Internet Inspirations

It's been a while since I've posted about some fun ideas I've seen around Blogland.  My files are filling up with so many amazing ideas and I need to share:

Anythingology

This creative lady has recycled lanterns with fresh paint and created amazing fixtures for a fraction of the new cost. Go see what she's done!

First off, if I had such a hallway I'm be in heaven.  But if I had a hallway AND these amazing bookshelves, I think my heart might not be able to handle it!  I think I will always be remembering this idea of combining what could be a boring hallway into a library/showstopper.  Amazing.

 These cabinets just take my breath away. Big, oversized china cabinets are to be had for very little on craigslist right now if you're willing to freshen them up a bit with paint.  I love the bold use of color in these rooms.  How about the stunning blue inside the black or the white contrasting with the gray? Wow!

I don't usually make many Christmas crafts, but I love this wooden star. The glass knob for the center is just perfect.  I might just be patient enough to try making one.

All Things Thrifty

See those frames on the top left and lower right? Well, they're not frames.  They're actually chair backs!  Cool, huh?  Now I'm on the lookout for cheap, broken-down, old chairs to turn into gorgeous frames like this.

I'm not really a ruffle kind of girl, but my eye was drawn to the boxpleats on this charming tablecloth. Love it!

I Love these collections of nursery/girl's rooms.

Pink, Taupe and touches of Navy!  Wow, love this combination!

Don't let that flat screen take center stage.  I love how this one has been blended into a gallery wall. This is so easy to do!

My own personal days of a nursery are over, but I am in love with this wall treatment.  A chinoiserie pattern has been painted in white on a pale, gray background and accented with pale pink and blue.  Just gorgeous.  I'd even do this type of wall in a dining room in these subtler colors than the typical bold, rich chinoiserie colors.

There is a lot that I love about this room. I never feel like I have enough wall space for all the art I'd love to have.  I love how that didn't stop the designer here.  Art is layered, above and below the wainscoting and even on the floor. More pieces decorate the bookshelf cabinet and even ON the cabinet.  I also love the books stacked under the sofa table. A living room has taken on a cozy, den or library feeling while remaining light and comfortable.  I just want to curl up on that couch and read!

Another example of what could be a boring stairwell turned stunning by a combination of the horizontal planking, the art grouping and the stunning light fixture!

In My Own Style

Want that layered look to your gallery walls that you see in Pottery Barn?  This blogger shows how to do it yourself, as seen with this arrangement of mirrors.

I just love gallery walls and I love the variety and fun you can have with them.  Some love the symmetrical, some the randomness. I love this for how unique it is!  Perfect for a low-ceilinged hallway!

If only I still needed a kids playroom/craft room!  I love this industrial-style room with the school chairs and stainless-topped table. Of course, I'd HAVE to have those metal bins and that HUGE bulletin board...

via honey and fitz

I might just have to do one of these Ombre dressers!  Darling.

Pottery Barn

How about taking those "dime-a-dozen" oak frames found at Goodwill and stain them with dark walnut and mat them with burlap to achieve this look.

Restoration Hardware

I was following a guy on the interstate the other day that had a pair of red corbels probably the size of these in his truck.  Oh, how I wanted to pull that guy over and insist he give me them!!! I'd love an office desk like this or get rid of the run-of-the-mill kitchen desk and do something like this! 

Okay, we're seeing these book page wreaths everywhere around the internet.  I actually don't like most of them.  I did find three that I really like:

Karen Blackburn

She varies her rolling method of the paper and uses black ink on the edges. I like that it's full, yet not perfectly round, with pieces sticking out in a more natural way.

Lovely etc.

I like the leaves of this one!

A little Bite of Everything

What about a DIY Quatrefoil rug for a fraction of the price of a store-bought one? This gal shows you how.
I've always been hesitant to make one because I know these IKEA ones are the thinner kind that can slide all over.  Well, I'm not afraid anymore.  Look at this idea of how to give yourself a non-slip backing:

via Loving Your Space You just add lines of acrylic caulk, let it dry and wowser, no-slip!  I'm anxious to try is sometime.

Well, that better be it for now.  I have way more than I thought.  I hope you were inspired and found a project or two to make your house YOU!

