DIY wooden busts and DIY wooden spindle jewelry holders.

Here, I used my collection of vintage tea cups to create a center piece for my dining table. They are way too charming to be stuffed in some cabinet, don't you think?!

Well, that concludes my post about ways to both conceal clutter, organize, and bring pieces out of the closet or cabinet that need to be displayed! I hope that these ideas are of some help to you and your own war against lacking storage space!

We would love to see and hear about the innovative ways that you've created storage space for yourself!

Easy, Cheap, Fast, and Fantastic DIY Feature Wall

2012-01-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday! I hope you are doing something you love today, or at least working towards it!

I have said before, my favorite thing to do as far as design goes is to create that "WOW" factor! Often times, that comes in the form of a feature wall! Today, I am showing you how to create an easy, cheap, and fast feature wall that looks incredible. It's just not that often that you come across an idea that fits into those four catagories (easy, cheap, fast, and good looking) and when you do it's awesome!! Ding, ding, ding we've got a winner folks!!! :)

Ok, let's get down to it. I started out with a black wall (you'll have to imagine the plain black wall because I forgot to take a before pic). I wanted it to be black because I planned on making my stencil shapes silver and I wanted them to really POP! :)

Next, I cut my desired shape out of cardboard. For this project, it is best to go with a geometric shape, you'll see why in a bit.

Next, I used chalk to trace the shape on my wall. Because I used the same cutout every time, things very easily stayed even and uniform.

Now, that you have your shapes drawn out, you are ready to define them. You may be thinking I'm going to whip out a can of paint, but you'd be wrong! No, I used foil tape to create this fantastic feature wall!! :)

I simply cut each piece to fit the line it was going on until the whole wall was finished!

The whole wall took about 2 hours from start to finish and cost me $10!!!!!

The purpose of this project was to create a backdrop for our photoshoot, but this wall will also look great when we set our furniture up and start living in the space!

You can totally customize this idea and make a shape more suitable to your taste or use a different tape or wall color! By keeping the shape geometric, the tape really works well. You may be wondering about the staying power of this look. Well, the foil tape I used (you can find it at hardware stores in the duct work section) sticks extremely well and will not come down unless I want it to.

So that's it! What do you think? Are you going to create your own "WOW" factor feature wall? I sure hope so, and I hope you will share it with us! :)

Inspired Readers and a Few Tips on the Lacy Dresser Project

2012-01-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! I have to say some of my favorite e-mails to get are the ones when people tell me about projects they have been inspired to do after reading the blog. I've received a few of those messages lately and I am excited to share few quick photos (and a video) of a few reader undertakings!

The first project comes from a couple of my Anthro inters (Kelly and Kelsey)! They saw our Nate segment and decided they would take on the lace stenciled dresser idea that we demonstrated. Kels and Kelly started with a plain white dresser. . .

and ended up with a gray and pink masterpiece! :)

Didn't they do a fantastic job! You to can do this! It's really as easy as it looks. For the Nate show they had me demonstrate the spray painting with the drawer sitting on it's side (for overspray purposes), but when you do this make sure you stand the drawer up on it's end and just drape the lace over the top of it. This allows the lace to stay in place on it's own and gives you a very defined finish!

I've had lots of people ask about reusing the lace on this project. You can use the same piece of lace for every drawer. The lace dries super fast (like 30 sec) and continues to work as well as the first time every time.

The next two reader projects involve the New Year's Eve backdrop idea Tim and I shared. Julia has a party every New Year's and this go around she added the photo backdrop to add another element of fun! Plus, she provided some pretty great props to to make the pictures extra entertaining!

Lastly, the lovely ladies from plant.eat.create decided that they would not only use the backdrop for fun photos but also for a music video of sorts! :) They complied pictures as well as some fantastic footage of them shaking their booties to create a video that makes you want to get out of your seat and just dance! You can watch the video here!

Now, I sure hope there are more of you out there doing projects inspired by this blog. Please send photos our way. . . knowing that we are spurring you to create on your own really makes us so happy!

Ida Red Window Display- Ice, Ice Baby

2012-01-09T00:01:00.001-08:00

Look who is here for back to back posts. I figure if all the NBA players are having to pull a few extra doubles because of the shortened season, why can't I. I know all of you love my basketball references so I will try to include as many as possible in today's post.

Kara's favorite part of her job at Anthropologie was getting to do the window displays. Kara's favorite part of her life is getting to work on projects with me. So last week was like making the game winning shot for her. She got to work on a window display WITH ME!

I think Kara was missing her Anthro job a little bit and after working with her on this display I can see why. I had a BLAST unwrapping thousands of straws and seeing who ended up with the bigger hot glue gun burn blister. I don't know how she ever left. I always sympathized with her interns having to take directions from her, but I gained a whole new level of respect for them this week.

I am just kidding. It wasn't so bad. Kara and I do have a great time working together. We're like Stockton and Malone running the pick and role.

If you haven't already figured it out we used lots of straws to create these shiny icicle like tubes.

We cut two pieces of plywood to fit on the ceiling of the space. This allowed us to assemble the installation at our house and then transport and install them in one piece.

Kara is much more of a artist than I am. If she had her way this is how the windows would stay. She would prefer to leave out the merchandise, but she understands that just art doesn't always pay the bills.

Kara decided she wanted the installation to have a ombre effect and have the colors fade into one another. We left the straws clear at the top and then faded into gold and finally silver. The overall effect is very "antarti-chic." Yes, this is a new phrase that I am coining. Feel free to use it whenever you want but get your pens ready for those royalty checks.

These post tend to be photo heavy. We do our best to get shots from as many angles as possible to try and give you a real sense of how the installation feels in the space. You have to use the back board when shoot at these angles.

Kara loves the crystal lighting effect created by the light shining through the straws at night.

I think we were able to chose products and props for the windows that complimented our design and didn't distract too much from our creation. Although you can't see as much of it as Kara would like, we feel like it definitely creates an awesome backdrop that will draw people into the store.

We also feel like our display represents the type of store that Ida is- a very artistic place that celebrates and sells unique items. . . and tiny little Tom's shoes.

Kara's not ready for children, but that didn't stop her from going on and on about how "adorable" those "teeny tiny shoes" are.

Well, that's the buzzer folks. We are out of time. Did you enjoy our newest window display?

DIY Drum Coffee Table

2012-01-06T00:01:00.001-08:00

I just want to say thanks for all of the kind comments we have received over the past couple of days. It has been a tremendous encouragement and has pushed us to work even harder to reach our ultimate goal.

For anyone who hasn't gotten to see our clip from the Nate Berkus Show, they added our segment to the House Proud archives and you can check it out here!

As I promised earlier in the week, I am back for my second post. Yes, that is a record. Kara had a post ready for today, but I told her I had made a promise and you all would be disappointed if I didn't share my drum table tutorial. She will have to wait until next week.

This project really is one of my favorites. It didn't take a lot of time or money and looks great. The table looks like it was custom made by a professional, but really only requires some simple electrical work. I made it to serve as the coffee table in the waiting room of the music school we just finished. This is what we started with.

Amanda had an extra drum laying around and didn't mind if we messed it up, because it wasn't very expensive. We thought we would throw a coat of paint on it, top it with the glass from an old patio set she had, and call it good. So I started prepping for paint by removing all the hardware.

To remove these top bolts you can use a drum wing key or a just a pair of strong hands.

Since Kara was busy with something else I used a wing key.

There were a lot of screws. Whenever I am taking something apart that has lots of pieces, I like to put screws back in the hardware so I don't lose them or get the pieces mixed up.

Once I took the top off, I noticed that the black exterior of the drum was just a piece of laminate. We decided that the paint would be less likely to peel if we removed this black piece. I assumed that the entire thing was glued and would require quite a bit of sanding, but in the end I thought it would be worth it.

I pulled the two staples and started peeling the laminate. I was happily surprised to discover that only the seam was glued and it wasn't too hard to take it off.

There was about a two inch strip of glue residue that needed to be addressed. I used a combination of paint thinner and sand paper to clean it up, but either one by themselves would have eventually gotten the job done.

Here lately I have really liked pieces with a combination of stained wood and paint. I wanted to try it out, but Kara talked me out of it since there was already so much going on in the room. (Don't tell her, but she was right.)

We ended up staining the piece with Minwax's Provincial and added a couple of coats of polyurethane from a spray can. The aerosol poly is a little more expensive, but for small projects like this, it is worth it. It dries fast, leaves a flawless finish, and requires no cleanup. Just remember it takes multiple coats. If you try to do it with one thick coat you will end up with drips that look awful.

Since we went with the plain stain on the outside I knew the drum needed a little something to make it special. I had the idea to put lights in the drum, but there wasn't a plug near by and there was some fear that a cord may pose a tripping hazard in the waiting room. Kara had some battery powered LED christmas lights left over from the setup she did for her brother's engagement, but I needed a way to turn them on and off so we didn't drain the batteries too quickly.

I bought a push button switch and spliced it into the lights before the first bulb. All that entailed was cutting and stripping the wires then using wire nuts to secure the leads on the switch in place.

Make sure the lights are turned off at the battery pack before you cut the wire and then turn that switch back on to allow the new switch you just installed to control the lights.

After putting all the hardware back on the bottom of the drum I added the lights. I had hoped the switch would fit perfectly inside the existing air hole, but I had to enlarge it just a hair to accommodate the switch.

I ended up securing the lights with tape (not shown) to keep them from sliding around if the table need to be moved. We didn't want to see the individual lights, so we added rice paper to to the top to create a nice diffused light and reinstalled the remaining hardware.

The original drum was way too tall to serve as a coffee table. I used a grinder with a fiber cut off wheel to cut the metal legs down. I was able to reuse the plastic slip-on feet to cover the sharp cut end. We easily could have just left the legs off, but I wanted the drum to sit up off the ground just a bit and allow the light to enhance the floating effect.

With everything in place we set the drum in position and added the glass top.

The warm wood tone adds depth to this bold, colorful room and the polished chrome provides the punch I was looking for when I wanted to add a painted pattern. I should have learned my lesson by now, but working together wouldn't be any fun without a few disagreements along the way.

Wasn't that quick and easy? I know that electrical work is intimidating to a lot of people. Since the lights are battery powered and low voltage, this project would be a great way to start developing this skill set. You don't really have to worry about hurting yourself or ruining something expensive.

Does anybody have the confidence they could take something like this on themselves? I hope you have a great weekend!

