Color Outside the Lines

A High End DIY Project: Part Three

2013-05-07T23:04:00.002-04:00

Alright, so part three, are you ready for it? Did you miss part one, or part two? Well, go play catch up and I'll be right here when you get back. Seriously, I will! And grab something to drink and eat too, this is a long one!

Ok, so firstly, let me go ahead and put out there that I am not the authority on headboard building, nor am I really all that handy. I'm sure, that there will be those of you who are handy, or who are the authority on headboard building who will look at this post and shrug your shoulders, point your finger, and say: "You should have ..." and you're likely very right. But, what's done is done, and it's beautiful ... in my opinion.

Now, part one talked about the inspiration. Obviously, you all know what I was attempting to recreate on a much smaller budget. Part two talked about the shopping, and I have to say I was quite impressed with the ease of finding all the things to make this piece a reality. Now you get to see how I put it all together ... in my dining room, which normally looks like this:

But for this little DIY project, it turned into my workshop! Now tools. I needed a drill, some screws, a palm sander (to clean up the rough edges), a hand saw, and a miter box, and wood glue. I also had paint, painters caulk, and a paint brush since I was going to paint the piece once it was constructed, and a drop cloth to keep my seagrass clean.

I started with the pre-cut piece of plywood. It was 4' x 5' for my queen size bed. Knowing that I would need to have legs for the headboard, and because I wanted it to be tall, I built a frame of 2x3 studs to make the whole thing sturdy, the right height: 6', and wider than just a simple piece of plywood.

First I layed out the studs, spread a line (or three) of wood glue atop them, and then put the plywood on top.

Then once everything was in place, I put a screw through the plywood and into the stud every 12" along the edge where the stud made the frame. The screw was going to be covered up later ... so screwing it to the face of the board is fine.

The finished edge of the piece was important, because it's something you can see when you walk into the room. So, I used 1x3 premium pine to cover up the ugly side(s) of the framing. Using clamps, woodglue, and nails, the whole thing went together pretty easily.

The corners of the 1x3 were mitered because of the look from the side. After all, I was trying to cover up an unfinished edge, and not mitering the corners would have given me one more. So, after some time with the hand saw and my mitering box, I was all good to go.

Next, before I put the moulding on the front edge, I had to pick my paint color. I had lots of different samples ... and after some testing and mixing I found the right shade. Then it was time to pull out the handsaw and the miter box again, and get the mitered corners on the pre-primed MDF moulding that I picked up in Part two.

I again, like the sides with the 1x3 pieces, used finish nails and wood glue, and then closed up the gaps (yes, there were gaps!!) with painters caulk. With that done ... all that was left to do was paint:

And voila. Finished. Eh, not so fast!

Now the part that I dreaded and where I'm going to chime in and tell you what you can do to make this SO MUCH easier on yourself! I upholstered the piece after I had put the moulding on. So unless you're a master upholsterer or have a very good staple gun, you can do what I should have done, save yourself the heartache later, and put the moulding on last. You'll need to measure exactly where the moulding lands and upholster only the interior measurement of that ... but it will be cleaner than what I achieved.

But since I didn't do it that way ... here's how I did it:

First, I grabbed my staple gun, foam, batting, fabric, spray adhesive, Liquid Stitch, trim tape, iron, starch, and ironing board, plus that wheel of nailheads from part two. Then I layed out my foam, which I adhered to the plywood with spray adhesive on the plywood and back of the foam.

Once that was down, I covered the whole thing with the batting I scored a great deal on from my slipcover maker, and an old sheet that I had laying around. It was clean, promise!

Stapled all the way around the edge and cleaned off the excess. Then it was time to press out the folds from the crafting bolt at JoAnns. Burlap is a stubborn fabric. I'm just saying. Put your iron on it's highest setting and be prepared to iron for a while.

Once you're done, all that's left is to put it on just like you did the batting and staple away, trimming the edges when it's all down.

I used two pieces of burlap because of the weave being so open. And, I found that using a cerrated edge kitchen kinfe to cut away the excess fabric was much easier than using scissors.

Then came time to put the trim on. That called for my handy dandy Liquid Stitch. I love this stuff, and it's really easy to use. It dries clear, and holds tight pretty quickly after putting it on. I know that some people use hot-glue, but I don't like the lump you get under the fabric. You just put the Liquid Stitch on the back of the trim tape and follow along the edge of your moulding gluing the tape to the burlap.

Sidenote: If you do it the way I should have done it, after you put the trim tape on, you'd put your pre-painted moulding on the piece.

Once I cussed a view hundred cuss words, and then cried ... just a little, I was happy with the way that the trim tape looked and I put the nailheads on. Again, I used the nailhead strip from part two, and not individual nailheads. It was much easier, and it took far less time.

At this point the only thing left to do was attach the bedframe (a simply metal hollywood frame) to the legs created by the 2x3's with screws and start working on the slipcover. I was going to have the slipcover made by the fantastic slipcover maker who does all of my slips for home and clients. But since this is a DIY post, I figured I'd suffer through and stay true to the Do It Yourself layout. It hasn't been easy ... but it's nearly finished though, and as soon as it's done ... I'll give you all a peek at the finale!

A High End DIY Project: Part Two

2013-04-18T23:02:00.001-04:00

Well, if you're just joining the party here and want to know what you've missed you can check out Part One, here.

So, the plan is set right? We know what we're making and all we have to do is hope that the local stores have what I need to make my version of this:

Hickory Chair Candler Bed

A dear friend that I consulted with on this project brought my attention to another bed I wanted to show you, too! Here's sort how that conversation went:

Friend: You know, you can make it - no problems, you know that. But you could buy the same one for a lot cheaper at Restoration Hardware.

Me: Really? Which One?

Friend: The Maison Collection ...

Me: Oh, beautiful ...

Friend: And in your budget!

Me: What'cha talkin' bout Willis? $1,900 is NOT in my budget!

Friend: Well, I'm just saying - there are options you can buy in a store.

So that's sorta how it went. Said friend is really a great shopper, and I wanted you all to know, if you love the bed, but don't want to DIY, haul it over to Restoration Hardware and save $3,500 by dropping $2,000 on this. Then get someone to make you a slip. Simple. Or ... you can follow me while I make a similar thing for 10% of the RH price. Ready? Ok!

Joann Fabrics was having a heck of a sale during their Daffodil Dash; and the burlap (considered a utility fabric) was on sale for $1 off the already low price of $3.99/yard. For my queen size bed, I needed 4 yards to be safe, as I'll be doubling the fabric since it has such an open weave. I gave a lot of thought to burlap before choosing it as the fabric for the headboard, but eventually decided on the look of it's texture since the comfort will come from linen slip on top.

I wanted to have a linen tape trim covered with bronze nail heads. I looked at a lot of trims at Joann's; and finally decided on this twill trim. It's wider than I wanted, but I had an idea. Also, at $1.29, the stuff was dirt cheap! I also had a coupon for 50% off of an item not on sale, so the 6.5 yards I needed of this was gonna cost me $10 less than expected!

