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Friday, March 30, 2012

Copy Cat Design: Wallpaper in the Bedroom

Colleen's back at it with another great room, recreated for less! (PS We're getting ready for some trips this summer, and I'm DYING for this orange swim suit Colleen shared this week. So cute!)


This bedroom from
Traditional Home is deceptive--at first it looks like it has a lot going on, but with the exception of statement-making wallpaper, it's a very neutral room. Let's take a closer look.



The skinny white lamp looks crisp against the cobalt wallpaper.


If you're fortunate enough to have a yard, bud vases are your very best friend for decorating. Add a few blooms from your yard and put them in every room.


This bed is such a find. Going neutral shouldn't mean boring, so pick something with interest, like tufting or a scrolling shape.


The original roman shades use a Kravet fabric, but I quite like a wide neutral stripe too.


The wallpaper is absolutely the star of the room, and the saturated color is key. This Chinoiserie pattern is an economical alternative to the original Osborne & Little.


If wallpapering isn't an option, this blue paint will look stunning with white trim.


Consider replacing the glass doors with mirrors--it's pretty and functional.


Crystal pulls will add a little sparkle to a plain white wardrobe.


The bedding repeats the blue in the embroidery, on otherwise bright white sheets.


Just a simple white table for pretty things.


I'm a tchotchke person. I need my pointless pretty objects, thus a blue ginger jar.


A feminine and neutral pillow completes the bed.

If you have a room you'd like interpreted, email us at jenny at jennykomenda dot com.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Reader DIY: Metallic Wall Stripes

One of the best parts of writing this blog for me is getting to share ideas I might never get to use myself, but that some of you might get to try. I LOVE getting emails with photos of your interpretations!!


Caroline wrote in to share a couple photos of a bookshelf she fancied up using this post as her inspiration. Caroline said:

"We're renting a quirky midcentury ranch with plenty of oddities, one of which is a badly-proportioned shelving built-in in my daughter's nursery (it used to be the room's closet). I needed to liven up the space and your stripes were a perfect idea. To make the project really easy, I sourced 3-inch wide metallic gold tape online (they have various colors and sizes). A little measuring and taping later, the job was done! The only drawback is that the metallic surface does reflect the old wall's flaws, but overall it is extremely stunning, adds dimension and brightens the space."


Such a beautiful nursery, right? And I'm loving the tape source Caroline found. The two-inch tape is about $30 for 72 yards and the three-inch is $40. That's pretty cheap wallpaper!


If you have a room or project you'd like to share, email us at jenny at jennykomenda dot com.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Room Tours: Callie's Home

Are you ready for photo overload? Callie emailed me a couple weeks ago and I saw a little peek of her house. I practically begged her to show me more! And I'm so glad she agreed to do a full tour here. I think her home is the *perfect* way to do neutrals. I'm always harping on the finding balance with warm and cool tones in a room. That's true for neutral rooms too! This means you should mix your black and brown tones, your creams and grays. And if you want to throw in a random splash of color by way of a vase or small piece of art - well that's all the better!

I hope you enjoy Callie's house tour as much as I did. Here she is sharing some of her approach to decorating her lovely home (with a list of sources at the very bottom):

We built our home about a year ago, and I really took a lot of time to think beforehand about the look I wanted, both in the design of our home and in decorating it. Looking at images on blogs really is what gave me inspiration for my home, and I spent A LOT of time doing it. Images that I kept on coming back to were rooms by Ryan Korban and Mary McDonald. I really didn't want an overload of anything TOO bloggy or trendy though, because I knew I would get tired of looking at it!






-I signed up for emails from a bunch of sites... then I waited for the sales to happen. :) Because I live in an area where there aren't a ton of different stores, I bought a lot of items online. And because I was (mostly!) patient, nearly everything I ordered online I either got on sale (sometimes MAJOR sale!) or free shipping. Even the items I picked up at local stores were mostly on sale.





As much as I love the look designers create, I LOVE getting good deals! Nothing is better than telling someone, "Originally that was $XXX and I got it for $XX!" I've tried to see decorating my house as a marathon, not a sprint.





-I really only tried to purchase something that I could see in a specific spot in my home-- what I found was that when I didn't have a particular place in mind, I ended up not really liking what I picked up and felt like I wasted my money.