The Nate Show Tutorials and A New Window Display Sneak Peak

2012-01-05T02:10:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all! We had an incredible day yesterday! We had so much wonderful encouragement from friends, family, and even some strangers with regards to our appearance on The Nate Show! We feel so blessed by the support you have shown us. So thank you, thank you! :)

For those of you joining us because you were interested in what you saw on our Nate Show segment, links to all the projects are below! Of course, we encourage you to stick around and check out our archives because there is plenty more design inspiration running around here!

Spindle Jewelry Display Stands

DIY Wooden Busts plus a Few More Bust/Silhouette Ideas

The Lace Stenciled Dresser

And for our faithful readers. . . with all the excitement yesterday, we got going on our work a little late and it is 4:30 am as I type this blog post. I have not been to sleep yet because Tim and I were working a new window display for Ida Red! The good news is: I love how it turned out! The bad news is: I have absolutely no brain power left to tell you about it. :( So, I am simply going to post a quick pic we snapped and tell you about it tomorrow. Thanks for understanding! :)

Have a lovely day! :)

Fun Photo Shoot Pics

2012-01-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today Tim and I are anxiously waiting to hear from our parents about how we did on The Nate Show. Unfortunately, none of the stations around Tulsa carry the show! Boo Tulsa stations!!! :( Anyway, we'll have to wait until we take a trip home or until Nate puts the video up on his site. So, if you watch our segment, you'll have to let us know what you thought!

In other news, I want to share some fun pictures that Tim and I took for a recent photo shoot. The photo shoot was specifically for Tim and I to get some professional photos to promote our show! :) We will use the shots on the new "Til Design Do Us Part" website and we will also use them for our package when we pitch to different networks. :) The goal of the pictures is to tell a story about who we are and what we do.

Tim and I worked very hard before the shoot to create the backdrops. It is our hope that every part of the picture gives others a little insight into us, from our design style to how we relate to each other. :) So, today we are going to show off some of our favorites! We would LOVE to know which ones you like the most!

This one (above) is probably my favorite! We just had so much fun as it rained paint chips! :) I think the paint chip wall adds great texture to the photo as well! :)

This series (below) pretty much epitomizes Tim and I's relationship. I like to focus on the task at hand, but Tim is all about having fun while he works. We make a great team because we balance each other. I married Tim because he makes me laugh and life is so much better when he's around!

I like this photo (below) because you get a glimpse of my teal tights! They were awesome! I was a tad bit bummed because this was the only photo where you can kind of see them. I guess I'll have to figure out another time and place to let those babies shine! :)

I love Tim in this photo (below). Doesn't he just look so manly and strong wheeling me around in that wheel barrel!?

Crazy Tim at it again! He has a bit of ADD. Haha!

Can you tell that I just adore him? I really do! It also helps that I watched "P.S. I Love You" today. I'm feeling very sappy.

Not sure if the whole "planking phenomena" is over, but we went ahead and took this one for fun! :)

Love my pants in this one! I got them from Anthro a while ago and could never figure out where to wear them. This shoot was the perfect opportunity!

We really like this one below, but we want to change the black background out so that my hair doesn't bend in so much. Isn't it a fun concept though?

Ok, so we had to have one that was a little "bad to the bone!" Don't mess with us. . . we are lean, mean, designing machines!!!

If you're interested, we will give some tips on how we created the photo backdrops for the shoot! And like I said, please leave a comment and let us know which photos were your favorites because those will probably be the ones we end up using! Thanks y'all!!

Update:

We have had some people ask us about this picture from "the Nate show."

We got the "Mustache Mask" from our friend Dan. He has them for sell in his Etsy shop.

Sneak Peaks and Updates

2012-01-02T00:01:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone's new year is off to a great start. Kara and I wrapped up working on a project today, but had to start on another one right away. We haven't had time to get final pictures of the space. Here are a few sneak peaks to tide you over.

Amanda is the owner of this space, where she runs a music school. She is one of our favorite clients. She is an artist who loves color and allows us to push the limits. Kara did a great job incorporating lots of color without letting it look chaotic.

I didn't get to take on any major projects since they brought over most of their furniture from their previous location, but I did get a chance to put my stamp on the coffee table. I also managed to hang about 40 curtain rods somewhat level.

I will be back later in the week with a full tutorial of this little table. It was dirt cheap and didn't take much time or effort, but don't tell Kara. I used my spare time to enjoy the start of the NBA season. Real basketball is BACK!

If you missed our other 10 reminders, we will be on the Nate Berkus show tomorrow! Look here to find out when it will be on your local station. Unfortunately for all of our local readers, The Nate Berkus Show is not carried on any of our local Tulsa stations. We have been told that sometime after it airs our segment will be archived on his site. When it is we will be sure to let everyone know so you can check it out.

The Best of 2011

2012-01-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Tim and I will be appearing on The Nate Show this Wednesday, January 4th! Ahhhhh! Click here to find out what time the show is on in your area!

Hey Friends! Looking back on 2011, we had a pretty great year! We met some wonderful new friends, got to visit our favorite place on earth, and made some major strides towards our goals!

Now with all the responsibilities we all have pulling us different directions, Tim and I thought you may have missed a few posts this year. For that reason, we put together our favorites list! Run down the list and see if there's anything that slipped by the first time. . . or maybe there's something you just want to read again! :)

Our Lace Stenciled Dresser was a favorite. Best of all, it's so easy anyone can do it! We got to show Nate how easy this is to create.

In 2011, Tim created his First Prototype Table and it was a hit! He went on to build prototypes for a number of other designs as well!

I became the Display Coordinator at Anthropologie and had the chance to create some pretty fun stuff. Click here to see all the displays.

Tim shared the "Key to Our Relationship" with this awesome DIY project!

The Fish Scale Feature Wall got some love. We also got a couple of tips on how to apply this to your walls in different ways. Most of the suggestions were to attach the scales to something larger (a piece of poster board or wood) and then attach the larger item to the wall to keeps the number of holes at a minimum.

The DIY Concrete Wall was an Apartment Therapy favorite.

This year, I shared something very important to me- having a positive self image.

Tim and I shared about Ida Red's Old Fashioned Soda Shop that we designed together.

In the same year that I joined the Anthro team, I said goodbye to Anthro because it was getting in the way of a greater dream. Click the link to read more of the story.

In 2011, We got news that DIY Magazine wanted to feature our home! We completed a few living room projects just for them. Read about our new media console and DIY shelving!

Oh, and I almost forgot! We got to be part of the Design Crew when HGTV'd and Ellen partnered to give a military family a wonderful makoever! Read about our experience here and the design here!

So, there they are. . . a few of our favorites from 2011! We have a feeling 2012 is going to be just as great!

(New Year's Eve) Party Ideas

2011-12-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! Well, I started to write this post and I realized I have so much more to say on the subject of "dreaming" than I realized. So, I started a series of posts that I plan to share in the next few weeks, but for now I'll keep this post a bit more light and save the serious stuff for later.

Today I am sharing two great ideas for that New Year's Eve Bash you might be throwing! What's that you say? Your not throwing a NYE Party? Well, that's ok. These ideas are adaptable to all sorts of occasions and I believe one of them is a must do for every household!!

Idea #1 is setting up a photo opportunity. If you read our Tulsa World article you saw that Tim and I took some super fun photos. What you might not know is the whole set up was super duper easy!!! The idea is that at a gathering of any kind (weddings, birthdays, holiday parties, baby showers) you always need some ideas to entertain the guests. Well, creating a photo opp may be just the thing to take your shindig from borrrrring to a night they'll never forget! We created our backdrop in our living room.

Here's what you need:

-gold wrapping paper

-foil door curtains

(I found both items above at a local party supply store)

-a curtain rod

-tape

We simply used the curtain rod that was already there (we removed the curtains of course), and taped (Yes, taped. This is not meant to be permanent people) a layer of gold wrapping paper to it. You may have to install a curtain rod for your party depending on the location of your back drop.

Second, we took three foil curtains and taped them to the curtain rod as well. The first wrapping paper layer just helps to make sure the foil curtains don't seem too sparse.

The last and possibly most important things are the PROPS!!! Buy or find a few fun pieces for your guests to play with while they are posing for their pictures! Here I printed a couple of banners from my home computer and bought a few crazy accessories to create a really fun atmosphere!

Believe me guests will really start to get into the whole photo shoot vibe and create some awesome memories.

And the best thing is, if you have a polaroid instant camera(which you can find here or here) guests can take these memories home with them! :)

Our second idea for New Years Eve gatherings (and for the new year in general) is to create a resolution tree. Where as the "photo opp" idea is very fun and outgoing, this idea is more serious.

You may have heard of "wishing trees" before. It's when guests write down their "wishes" or advice for a happy couple at their wedding. Well, this idea is similar but geared more towards self examination. A Resolution Tree should serve as a place for guest to come and present their goals or dreams for that year. I love this idea for many reasons:

1. It causes people to start thinking about what their dreams and goals really are. So many times, we don't take the time to figure out what it is we really want to do with our lives. (PS- This is where I started off on a whole other tangent when I first began to write this post- check back to hear many more thoughts about dreaming soon!)

2. It causes people to write their dreams down. Studies show we are much more likely to achieve our goals if we write them down. By writing our goals/dreams down we make them more real in a way. They seem to become more attainable.

3. Lastly, I love this idea because the hostess can pack these dreams away for a year and either hand them back out to former guests at next year's party or mail them out to hopefully serve as a "Congratulations, you did it!" or as a "This is your year, get back on the horse, you can do it!"

Creating a Resolution Tree is extremely easy.

1. Gather branches from your yard.

2. Spray paint them if you desire or leave them natural.

3. Arrange the branches in a glass hurricane. You can use anything in the bottom of your vase to add some interest. I used shredded paper. I also added ribbon around the outside of the hurricane.

4. You can also choose to add a little embellishment to the branches to suit your theme. I was going for a more glamourous look, hence the gold branches and crystal trimmings! :)

5. Set out some cards for guests to write their goals on. Go ahead and punch holes in the cards so guests can string and hang their dreams themselves!

6. Lastly, set out a frame housing simple instructions telling guests what this whole set up is about! :)

There you have it, two ideas to keep guests entertained and intrigued at your next get together! What do you think? Will you use them?

Reader Friendly Blog Changes

2011-12-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

UPDATE- I forgot to mention that we wrote a little guest blog over on Yellow Brick Home today! It cover's a few of our favorite posts from this year. Click here to read it!

Every year about this time, I try to take a few days to improve the blog and make it more reader friendly, more professional, and more visually pleasing. You may have noticed I neglected to post yesterday. Well, that's because I was busy with some of these changes and I am pleased to present to you today!

