The Drawing Board…

I’m terrible about projects sometimes… You’ll remember how a few weeks ago, I showed you the lamps I bought that I wanted to do the neon + neutral bottle wrap project on? Well, when I went to Lowes to pick up the masons line (neon yellow and pink nylon) and twine to do the project, I didn’t like it! So now, I’ve got to back to the drawing board on that lamp project. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it now. I definitely want to paint it because brown is not a color I’m fond of (even though the brown on my lamp is a dark, glossy chocolate brown and not at all ugly). Since I’m bankrupt for a solid idea for the lamp, I’ve decided to try and do some planning for the desk I bought a while back:

Craig’s List desk.

It needs serious work! At first I thought that I wanted to do a standard white or ivory paint job on it but after seeing this room by Kimberly Ayres design (thank God for Google image search, btw! I actually first saw this picture on a blog without a photo credit and it took me ages to figure out who designed the room).

The main inspiration for my CL desk find is this room by Kimberly Ayres Design.

High gloss mint would look great on my desk, don’t you think? I think it would look awesome. I’ve been gathering paint chips for the perfect shade of mint green. Today I started looking for drawer pulls because I don’t really like the original pulls. I found these at Anthropologie:

Sardinia Knob, $12 each at Anthropologie.com.

I’m hoping to find some decent sized unpolished square brass backplates for the knobs to sit on. I think that’d look nice on the flat edges of the drawers. I’ve also wanted to use some of the metallic fine papers from Paper Source to line the inside of drawers for a while… I’m thinking this marbled gold would look good:

Gold on Natural Marble Fine Paper, $6.50 per sheet at Paper Source.

Well, that’s my wish list for my desk project. I’m hoping to find some inspiration for the lamp project soon as I think I’d like to tackle the smaller project first. Any suggestions for my lamp?

Love List

Here are some of the things I totally loved this week:

Penguin Classics has reissued books by F. Scott Fitzgerald with the snazzy, jazz age inspired covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. I found out about them by reading the SpaceSays blog. There are six in all; you can find them on amazon.co.uk.

I was introduced to Help Remedies by Moo Cards. Their philosophy is to make taking medicine as simple and uncomplicated as possible. To that end they offer medications for common problems in straightforward, biodegradable packaging, each with only one active ingredient, and with short easy to read text explaining what you’d take it for. Right now they have about 7 products and a portion of every sale goes to charities for children in need of medical care.

Speaking of Moo… They are an awesome outfit that gives anyone the tools they need to brand themselves with business cards, postcards, stickers, and labels. Their printing service offers something they call Printfinity, which allows the user to have a different image or design on each card in the order. Too add value to the easy to customize products they offer is the fact that it’s super inexpensive – prices start at $19.99/100 cards (shipping is extra… but reasonable). Bonus points for checking out how this crafter uses Moo to distinguish her brand.

Also, I’ve become more active on Pinterest. I’ve been signed on for a while but I’ve never really used it because of the whole Android phone as computer thing I’ve had going on for the last year or so. I recently found a third party app that lets me upload pics to my boards, so I’m having lots of fun with that!

I think I figures out part of the trouble with my images. So finally, a complete post for you… years later. Hopefully, it’ll be a long time before I have this kind of issue again. See you Monday with a new media review. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Pairs O’ Chairs

We got lots and lots of snow here in Seattle yesterday. I got to my storage and managed to get out enough of my knitting supplies to make the trip out worth my while. I spent a few hours both before and after that excursion reading Hugh Macleod’s Ignore Everybody : And 39 Other Keys To Creativity, retweeting SOPA/PIPA news, and surfing Craigslist in the hope of finding some inspirational project kinda stuff. I was not disappointed!

Here are some of the pieces I found and what I’d do with them:

This pair of wide “modern” chairs is going for $100. I could see them painted a bright cheery color with an ikat on the seats and a coordinating pillow in a graphic or floral pattern for the back cushion.

These chunky chairs are $75 for the pair. I like that they are low and visually heavy looking. I’d balance that out by sanding and bleaching the wood, then adding a neutral but textural fabric.

These “parlor” chairs are $75 for the pair! What a steal, right? They need some work (the caning needs repair) but for that price I just couldn’t bring myself to complain about it. Here I’d go with classic white and one of Caitlin Wilson’s fabulous floral.

