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.

Room Tour: Perfectly Pink Bedroom

My friend Kristen from Gypsy Soul Interiors always has gorgeous projects going on at her place! I loooove when her name pops up in my inbox!

She was inspired by this chevron rug DIY project and used a perfect coral pink color. The rug is for her daughter's newly redecorated big girl room. I love the Kristen eyeballed the taping! She wanted this to be a quick project and sort of liked that imperfectly-perfect look (especially for a kids room).

You're going to want to check out how adorable this little girl's room turned out. That bed (and bedding)! That chaise! Kristen embraces all things vintage and knows *just* how to update them with paint and fabrics. I feel like this space has so much more soul than a room filled with catalog furniture!

I'm sure you'll want to know just like I did - the wall color is Iced Apricot by Valspar. Definitely adding that one to the paint color arsenal! This elusive perfectly peachy pink color is hard to nail down!

Gorgeous job as always, Kristen! Thanks for sharing!

If you have a room submission for LGN, please email jenny at jennykomenda dot com. Thanks!

Reader DIY: Animal Bookends and Brass Figurines

Ooh! I love this Reader DIY from the adorable and talented Cassie at Hi Sugarplum!

Cassie figured out a really inexpensive way to make cute book ends and brass-looking table top accessories (HERE and HERE).

She picked up random little toys and figurines from thrift stores, hobby shops and the dollar bin at Target and spray painted them!

She super glued the painted figurines to flat rocks and made really cool, unique bookends.

Cassie did a similar project using (my go-to) Rustoleum in Brass from their metallics line.

PS Their gold color has way too much pink in it, but the brass is a lovely bright yellow. It really looks like brass, right? I'm thinking a trip to the Homegoods clearance section is in order!!

Cassie spent less than $5 on each of these. Little projects like this that cost almost nothing are so great. It's a nice way to get a fun look that you don't have to commit to. If she wants to change these out for something else later, there's no reason to feel bad. I love it.

Thanks for sharing, Cassie!

If you have a DIY project you'd like to submit, please email jenny (at) jennykomenda (dot) com.

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Campaign Style Rast Hack

I never get sick of seeing all these different ways to hack the IKEA Rast dresser! Molly from Molly Madfis Designs emailed me her latest project and I think it turned out really great.

Molly said she searched and searched for a campaign piece to put in her dining room, but coldn't find the right one in the right size. She was inspired by all the Rast hacks floating around the internet and thought she could make her own campaign dresser.

Molly patched up the old knobs holes, painted the dresser and drilled on these flat corner plaques. Then she measured and drilled new holes in the center of each drawer for these brass campaign style pulls from Ansaldi and Sons.

I actually prefer the proportions of Molly's hardware to traditional campaign pieces. The smaller corner plaques look perfect here. And wouldn't a pair of these would look so great as night stands?

Thanks for sharing, Molly!

DIY Sunburst Mirrors (using SHIMS!!)

I've been trying to step away from the Pinterest lately (old habits die hard). My motto in helping me conquer the beast is "10% Inspiration, 90% Perspiration." (I talked a little about this in my Alt panel.) But apparently I need to come up for air more often, because there is some magic happening in the blog world that I was completely unaware of.

Look at all these GREAT sunburst mirrors made from those cheapy packets of shims from the hardware store! Most of these finished mirrors are really quite big (22 - 40" in diameter) and the supplies cost less than $30! What the WHAT.

Natalie Roe and her sister, Rachel, emailed me a link to their version HERE. I love the staggered edges.

346 Living

This Old House (do I like this one. Or not...)

Westerman Family (love the gray stain!)

K Sarah Designs (I love how big the mirror is on this one. It feels a little more functional than decorative. PS, love the styling.)

Momtastic (I'm more of a gold sunburst mirror type gal, but I really like this white painted version! And how pretty does it look hanging on top of the canopy curtains? Really cute.)

Did I miss any of your favorite shim sunburst tutorials?

Cornice Board Above the Bed

Trina, who writes the blog A Country Farmhouse, used my pelmet tutorial to make a cornice for her master bedroom.