You probably already noticed a few weeks ago, I replaced the picture banner with some more recent projects, plus a few photos of Tim and I. I thought it would be nice if you could have a visual of who's behind the blog when you come to visit!

The second and probably most important thing I did was update my tabs (those things circled in purple below).

Well, before when you clicked on those tabs it took you to a written list of projects or one post after the other which you would have to scroll through to find what you were looking for. I am happy to say, now when you click on one of those tabs (excluding the how-to tab) you are taken to a gallery!

Each project has a feature photo above the link so you reach the post you are looking for faster. It will also help readers to figure out which projects they are interested in or not interested in more quickly.

I hope you will enjoy this new feature and take full advantage of it! Of course we will be adding to these lists often!

Since the new year is right around the corner, we are in self-improvement mode! Is there anything about the blog that you find hard to navigate or something that you think could be changed to enhance the time you spend here? We would love to know!

Speaking of the New Year, I'll be back tomorrow to expand on the New Year's Eve Party Ideas that we gave to the Tulsa World. PS- One of them is something that you really must do whether you're having a party or not! See ya soon!!!

Tulsa World Feature

2011-12-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed time with family and friends. Tim and I really enjoyed ignoring work for a day, relaxing, and reflecting on what makes this season special to us- our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus!

Today I'm posting a link to an article in the Tulsa World (Tulsa's newspaper). Tim and I sat down to do an interview with them and to give some tips about throwing a memorable New Years Eve party. You can read the whole article here!

Incredible Media Center Makeover!

2011-12-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today I am happy to share a great project completed by Dana at Make Them Wonder. There is something to be said for wiping a slate clean and starting from scratch but I absolutely love it when people look at the space they have and figure out smart solutions to fit their lifestyle. That's what Dana did with the cut out nook beside her fireplace. Using this as the media area not only kept the focal points (the fireplace and TV) on the same wall, but then Dana totally pimped out the media area using every square inch. It looks great! Take a look!

and drum role please. . .

I love that the floating shelves allow Dana to use the whole height of the cut out for display or storage. And I love that the bottom part is used as a landing pad for the pups of the house!

Yes, the utilization of the space is fantastic, but let's be honest my favorite part is the awesome painted pattern on the wall behind the shelves! It is an Ikat pattern and Dana was kind enough to tell us how she did it.

First she cut strips of paper all at the same measurements.

Second, she started to create the zigzag pattern.

Once she had the pattern just right she used tape to keep the pieces together and she then taped it on the wall.

Once on the wall, Dana traced the shape a number of times and then filled the new pattern in with paint. There are more details on this process in this post on Dana's blog.

Now if your like me, you had an idea of how to achieve the zigzag/chevron pattern but what your really interested in is how Dana got that ikat look.

Sidenote: For those of you who don't know what Ikat means, the definition is:

A craft in which one tie-dyes and weaves yarn to create an intricately designed fabric.

You've seen Ikat patterns from the run ways to hallways (painted or on wall paper). And now with Dana's help, you can see it in your home too!

Here Dana's description of how she achieved the look.

"While it's (the paint) still wet, hold the brush straight up and down then bring it just outside the edge of the painted area. Make a tiny little stroke back towards the solid painted area. Then repeat this action a gazillion more times as you make your way down the entire edge. I found by holding the brush handle as close to the foam as possible, it gave me more control over the movements. Quick movements and not thinking too much about it, once again, is key!"

And eventually you end up with this!

For more info on Dana's process click here!

Thanks so much for sharing your skills and secrets with us Dana! And with that I will say to everyone. . . Have a very Merry Christmas and we'll see you back here on Monday!

Welcome Design Sponge Readers!

2011-12-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

If you're clicking over from Design Sponge today, Tim and I welcome you to our blog! We are so excited you decided to stop by! We have a ton of stuff going on around here, so we hope you will grab a cup of coffee and stay a while!

If you scroll down to the previous post, you will see a link that will take you to all the displays I did when I worked for Anthropologie! I got to create some pretty fun stuff while I was there. If you scroll down a few more posts, you will notice that Tim and I just got back from a trip to NYC where were beyond excited to be featured on The Nate Berkus Show! You will also see that we are actively and fervently developing our own design show which will be called, 'Til Design Do Us Part.

We would love for you to come along with us on the crazy little journey. So if you feel inclined you can connect with us in a number of ways:

1. Follow us on Pinterest

2. Become a blog reader

3. Like us on Facebook

4. Find us Twitter

Oh and in case you are specifically looking for more info on the projects Design Sponge featured, you can find the DIY tutorial for the steel cable shelves here and the media console post here!

And to our wonderful readers, you can check out our feature on Design Sponge by clicking here!

DIY Doily Bowls/Flowers

2011-12-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

Remember months ago when I made these doily "flowers" for the one of my Anthropologie displays?

Well, this idea isn't only perfect for the abstract Anthro display above (you can read more about that project right here). No, this idea and process can be used to make adorable doily bowls for your home!

The process is easy and inexpensive. Here's how you to do it.

Gather your materials.

1. Doilies

2. Elmer's Glue

3. An Extra Bowl- you will use this bowl as a template for your doily so make sure that it has a nice shape and is compatible with the size of the doily you are using.

Step 1- Mix the glue with water. (3 parts glue to one part water)

Step 2- Soak your doily in the mixture. Swirl the doily around a bit to make sure the mixture works itself all the way through the material.

Step 3- Turn the extra bowl wrong side up

Step 4- Ring out the doily and place it on top of the extra bowl. Make sure you lay the doily out exactly how you want it to dry. If you want it to have ruffled look adjust the fabric for that. If you want a clean look, smooth the fabric out.

Photo courtesy The Nester

Step 5- Let the doily dry for 24 hours and then remove it from the bowl!

Tip- Try to use doilies that are tightly knit. The looser the knit, the harder it will be for the bowl to hold it's shape once dry.

Oh and if you're like me, you may enjoy a few of the those doily "flowers" floating around as well!

And there you have it. Don't you just love doilies and all their possibilities?! Some of you have asked for a tutorial on the doily fossils. I would love to give you one, just give me some time to get a few process pictures together! :)

Happy Wednesday!

Last of the NYC Inspiration

2011-12-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

Well today I'm back to share the final installment of the NYC inspiration. We throughly enjoyed our time in the city that never sleeps and of course we were over the moon to be on The Nate Show! The trip provided us with the perfect opportunity to recharge our creative juices and start off the new year with a full inspiration tank! Just as promised, we will end this show with a bang thanks to Anthropologie.

So, are you ready for this?!

Of course the FOS (front of store) is extrememly important for Anthro because we all know first impressions are formed quickly and seem to last. This Christmas, Anthro seemed to embrace a more mod, silver colored theme (which is wildly different from their rustic and woodsy feel from last year). Many of the stores are using foiled surfaces to achieve their more mod look.

This store below created what seemed like a million tiny foil boxes, strung them together, and then hung them in the windows and all around the entrance to the store.

I love the canopy and then cascading effect that just makes you feel like you're in a winter wonderland! :)

Here Anthro proves once again that simple, small pieces grouped together in mass make a huge, incredible statement!

Here's a close-up of the boxes in case you want to try and figure out how to make these for yourself.

Here, some igloo-like dome shapes are grouped together for a fun 3-D effect. Can you tell what they're made from?

Well plastic spoons of course. :) The fact that they are also lit from within raises this installations wow factor up a few notches in my book. I love glowing art!

The dome feel was carried over to the other side of the store with this 1/2 igloo like structure created from frames and old windows.

Here a couple of plain jane floating shelves are snazzed up with a whimsically cut frame.

The scene in this window is slightly obscure but still very visible do to a layer of plastic straws in front of it! It almost looks as if the window has accumulated a thin layer of frost on it's surface. What a lovely effect!

Paper chain=not that impressive. That is unless you gather 200 strands of it.

I'm thinking the idea here was to create something that resembled icicles. Maybe not, but that's what it makes me think of.

It seems circles of paper were tightly strung and then glitter was applied to the edges. I love the result.

Below an incredible focal point is created by stuffing books into this huge wooden cabinet. Books are a favorite in Anthro displays. I particularly like the fading paint treatment and the fact that these gangly light fixtures are emerging from the stacks.

This particular window displays was not a favorite. Then, Tim spotted a motor and figured out the installation was on a timer. He asked an employee if they would turn it on, but they said they couldn't touch it, but the timer should trigger it every seven minutes. He waited around and after seven minutes decided to turn it on himself. I still wasn't that taken with the whole thing, but I give major props to anyone who creates a moving art installation.

The last photo is not impressive because of the talent needed to create it or because there are a million pieces to it. It's simply ethereal. Sometimes all you need to make an awe inspiring window display is a giant parachute. :)

I hope you've enjoyed this post and all the design inspiration from our NYC trip. Now, I guess it's time to start creating some inspiring things of our own!

DIY Jewelry Display Stands

2011-12-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

Well we are one day closer to Christmas and if you're anything like me, you still have some presents to pick up. Although it is much easier to go and grab something from a store, I like to make my Christmas presents whenever possible. I feel like a handmade gift communicates that the relationship is important and worth the extra energy.

Today I am going to show you how to make a some great jewelry organizers that don't just provide a valuable function, but are beautiful in form. I made a few back when I was with Anthropologie, but as a job requirement I was not able to share the instructions with you. Today however, I am free to give you every last detail. And the best part is, it's as easy as 1-2-3!!!

Here are the materials you will need:

- wooden circle (or square) plaques- find them at your local craft store

- wooden spindles- you can use old chair pieces, table legs, or stairway spindles)

- decorative knobs

- paint (if desired)

Once you have your materials gathered, each stand should only take a few minutes to assemble. Here's how you do it!

1. Cut your spindle(s) down to the heights you want. You can use a chop saw or hand saw to do this. Tip- If you are going to cluster a few together, cut them at different heights to add interest!

2. Screw the circular wall plaque to the bottom of your spindle. You should pre-drill the spindle to make sure the wood doesn't crack.

3. Next, screw your decorative knob to the top of the spindle. Once again you will have to pre-drill in order for the knob to be able to screw in.

And you're finished. Of course you could paint the spindles to fit your specific style or color scheme. Or you can leave things neutral.

Oh and you may be wondering about the cost. Well the wall plaques are $1, the spindles free or close to it when you use reclaimed materials, and the knobs range from $3-$10. That is an extremely affordable gift! At that price, you may even be able to spring for a bracelet to display on the piece as well!