See? $10.29 Total Savings! What I didn't buy at this particular Joann's was the nailhead trim. They didn't have what I was looking for, so I went to the Joann's near my office to find it AND use my coupon all over again!

I don't know if you've ever had the occasion to use this Dritz Home product, but it's so much easier than tapping hundreds of these things in with those little hammers. I've tried doing it myself before, and of course, they were so crooked I wished I hadn't done it. Not to mention I ruined that fabric. So, when I found this stuff I did a little jig, and have used it a couple of times since.

I had the foam, and the spray adhesive, and my slipcover maker and seamstress sold me 2 yards of heavy duty batting for $10.

The headboard width is a base of plywood. The thickness is totally up to you, but I used 3/8 width because it's lighter and cheaper. Since it's going to be covered and against a wall, 3/8 width works just fine. The width for a queen size bed is 60". However, there has to be a frame made for the plywood, and that's where theses 2x3 studs come into play.

The moulding section at Home Depot is extensive, and expensive. From ornately stain worthy hard-wood mouldings, to pre-primed mdf, the possibilities are endless, and what you pick will depend heavily on the finish that you want for your bed. Since I'm painting ours ...

I decided to go with this. At $5.55 a piece, the three pieces I needed to make the frame around the visible edges of our headboard was going to cost me less than $17. And it's pretty good looking too! Simple, but not too simple.

So, all that was left to do was have the handy helper cut the plywood into the 5' by 4' piece that I needed. Because I wasn't quite sure what height I wanted for the finished product, I am going to cut the rest of it myself at home.

What I also bought: 1x3 quality pine to finish out the sides of the bed after all of the parts are put together. Afterall, who wants to see this?

Not me! So instead ... with the whole base put together and the 1x3 pine finished on the side with mitered corners will look like this sneak peek into part three:

So your shopping list so far (Queen Bed):

Fabric Store: 4 yards of Burlap (it will be doubled), 2 yards of high density batting, 2 yards of 1" depth upholstery foam cut to fit 5x4' (you may need two 2' wide pieces), trim tape if desired, and nailheads. You could also buy 2 yards of muslin, I'll be using an old sheet. You'll see why later.

Hardware Store: (4) 2x3x8 studs for your frame, a sheet of plywood (depth your choice) cut to width of finished headboard minus 1", (3) 1x3x6 finish pine premium lumber, (3) pieces of moulding of your choice for the wood edge of the headboard (no need to put the moulding on the bottom of the headboard as that will be covered by your mattress), wood glue, 1 1/4" wood screws, a couple of tester paint samples in your paint color if painting the bed and sandpaper.

And yes .. that's my seagrass carpet. My dining room has become my work room for this project, more on that in part three! Stay tuned!

A High End DIY Project: Part One

2013-04-15T19:27:00.001-04:00

If you read the blog with any regularity, and have for a long period of time, you know that I wrote a post titled: "The Object of my Affection" way back in January of 2009. It didn't talk about Scott, it didn't talk about Twizzlers, or Diet Pepsi, The Real Housewives Franchise, or anything else that I can't live without. It was a short post that touted one thing, and one thing only: my love for this bed:

graceful, elegant, richly decadent - this bed was my idea of the perfect resting place at the end of every day. I held on to the picture in my "LOVE" file, (Does everyone have one of those? Or has pinterest replaced them?) and never forgot about it because I received emails almost weekly asking me where it could be purchased ... and I still get them, even now, more than 4 years later.

The bed is from Hickory Chair, or was. Finding the details on it this time required a bit of digging, but I was able to find the catalog if you're interested, and it's now for sale on the Hickory White website. In fact, they even have a photo of the bed in a room setting:

http://www.hickorywhite.com/catalog_detail.php?id=156&model=735-21

But, tastes change; and if you're anything like me - they change all of the time. Like so many other things that I've purchased and regretted, or didn't purchase and was thankful for the delay - this bed was just not the right bed for my house, or my rooms. It's taken a lot of inner strength to pick the right furniture to fit both my aesthetic and the house I "inherited"; so I am now upside down in love with this beauty:

Again, from Hickory Chair, this bed is part of the Suzanne Kasler Collection which is just beautiful, exactly what we've come to expect from Suzanne. She's just brilliant. The bed was inspired by a pair of upholstered vintage French chairs, and the beauty of this piece, in part is the square line and the dressmaker details like the tied slipcover. And it's not only a favorite of mine, many designers have used the bed as a centerpiece to absolutely stunning bedrooms:

via Mark D Sikes Blog

Probably on the internet in a thousand places, and immortalized (can a bed be immortalized?) by the pages of House Beautiful is this guest room in Mark Sikes home in California. His whole house is absolutely breathtaking, and the Hickory Chair Candler bed looks perfect in this room; especially with the canopy he designed and had constructed for above it. Simply gorgeous!

When you order the bed you can customize every finish, including the paint. Mark chose to have the bed painted a high gloss black which looks amazing against the crisp white. I can't do white anymore with black cats, and well, I never could quite pull white off anyway - and I did try! I also can't manage the canopy without moving lights and the footboard is a no, thanks to my height and the size of the room. So, I started thinking ... would it look as impressive without the footboard?

via Tobi's Tips - Tobi Fairley

And I think that the answer is yes. And although these photos don't show it with a slipcover, I think that's a very important piece and one of the reasons I fell in love with the bed to begin with. Of course, once I looked into the price, it's a ~~FRIGGIN LOT~~ little out of my budget, with starting prices at $4000, not including the $1200 slipcover. (That's the high end part).

So, (and this is where the DIY comes in) I decided to make my own version of this high end bed, hopefully just as good looking but much less expensive. It's been a long time since I focused any attention on the bedroom, and this will be a nice change. The plan:

Create the headboard from stock cabinetry/finish mouldings, and upholster the interior section in burlap, with natural linen tape and nailhead trim, then slipcovered in nubby Belgian Linen. The same linen will be used for the tailored bedskirt and curtains. My chocolate brown walls will stay - as a reminder they're Monks Cloth by Martha Stewart, and I'm trying to make a decision on the bed color now. Which would you choose?

Cement Gray

Nimbus Cloud

Mourning Dove

I'm leaning toward Mourning Dove for it's more brown undertone. I'd like to keep it from looking too blue. So drop me a note, and by all means, if you have a favorite gray, let me know!

Sherwin Williams #7031 Mega Greige

This color, SW7031 Mega Greige came from long-time reader and friend Brenda, or mrsben. We go way back to my RMS days, and she's been a real pal. I love this suggestion to, so ... keep them coming!

I've broken this post into several parts, to give me some time to finish the project: so, stay tuned for Part Two where we'll be shopping for the materials.

