Reader Redesign: Lattice Underfoot
When we got a sweet little note from a fabulous DIY chick, we couldn’t wait to share her ten dollar rug transformation. Talk about inspiring! Here’s her letter:
I’m a loyal reader of your cute blog, and love your style! I wanted to send you some photos of a do-it-yourself project that I came up with when I couldn’t find a rug in the pattern that I liked. I see this pattern in a lot in design magazines, but for some reason have been unable to find it in any stores. I was thinking about it today, and realized that I could probably create this look on my own, and voila! I did it. I used a rug that I already had from Ikea (I think if you decide to do this, it’s best to use a rug with a thicker grade of cloth so that it holds the pattern/spraypaint well) and a can of Rust-Oleum “Espresso” colored spray paint. The whole thing comes out to being about $10! My pattern wasn’t perfect because I didn’t have my measuring devices, but I eyeballed it pretty well, I think. I blogged about it at kfddesigns.blogspot.com, so you can check it out there, if you like. Hope you enjoy!- Kristen
How fab is that? Honestly, it’s one of our favorite reader redesigns ever. And it was only $10! Insanely cool. Thanks so much for the inspiration Kristen! Makes me wanna grab a can of spray paint and coat… something… anything…
It’s A Colorful World
I’ve wasted entirely too much time playing around on this new website I saw on How About Orange last week. So I’m spreading the love / distraction and encouraging everyone to hit up the Multicolr Search Lab. It lets you search Flickr photos by color and even by a combination of colors.
See what showed up when I selected one of the green tones? Oooh…
Then I added yellow to it. Ahhh…
And then a touch of black. Wow.
I stopped myself there, but the program allows you to add up to 10 colors. Not quite sure what it’s good for yet (besides an entertaining distraction), but it could certainly be a way to hunt for art inspiration that’ll complement a room’s color palette.
Have fun, my fellow color connoisseurs!
Nothing Beats A Glossy Magazine
Apparently even if you’re a dog. I was propped up in bed early this morning with one of my favorite mags when the phone rang and I sprang up to grab it. I returned to the bedroom to see this:
Apparently dogs can appreciate a good read. And speaking of a good read have you guys been loving Cottage Living as much as we have lately?
Steal Of The Week: Tray Chic
This week’s cheap score is actually a smart and simple item to keep on hand for everything from food service to accessory arrangement and more. That’s right, we’re talking about a simple silver toned tray that looks fabulous serving up hors de’oeuvres, displaying a collection of glossy mags, or even creating a landing spot for mail on an entryway console table.
And I trolled the internet to find super inexpensive yet posh looking alternatives from round to oval and even rectangular. This round tray will only run you $29.99 and it’s made especially to keep appetizers warm or cold (which would also be nice for serving hot cider or cold bubbly). And the two trays below also come in under the thirty dollar mark. The oval one with handles on the left is just $26.95 and the elegant rectangular tray on the right is a mere $29.64. They both could run you well over a two hundred beans in sterling silver, but most people wouldn’t be the wiser either way, so we say go for the affordable versions.
Here are a few other obvious (and not so obvious) uses for a chic little silver tray:
Serving trays can be used not only for dishing out cocktails, but also for housing wine glasses and your shaker atop your bar when they’re not in use. Gotta love how they group like objects so effortlessly.
We also love the idea of setting a tray on a table at a cocktail event event with some yummy desserts or tasty appetizers inside martini glasses for guests to grab. It’s so memorable and simple, for a look that says “oh I just whipped this together but it looks adorable…”
Of course we’d be remiss to forget how great perfumes look collected atop a silver tray on your vanity or bathroom counter. The tray creates instant order from a bottles everywhere situation.
And we love the idea of using gleaming silver trays for seasonal decorating. From serving up the turkey to displaying little prezzies for your guests (maybe full of holiday cookies or warm woolen socks) being creative with your silver tray keeps things festive and fun at all times.
We currently use ours to corral pillar candles of varying heights in our living room fireplace, but at any moment we could decide to switch things up thanks to an ever-growing mental list of tray chic possibilities.
The point? No matter what you decide to use yours for, you’d be hard-pressed to find an arrangement that doesn’t look effortlessly posh when you pop things on a tray.
What about you guys. Have any other creative ways to swank things up with a simple serving tray? Do tell.
Laura’s Color Conundrum
When Laura wrote to us in search of a new color palette for her kitchen cabinets and walls, we whipped out our paint swatches and got right to work. Here’s her letter:
My kitchen needs a face-lift! The previous owners upgraded the counters with Uba-tuba granite (it’s black with flecks of green and brown) but the dark orangey-brown flat cabinets from the 60’s remain (plus an added Ikea storage piece topped in matching granite). I despise the color of the cabinets, but they’re in pretty good condition so we’d like to paint them (and also paint the Ikea island to integrate it?). I desperately need color suggestions for the cabinets and walls to update and brighten up the space. The types of color that appeal to me most are warm tones, beachy colors (I love green-blue-gray colors), and neutrals. Nothing is really off-limits. I was also thinking of adding molding to the cabinet doors to give them a bit of architectural interest. What do you think of this idea? And do you have any recommendations on how to go about doing this? Thanks so much and I can’t wait to see what colors you recommend!!! -Laura
This is definitely going to be one of those major makeovers that you can’t even believe was the same space. Painting the walls and the cabinets is the fastest way to create a totally new kitchen on a serious budget, so without further ado, three fresh and bright color palettes for Laura to choose from:
Now for the obvious disclaimer that the paint chips above are only as accurate as your monitor, and they look a heckova lot more dynamic and rich in person (so Laura should just pick up all the recommended swatches and hold them up in her space to select a winner).
Here’s the paint palette breakdown. Click here for more »