With just a few extra spindles and a couple of more screws you can also make a different version of the organizer and use it to display/store everything from headbands to necklaces!

And there you have it, some lovely displays to highlight your beautiful jewelry!

What do you think?

What We've Been Up To & How We Need Your Help!

2011-12-15T22:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday Friends! Today I am so excited to finally tell you why we were in NYC!

Tim and I got the invite to be on The Nate Show!

We found out yesterday that our episode will be airing January 4th, so tune in or set your DVR's y'all! Just so you have an idea of what you will see, we were asked to a "House Proud" home tour and then we were in studio demonstrating/talking about a few of our projects. I think it went well although it's hard to remember! Everything went so fast that day I'm not even sure what I said! Ha! I guess it went ok since they didn't cancel the episode or anything. :) But we will have to wait and see. I'll give a little more detail about the whole experience after the show airs.

In other news Tim and I have some updates to let you in on. If you've been reading the blog for a while, you know that we have a dream of one day having our own televised design show, which will be called 'Til Design Do Us Part. Well, I don't talk it about it everyday on here, but you can guarantee that every day we are working on getting this show off the ground in one form or another. And we've actually made some real headway in the past month! We've been talking to producers, production companies, perfecting the concept of the show, and more! We've been working incredibly hard. One thing that is immensely important is letting as many people know about the show as possible. Of course one way we can do that is through social media- Facebook and Twitter specifically. So, today Tim and I are asking that you go "Like" our 'Til Design Do Us Part page. Do that by clicking here and hitting the "Like" button at the top of the page. And if you would be so kind as to share the page with your friends, we would be so very grateful. If it's any incentive, sometime in the next few weeks we will be asking for applicants to be a part of the show and our Facebook friends will have the first shot!

Last but not least, get excited for next week because I'll be sharing last minute DIY Christmas gift ideas. They will be easy, fast, and affordable! Can't believe Christmas is right around the corner. . . crazy!!!

ABC Carpet and Home

2011-12-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I have two more NYC inspiration posts to share with you. Today I am highlighting a place that I never knew existed until a friend (Thanks Dasha!) directed me there. ABC Carpet and Home is like IKEA on steroids!

Photo found here.

This place is 6 floors jam packed full of interior design goodness. I have to admit when I first walked in and saw this. . .

I wasn't too impressed. Although there were plenty of amazing products, it was all so cluttered I was just annoyed with having to wade through it all, not to mention a bit overwhelmed.

But, that was the first floor and as I ventured to floors 2-6 things became much more organized and and the merchandising was much more to my taste! I loved that each floor represented a different style. If I lived in NYC, I would send my clients to ABC and record the amount of time they spent on each floor. I think by reviewing those times, I would be able to easily tell which styles speak to them most.

Let's take a look at some of the styles/floors. We have the glamorous and elegant look. . .

The masculine and old world feel. . .

A modern industrial vibe. . .

The contemporary artistic area. . .

A floor full of antiques and vintage finds. . .

There was even an entire section to devoted to lighting! And man did they have some amazing fixtures!

Now of course living in NYC makes visiting this place a little bit easier, but ABC didn't leave us non-New Yorkers high and dry. No, they have a website where you can shop online and order any of the gorgeous goodness for yourselves. Of course it's not nearly as fun as being there in person, but at least you can shop in your PJ's! :)

In all actuality this store is a place for people with a lot of money and no time. No doubt there are amazing products, but it seems in many cases they are way overpriced. After reading some reviews it seems many customers found the same products in different stores for significantly lower prices. Obviously, this store caters to people who want a one stop shopping trip and would rather lay down the cash than spend time shopping around for the best price. However, it is still an incredible place to visit for inspiration to get your creative juices going. :)

DIY Ideas From NYC's Best Design Stores

2011-12-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today I am sharing some wonderful designs that we saw as we scoured the streets of NYC for design inspiration. We were not disappointed as we found tons of great ideas that were both incredibly intricate as well as do-it-yourself! Now I love seeing both, but today I wanted to share some things that you could easily replicate in your own home! That sounds like fun, right?!

If you pay attention to design trends lately, you have certainly noticed how "in" crystals and geodes are. They are literally everywhere! Below, these gorgeous crystals serve as eye catching wall art when placed in shadow boxes and gathered in a gallery like setting.

Product/Idea found in Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.

At $350 per piece, I think a DIY version could definitely be cheaper although you might have to really search to find such beautiful crystals!

If you like the look you can easily join the trendsetters and get a few of your own. Earthbound Trading Co., Romancing the Stone, and local bead shops are great places to find these stones and crystals for reasonable prices.

Next, we have an incredible piece of art. The piece below is created entirely out of push pins!

Find Madewell here.

I couldn't get a close-up because the piece was to high, but I think you can see how simple but time consuming this could be. Of course this idea could be customized and completely personalized! :)

The idea below is a great way to display special photos or keepsakes in a different way. Frames are pretty predictable but this is wonderfully unique! I think I may display some of our WWII finds like this!

Idea found in ABC Carpet and Home.

You have to be a bit more artsy and daring to use this next idea in your home.

Idea found in ABC Carpet and Home.

A number of circular pieces are bound together with a ratcheting straps. I'm not sure what these circular pieces are made of, but you could use cardboard foundation tubes. What a lovely sculptural piece!

Short on cash and need some furniture asap? How about ratcheting a bunch of wooden logs together for a rustic and super functional addition to your space!

Product/Idea found in Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.

Want to jazz up a lampshade? Anthro used paint stirring sticks to create something unique and most likely free!

You saw this mirror a few posts ago, but I thought I would highlight it again because this look is totally attainable with a bit of rope and some hot glue.

Product found at Haus Interior.

Aren't those some great ideas!? Very rarely do I take an idea I see and copy it directly. But I love to see other's creativity and use that as inspiration to come up something that may be similar but has my own personal twist to it. After all, when you are designing your home it's all about being surrounded by things that speak to who you are! :)

'Til tomorrow!

A Christmas Snow Set

2011-12-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

This December has been crazy for us so far. . . but it's a good crazy! :) A couple days after we returned from NYC, we headed to Branson, MO to see a theatre production- A Christmas Snow. This show was special to us because we designed the set for it just a few short months ago! We had to leave Branson before all the lighting was perfected and before rehearsals started so this was our first time to see the sets lit up and as a part of the show.

This set up was supposed to be the home of a 30 something single woman who is stylish and sophisticated, and a bit of a Christmas scrooge. :( (Notice there are no Christmas decorations.)

In order for the set to pop and be seen all the way to the back of the room, I had to do a number things.

1. I used high contrasting colors in areas.

2. I used glaze to enhance the shadows on painted items. This increases the depth of the space.

3. And I used lots of layers to make the set feel lived in and interesting.

You can see below that each element of the set is on a platform. Underneath the platforms are casters that allow the pieces to be moved on and off stage quickly and easily for scene changes.

The original plan was for the cabinets to have molding on them. However, a budget crunch kept that from happening. The solution was easily solved when I used paint to create a molding like effect. The high contrast of the painted lines is actually probably better for this project than the wood would have been. You can also use this idea in your own home to dress up plain cabinet front doors.

For a certain scene in the play, this lovely oversized fireplace descends from the ceiling. It is oversized so that the audience can easily see the actor's faces during the scene. It also frames out the living room quite nicely.

The candle light and the fake fire create a beautiful light that made that scene my absolute favorite. After the scene is over, the fireplace swiftly lifts back up into the ceiling rafters to make sure the rest of the play can be easily seen.

The bedroom set boasts a upholstered velvet headboard and an interesting asymmetrical wall of art. To see instructions for upholstering a headboard or ottoman of your own, click here.

The kitchen color scheme would be lovely in a home, but for this theatre production it could have been a little bit more colorful now that I look back at it. But that will be a perfect upgrade for Season 2!

Right now the backsplash is stainless steel. This will be the perfect spot to add a pop of amazing color for next year's show!

There were other set-ups like: a 70's living room, a restaurant scene, and a car accident of sorts. But we thought that the main house set up would be more of what our readers were interested in. If you'd like to see the other set-ups and the whole show, you'll have to go see A Christmas Snow in Branson! :)

Haus Interior

2011-12-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday Friends!

Today I am highlighting a store called Haus Interior. I love all the layered patterns present in the store's decor.

Sometimes it can be intimidating to use more than one pattern in a room, but if done right the results are really lovely! So here's the Tip: when using multiple patterns in a room, make sure that the scale of the patterns differ from each other. This will keep things looking interesting rather than overwhelming. You can see in the photo above how Haus used a large scale pattern on the ground and then a much smaller one on the wall. Keeping the rest of the walls white really allows you to appreciate the patterns and the product. The dark colored wall in the very back also works to draw your eye to the back of the store making the whole space feel bigger.

Tim has been itching to get into our new loft because he has the shelving idea that will be just perfect for the space. The ones that Haus created for their store are very similar to Tim's idea. Check them out!

They are basically wooden beams with slits cut into them just big enough for a piece of glass to slip into. The result is modern, clean, and completely functional.

Below instead of cutting slits into the wooden beams, the designers slipped ropes through holes in the wood and created a ladder of sorts, perfect for displaying blankets and a number of other things!

Light fixtures are probably my favorite singular element to add to a room. The possibilities are literally endless and it's a great way to add your personality into a space. The fixtures in this space were simple but fun.

As I mentioned above, this dark colored wall at the back of the space draws your eye and makes the store bigger. It also draws your eye due the grid of antlers. I love this look.

If you're interested in creating this look for your own home, Haus Interiors sells these mounted antlers in their online store!

Here are a few of my other favorites from Haus's online store. Click here to see there whole selection and place an order.

I kind of LOVE this note to Noah! HA- so perfect! :)

What a great store for inspiration and fun, unique products! We were so happy to be able to visit and share it with you! More to come!

How to create sconces using a desk lamp

2011-12-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

I have been away for a while, but since I have been sitting on the couch for the past few days recovering from chasing Kara through the streets of New York, I thought I would share a quick tutorial of how we made some sconces for the reading room revamp.

Kara knew the look she wanted for these, but could only find a lamp that fit the bill. She asked if we could convert them to hang on the wall and good thing I said yes, because she had already gotten them.

Here is a break down of the rest of our supplies:

1. Toggle Bolts - 2 per lamp (if you haven't used them in a while, you will like the new look)

2. Acorn Nuts - 2 per lamp

3. Replacement Plug

4. 3" Threaded Rod - 2 per lamp

Your lamp could be a little different than the one we used, but these directions should give you a good starting point. Let's get started.