-Antique stores! And antique stores! And antique stores! I typically found a similar look to what I had seen online by going to a ton of antique stores... sometimes it took a little digging and patience, but I usually found what I was looking for at a fraction of the price I would have spent online (and usually even cheaper than on etsy, eBay, or One Kings Lane, although I have found some awesome deals there). AND I love the fun little things I came across as I was looking for something specific! That is where I got my instant gratification as a reward for all that waiting I'd done for online purchases. :)





-Where I really saved-- accessories (by doing what I typed above), artwork (Hobby Lobby does custom cut mats for really cheap and I did most of the artwork by myself... and I am NOT an artist by any means!!), drapes (discount fabric sewn by my mom), and dressers/consoles (again, mostly all from antique stores and painted by my me or my dad).








I splurged on both of my sofas and on my coffee table-- I saw the Hutton sofa from Room & Board and immediately knew it was the one because of its look and length (even though I looked for a cheaper version for about five months), and my husband sat on the leather sofa from Restoration Hardware and there was no changing his mind. I'm still a little uneasy about those splurges though!





ENTRY
navy dresser- antique store (paint is Benjamin Moore, pulls from House of Antique Hardware)
gold mirror- craigslist
W mirror- Pottery Barn Kids
black lamps- Target
white shades- Target
greek key trim- Walmart
gold Asian bust- antique store
zebra wood frame- Pottery Barn
blue bowl- World Market
silver plated bowl- One Kings Lane
navy rug- One Kings Lane (Thom Filicia)
drum shade- Andrews Lighting in OKC
bird box- Anthropologie


LIVING ROOM
media console- antique store (painted by my Dad with black automotive paint)
gold lamp- Horchow
blue vases- antique store
antler- my parents' barn
pink orchid- TJ Maxx
small sunburst mirror- Hobby Lobby

coffee table- Horchow
burl wood tray- ebay (Williams Sonoma Home)
horns- Jayson Home and Garden
silver lacquer box- One Kings Lane (can buy at Plantation Home)
foo dog- etsy
blue vase- Goodwill
gold bamboo frame- One Kings Lane (Lunares)
floral notebooks- Anthropologie
lucite nesting tables- CB2
foo dog lamp- Tuesday Morning
wood root- antique store
horse statue- etsy
burl wood box- Teavana
Chiang Mai print tray- Furbish Studio

gold vintage chair- antique store
mink fur pillow- Restoration Hardware
leopard pillows- made by my Mom from fabric from Interior Fabrics in OKC

cream nailhead chairs- Gilt and Overstock (Safavieh)
blue handblocked pillows- West Elm
greek key side table- One Kings Lane (Worlds Away)
grey ginger jar- Williams Sonoma Home
Asian gold horse- antique store
zebra wood box- ebay (Williams Sonoma Home)
white vase- Mockingbird Manor in OKC
leather tray- World Market
white coral- Pottery Barn
blue vase- antique store

velvet sofa- Room and Board
pink Insignia pillows- Furbish Studio (Windsor Smith fabric)
wool and coral cotton pillows- Anthropologie

large gold sunburst mirror- Williams Sonoma Home
black jars- Pottery Barn
coral ginger jars- Williams Sonoma Home

silver task lamp- Williams Sonoma Home
brown rug- Wisteria
cream drapes- my Mom made from fabric from Interior Fabrics in OKC
curtain rods- Target
black frames and grey mats- Hobby Lobby


DINING/KITCHEN
dining table- Williams Sonoma Home
chairs- Horchow
silver ginger jar- One Kings Lane
graphic rug- Williams Sonoma Home
cream pendant- Horchow
black frames- Target

black bamboo dresser- craigslist (paint is Rustoleum, pulls from Lee Valley)
cream porcelain lamps- Williams Sonoma Home
Asian ladies- antique stores
gold box- antique store
green vase- Pottery Barn
gold bamboo frame- antique store
white vase- Pier 1
lines paintings- me, frames from Garden Ridge, black mats from Hobby Lobby
eagle mirror- antique store

lucite counter stools- CB2
blue vases- Wisteria
silver rim utensil holder- Pottery Barn
circles painting- me, frame from antique store
coral butter dish- Anthropologie
blue pot- TJ Maxx
Silver bamboo frame- TJ Maxx
Cream frames- Target
fuschia orchid- TJ Maxx
copper greek bust- etsy
white pineapple- White Barn
ikat bowls- Anthropologie
various white, glass, and metal serving pieces- Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, Target, and antique stores
black and gold mums paper- Paper Mojo
silver sphere pendant- Horchow (Solaris pendant from Crystorama)