I LOVE this restful, serene look for a bedroom. It's easy to think an all-white bedroom would be sort of sterile, but it's so soft and lovely. Wouldn't you love to crawl into bed here and take a long nap? :) Great job Trina!

More Maskros Hacks

I love how many different ways a DIY tutorial can be reinvented!



My friend, Vanessa, who I went to high school with, did my sputnik DIY in her gorgeous living room (she used the smaller sized Maskros, which looks perfect here).

Guess what Vanessa used to make the rods look a little more substantial?? She cut straws from QT (a convenience store in AZ with the best drink selection ever - rivals Sonic) down the middle, wrapped them around the flimsy rods, and spray painted the whole thing. I love this!



Another improvement on my project: Vanessa painted the backs of the amuse bouche plates to better hide the little white plastic bits. Genius!

Here's another Maskros hack from the Picket Fence Design blog. It's pink! and OMBRE! What's not to love?!

They cut down the petals a little, like I did and then used three different colors of acrylic paint to give that graduated ombre effect.

Another beautiful project!

Thanks so much, ladies! If you have a project you think I'd love, email me at jenny at jennykomenda dot com.

In related news, today I shared my 15 very favorite chandeliers that won't break the bank (all under $400!) HERE.

An Alternative to Butterfly Taxidermy

I was sort of surprised that so many of you think that framing butterflies is a morbid practice. While I think it's a great idea to only purchase vintage pieces or to buy from humane harvesters (there are lots of these sellers on eBay and etsy), framed butterflies don't bother me at all and I love getting a chance to examine these beautiful creatures up close. The patterns and colors are completely amazing. Mother nature at her finest!

But if you're still creeped out by the real butterflies, check out what one of my readers, Krista, shared on her blog Kiki's List.

Krista purchased a few sets of these pretty plastic butterflies (meant for wedding cakes a la Martha!) on etsy and framed the sets arranged by color in shadow boxes from Michaels. Doesn't this look great? Check out her entire post here.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful project, Krista!!

If you have a project to share on LGN email me: jenny (at) jennykomenda (dot) com. Thanks!

Inspiration Round Up: Part II

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you have a lovely weekend planned. Here are some more LGN reader projects to inspire you. And, as always, if you have a project that you'd like me to share, please email jenny @jennykomenda.com.

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Natalie, from Natty by Design, hunts for vintage furniture with good bones and then transforms them with paint and sells them in her shop. She did a lovely job with this desk!

It was such a cute piece in the first place, but I really love the green! I could see this desk used in any room in the house.

Heidi from A Thousand Laughing Starfish has posted some great tutorials recently. My two favorites were this DIY curved headboard:

And this handpainted wall mural:

Natalie from Mint Loves Social Club has all kinds of inspiring projects going on. She wanted to share this credenza she bought at a thrift store.

The owner of the thrift store offered to lacquer the credenza for a really great price and I think it turned out amazing!

You can see her pretty credenza, which she uses as a bar (the inside is super organized too!), in these after pictures of her seriously stunning DIY Bubble chandelier project.

Lisa from Lisa Fero Interiors used my Happytape wall tutorial to transform her client's entry.

I think it looks especially awesome looking out from the living room she also did.

Alicia from 12 Devonshire added Greek key trim to the ladder pulls on her bathroom blinds.

What an easy way to dress up plain-jane blinds! Her tutorial is posted HERE.

Jen from Organized Design used this bed from IKEA

as the base for making her daughter a really cute custom bed. Check out her really thorough tutorial HERE.

Vanessa recently redid her kitchen. She used my pelmet box tutorial for her windows and I love the look! I think she made a great choice with the fabric. Visit her post HERE for the details.

Naomi from Design Manifest sent me two really beautiful projects from her Philadelphia loft. She used inexpensive wall mirrors from Bed Bath and Beyond to back her Expedit shelves. Such a great idea!!

She also cleverly outlined a pretty mirror in her entry with hot pink paint on the wall. This makes such a statement - very Moroccan feeling. And what an easy, unexpected way to add color to a room.

And I love the combo with the La Fiorentina fabric on her bench!

An extra big thanks to the contributors!! xoxo