First, remove the protective felt from the bottom to expose the innards.

Use pliers to remove the bottom nut and free the weight.

Cut off the plug so you can slide the cord through the base.

Disassemble the base by sliding the weight out from underneath the base and off the cord. The main portion of the lamp should be loose from the base at this point. You will also notice a circular piece of cardboard in the lamp base. Set that aside, you will use it later.

Place tape and then mark where you would like to drill the holes for your bolts. When you are deciding where to drill your holes be sure to consider where the cord exits the base and drill accordingly.

Pick a metal drill bit that is just slightly larger than your threaded rods.

Drill the holes. Go slow and use a significant amount of pressure. Our base was very thin so it didn't matter, but if you drill through a thicker metal you might want to use a few drops of lubricating oil.

Now that your base is prepped you can reattach the main portion of the lamp to the base using the nut you removed earlier.

With my freshly drilled base I used the piece of cardboard from the base to create a template to transfer the placement of the holes onto our cork-board background.

Since the base of our lamp will cover these feel free to make them a bit larger to give your self a little bit of wiggle room. Be sure to go ahead drill another larger hole in between the two bolt holes to accommodate your cord.

Next I transferred my marks and then drill my holes to the wall. We centered our sconce above the daybed and picked a height that will allow for easy adjustment. The size of your drill bit will be determined by the toggle bolt you are using and should be listed on that package. The blue tape is just there to catch some of the dust to make Kara's cleanup job easier (haha yeah right).

Unfortunately we missed taking pictures of me installing the toggle bolts. You should be able to find those instructions on the toggle bolt packaging.

These last few steps don't have to be performed in this specific order, so you can see what I did then choose for yourself.

I inserted the threaded rods into the toggles that I had installed in the wall. I liked this plan because it allowed me to go ahead and hang the cork-board on the threaded rods and then provided a "target" to aim at when I was placing the lamp base on the wall. Be sure to thread your cord through the cork-board before your attach the base to the wall so it can be concealed as much as possible.

Next, align the base with the threaded rods and attach it using the acorn nuts.

Here is a close up to show you how that should work.

Lastly you will need to replace the plug that we clipped earlier. There are a lot of options for this, but this version is one of the simplest and effective I have found.

And there you have it. After all that hard work step back and enjoy your handy work...

Or if your wife prefers symmetry, get back to work and finish installing the other one.

I am happy with how they turned out, but most importantly Kara loved the finished product. She'll be back tomorrow with some more NYC inspiration.

Our "Inspircation" in NYC. . . Starting with Anthroplogie

2011-12-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! Please forgive my absence from the blog the last few days! Tim and I spent the last 5 days in my favorite place in the world- New York City!

As much as I wanted to sit down and write a blog post for you, my heart was more into taking in every bit of inspiration and energy from the city as possible! We had so much fun on our trip and we are back and feeling like we can take on our projects with more vigor than ever! Our main reason for heading to NYC will still need to remain a mystery due to some silly rules that we agreed to. :(

As you can imagine, the inspiration in NYC is never ending! I took plenty of photos to share so that you too could be inspired! Tim and I love that every single little shop takes so much pride in their decor and presentation. From the smallest little crepe shop to the Anthropologie windows in Rockefeller Center, my creativity was sparked by all the inventive and just plain beautiful ideas!

I'll begin and end this whole NYC series with what is still my favorite store ever - Anthropolgie. They are simply the best at inventive, artistic design and I find so much inspiration there. I throughly enjoyed providing the inspiration during my time at Anthro as the Display Coordinator (you can find my displays here), but I am pleased as punch to be back as a consumer of the inspiration. So here's where I'm going to zip my lips and let the pictures due the talking.

Display created with fluorescent tube lights.

This one was created with a ton of zip ties.

Tin foil creates quite a center piece!

Glass jars lit from behind is just gorgeous!

Hexagon shapes attached together create a great dome like effect.

Photo slides painted and lit from behind create a super cool piece of art!

There's a whole lot more where this came from as well as more attainable design ideas right around the corner! Tune back in tomorrow!

Stuck

2011-12-06T23:18:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! Well I'm a little put out at the moment because Tim's and my flight was delayed and we are stuck in Chicago. :( I was so excited to write and post a blog full of NYC inspiration, but alas it will have to wait until tomorrow. Stick with me, I'm almost home and I'll get back to my regularly scheduled blogging! :)

My Cozy Little Craft Room

2011-12-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! Well if you didn't figure it out from yesterday's post Tim and I are in New York City this week! We came in on official business but are staying a few extra days because we need an "inspircation!" If you didn't get that, it's like a vacation but mainly taken for the purpose of getting inspiration to fuel our creativity! In honor of that, I thought I would post pics from my somewhat newly created craft room. . . it used to be the reading room, but let's be honest I don't really read (other than blogs of course!). Therefore, the reading room became the craft room! :) Check it out!

There are a lot of feminine feeling elements going on in this room and while I like that, I didn't want it to feel too girly because that's just not me. I'm not a girly girl but I love a good floral pattern! Anyway, I tried to balance the feminine touches by bringing in these metal lockers. I LOVE them because of their color and material but also because it gives a nod to my basketball days! :) Oh, and they store a crazy amount of stuff!

Storage is kind of crucial in a craft room. . . that way your space doesn't end up looking like a supply closet. I like to artfully display things when possible, but I also have plenty of concealed storage. I mean a guess a glue gun could look cute if it were gold or something, but mine's just royal blue. :)

Inside the bread box I keep my glue gun, glue gun supplies, and other adhesives. I have a plethora of glass jars that hold everything from buttons to paint brushes to safety pins. I find my jars at flea markets or simply clean out and keep my jelly jars when Tim's eaten too many PB&J's!

The skirt on the table also provides a hidden space to stash tons of magazines and other necessary stuff.

This space is pretty small and the lighting is not great. I use mirrors to help with both of these issues. Mirrors create depth in a space and bounce light around the room.

The other side of the room has a nook the perfect size for a twin mattress. Tim and I designed it that way when we were remodeling. I kept the sheer curtains from the reading room design, but replaced the decoupaged map wall and added some desk lamps turned sconces! Tim's going to tell you how to do that next week!

Under the nightstand, an old milk crate holds a bunch of fabric scraps that I am sure will become something beautiful one day. :) And the lace light adds more texture and another interesting element to the space!

Overall, I love the left side of the room, but I feel like the right side (with the bed) needs to be more cohesive. I really want to paint the trim a lighter color, but with our house on the market and the million other things I have to do, it's probably not going to happen. If I do decide to paint the trim I'll do a little update and show a little more of the bed nook area. :)

Ok, we're off to be inspired! And don't worry, we'll take tons of pics to share all the yummy inspiration with you!!!

Excuses

2011-11-30T21:45:00.001-08:00

Friends, I'd really like to post today. . . but we're a little busy. :)

Be back soon!!! :)

One Cool Coffee Shop

2011-11-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

I love the feel of coffee shops. . . warm, inviting, oh and they smell amazing! Recently, Tim and I were especially inspired by a coffee shop we found in a small town between Tulsa and North West Arkansas (where our families live). The shop is called "Pour Jons" and you can find it in the heart of Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

At first glance, the space doesn't look too different from a lot of coffee shops. . .

but then you walk in a bit further and start to approach the counter to order a drink. That is when you start to see some amazing design!

I am always a sucker for scrap wood installations and "Pour Jons" has a whole wall and counter front full of mismatched goodness! Love it!!!

You can also find the shop's teas organized in clear containers on a DIY shelving unit. It makes so much sense to have the product also be a design element within the space. Very nice!

Fun red stools, revealed rafters, and exposed brick walls all add to the charm of the space.

And of course, single pendant cage lights hung throughout the space add to the ambiance and industrial feel.

I love that the customers who come to enjoy the space (and the coffee) are allowed to leave their mark by writing messages on the partially plastered walls. And isn't the "telephone booth" door so charming!?

Once inside the "telephone booth" you do actually find a telephone! And an old styled one at that! :) Book page wallpaper (see how to get the look here) adorns the walls and a super cool see through shelving unit opens up the small space!

Finally, open up the bathroom door and the real fun begins!

The very cool bathroom boasts aluminum foil walls and a comic book feature wall! I am absolutely loving these looks that were no doubt created on a next to nothing budget!

What a fun place to explore and hang out in! Hopefully this space has inspired you like it inspired Tim and I! Do you know of any other amazing places we should feature here on the blog? If so, please let us know!

She Said "Yes!"

2011-11-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends last week. We not only celebrated a great holiday but also an addition to our family! Last week, my brother (Victor) asked his girlfriend (Claire) to marry him and. . . she said "Yes!" Yay!!! Victor asked me to help him decorate the proposal site, and of course I was happy to help! :)

Victor chose a local park as the site to pop the big question. Here he is waiting for his lovely lady, Claire to be lured over to where he was waiting for her. The whole thing was a huge surprise for her.

Tim and I set up behind a tree to get some covert shots of all the happenings.

Now, the actual proposal site didn't get a lot of decor, we let the beauty of nature set the scene there. But after the "Yes!" was secured, we revealed our positions behind the tree and led Victor and Clare over to a little area we had prepared for them to celebrate and enjoy the moment.

There was a small gazebo on the property and that is where we set up the "celebration station!" We littered it with tons of balloons, candles, pictures of them, and a few other fun things!

I didn't get enough photos from my engagement, so I wanted to make sure that this happy couple could look back on this wonderful moment in their lives with plenty of pictures. I prepared for this by creating a chalkboard message that they could use for some immediate photos but also keep to use as art in their home!

I created the hanging backdrop with some store bought Christmas garland and a few strands of handmade coffee filter garland. I keep coming up with different uses for coffee filters. . . I kinda love them!!! I used an old suitcase to keep with the "starting a new journey" theme, but that's about as far as I took it. Of course a bottle of champagne and tons candle light helped to set a romantic scene for the two lovebirds to enjoy some time alone before they headed to Claire's home where both families were waiting to give their congratulations.

I can't wait to see what Claire comes up with for her wedding! She's such a creative, artistic person, I know it's going to be incredible! Have any of you been to or had a super creative and/or beautifully designed wedding? I always love seeing amazing wedding photos and I'm sure Claire would love some inspiration! I'll be creating a wedding ideas post soon, so send me pictures if you have something to include! :)

'Til tomorrow!