Some design work ... in progress

2013-04-07T22:52:00.002-04:00

On the way out the door Saturday, I snapped this photo of a breakfast room that I've been working on for the last week or so. My client has a stunning house, with an even more stunning view of the remarkable Niagara Gorge. You might remember that I showed you all her living room fully styled for Christmas ...

Well, we're working our way through the rest of the bottom floor, and the breakfast room is where we've landed for now. I unfortunately don't have any photos of the room before ... but we've done quite a bit already. Just so you don't have to scroll back up ...

We bought a new table, and new chairs, which we promptly had seat covers made for with a decorative strap that not only looks great but keeps the cushions from slipping off. (Word to the wise if you buy them!) Had a great time using new Nate Berkus fabrics from Calico Corners, my go to source for fabrics. We had the chair cushions done in Belle Terre (Ochre), the capes done in Old Country Linen (Curry), and we also have curtains being made in the same fabric by my excellent slipcover and now curtain lady, Michelle Hook from Custom Interior Sewing in Grand Island, NY. The tablecloth is Chocolate Burlap trimmed in jute from Ballard Designs, and we had Michelle do a simple table topper in Kopacki (Heather) also from the new Nate Berkus line at Calico.

Typically I wouldn't use one designer fabric to do a whole room, but my client Pam was so taken with this room styled by the designers at Calico:

that she asked me to incorporate as many of the fabrics in this photo as possible. So, that's what I did - even painting over the drab maroon walls in P&L's Feather Gray (Thanks Joni) to calm it all down. We've got more to do - including art, wine storage, and hanging the new curtains (the ones in the photo are on loan from me til' we get the new ones up) and then it's onto the dining room ... the life and times! See you next week!

A Picture is Worth ...

2013-04-04T02:31:00.000-04:00

I can't even begin to tell you how over-booked I am this week. I don't know that I've ever extended myself this far in two different directions, but it keeps me from spending money and that's always a good thing. Of course, before I didn't have the time to spend money, I had my friend and seamstress Michelle work up this tablecloth for me. Made from taupe and chocolate linen ticking the real luxurious touch is the ribbon brush fringe all the way around the bottom of it. I found the fabric on sale at www.fabricguru.com; a whopping $2.49/yard, and the fringe was also budget priced at Hobby Lobby, the whole 13-yard piece for $44.50. Probably my favorite "budget friendly" item in my house, which has me wondering what's your favorite budget friendly piece in your house?

Dreaming of Summer

2013-04-01T09:47:00.001-04:00

It feels like it has been an unusually long winter here. With temperatures resting well below freezing for so long, (and who can overlook all this white stuff!) this weekend's lift in temperature was much appreciated and had me longing for the days where I can spend time in my garden instead of the house.

I've already started drawing up some changes for the garden, which includes moving these coneflowers to a different location and filling in the entire space between my two river clump birch trees with blue hydrangeas. There is so much shade in that area now that they've grown to be so large that hydrangeas will thrive there, and I won't have so much work to do maintaining full sun plants in partial shade gardens.

Some things didn't weather the winter very well, like this banana palm basket. I didn't really think about it when I decided to leave it outside ... but I suppose I should have put it away. It will be interesting to see what I can find to put in its place, since I loved the texture so much ... and it made for a great focal point when entering the pergola.

I've got the most to do in the pergola ... including paint, stain, fixing some of the patio furniture, planting behind the retaining wall and putting some of the wives tales for my wisteria to work!

The hydrangeas between the trees, above with a view of the fountain and the gardens beyond. I'm planning to have a pebble or stone path in the round garden this year. Who knows when I'll find the time ...

Perhaps between picnics ...

Or potting ...

Or parties ...

Ah, thank goodness for the blog and the catalog of photos to remind me of what summer is like ... hope you found these pictures of the CDLV gardens as calming and beautiful as I did ... I can't wait to get started on it all over again, the sooner - the better!

Happy Easter Weekend

2013-03-30T01:53:00.001-04:00

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter Weekend, with family, friends, and ... if you're lucky a few new treats from the Easter bunny! If you are looking to treat yourself or a friend to a piece of hand-made art, I've made a few of my beautiful cross bottles for the holiday - all of which are marked with a special Easter price. Take a look ... and I'll see you next week!

CROSS BOTTLE GUY SITE

http://crossbottleguy.blogspot.com

A Picture is Worth ...

2013-03-18T20:20:00.003-04:00

Well, after a week of house guests (my sweet mother - whom I miss more than I could ever put words together to describe, and my niece and nephew) I finally had a moment to sit down and put together a little post of some of the changes that have happened at CDLV. As you probably know, I had an urge to shift from neutrals back to the colorful palette that I love ... and it took quite a while to put together all the parts.

The foyer got a dresser, perfect for storing candles and matches, gloves and scarves, and those pens and notepads I could never find when I needed them before. Atop the dresser, an old tin tray with black leather wrapped handles holds the mail, and a few pretty things too. (Above) I love having plants and fresh flowers in the house, but I am not good with plants that require a lot of attention. I've found that low/medium light ivy's can take a bit of abuse without giving up completely. This pothos is planted in a terracotta pot surrounded by a beautiful ash wicker basket. An antique door stop makes for interesting art, with it's original hand-painted coloring. The little brass urn was found at a thrift store in Austin, Texas, and it's empty (for now), but the blue and white tea jar holds individually wrapped mints. Great for grabbing on your way out the door!

The living room has had the most change. I layered one of the beautiful rugs that Scott brought back from Turkey when he lived abroad, over the seagrass and then started from there. The rug has gorgeous shades of blue, rust, cream, and a yellowy chartreuse.

So, I brought in my rust colored velvet sofa, and had these new Pottery Barn Carlisle chairs slipcovered in Kravet Couture waxed linen in lemongrass. The trunk is new - an antique black leather and brass piece with beautiful markings and paintings. Unfortunately, in this photo, the little gilded footstool, covered in Oregano velvet by Scalamandre covers it up.

On top of the trunk, are design books, all of my favorites, along with my favorite candle, antler, another ivy, African porcupine quills in a beautiful brass julip cup ... and the most interesting of the collection ... these little bronze busts from Africa sitting atop a vintage brass tray. Love these!

An ornately carved mirror, old bound and gilded books, and a beautiful piece of art are on the mantle. Just something simple. About 4 years ago, Scott and I picked up these curtain rod clips at an estate sale, and with the coloring of this one, I thought it was perfect perched atop my grandfather's pocket bible from WWII.

Eventually, I'll have some different artwork in those frames that the Picaso prints are in. Here you can see the chairs, and the beautiful line of that English Roll Arm. The other footstool, not a match but finished in the same way, more design books - I have them EVERYWHERE!!! - and the taffeta pillows! What a great story! I found that fabric 3 years ago at the Chelsea Flea in NYC, and had it hidden away. When I was searching for the perfect fabric for this room, I nearly cried. Nothing! Then one night - almost like a ghost decorator wanted to save the day - the fabric just appeared! Pillows were made, and I couldn't be happier!