Piano Bench turned Coffee Table

Thank you, thank you Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!  Once again, you've turned a shy,hidden and neglected beauty into a Star.  This time your color "Aubusson Blue" had the magic touch.

Imagine an old piano bench with no finish left on it and the laminate savagely torn from the lid. Well, that's the before (I hope you have a good imagination because I forgot to take a before photo!  My eagerness to start the makeover seems to freeze my brain from remembering a before shot!) It was a larger than normal bench, so I knew it would make an awesome coffee table.  The whole thing was solid and the top had enough "character" (aka "damage") to work with this vintage style.

  Anyway, her she is:

Just look at these legs!  Aren't they classic?  This is what drew me to the bench in the first place.  I knew Chalk paint was just the thing to make the details pop.

The inside was actually in the worst condition.  I chose to cover it with some paintable wallpaper I already had and then painted it the same blue.  It's a fun little area for storing (hiding) the remotes from little fingers!

I fall in love with each piece I do, so sometimes it hard to let them go.  Alas, this beauty found a lovely, new home with a gal in downtown Chicago. She even got to ride home in the back of a Mini Cooper! That let me know for she that she'd found the right home to go to!!

My Master Bedroom

I tend to first decorate and work on the main level rooms since that is where we spend most of our waking hours.  The kids rooms get decorated next as they develop interests.  The Master Bedroom seems to always be the last one done.  Mine wasn't too bad to begin with.  It just never quite seemed "right" to me.  The last few months I've been slowly making some changes, acquiring some linens, artwork, and objects and sewing up a storm.  While it's not 100% done yet, I felt I could finally post some pictures.  Get ready for a bunch!

For instructions on how I made the sunburst mirror (yes, it's made of a LOT of wood shims,) follow the instructions found at this blog

I found the Peri Duvet cover at TJ Maxx and made the greek key pillows.  The light tan matelasse coverlet was found at a garage sale for all of $6!  I love the lighter look for summer and come winter, I can reverse the duvet and coverlet for more warmth.

Instead of buying the matching nightstands that went with our bedroom set, I decided to hold out for something different that wouldn't  make the room so "matchy-matchy."  As luck would have it, one year we won a furniture drawing!  We selected two of these chests to serve as our nightstands.  We loved the formal "old-world" look of them and the storage they offered us.

As you face the bed, this wide dresser is just to the left of the bed.  I loved the square mirror it came with!  We hung a fun print of Florence my husband and I found while traveling there.  I found the perfect frame (with mat) at Michaels when they were having a 50% off + addtional 25% off sale of their frames!  Score!!

This wall is to the right of the bed.  I took the sepia pictures and the large picture on the dresser. I played with them a bit more with "picnik" and then framed them. It's fun to be surrounded by reminders of some of the countries we've been blessed to be able to visit.

This is the wall directly across from the bed.  We have a large shelf above the two doors (into the room and into the master bath.)  This wall has been really hard for me to decorate.  I finally like how the shelf looks and am still playing around with the wall art and that underdecorated bookshelf.  That chair has alot of history to it, so I'd like to keep it.  I reupholsted it a few years ago, but may still redo it again in something brighter when I find just the right fabric. Amazingly, it only took about 3yds of fabric and didn't take me that long to do.

The oil painting of Kyoto was found at a yard sale, the pen and ink of Italy above the bookshelf, and the long panorama print of Venice up high were all found at garage sales, yet all had meaning to us since we'd traveled to those countries.  I love using items that aren't just pretty, but inspire and comfort us, especially in a personal space like a bedroom.

It's hard to capture how lovely this fabric is that I found at fabric.com.  It has a lovely cream color with a classic trellis pattern.  I lined them and they give a neutral, but full look to the windows.  I'm saving up to replace the ugly IKEA blinds (totally the wrong wood color and outside mounted-ughhh.)

There are always going to be some tweaks to make here and there in the future.  If I found a nice rug cheaply I'd love that or a bench for the foot of the bed.  I LOVE to replace the ceiling fan with a chandelier but that is never going to happen (we HAVE to have that fan to survive the humidity here!)

Want to see some other fun Master Bedrooms done by other DIY-ers?  I'm linking up to Roomspiration and you can go there to see others.