DIY Terrariums = Great Gift Idea

2011-11-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Terrariums were big back in the 70's (you may remember them in your mother's or grandmother's house), but that is not when they first appeared on the scene. No, terrariums have been around since the 1800's. You can read a little about their history right here.

Well, in case you haven't noticed terrariums have regained some popularity and are really picking up steam. The past year, I have started using plants to bring life into my spaces. And while I love the look of luscious greenery in my home, my black thumb doesn't allow me to proudly display any plant I want. Luckily, I've found a few plants that are virtually no maintenance! They're called succulents!

Succulents are: water-retaining plants adapted to arid climates or soil conditions. Succulent plants store water in their leaves,stems, and also in roots.

Of course when I decided I wanted to make my own DIY terrariums- I chose to use succulents. Ok, so let's get to the tutorial!

First, gather your supplies:

You'll need:

- terrarium gravel. (I found this at a local nursery, but as an alternative you can use pea gravel.)

- soil.

- decorative sand or pea gravel for the top layer.

- a glass container of some sort. You can use anything from mason jars to fishbowls (I used an old globe from a light fixture.)

- plants. (as I said succulents are super easy and moss is another popular option.)

- a base. For my DIY terrarium, I wanted to use a glass bowl and therefore needed a base to balance the bowl. I decided to use some pieces of an old light fixture that I found at the Habitat ReStore. Photo below.

To make the fixture pieces into the base I needed, I simply loosened the nut underneath to release the cylinder shape on top of the circular base. Photo below.

I then flipped the circular base so that the glass bowl could securely sit down into it.

Then it was time to start adding ingredients.

Step 1- Add about an inch of terrarium gravel or pea gravel to the bottom of the bowl. This is to help with drainage.

Step 2- Plant your plants into your glass vessel using enough soil to cover the roots.

Step 3- Add decorative sand, pea gravel, and/or river rocks to finish off the top layer. Some people also like to add tiny figurines to add a touch of whimsy.

Lastly, you simply have to find a place to display your new living accessory. Below are some photos of one that I display in my master bedroom.

I water my terrariums and succulents once every two weeks or so. And so far so good! :) Below is another one that sits on my kitchen window sill.

Terrariums are a great way to bring green into your life during the long cold and dreary winter months! I am thinking about making a bunch as Christmas presents for friends and family! Since the DIY versions cost less than $10 to make I can add people to my Christmas list rather than making cuts because the money ran out! YAY! Read this post to get some more terrarium ideas and DIY inspiration!

Bubble Mobile by Jenna

2011-11-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

About a week ago Ms. Jenna from Hey Homeslice e-mailed me because she had just completed and inspiring project. The idea involved the much loved glass bubble balls sold by CB2 (which just happens to be one of my favorite stores to visit when I travel to a big city). The bubble balls have endless project potential in my opinion, but in the picture below they are simply used as coffee table decor.

Jenna had much higher hopes for her glass beauties. As a matter of fact, she made a large floating bubble mobile. Take a look!!!

Isn't that lovely! Lucky for us, Jenna is sharing her step by step process so we too and create the look. Take it away Jenna!

Our kitchen lighting consists of pot lights and one pendant over the desk (which we installed). I wanted something to define the island because it's the main hub of the room. But even though we have NINE pot lights, none of them center over the island. Sigh. We didn't want to move the electricity (plus will all those lights and a full wall of windows, we don't really need the light), so I had to find another solution.

Enter inspiration.

via

So here's how we did it.

Supplies:

Wood board (we used a 1x4 foot, white MDF)
Trim
Glass bubbles (we got ours here and used 5 large, 10 small)
Drill and bits (we used 3/16 and 3/8 but this will depend on the thickness of your string)
Screws and dry wall anchors
Small finishing nails and nail set or wood glue
Caulk or wood filler (only if using finishing nails)
Paint or stain
Sandpaper
String or fishing line
Ornament toppers (we got ours here because they had some real small ones - 5/16 in. wide)

Alrighty. Well the first steps are to prepare your board.

After deciding where you want your bubbles to hang, drill your small holes all the way through the board.

Then on the back (the side that will be against your ceiling) drill halfway through the board with your larger bit, like so.

So each hole looks something like this... (you can disregard my numbers... I'm kind of wacky)

If you really want to do it JUST like us, than you can drop your board at this point and smash the corner so you have to start all over. Oh life.

Next you'll need to attach some molding. I guess you don't need to, but we wanted ours to have that 'finished' look, so we did. I didn't take any pictures of this (I know, terrible) but I'll sum it up for you.

We considered using wood glue to attach the trim, but after reading that it would take DAYS (DAYS!) to fully cure, we opted for finishing nails. If your more patient than me (which is probably 99% of the world) feel free to use the glue. If you're like me, read on. Just hammer small nails into place, and then tap them in the rest of the way using a nail set. Then you'll need to caulk (or use filler) to cover the holes, and once that's dry, sand it down so it's smooth. Sounds like a lot of steps, but it isn't hard and goes faster than you might think. Just be sure to wait until your caulk/filler is really dry before you sand or you'll end up with a hot, gooey, mess.

After the holes are drilled and the trim is attached, go ahead and paint or stain it if you are going to. And while that dries...

Onto the bubbles!
So take your little ornament tops (I spray painted mine black beforehand), in case you've missed the holiday season your whole life, here's what I'm talking about..

Loop your string through it like this (let's all just pretend I have pretty hands, deal?)

And then when you stick the little legs into the bubble (I bent the top flat) it looks like this:

(No that's not dust... no way is that dust..)

Board, check.
Trim, check.
Bubbles, check.

ASSEMBLY TIME!

This is pretty straightforward, I'll admit. All you need to do is thread your string through the holes (from the front to the back, so the bubble is below). Then tie a good knot at the top.

When you pull it tight the knot will hide in the larger hole you drilled, but the smaller hole will keep it from pulling all the way through. Then just trim off the top of your strings and your board will sit flush against the ceiling. My brilliant husband thought that one up.

Now just secure it to your ceiling. We used screws and dry wall anchors to make sure it was really secure (the bubbles are VERY light and delicate, not heavy at all, but better safe than sorry.. especially with this much glass involved!)

If you love this (I sure do), you have to go visit Jenna's blog! You'll fall in love with tutorials (like her rustic wood mantel redo), beautiful spaces (like her living room), and so much more! Thanks for sending over the inspiration Jenna, we're so honored that you wanted to share your creation with us! Has anyone else done some fun with these gorgeous glass orbs? Do share!

From Slouchy to Sleek

2011-11-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday friends! Today I am going to show you the recent modifications that we made to our overstuffed sofa. This is what our couch looked like when we first bought it. We got a great deal because we used gift cards from our wedding 5 years earlier!

Before

Overall I liked the couch, but the legs weren't my favorite and the cushions were a bit overstuffed for my liking.

If you opened up the cushions that run against the back of the couch, they basically contained big bags of of fluff. They looked something like this.

And if you busted open the bags the fluff looked something like this.

Now this type of stuffing was very comfy, but in just a few short months the cushions started to look really sloppy. Foam or fluff of this type just cannot hold it's shape for any amount of time. So, I decided to replace the bags of fluff with high density foam. High density foam has some give to it, but it is much more firm and creates nice clean lines when placed in a cushion.

To get the foam cut, I simply removed the cushion covers and took them to our local upholstery supply shop. They took the covers, measured out, and cut the foam to fit perfectly.

I also decided that the boxy square legs needed to go. I replaced them with a taller and more slender version. Here's a close up. . .

After I made those changes, I felt like our couch was much more "us." It looks more sleek and modern- perfect for loft style living! : ) We actually got to use the newly modified sofa for a set in the movie we were working on. Take a look at the after product!

After

Nice right!? We're big fans of the slouchy to sleek revamp! Any chance you'll try a few modifications on a sofa you own?

Our New Space No Longer a Secret

2011-11-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

So, we've been holding out on y'all. About 4 weeks ago Tim and I make a decision that we couldn't be happier about! Watch the video to see what we have to share!

Video has been removed- it will be back in a few days. :)

Ok, since many of you can't watch videos at work I'll go ahead and give you the run down in writing. About a month ago Tim and I signed a lease on this building!

Front

Back

As you can see, right now it displays the former tenant's business name. We will get rid of that and proudly put our name "Kara Paslay Designs" front and center. . . well maybe not centered. :)

We also have some ideas to spruce up the curb appeal just a bit.

We've already started some work on the inside. For example, we exposed some brick walls that were covered with plaster.

Yay! I've dreamed of exposed brick for years now! Love it, love it! :)

Right now, I am only showing you pictures of the front part of the warehouse space. We will make this a living space. It will have everything a normal house would but it will also have a lofted area that we are going to build! :)

As you can see there is a lot of work to be done! But we're excited to take on this new challenge! Of course this new endeavor has got me searching for all sorts of industrial loft inspiration! Here are a few favorites from my Pinterest feed.

via

I can't wait to bring this space together! Of course we'll keep you updated on all the progress and projects! If you have any awesome loft inspiration, please share!

Photo Shoot Success

2011-11-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Tim and I just got done with a photo shoot. This time is was actually for ourselves! We had some professional pictures done for the first time ever. The experience was really great and I think the photos are going to be stinkin' awesome! :) To get ready for the shoot I wanted to create 3 main backgrounds/sets (besides a few spots in our home) for us to "tell our story" in. With long hours and a lot of help from loved ones and friends (Thanks Mom, Mrs. Paslay, Kelcy, Madison, Katie, and Victor!) the backgrounds were built and the photo shoot was a real success! And since it is now 1 am, I didn't get much sleep last night, and I've got stuff to do tomorrow- I'm going to keep this post short and sweet! I will be posting better photos and details of the designs next week, but I wanted to give you a peak into what I'll be covering next week!

Of course you can't have all work and no play! We stopped and made time for a dance party, because there's nothin' better than gettin' your groove on! :)

Stay tuned for more DIY inspiration and instruction next week! Happy Friday y'all!!!!!

DIY Shim Sunburst Mirror/Frame

2011-11-16T00:27:00.000-08:00

When I am decorating, I love to use or make items that have meaning or tell a story about the person who lives in that room. I like celebrating who people are, where they've come from, and what they are passionate about! For me, that's what design is about- creating spaces that really symbolize and encourage the people who live in them everyday. Tim and I do this in all sorts of ways, like making a table from a piece of family history. We have done this a lot in our own home. Today I am going to show you how I made a wood shim sunburst frame/mirror. The accessory is perfect for a couple that has renovated their entire house and it's style is right in line with the look we like!