In the dining room, not much has changed. I did have a new tablecloth made, and I changed the vignette on the sideboard a bit. I needed something less fussy. I'm not sure I got it ... but it does feel a bit cleaner to me.

The tablecloth is made from linen ticking in a cream and medium-brown. I got it for a great deal at Fabricguru.com.

The tablecloth has a brush fringe all the way around the bottom of it, which carries that rust and blue and green into the dining room, and I had one of the ottomans covered in the same linen as the tablecloth.

And that's where I leave ya. Do you think it's a good change? Are you loving the color? I hope so!

A Picture is Worth ...

2013-03-12T19:43:00.001-04:00

A Picture is Worth ...

2013-03-07T14:19:00.001-05:00

Am I the only one having trouble getting blogger to load photos? It's infuriating!

Still, I figured I'd update you with some pictures over the next few days, that are a little better than what the phone takes for Instagram. I took this one of the living room last night ... and it's impossible to point out all of the changes that have taken place since you last saw the space. And there are still a couple that need to be done.

I promise I'll get around to giving you great photos of the whole room, the background, the process, and all of that ... but as a tease and a sort of "I'm back" I thought I'd give you this to chew on! Any questions asked in the comments of this post will be answered in the post about the room coming soon ... so ask away!

I hope you're having a great week - I'm off to pick my mother and the kiddo's at the airport, see you in a while with a few more snapshots of CDLV, but whilst you wait - check out Instagram!

It's back ...

2013-03-03T22:31:00.002-05:00

Putting this back up at the top so you all can see the work I've been up to! I've got company coming in four days, and they'll be here for two weeks - so I'm feverishly working to get the house not only clean but somewhat finished since I changed to a more colorful palette after Christmas.

Hope I get it all done in time ...

By the way ... you can follow along and read the captions for these photos on Instagram
by clicking here

A Little Art'sy' Fun ...

2013-02-21T23:02:00.001-05:00

I was so excited to be asked to be a part of the "Wearable Art Fashion Show" this evening at Wine on Third in Niagara Falls. When I was asked, initially, I thought - what? I'm not a fashion designer! But after some not-so-strong arming, I said ok, and got to planning.

The idea of the show is to make, or in my case build, a garment for the runway out of beautiful but unconventional materials. My photos didn't turn out so great - but my friend Tina took some amazing shots of many of the looks. Wanna see?

My dress, or rather, skirt - made from playing cards layered on a difficultly molded base of poster board and duck tape! My model, the beautiful daughter of my best friend, was the PERFECT beauty for this piece of art that took me weeks to build. You think I have a future in dress design? Ha!

Here, you can see the silhouette of the dress ... it took about 900 playing cards, which I bought 2/decks for a $1.00 at Dollar Tree. Some packing tape, hot glue, and frustration later ... we were in business!

Mar-Jon beauty school students did her make up and hair, and I opted for a skirt with a super high waist rather than a full dress. We used a boys dress shirt, popped the collar, and rolled the sleeves up and voila. Fashion!

Here I am with my model and the dress, trying my absolute best to mimic the same pose.

The dress will be on display in the dining room of Wine On Third, the site of the fashion show, for the next month. Along with many of the other dresses and skirts from tonight's big show. I of course have to give full credit for this brilliant idea to Mary Grace O, who asked me to be a part of the show, and dreamed up this outstanding event then with passion and creativity made it come to life!

Here's my friend Andrea, whose other half took all of these photos, with her model sporting the BLT dress. Andrea is a brilliantly gifted pastry chef, and wanted something that involved food. In one day she made this fun and creative piece that smelled so delicious!

While I'm Away ...

2013-01-27T03:30:00.001-05:00

I'm enjoying my break, but still find myself checking in with the blog daily.
It's habit, I suppose.

It left me wondering, is it habit for you, too?

If it is, I figure you should have something to see.

So I changed my SnapWidget from the sidebar ...

to the main frame!

Now you get to see snapshots from my iPhone ...

caught for Instagram

bound for the blog!

Peeks into my life and home.

While it will not automatically re-load the date on the blog,

you will have something to see each time you click on.

So check back as often as you can,

and I'll see you again soon!

xo,

Artie

By the way ... you can follow along and read the captions for these photos on Instagram
by clicking here

A break ...

2013-01-17T16:13:00.001-05:00

I'm taking a bit of a break from the blog for a while. I have had a wonderful deal of fun meeting and being inspired by all of you - and I thank you for going about this journey with me. But I need some time to decompress, relax, become reinspired, and realize my passion and joy for creating interiors. I've spent 5-years on this blog, it's like a child. I'm not abandoning it - just taking some much needed rest to foster the spirit that should be parenting it.

My best to all of you!

Snap Widget ...

2013-01-10T21:13:00.002-05:00

I have been so busy with a new (old) job, client projects, a show house and Christmas tour, Christmas and New Years, and trying to keep my cross bottle business going that I spent most of the time between August and December in a fog! It wasn't until recently that I noticed that many blogs have added a neat little feature to the sidebar that lets you keep up with them when a new blog post hasn't yet been written.

It's called the Snapwidget through Instagram. And it turns photos from your phone into frequent status updates in photograph form for your site. I found myself being more interested in what some of my favorite bloggers were posting via Instagram over their blog posts! So I knew I had to add it to Color Outside the Lines, if for nothing but to give you something new to see when I take a week or more to update the blog.

It's a real-life, day to day glimpse into my goings-on, and while its not always exciting, it might inspire you in one way or another, and isn't that what this blog is for?

For instance, some of the photos of my process get put on Instagram over the blog - since I'm not quite ready to unveil ... so it's sort of a sneak peek of sorts! I know some of you love those!!

And you can even go shopping with me! Or see the new pieces that arrive at CDLV that I get real excited about!

So take a look back through some of the recent snaps, and check back in with what's new daily under the follower section of the sidebar. If you're a member of Instagram - you can follow right along with the snaps from me by clicking follow or entering @artieben1982 in your little widget!

Million Dollar Decorators Season Recap

2013-01-09T20:19:00.002-05:00

I didn't do an episode by episode recap on this season of Million Dollar Decorators, although I did see almost every episode! I figured the best thing to do, since the finale of the season aired last night, was give a recap of my favorite things this season, and one of my not so favorite things.