These minty wonders are $125 for the pair. I love the upholstery’s wonderful color (so as long as closer inspection showed no wear), I’d leave that as is and just paint the frames a lighter color (something like this).

Any one of these marvelous sets of chairs would be cool to buy and project away on but… I’m just not at that point yet in Seatown. Plus, with the weather acting crazy and whatnot, I’m thinking more along the lines of sitting on the sofa and knitting.

Then again… tomorrow I may try to get out and explore a bit. Until then…

Friday Finds: Consoles

Until I started delving into the world of interiors, I never would have given a second thought to owning or using a console table. Mostly because I’m an equal opportunity key dropper. Actually, since my keys are on a lanyard, they spend a lot of time hanging from doorknobs… when they aren’t still stuck in the door. (The door at my house has to be locked with the key from the inside after you’re in… but I digress.

I’ve seen some really cool examples of what can be done with entryway or even making an open floor plan more functional with this little bit of “throwaway” furniture. Below are some of my favorites from recent searches.

Simple, with an Asian flair and an old world vibe:

Treasured Sage Chinese console, $999 – Wisteria

Rustic and modern, this piece could fit in several different decorating styles, from country to industrial:

Ettore console, $2998 – Anthropologie

Sleek and streamlined high gloss look would be Glam with bold colors and Hollywood Regency accents:

The X console, price on request – Plantation

IKEA offers up it’s take on mid-century modern with a modern finish:

IKEA Stockholm console, $199 – Ikea

There’s always great vintage pieces out there. Jenny Komenda from Little Green Notebook has an excellent example on her blog:

Repainted vintage console – Jenny Komenda’s office via Little Green Notebook

If you’re looking to make a bold statement, you can’t go wrong with this silver leafed cast resin beauty from Z Gallerie:

Sequoia console, $999 – Z Gallerie

Well, that’s my roundup. Do use a console table in your home?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Gotcha covered.

My grandmother had, my mother had, and I have it.

A few weeks ago when I was looking for a sewing machine on Craigslist, I came across a listing for a used copy of the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework. I sent an email to the seller and voila! I got the book in the mail yesterday.

I literally jumped up and down when I opened the box. I know it seems corny but both my Gram and my Mom had this book (they both crocheted back in the day) and I remember sneaking this book and spare yarns, hooks, and needles and make these random swatches from the knit and crochet stitch pattern sections.

I intend to put this good book to use shortly and I’m going to take the opportunity in the near future to use the knitting section to see if I can re-teach myself how to knit again. I’m really looking forward to delving into this classic again.

After I finished my initial look through, I remembered some other books that will be helpful to me that are along the same lines. They are the Harmony Guides published by Interweave Press.

Basic Crochet Stitches

Crochet Stitch Motifs

Crochet Edgings & Trim

The Reader’s Digest is pretty much an introduction to the basics of the most popular needlecrafts but the Harmony Guides really give you a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, overview of stitch patterns, motifs, and edges. It’s enough to get you started doing some very fancy work. I’ve got one down and four to go. I did get a chance to browse through the first two Harmony Guides listed as check-outs from my local library and I saw a lot of beautiful patterns in both. They definitely could help a fledgling designer come up with some interesting ideas.

I am a total book nut and I probably don’t need to add anymore books to my already sagging shelves but I hope to own all three before the end of the year.

Also check out my new additions:

The Domino Book of Decorating

Domino. RIP. I adore this magazine. Even now that my favorite shelter mag of all time is no longer being published I still cherish the style and design ideas that radically changed the way I look at interiors. Beautiful, affordable, and stylish interiors could be had if you knew the right people and places and lucky for us, Domino was that friend. I’m glad this book is on my shelf right next to a nearly complete collection of Domino magazines. I’ll pick up the rest as I can and pull this book and the mags out whenever I’m needing inspiration… and not just for decorating!

Design It Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch

This is sort of a preemptive strike for me. I want to be able to make my own patterns eventually. So I got this book because it’s the easiest and most user-friendly instruction manual for pattern making and grading that I’ve ever seen. I’ve done a cursory read through and am pleased that I spent the money. It’ll come in handy when I’ve got my sewing machine all set up and humming to go.

That’s it for today! Hopefully it wasn’t overload! I’m going to try and find some more Cool Crochet for you all to take a look at. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

As Jen says: Ciao, for now!