So, let me give you a quick how-to for this easy peasy project.

Step 1- Stain your shims. I used to different colored stains to give my frame more interest. . . it's kind of like highlighting your hair. :) The more color, the more interesting but not quite as classic.

Step 2- Find a circular frame or cut one from some plywood. I found mine at a garage sale for $1.

Step 3- Place your frame face down or in a position where the smoothest side is up.

Step 4- Use construction adhesive to start gluing on shims that you have stained. Place each shim to where it overlaps slightly with the one placed before it.

You will still have some empty spots to fill in after the first layer. It should look something like this. . .

Step 5- Now it's time to use your construction adhesive to add the second layer. Simply work your way around the circle filling in the bare spots.

Step 6- When you've finished filling the gaps, set something heavy on top of the shims while the glue dries or if you happen to own a nail gun-shoot some pin nails through the shims to hold things in place.

After the glue dries you can add your mirror to the back of the piece (find these at any local craft store) using more construction adhesive or forego the mirror and stick with the simple frame. A convex mirror would be super cool!

There are so many materials to make awesome sunburst mirrors/frames. I hope you will make one and I hope you will pick a material that tells a story about who you are! Food lover?Use skewers. Book lover? Use old book spines. School Teacher? Use rulers or pencils. Sea lover? Use pieces of driftwood. The possibilities are endless!!!!!

I'd love to make a whole post featuring unique sunburst mirrors that readers have made. So, won't you send me some pictures of your incredible creations?!!! How fun it would be to see everyone's unique ideas and personalities portrayed by their version of the sunburst mirror!

DIY Steel Cable and Turnbuckle Shelves

2011-11-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hey guys and gals. Kara finally got me to post a tutorial on those steel cable and turnbuckle shelves I made a for our living room. When Kara gave me the task of coming up with some sort of shelving for that area, I immediately knew I wanted to try out an idea that I had thought of months ago.

Usually Kara is really open to my ideas but for some reason when I described these shelves to her, she was a bit hesitant. But because she trusts me she agreed to let me go for it, even though she couldn't "envision" what I was explaining to her.

So now I'm going to try to explain to you what I tried to explain to Kara , but lucky for you I now have pictures to help me describe the process. :)

Here are the supplies you'll need:

-2X10 wood boards

-turnbuckles (the number depends on how many shelves you want). You'll need 2 for every shelf

- steel cable

- ferrules and stops (the pieces you crip on the cable)

-a swaging tool (the tool that crimps the ferrules and stops)

- thimbles (the metal loop things)

-(2) 1 1/2 eye hooks

You'll also need a drill and possibly some wall anchors.

First, I started off with some 2X10 Douglas fir boards. I cut them down to our desired length, which happened to be 30 inches in our case.

Second, I didn't want the end grain to show, so I returned the ends to the wall. This is the same technique you will see carpenters use when they want/need to stop moulding in the middle of a wall. To me it is these details that make the difference in a project, but is certainly not a necessity if you don't have the tools (a large miter saw and nail guns) or time to worry about it.

I cut the very ends of my board at a 45 degree angle.

Then I flipped the triangles I created so the end grain would now face the back of my shelf.

I glued the joint.

Then shot them together with 16 gauge 2 1/2" nails.

Then I stained and sealed my shelves. We use Minwax's provincial color a lot. It looks alright on this Douglas fir, but I like it even more on Pine.

Of course all the cutting, staining, ect went on outside in our driveway. You can see from this picture why we need a shop space so badly. Our poor neighbors always have to see our projects sitting half done, junking up our carport. Sorry, we're working on that neighbor friends.

Anyway, after staining and sealing the shelves, I then needed to drill the spots that the cable would run through. So I chose a drill bit that was just a tad bit larger than the cable, marked my spots on each shelf and drilled through the wood.

Now, in order to prevent the shelves from sliding up and down the cable I used a metal stop (more on that later). I didn't want these stops to be visible when looking at the piece, so I used a spade bit to drill a slightly larger hole on the bottom side of each shelf. This way the stop would sit up inside the wood and be concealed.

Of course you want to be careful that you don't drill too far and you want both sides to be drilled evenly. To do this, simply place a piece of tape on your spade bit and when the tape nears the top of the wood, you know to stop.

So, this means go. . .

and this means stop. . .

And here's what it should look like when you're finished.

Now, it's time to cover the meat of this tutorial.

Measuring is very important in this DIY because you want to make sure your shelves don't hang crooked. Luckily, the turnbuckles give a little bit of play and should cover most minor discrepancies.

You will need two pieces of cable for each shelf. The finished length of your cable plus the length of your turnbuckle will equal the space between your shelves, so figure out your spacing before you start cutting your cable.

You can go ahead and make the loop on one end of each cable. I decided to use a thimble to give the loops some shape, but for most units they probably aren't necessary. You will need to use a ferrule to create your loops. You will slide the ferrule on the cable and loop the end around the thimble and place the end back in the other side of the ferrule. Once everything is in place you will use the swaging tool to crimp the ferrule in two places.

Below is a close-up of a ferrule.

So now that you have a cable with a loop on one end and nothing on the other, you need to add your stop. You will want it roughly in the middle of you piece. The stop will only need to be crimped once.

Next you will need to slide the cable into place in the shelf. Be sure to put it with the stop on the bottom of the shelf so it is concealed. Now you can crimp the other end just like the first loop.

You will follow these steps for all of your shelves except the bottom one. It will just need one loop and a stop. (You won't need a loop on the bottom since you won't be hanging another shelf underneath it.)

With all your pieces assembled, you are ready to start hanging the shelves. The cables will support the front side of each shelf, but you will need to support the side against the wall. I will show you what I did, but feel free to come up with your own ideas. I drilled two holes in the back of each the shelves that was large enough to accommodate the head of a drywall screw. Once I laid out where I wanted the shelves on the wall I screwed corresponding screws in the wall. I made sure there was enough screw in the wall to support the weight, but left about a 1/2" of the screw sticking out so there was plenty for the shelf to rest on.

**We are lucky enough to have 1x6's behind all of our drywall so I didn't have to worry about hitting a stud or adding anchors, but most likely you will, so think about this before you start drilling the holes in the back of each shelf and plan accordingly**

At the very top of the shelves I attached the large eye bolts to carry most of the weight of the shelves. Please make sure you find a secure spot to place these.

Finally, Kara got to work her magic and accessorized these shelves to a "T." She made sure not to stuff them full so that the shelves themselves could be appreciated.

There's also a lot going on in this corner of the room with our media console, so keeping things minimal was the best choice.

There it is. I know the instructions might be a bit hard to follow, but I have faith with a little tinkering you will be able to create something similar yourself. Sorry I was gone for so long, hopefully it won't be this long till the next time.

Randomness

2011-11-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy 11/11/11 everybody and a very special Happy Veteran's Day to all the brave men and women out there that serve in our armed forces!! Tim and I send you a big virtual hug from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you, thank you for what you do.

These past couple of weeks I have been laser focused on some different things Tim and I have in the works. So focused that I forgot to take pictures for the blog post today. Ooops! :) Therefore today, I am going to give you a little sneak peak into things that have been happening around here.

First, I had some lovely ladies from a local start up magazine come over. They used the backyard as a staging area for some fun photographs. I love when my house is gets used for stuff like this, especially since I don't spend near enough time appreciating our outdoor spaces! I'll post the full article when it is printed and when I get the professional pictures from Rosie but here's a glimpse of their set up.

One reason, we haven't been spending enough time outdoors is because of this. . .

Are you intrigued? :)

In other news, our house is back up for sale. (That's a pretty good hint to what the picture above is about). ;) If your looking for an adorable cottage in the Tulsa area, you should come take a look!

Lastly, Tim and I have finally set up a Pinterest account if you'd like to follow us.

I'll be really honest- I haven't quite got the hang of it yet and I'm kinda of afraid to! I already waste way too much time online! :) I'm not really sure how I get anything done around here.

Well, that's all I've got for today but plenty of fun stuff is coming your way next week! :)

COLORFUL DINING ROOM REDO

2011-11-09T06:03:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday! Today, I am sharing some changes that I've made in my dining room. You know me, I am always moving things around and changing things up. Generally, I believe the changes are for the better, however it might just be that things are different. I like change, I embrace it. Anyway, you can be the judge- which version of the room do you like best?

BEFORE- read about the initial room redo here.

And now, here's the newest version of my colorful and eclectic dining room.

AFTER

Before I was trying to conceal the off-centeredness (yeah that's probably not a word) of the window, but lately I've been embracing asymmetry (I think West Elm catalogs have really helped me with this)! I also replaced the former mirror frame with an amazing carved masterpiece I found at a garage sale! I couldn't believe my luck! The frame came from India and was formerly a door of some sort. If you are still not down with an asymmetrical look, use my wall of curtains idea to hide problem area you may have in your house.

Because I always have people asking what the mason jar chandelier looks like when the light is not on, I took some photos for inquiring minds. :)

My chairs have also changed since the last time you saw this room. I love the bright pops of color these vintage beauties bring in! I really love color and even though I can really appreciate the gorgeous rooms that have a calm, more neutral color palette, I always gravitate towards color in my own home.

The new "art" to the right of the mirror are some simple baskets and an Anthropologie bird calendar. I know birds are a little overdone, but I really like them so I don't care if they're unoriginal. :)

My centerpiece was super easy to create. Its actually just a chip & dip serving tray. Around the outside, I stacked a collection of vintage teacups which add some real charm to the room. In the center (where the dip would normally go) I placed a moss ball. Call me crazy, but I'm kind of in love with moss balls.

The faux fireplace has pretty much stayed the same. The DIY "Do What You Love" artwork stays the center of attention, but the rest of the items on the mantle rotate regularly.

The mason jar chandelier is super hard to photograph, but here are a few amateur attempts I made. If your new around here, you also may have noticed our wood beamed ceiling that is all throughout our common areas. Tim and I actually found the wood slat ceiling during demo a long time ago. We loved it and immediately knew we wanted to reveal the character of the wood over the boring ol' drywall! So we uncovered it all and added some "faux wood beams" which are really just 1X6's. It gave us the charming look we were going for and the cost was minimal.

So, that's it. What do you think? Are you a fan of the "drop cloth curtain before" or the "colorful asymmetrical after?"

How to Take Sorry, Scratched Wood to Sleek and Smooth

2011-11-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

Remember when I showed you this room last week?