Episode One - Mary McDonald does the guest house, or I should say one of the guest houses of Margaret "Margie" and Jerry Perenchio. Before and afters:

Mary commented that Margie was the wealthiest person she'd ever met. And it's more than likely true, seeing as how her husband is worth over $2.2 Billion, conservatively. The Perenchio's bought the Kirkeby Mansion in Bel-Air (once used as the filming location for the popular television series "The Beverly Hillbillies") in the 1980's and have spent the last several years purchasing all of the houses and property around the estate to create what's now approximately 36-acres and 9 buildings. Who knows where this little guest house fell on the property - it's quite vast:

I believe it's under the tennis courts in this photo, accessible via a staircase to the pool on the left. The Perenchio's love interiors, antiques mostly, and after having the main house decorated by Henri Samuel and finishing the many structural and garden improvements - including moving the main entrance to nearby Nimes Road, wrote a book: 875 Nimes. The book (which I haven't seen, and can't seem to find a copy of anywhere!!) supposedly gives account of the antiques and their provenance and the tireless efforts to pull them all together, a total of 207 pages bound neatly in leather. I love seeing Mary work - but knowing the amount of money that the Perenchio's have to spend, I was a left wanting more. Of course, you never know what the client had insisted upon, and at the days end - she was happy so score one for Mary.

In the same episode, Martyn, who I have actually grown more and more fond of this season, finished up shoe tycoon Tamara Mellon's NYC highrise. He took the little girl's bedroom from pre-teen to College bound:

Of course, the whole room was peppered with fabrics from Martyn's collaboration with Schumacher, and it really was the t-off to seeing it all season long. I'm only sorry that we didn't get to see Mary's new collection, which is supposed to be unveiled in February. Martyn also took the play/living room used for toys when Tamara's daughter was younger and made it a fem dom dining room - complete with vinyl curtains:

I'm sorry. I hated it. I know, I know! Who the heck do I think I am judging a room created by MLB? But it felt like all the pieces didn't quite come together in the Martyn fashion we've become accustomed. I love the floors, I love the table, I'm ok with the wall color - but I think when you paint a room in such a bold color in a lacquer finish - it can either look uber chic, (think Miles Redd) or like you painted it with finger nail polish, and well this - you get the point. And the vinyl curtains? Seriously?

Episode Two:

Ross gets to try his hand at interior design without JAM, and creates this fuchsia bedroom and sitting room for actress Amber Valletta and her husband. It was ... pink?

Same Episode, Kathryn finishes up an Ojai house. It was beautiful.

Episode Three:

Martyn and Mary go shopping for their One Kings Lane duet. I actually missed this episode, but did catch some of the photos on the Bravo website:

And the collaborative collection on the OKL sale:

It was nice.

Episode Four: (Probably the best episode)

Mary McDonald hints that she's going to be redoing her home now that she's split from Beverly Hill's developer John Bersci. She even stops at Gracie Wallpaper in NYC before she finishes up Monika Chiang's store in Manhattan:

A lot of people didn't like this pairing of lilac and emerald green, but I loved it! I am so sick of gray being the "new neutral", why not lilac? Back to her home, Mary hints that her new look is "Park Avenue Lady Goes Bohemian In Loft". And while she's sitting next to Nathan on the sofa, covered in pooches, the camera pans over to the papier mache hands and face of a witch-like human. It's from this space she created for the Legends of La Cienega event:

Does this look Park Avenue Lady to you? It sure does to me! I sure hope we get to see Mary move a little more to this direction in her space. Although, anything she'd do is bound to be amazing.

Same episode, Martyn takes his own home from this:

to this:

Again, using more of his own fabric. It had me a little upset ... I mean if Martyn Lawrence Bullard is going neutral - what does that mean? I thought for sure the world was going to end on December 21st! It didn't. Obviously.

Episode Five:

Martyn works up Actress Stacey Dash's house, using ... yes, MORE of his new fabric line. I mean - I gotta give it to him, he knows how to get it out there! And JAM and Ross finally finish a year-long project in LaJolla:

Some of it was really beautiful - including this blush colored four seat center sofa. It was fun watching them fret though over rugs in the living room when there was SO much other stuff to do!

Episode Six:

Decorator Disney Land! Martyn, Mary, and Kathryn all take part in the LUXE magazine showhouse for Greystone Estate. JAM said no. He's got projects years in the making that are cluttering the desk! HA! Mary hates her hallway, Kathryn Hates her kitchen, and Martyn re-invents paisley using MORE of his Schumacher fabric. Overall, it ended up being spectacular - all of it:

I mean, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this! LOVE! It makes me want to buy some fabric and a staple gun and go to town! Some of the pieces came from Martyn's home, in fact, almost everything except for the bed. Not an uncommon situation in a showhouse since the designer pays for everything. The bed sold during the OKL sale.

Mary's Hallway:

Again - gorgeous! Mary answers the question, "What do you do with a grand hall like this!?" with great flair! Here's an instance where I'm okay with gray!

Of course, Kathryn used her fabrics. Why wouldn't she? I mean - what the heck can you do in a kitchen except fill it with fabric? It really was a great episode, filled with more design and less drama. I wish I lived closer to actually see these rooms in person! Maybe next time.

Episode Seven:

Mary is no where to be found. WHERE IS SHE!? The whole episode centers around Martyn and his sister's pub outside of London. And JAM finishes a Nantucket home in all catalog items:

Quite frankly, it was one of the best spaces I've ever seen them do! But the best part of episode seven, the little preview to the season finale, where we find out that Miss Mary is going to have a dinner party at her home. Will we see the redo??

Finale:

We finally get to see Mary's semi-finished project, and while it's not screaming Park Avenue Lady Goes Bohemian in Loft to me - it was beautiful:

So you know what the before looked like:

What do you think? Definitely different - but better?

Then Kathryn finished up Lindsay Lohan's bedroom:

Poor Kathryn, or I should say poor Bravo. They footed the bill for all of Kathryn's work - only to have Lindsay flake. Martyn finished up his sister's pub in Chislehurst:

It was really lovely! So ... what did you all think of the season? Better than the first? Did you change your favorite after the first season? I never thought that I would switch from Mary - but I'm kinda crushing on Martyn right now. If you missed any of the episodes you're definitely sure to catch them if you have the television on, they re-run EVERYTHING! Penny for your thoughts?

Accidental Before and After

2013-01-06T20:08:00.000-05:00

I've been so sick the past couple of days that I've been confined to bed, getting absolutely nothing done. I decided that I would take the time to do a little design post today, and what started out a simple post on some of the beautiful work of Jeffrey Bilhuber, featured in Architectural Digest turned into a hunt for before photos that I knew, without a doubt existed.