MAN ROOM
leather sofa- Restoration Hardware
red plaid pillows- Ralph Lauren
wheat rug- Pottery Barn

round coffee table- Pottery Barn
brown leather tray- Pottery Barn
decanters and glasses- Pottery Barn, antique stores
vintage National Geographics- antique store
patch- Rugby by Ralph Lauren

wood side table- made by my brother-in-law Roger
silver lamp- picked up by my husband Russ somewhere before we met!
marquetry frame- Williams Sonoma Home
metal R on wood stand- Anthropologie
silver microphone- from my Dad
small white H letterman's patch- antique store

duke painting- antique store
vintage baseball print- antique store
large red H letterman's patch- antique store
fox hunt print- etsy
black mirror- Target
small black and white print- picked up by my husband Russ somewhere before we met!
metal W- Anthropologie

NYC Census Bureau map- One Kings Lane (Barbara Cosgrove)
subway sign- Pottery Barn
curtain rod- Target
cream drapes- my Mom made from fabric from Interior Fabrics in OKC
all books are from random places

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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Mint Wool Chairs in Action

I got the Italian MCM chairs back from the upholsterer this weekend and I think I'm in love. The room needed a shot of cooler toned color (either blue or green) and these totally did the trick for me.


I can't decide if I'm going to make a pair of little lumbar pillows. I worry the pillows would partially cover the split between the arms and the back, which is the part of the chairs I like best. Hmm.


PS Here's a wider shot of the gallery wall, which is still a WIP. I took out a lot of the smaller pieces from the old arrangement we had up in the dining room, in favor of less and bigger art. I also added the Gossip Girl sconces into the arrangement, and that I'm totally loving. I think I might try DIYing some black conical shades. Though to get the sizing right I would need to buy a soldering iron which feels really intense for some reason. :)

Monday, March 26, 2012

DIY Picture Frame

I'm always looking for inexpensive alternatives to custom framing. I'd rather spend the money elsewhere in a room. I've mentioned before that I like to pick up cheap art in good frames from thrift stores and flea markets, and later I switch out the art.


When I finished the chinese wallpaper panels a couple weeks back I moved over the gallery wall to the tv area in our living room. I wanted to included this peony painting because I like the dark shot of blue color. I've been meaning to frame it for a while now but it was painted on a European canvas which won't fit in standard US frames. It's not easy to make a frame from stock moulding you buy at the lumber yard, so I had an idea to repurpose one of the old frames from my collection.



I tucked the painting into the corner of the old frame and marked the edges on the frame. I did this twice - using the two best corners with the least amount of damage to the plasterwork.


Then I used a miter box and a hand saw to make four 45-degree cuts. If you have a miter saw, this step would be super fast, but even cutting the angles by hand wasn't bad. The trick to fast, straight cuts is keeping the frame moulding flush with the miter box edge. It's helpful to have a second set of hands here.


Four simple cuts later and we have the beginnings of a new frame!


I smoothed the cut edges with a sanding block until the two cut edges fit perfectly together.


Then I ran a bead of wood glue along the edges and stapled the two pieces together, right down the corner line four or five times.


Not bad, right? Pretty seamless.


While the glue was drying, I touched up the highlights on the frame with my trusty gold leaf pen so that the gilding would be a brighter yellow.


Gracie got in on the action too. She's my little budding artist.


I forgot to take a photo, but I simply stapled a few times on the back around the perimeter of the painting at an angle to keep the canvas secured in place. Then it was done and ready to hang.


I'm so thrilled with the results here. Even if I had dropped $300 on custom framing, it wouldn't have the age or patina this old frame has. I'm dying to cut down more unwanted frames for the other canvases I have in storage!


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