Well, there are a couple of different projects that I want to elaborate on when it comes to this space. Today I am going to tell you about an incredible product that I use to bring tired, old, scratched up wood back to life. This is a photo of the dresser I bought to place behind the sofa before I worked my magic on it.

As you can see it was in pretty sad shape. The lines of the piece were perfect, but its condition was certainly lacking.

Enter my secret weapon!!!

Rejuvenating oils are a great way to totally transform scratched and worn wood. You simply wipe the oil on with a cloth, let it sit for a few minutes, and then wipe the excess off. It is simply amazing how well this product works. Take a look for yourself!

You can see in this close-up how well the product works on scratches. I started to wipe the oil on the scratch (on the left) and watched it virtually disappear in front of my eyes.

You can see how the scratch is almost non-existent where the oil was placed. The oil also gives the wood a nice luster to make it look, well. . . rejuvenated!

The scratches that were once an eye sore are now almost invisible!!! I'm not sure how this product works. . . but it does! You can also use it to give your wood floors an amazing face lift! Try it out and send me some before and afters! At about $10 a bottle, you will totally save yourself some major mulah people!

Reader Redo- Kitchen Island and Pulley Light

2011-11-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Sarah contacted me and shared a couple of projects she recently took on in her kitchen! When I saw the photos I was super impressed and thought you would be as well! Sarah found this piece of furniture and although it needed a little work, she saw what it could be and immediately made plans for it to turn into her kitchen island! Here's the before!

And the AFTER!!!!

Isn't that gorgeous?! The paint job is perfect- I love that moody greenish-gray color! And the top. . . oh the top!!!

One of Sarah's friends built the top for her and it is just gorgeous!

To read more about the kitchen island, click here! Now Sarah didn't stop there, she also decided to replace the light above the island. It turns out Sarah and I both love old pulleys!! Check out her new light!

Awesome right!? Read more about the pendant light here!

Sarah, thanks so much for sharing this with all of us. It's definitely inspiration for us to carry into the weekend!! You can read about more projects at Sarah's blog, Hart's Desire.

Have a great day!

DIY Lacy Lamp Shade

2011-11-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Every now and then there are ideas worth repeating. I feel like the spray painted lace pattern that I originally did on this dresser was one of those ideas.

So like I explained in the dresser post, the whole process is super simple-

1. Gather your supplies- spray paint, lace, and in this case a lamp shade.

2. Lay the lace over the surface of the shade and spray. Make sure you don't spray where the fabric isn't laying directly on the shade.

3.Give the paint 20 seconds to dry and then roll the shade to reveal a area that has not been sprayed. Make sure the lace is laying straight on the shade and continue spray painting.

4. Continue this process until your shade is completely covered in a lacy pattern. It takes about 2 minutes!

And you end up with something like this!!!

With the light on. . .

I've been having some fun on the other side of the room too! Here's a very unfocused sneak peak!!!

If you use this idea on anything- lampshade, dresser, or something else please send me pics! I'd love to see your creations!

Modern and Masculine Loft Space

2011-11-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

You might have noticed that I took an extra long weekend (as far as blogging is concerned). We wrapped on the movie we were working on and spent some time with all the crew friends we made before most of them had to head out of town. I love working on movies mostly because of the great people you meet and friends you make, but also because I get to design really amazing rooms! These rooms aren't created on a normal time line. No these rooms are created in a matter of days. For this loft space below I had 48 hours from my first time seeing the space to turn the room into sleek and masculine masterpiece! I used nothing from the previous furnishings, so I had my work cut out for me. However, I love turning a space around in such a short amount of time- it's such a rush and I love every minute of it!!!! Ok, so are you ready to see the space? Check it out!

This space needed to feel expensive, masculine, and modern. Using materials like steel and stained wood helped to achieve this. Of course the existing exposed brick and concrete floors fit the theme and really helped as well!

The accessories on top of the coffee table came from Anthropologie. I love the petrified wood piece!

The corner area is probably my favorite because of the Eames chair, the DIY artwork, and Tim's steel pipe table. I really like balance of rustic and sleek here. If you notice, the steel in the artwork speaks to the fabric on the sofa- I love details like that!

The dresser behind the sofa cleaned up very nicely. I can't wait to show you the before and after and how I rejuvenated the tired and worn piece to appear to be in almost perfect condition! Stay tuned for that in the coming days!

I love how it looks as if the coffee table could have been "born" from the rug because of their similar intersecting lines!

You can see that these slanted/intersecting lines are also repeated in the two floor lamps. This helps to tie the space together.

So, that's what I was able to throw together in about sixteen hours of working time! Yeah. . . Design Star's got nothing on me! haha :)

I love to hear what you think, hopefully it's not "Yeah, I can tell you only spent sixteen hours on it!" :)

Inspiring Art Installation- Dandelions

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's post is short and sweet. I simply want to share 2 photos of an art installation that is incredibly inspiring to me! The installation was completed by artist Regine Ramseier. It is made of real dandelions and it is amazing!

Photos found via NotCot on Colossal

Isn't that absolutely gorgeous!? I'm totally inspired!

DIY Driftwood Frame Update

2011-10-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Back before I started blogging, I didn't really take pictures of my projects. I realized the other day that my driftwood frame in the guest bedroom was one of those projects that I never documented. Well today I'm going to give you a very brief description of how I created it and how I recently made a fun change to it.

So here's what the driftwood frame used to look like.

I made it by cutting out a plywood ring. I used a jigsaw to cut the plywood. The two top rings in the picture below are what the plywood ring should look like.

Once your plywood ring is cut, the hard part is finished. Next, I gathered and cut driftwood pieces to about 10 inches.

Last, use hot glue to affix the pieces to the plywood. Easy peasy!!

I then hung my frame over a larger mirror and it looked like this.

I liked the look, but the mirror wasn't quite big enough. A couple of months later I found this amazing frame that I decided should replace the mirror frame in my dining room. (That purple one below).

This gave me the freedom to go ahead and use the old dining room mirror/frame into the guest bedroom. So, I painted the purple silver to fit the room and moved it in.

I also decided that I wanted to jazz up the driftwood frame itself. My way of doing that was to add a little ombre effect to the wood. I simply watered down some light gray paint and and used a chip brush to apply the paint. I didn't want the circle of paint to be perfect, rather I wanted it to feel organic and natural and have more of a fading effect than a harsh line.

So here's a side by side before and after-

These were somewhat small changes, but definitely changes for the better. . . don't you think?

$30 Kitchen Cabinet Makeover

2011-10-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

You may remember that I asked for guest bloggers a few weeks ago and luckily, I had a couple of takers! One of those lovely people was Andrea from Ever After Blueprint! When I saw her awesome kitchen cabinet makeover, I knew you guys would be interested in it as well. What I love most about Andrea's solution is that it's not permanent, but could be easily and cheaply changed whenever she gets that re-decorating bug! So, without further ado, here's Andrea!!!

When we first moved into our house the kitchen cabinets, were the first thing I said we’d paint. A year later, they were still the same puce green and the thought of painting them all is daunting.

I found this lovely daisy wrapping paper at Paper Source when we were in Kansas City a few weekends ago.

Paper Source is one of those stores that Adam goes into with me because he loves me, kind of like how I’ll go into Best Buy or the Apple store with him. So when I asked him what he would think of putting it on the cabinets. I was shocked when he said we should try it and wondered if he didn’t just want to get out of the store!

Two rolls only set us back $16, and I figured if we hated the paper once it was up we could take it down and use the paper for gifts.

I measured the inside of all the upper cabinet doors and cut the paper to fit. I used double-sided tape to hold the paper up. It’s not perfect, don’t look too close or you’ll see where it doesn’t fit exactly, but who cares? The cabinets are 100 times better than they were and even Adam (my hubby) says he likes it!

Maybe we’ll change our mind in a few months and take it down, and maybe one day we’ll repaint, but for now, we love them! Not bad for under $30 and a couple hours!

Isn't that such a drastic and fun change for such a little time and money investment!? Thanks Andrea for sharing your creative idea!

Upstairs Room Reveal!

2011-10-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today I finally get to unveil the upstairs room. It was the last space in our house to be complete, but now we can officially say we have renovated and updated every square inch of this place! :)

When we first moved in this room left a lot to be desired.

BEFORE

The staircase leading up to it even had these "adorable" little houses stenciled on them. (They have since been painted over.)

Although it was ummmm. . . not quite our style we spent a good couple of months living in the small space while we renovated the downstairs. After the downstairs was mostly done, I tried to get going upstairs by creating two wood feature walls, but I ran out of gas. At that point the room became a catch all for unused furniture pieces.

DURING

Working at Anthro left me itching to actually design an entire room rather than an art installation or one large focal point. So once I quit that job and heard from DIY Magazine we finally made the time to finish out this space. Here's how it turned out.

AFTER

This room is very long and narrow which meant it really needed to be split up into 3 sections (a bedroom/sleeping space, an office/work area, and a small entry area.

I love how the rug on this side speaks to the DIY book page wallpaper. There were a lot of hard surfaces (wood and metals) in the room, but I balanced them out with things like the softness of the rugs and texture of the book pages.

We wanted the style for this space to feel a little more masculine, rustic, and patriotic. We achieved this by using a red, white, blue, and black color palette. We then paired that with lots of wood tones, slick steel, and a little warm leather.

What is always most important to me when designing a space is that it reflects the people who live there. I always like to include elements that pay homage to that person's/family's background, passions, hopes, and dreams. In this particular room, I did that in many ways. For example, I displayed Tim's architectural model and used a one of drafts as artwork. I also used a side table Tim designed in the space.

PS- The book "Love and Respect" (that makes up the "book" shelf) is one of the major sources I used in an independent study class I took in college.

Another fun thing I did was artfully display some of the amazing World War II relics that we found in our homes walls as we were renovating it.

Many of the books I used as decoration in the space were about furniture, design, and basketball. I also made a sunburst frame (I still need to attach the mirror) out of shims to celebrate our renovator's spirit! :)

And because one of you asked about the fan installed above the bed, here are a few pictures. Those vintage style fans have a hole in their base, so all you have to do to hang them is put a screw in the wall.

So this room is finally complete and I am very excited to be spending more time in it! If you missed any of the posts about the different projects in this room you can find them all right here. Each post has a ton of info about how the project was completed and why we made the choices we did for the space!

Refinishing the Floor

DIY Book Page Wall Paper

Built-In Metal Bed and Night Stands

DIY "Book" Shelf

Flat File Redo with Homemade Stain

Drafting Table Mini Makeover

So, what do you think? Are you a fan of the final look? Anything you would add or take away?