You see, when I bought Bilhuber's new book, The Way Home a few months ago, I put it under a pile of ther stuff, and completely forgot it even existed. Then, yesterday, while looking for my car keys, there it was! I started reading and came upon the photo of Trey and Jenny Laird's Manhattan brownstone:

Now, I knew I had seen the room before, as is. Couldn't figure out where though,so I started going through all the design magazine websites until ...

there it was! In Architectural Digest. Styled by the photography team of William Waldron, you can see that there are some small, and some really big changes to the decor from the photo above in Bilhuber's book, mainly the curtains and mirrored wall above the fireplace. But I knew that there was even more. You see, some rooms just stick with me ... this one was one of those rooms! I knew it had been published before ... a while ago, not looking nearly as bohemian. And that's where the dig began, and the post transformed into a before and after ... taking literal hours of digging through magazines, books, the internet ... all to find:

There you go! Same room! Featured in Elle Decor in 2004. Now, this is where they get a little iffy. While this looks like an old, layered Jeffrey Bilhuber room, I don't find it anywhere in his portfolio. The wife/homeowner is an art director, and according to the AD article, she was integral to the process of revamping the townhouse. So, let's assume that she decorated this space, along with her husband, who is one of New York City's best advertising executives creating branding for stores like Tommy Hilfiger, the Gap, and more. Then, they met Bilhuber - who decorated their beach house in the Hampton's first, and asked him to do the townhouse. Bilhuber's book shows his work looking like this:

A little bare for Bilhuber right? But this was an in-progress shot, as proven by the Architectural Digest shot that shows the beautiful after like this:

Fully mirrored from floor to ceiling all the way around the bump out, the fireplace now looks like a Bilhuber piece, and the room feels far more finished. The more I look at the curtains, I really like them too - although I think they were a prop for the shoot.

Here again, from the Elle Decor shoot, you can see that the fireplace had full visibility from the staircase hall. Not something that the new arrangement allows for, which I rather like. The big thing here is that you start to see that room is symmetrical to the fireplace, so there's quite a bit of space behind this chair. Here it is captured for the book:

And a different view for Architectural Digest:

Glad to see that throws over the sofa are en vogue. This whole room feels so beautifully eclectic - but still glamorous - just like we're so used to from Bilhuber, right?

And a close up, from the book. Check out the patterned rug, beautiful! Now those french doors to the left of this arrangement, open up into what used to be their dining room:

But with the addition of some french doors, the room extends the living space from the living room and creates the perfect space for this office:

This photo from the book shows Bilhuber's often quirky styling. Same room below from AD article:

I think I prefer this arrangement. Overall, though, it is hard to believe that this is the after, right? The recesses on either side of the fireplace, made for the perfect place for bookcases. And the high gloss walls are a Bilhuber favorite. The room looks onto the living room, as I said - through added french doors more easily viewed in this photo from the book:

Also from the book, the office/library:

And the same view from the AD article:

The Andy Warhol 1966 Screen Print of Jackie O is no longer there, in favor of other art. Don't worry, the piece didn't move far though. It's now in the dining room.

Beautiful, and colorful, right? The pattern pairing here is so beautiful! This isn't the first time though that we've seen Bilhuber use checks throughout an entire room and pull it off. It is however the first time we've seen him mix it with such other graphic patterns! Check out those chairs!

I mean - that's quite a vivid fabric - and yet they seem to work, right? Legendary Charlotte Moss says that every room should have something that wasn't intended. Something that looks like it walked in after all was finished and made itself at home. I think these chairs fit that bill.

And here, the dining room without the Warhol. The dining room looks out onto the patio, easily seen from the book:

And just the terrace from the Architectural Digest photos:

The entire terrace is fences with mirror backed trellis work. Stunning, and a wonderful way to feel atmospheric and still be insanely private. This space is behind the house on the first floor. You see, the brownstone is 4 stories tall. On the first floor, you have the entry hall:

Which, from the photo just looks like the perfect blue room right? But in a detail shot from the book:

You can actually see that it's applied wallpaper. Gracie's Papier Chinoise, wallpaper to be exact! They get the effect by layering sheets of artists paper over one another until the entire wall is finished. This color is called Winter Sky.

From the entry way, you walk back into the kitchen, photographed by AD:

As you can see from the floor here, the black hex and dot tile extends from the entry hall all the way through to the terrace, with carpets in both the entry and the dining room. Really, quite a beautiful family space, don't you think? And a far cry from what the breakfast room looked like in their Elle Decor article:

There's that Andy Warhol again! Do you see it? On the floor! Now of course, I'm sure the budget was far more than I can fathom. The entire house was done. But one of the biggest transformations was in the master bedroom, which, in the Elle Decor article looked like this:

I mean, it's ok right? A little ho-hum. Those floors and that wall color. It's certainly not the room that it is today! Here it is from Bilhuber's book:

And yes ... I'm serious! That's the same room! AMAZING, right? But wait - the view from the AD article is even better!

WOW! I mean, WOW! Not only is the room stunning, can you believe the before and after? This is why this post took me so long! You had to see what a genius Bilhuber was with this house. That canopy, fully extending the ceilings which must be atleast 11' high, is made from Rogers and Goffigon, the walls are upholstered in Vervain linen ... it's spectacularly sumptuous in every way! A far cry from this:

I just had to show the before again. I'm sorry! WOW~! Moving on. The master bedroom is on the third floor, with a master bath and closet one would likely swoon over. Featured in AD like this:

Um, yes! It's that good! I think that most of the renovation of the house actually came on this floor, when the entire thing was taken over by the master bedroom and ensuites. The bathroom as photographed by AD:

Is not only stunning in every way, and clad in that same Vervain linen - it shows the furniture arrangement at the foot of the bed, which we don't see in any other photos of the house. However, I do know there is yet another fireplace in that space, thanks to this photo of the bedroom from Elle Decor in 04:

Can you believe that these are the same floors? Proof in the pudding that staining your floors as dark as you can is never a bad thing! On the fourth floor, the children's rooms:

The daughter's room, with the chair covered in Kathryn Ireland's whimsical paisley. I've always loved the pairing of green and purple, and we know that Bilhuber does too!

In the son's bedroom, antique french sidetables make for interesting guitar stands and pair up with leather upholstery and ikat bed fabrics. It's simple, masculine, but chic. When I saw the photo of the family from AD:

I just didn't seem to think that the bedroom fit the boy though. I mean - do you? I suppose you can't judge a book by it's cover - but I would have thought his room would be a bit more trendy - maybe even lacquered, like the library. No matter, it's a lovely home - from floor to floor, and absolutely a departure from it's very humble decor beginnings. And just in case you were wondering, they're tried and true Bilhuberians - as I mentioned before, he also did their home in the Hampton's which you've no doubt seen a million times floating around the blog world:

Yep! Oh if I only had the time ...

So what do you think? If you had a million dollar budget and an early 1900's 4-story brownstone once owned by the grand-daughter of Teddy Roosevelt, would you hire Mr. Bilhuber? I sure would!

Slipcover Inspiration

2013-01-02T22:10:00.002-05:00

Slipcovers have come in and out of vogue, started originally to cover fine velvet and silk damask upholstered furniture for summer ease and comfort and long winter protection. At some point they fell out of favor, probably in the 80's, then again in the 90's they rolled back around. Since then, we see them more and more in every decor style. I think every single shelter magazine featured slipcovered furniture on the cover last year, and this year started off with a wonderful bang when the cover of HouseBeautiful featured the home of interior designer Will Merrill. (Above). What drew my eye to this cover was the line of the chair. You see - my "new" living room includes one of these beautiful throne style baroque chairs which I had no choice but to slipcover because I wasn't exactly sure what to forever upholster it in. Once I make that decision, the traditional pattern of my slipcover fabric will always be relevant and protect the upholstery, as they were intended. I searched high and low for inspiration:

Designer Credit: Mary Spalding, via Pinterest

I came across hundreds of photos of these beautiful chairs that had no arms slipcovered in a number of ways, simply, like these above. And more femininely like these:

Designer Credit: Joni Webb

more ...

Designer Credit: Barbara Westbrook

Photographer Credit: Robin Stubbert

Design by Belgium Antiquarians Alian & Brigitte Garnier via Cote de Texas

Belgium Interior Design by Design House Antiek Amber via Belgium Pearls

Designer Credit: Kathryn Ireland

They really are beautiful chairs. The examples here are mostly Os De Mouton chairs - mine isn't, but similar. It does have arms though - so although these slipcovers are beautiful, they didn't do me much good when it came to inspiration. So, off to arms it was - a little harder to find:

via Pinterest

Designer Credit Sydney Jerabek

Designer Credit: Lisa Luby Ryan via Veranda Magazine

Via InTempo Design, Luxembourg

via shopad.net

Designer Credit: Bunny Williams

Designer Credit: Bunny Williams via MarkDSikes Blog

Designer Credit: Bunny Williams via Cote de Texas

I love the chairs with the ties, but I simply don't want that look in more than one room. I have plans to have them in the dining room if all pans out the way I expect. So Michelle, my Slipcover Lady, and I sat down with the fabric and the chair and had a breakthrough! BUTTONS! Like in menswear. Of course, I couldn't find inspiration although I looked high and low. I trust Michelle though, so I'm sure that it will look gorgeous. I should have the slipped piece by Monday. A few things that are making the room come together though:

My antique sofa covered in vintage rust/spice colored silk velvet. Mmmm - yes, it's as yummy as it sounds! The piece alone was gorgeous, but as I have mentioned a thousand times, I was so inspired by Mary McDonald's heavily staged estate living room:

Designer Credit: Mary McDonald

I mentioned for a million times to Scott that I wanted a suzani. I mean, every birthday, every Christmas, every anniversary for the last 4-years, do you think I ever got one? When I realized that he had no idea what I was talking about ... I ordered one myself!

Gorgeous, right? It looks so beautiful with the sofa (the exact color of the rusty/red of the center dials) and the deepest color is a beautiful chocolate brown (the exact color of my zebra hide rug).

Of course the table is gone, the sofa has a new slipcover and has left this room, and the whole room is a little more eclectic, a bit bohemian, but also a bit glamorous. The blue and white garden stool I have is from Phil Michael Trading Company, and it stays. But it felt a little lonely. So I ordered this one after my friend Deserae suggested it.

It's not the exact same - but I didn't want the exact same stool. I actually like this one better than the one that I have - it'll definitely be a wonderful addition. I switched out my old cart table with a low, large trunk with great painting and old travel stickers with wonderful topicality.

Mine is old, vintage really - maybe antique. I didn't get much from the seller as far as the lineage. It's black, stunning - I'm in love with it. Atop it are my favorite interior design books, plus my new favorite accessory:

African porcupine quills! I have fallen madly in love with them! Head over hills! I'm not the only one:

see them in the basket on the mantel? I love this room! So personal. I bet there is a story behind every single piece.

Even the basket is great, right? I plan on putting mine in a brass julip cup. I also sent for a pair of myrtle topiary ... I think I might order more.

via Tone on Tone, Designer Loi Thai

I of course, talked about a chalkboard over the fireplace. I also plan on using my gilded books. And this fabric:

Uzbek Stripe in Sky from Calico Corners

I knew I needed to work on adding in a color - blue seemed reasonable, since the blue and white porcelains I have will litter the room. I use that word literally. It's my severe intention to have the room be overly layered. Living with all the things I love. Will some people think it's cluttered? Yes. Most definitely! Will others love it? Sure. I mean - it will be beautiful. But here's the best part! I'm decorating the space with things I love - and while this blog does share the ins and outs of my decorating trials - I've spent way too long picking up trendy things or trying to keep up with the Blogging Super World, and I'm finished! Will you love it? I don't know - and while I do await praise, the more important part I've realized, finally, is I don't need it because I love the room.

My advice, if I had any in all of this ... beyond how to pattern pair and blah, blah, blah - decorate with what you love. What you're drawn to, in person! Don't fall into the gap of pages in your favorite shelter mag, or the screen of the blog d'jour. If you are drawn to it, there's a reason. Use it! Love it, and be confident in your decisions ... otherwise you'll be on a perpetual spinning ball of change that will not only cost you thousands, if not tens of thousands, but leave you feeling empty and talentless. You have tons of talent! And thoughts that are yours and only yours! Lead the way - create your own look!

Brilliant Idea ...

2012-12-31T02:11:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a big redo in our house. Well, it's turning into a big redo. It was supposed to be a simple project of working my spice colored velvet sofa into the living room, and it just got bigger. I'm not ready to show pictures, for two reasons:

I've got two different clients right now. My sunroom is filled with things from one, and my dining room filled with things for the other. I've also got stacks of boxes in my foyer from the Tour of Homes in Lewiston, this year. It's impossibly to get a good picture of my house right now.

I've filled this blog with half finished pictures, and going back through them - I really don't think that they're good examples of my process or my work. Since my intention is to finish this space beautifully, I'm going to take the advice of my other friends who blog about their houses, and wait til' I'm ready to show you the finished project.

So anyway, I've been struggling with the fireplace mantel, as I always do. I hate this fireplace. If I had it my way, I'd rip the whole thing out. But since, I can't - I just have to deal with it. Tonight, while searching for inspiration on something else, I ran across this image:

via

It was like all of a sudden, a light went off, and I knew exactly what to do above my fireplace. All this time I couldn't decide what I would be happy with for longer than a couple of days - and then this artistic approach to a semi-permanent solution meant, I DON'T HAVE TO DECIDE! Right now, I'm loving coat of arms, crests, shields, and all things medieval ... but next week I might be into modern art, or architectural salvage ... or kitty cats, who the heck knows with me! With a chalkboard above the fireplace, I can draw my art de'jour.

via

Turns out, I'm not the only one who thought that it was a good idea, though. In fact, once I got my bit of inspiration from the first image, and went ahead searching with chalkboards over the fireplace specifically, there were several inspiration pics:

via

This isn't a chalkboard, but it's a prime example of what one could do if they had a chalkboard over their fireplace.

via

Even this is really beautiful. A sort of art-school face sculpting in scenes. But even if you didn't go to art school, (and I didn't) you could definitely mimic high end art like Cy Twombly's:

via

Still, I think that I'm going to do something a little less modern for the time being, and get myself a beautifully carved, gilt frame and try my hand at drawing something like these:

via

Very definitely excited about this new found brilliance ... although, it wasn't nearly as brilliant as I had once thought. It will be great once it's finished, and that'll be along to show you soon enough. For those of you who miss my days of color, you're gonna be happy!

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

La Maison Home Saying Goodbye

2012-12-26T23:49:00.000-05:00

I've blogged about the jaw dropping design and interiors shop of my dear, dear friend Pat Celii a lot. In fact, you can read about it here, here, here, here and now here! I hinted in my last post about La Maison Home in Chadds Ford, PA, that Pat was going to have to close the doors on her current location, as the owners of the land have plans to develop the property and tear down the current home Pat has made so beautiful and inspiring with her amazing vignettes and choices in furniture and the perfect interior design accessories.

Pat and I have formed a very special bond in the few times that I've had the pleasure of visiting her shop, and I know that she will likely find another way to share that beauty and creativity with the world, perhaps even another space?

But what does this change mean for you? Well, my friends, it means deep discounts on everything from furniture to rugs, candles to mirrors, art to antique demi john jars, lamps to fabric, and everything in between! Before they close the doors for good in a month or two, make sure you visit them and take advantage of the last days of this La Maison Home:

810 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania 19317

Thursday - Saturday 10am - 5pm

Sunday 12noon - 5pm

And if you get the pleasure of meeting my friend and mentor Pat, make sure you give her a hug from me!

Merry Christmas

2012-12-21T18:30:00.000-05:00

(My gold and crystal tree from the Lewiston Tour of Homes)

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Red, Suzani, and Blue and White Porcelain ...

2012-12-19T21:54:00.000-05:00

Designer: Mary McDonald

Designer: Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Designer: Michelle Nussbaumer

via Domino Magazine - home of Amanda Peet, Designer Credit: Nathan Turner

via Elle Decor - Design by Sid Bergamin

Design by Kathryn Ireland

Design by Mary McDonald

Ah ... inspiration!

My Gray Velvet Slipcover ...

2012-12-17T21:31:00.003-05:00

I've been holding out pictures of my house lately. Truth is, I just haven't been very inspired. I've been moving stuff out, bringing stuff in ... trying to get a feeling on where my tastes are taking me. One thing I can always count on, though, is my Ikea Ektorp Loveseat and my slipcovers by ComfortWorks. If you remember, ComfortWorks made my linen slipcover as featured in the Buffalo Spree Home magazine:http://www.comfort-works.com/

They made that slipcover to custom fit the loveseat and shipped it to me quickly and beautifully, and it fit to a T! I blogged about my love for the slipcover and the transformation here. So naturally, when I wanted something new in the house, I went right back to my friends at ComfortWorks and told them what I was thinking. I wanted something velvet, a heavy enough weight for fall and winter, and I wanted it to be tailored in a fun way. Inspired by my musings and the cuff of a very expensive jacket, ComfortWorks rep. Rachel and I picked out what I found to be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!! I hope you will to!

Room doesn't look the same with living room furniture in it, does it? That's right - this is my dining room - or at least what I used to use as the dining room. I thought I needed a change - and well - this was the easiest way to get it! Behind that big ole' chest is my Ikea Ektorp loveseat and the brilliant, cozy, and perfectly fitted Comfort-Works slipcover in Rouge Ash Gray Velvet.

It fits like a glove, just like the linen slipcover that I have from them, too! It's amazing the quality of the fabric, the sewing, the zippers, the piping. In the sewing world, at least as far as mine goes, I like to tell my fabricators to keep it all "tight", and you can tell that Comfort-Works expects nothing less than that from their fabricators.

The velvet was the perfect choice. I wanted something that would not only be cozy and warm in the winter, but would be equally as chic and cool in the summer. I also knew that I had to have gray, and the ash velvet gray is the most perfect color of gray. It's a little cool, but still sophisticated. Not that childs room blue-gray we all try to avoid! Take a look down at the bottom of the sofa! See those little cuffs? Those are the cuffs I was talking about! Aren't they perfect?

The Ikea slipcovers for Ektorp tend to bell out, and with a heavy fabric like this, even more so. So, the fine ingenious fabricators at Comfort-Works and I were able to come up with this alternative that I think looks so chic!

They snap onto snaps that mask seamlessly into the Ash Gray Velvet and are spaced just perfectly!

As I said before, ComfortWorks always does the best job of fitting the cushions that come on the Ikea sofa. Anyone who has worked with velvet knows that it is notoriously difficult to work with. Check out how perfect those cushions look!

And there you have it. The change. There's even more ... coming soon. Need a slipcover for your Ikea sofa that has more style and sophistication than what you'll find in the store or on their site? Give ComfortWorks a try! They're fast, friendly, and absolutely the BEST in the biz!

French Door Shutters

2012-12-10T22:04:00.000-05:00

Well, while a fireplace, a chicken coop and free range field may not be in the cards for a few different reasons - I definitely know that a courtyard and french doors are definitely happening! I know I need two sets of each ... just making a decision on making my own or buying antique ... what would you do?

Easy enough to make, just need the hardware!

Probably the easiest of all of them to make ... old barn style. Love them, but not so sure they'd look like this when not against Provence limestone mansions.

I think even though these would be easy to make, they wouldn't look nearly as stunning without the arch.

Here they are ... without the arch. Of course notice the windows are louvered, the doors are planked. Not quite the look I'm after.

Same here, and no way I can make louvered shutters myself.

More simple linear plank, again with the curve. Would we love this without the arch? I don't think so.

Unless, of course - they looked like this on a house like this.

A bit cheaper than the louvered, and not necessary to source genuine antique.

All photos via Pinterest

So, in using these photos for their intended purpose, I have gained some good ideas. Here's one of them:

via

Using pine louvered bi-fold closet doors gives me the louvers I'd like to have, in the height that I need! All for $80 for the pair. Can you get a better deal than that on real wood shutters? Once painted, and with weather protection from the eave overhang ... I think they'd not only work - they'd look a lot like this:

Ah, yes - in fact, look at how many other elements of this sing to me! Pebble patio, boxwood, french doors with louvered shutters ...

I also love this copper portico over these french doors, of course those hedges, brick, and louvered shutters are just as nice!

Of course, if there were a way to make those new shutters look like these - I'd definitely be on that wagon. Love that destroyed/decayed look. Especially against stone.

Photos via Pinterest

Outdoor Fireplaces

2012-12-10T03:31:00.000-05:00

All images via Pinterest

I'm still not even sure that an outdoor fireplace could be a reality ... but I love the ambiance of an outdoor fireplace, particularly when there isn't a fireplace inside. Entertaining around the fire, or simply enjoying it yourself is such a luxury - one that I thought I'd have to have custom designed and built. But then ... I found this:

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Pre-cast stone, in that simple, almost French look that I really want for the courtyard. I'm sure this comes in pieces, that are assembled by a contractor. There are add-on options, like this one:

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with an extension on the chimney, giving it even more of a French vibe, don't you think?