Porch Furniture | Atticmag | Kitchens, Bathrooms, Interior Design When we first moved into our new home, I was excited to finally have a screened porch. The first few weeks I spent several hours sleeping outside each night – on a new dog bed. Believe it or not, it was comfortable, and every time I saw a swinging porch bed I promise myself “one day, one day.” This architectural version is made from old porch railings and is the most popular design available from a favorite local home store. There is always a waiting list and I seem to postpone ordering a swinging bed in favor of something else on my ever-present list. This clean line Spanish cedar swinging bed was created by Austin husband and wife team Mark and Christina Landers. My husband and I love doing things together for our home, so it’s always nice to see what other marital teams are up to. There is so much talent available, locally or via the internet, that having a custom swinging porch bed made is fairly simple. Read about my “one day” finally arriving in Swinging Porch Beds 2.
Do-it-yourself lampshade tutorial I love garage sales. Even better is when I have a laundry list of improvements around the house, and find all I need in the $5 pile somewhere - like this lamp. I have dreams of making a corner of my bedroom into a little reading spot - a nice little slipper chair, maybe a small table and a lamp. I used a number of tutorials to get started, and then ended up doing my own thing in the end. I started by spray painting the lamp base in a nice nickel finish so it would match the other light fixtures in our bedroom. Then I made a template with the lampshade. Once I had my template, I sprayed on the adhesive and attached the fabric. Here's where things get fun: normally you're supposed to fold your fabric over once, then once again, over the inside edge of the lampshade to make a nice, clean edge. If you cut yours too short like I did mine, here's what you could potentially end up with: a slightly messy, unevenly cut and fraying edge.
upholstery basics: room divider bulletin board For the first time in several years, I’ve been spending more time at my desk. And although I love the change of pace, the change of space needed a few upgrades. My desk sits against a wall in an open living room, so I built a room divider to create a cozy little nook for my workspace. Not only does it add a ton of personality to my “office,” but the back side also serves as an inspiration/bulletin board where I can pin up my to do list or a photo of the beach to perk me up when I get weary. You won’t believe how easy it is! — Amanda Read the full how-to after the jump . . . Materials plywoodsandpapersander (optional)6 hinges and screwsmeasuring tapechalkelectric drill/screwdriverscissorsDacrongogglesstapler3/8″ staplesair compressorregulatorfabricpliersstaple removerroll of 1/4″ thick corkutility knifespray adhesivedecorative tacks (optional)tack hammer with nylon tip6 nylon nail-in glides Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Room Divider Tips 1. 2. 3.
Christmas Lights in 8 Bedrooms Posted by rd on Thursday, November 3, 2011 · Countdown begins before Christmas! And timely enough I’ve found these beautiful Christmas lights adorned bedrooms. [source: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight] Fabric Covered Lampshade Tutorial There are some big changes beginning in my finished basement. The closet is almost done. We are in the process of pricing out an a/c unit for the room and once that is installed we will be making some other changes as well. The a/c is holding us up right now, but not stopping me from going forward with some smaller projects for the room. I love this aqua lamp I bought from Home Goods a few years ago. The shade is plain white. I recently moved the lamp to this side of the room. I had a little of my favorite fabric left over - Aviary by Thomas Paul. I started by using fabric glue and ran a thin line of glue along the seam of the shade. Then I folded the fabric under and again used fabric glue to adhere the fabric and end up with a clean edge. I alternated from top to bottom until I made it all around the shade. Once all the way around I cut the remaining fabric leaving approximately an inch. Using fabric glue again, I adhered matching ribbon to the bottom... and then the top. -Judy
upholstery basics: constructing coil seats — part I When I’m out scouring for diamonds in the rough, one of the first things I do is take a look under the hood, or seat in this case. Coil springs are to chairs as horsepower is to engines, and while you could make it to work in a golf cart, wouldn’t you rather arrive in a Ferrari? This month on Upholstery Basics, we’ll be completing lap one of our coil spring Grand Prix. See the full how-to after the jump . . . Materials gogglespliersstaple removerscissorsair compressor and air hosestapler1/2” long staplesjute webbingwebbing stretcherten 12 oz. upholstery tacksmagnetic tack hammerKlinch-It tool and fastenersbutton needle and button twine (can be substituted for Klinch-It)spring twine Don’t forget to check out Upholstery Basics: Tool Time to learn more about the tools we’re using today. Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. The goal with spring tying is to shape the seat and connect all the springs together so they move as one unit. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.
DIY Pillow Ideas « House of 34 DIY Pillow Ideas I love pillows! They are a simple way to change the look of a room. They use just a little fabric and cost next to nothing to make. I have made a lot of pillows in my day. Embellished with Felt Made from Old Sweaters Pillows from Napkins Picture Pillow Placemat Pillows YoYo Pillows Buttons and Fabric Like this: Like Loading... silver-leafed lampshade When we moved into our current rental, it had a hideous ceiling fan and light hanging in just about the oddest place you could put it. Needless to say, it was the first thing to go. This left us with the dilemma of not having a light source in our dining and living room. Read the full how-to after the jump… Materials large lamp shade preferably with a plastic interior (You want the bulb to be a safe distance from the edges of the shade. Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. After the first piece was on, I found it easier to line up the subsequent sheets with the side of the first sheet rather than the bottom of the shade.Move in the direction of your favored hand. 7. 8. 9.
sculptural paper orb lights It’s wonderful to see so many DIY projects that take advantage of the humble paper globe light. Just when I think I’ve seen them all, I come across a new one that I love, like this version created by Heather Jennings of Poppy Haus. While browsing her local Anthropologie store, Heather was inspired by two things: the ingenuity of the displays, all made with simple, everyday materials, and the Rhododendron Chandelier. Adorned with handmade, sculptural paper flowers, the chandelier is amazing, but at $898, Heather thought it would it be the perfect candidate for a DIY variation. Luckily, Heather stumbled upon decorative cupcake liners with an optical, graphic print that provided the perfect amount of depth and texture. By layering them over plain liners, she was able to create a beautiful effect on these orb lights; the organic, anemone-like shapes look lovely up close, far away, unlit during the day and glowing from within at night. Materials Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
DIY – Creating Handsome Headboards | Brock Design Group Friday Flowers: Ruffled Lotus Lantern This latest flower project was inspired by stories from my friend Erika, who briefly lived in Seoul Korea about ten years ago. Apparently, every May, the good people of South Korea celebrate Buddah’s birthday with the Lotus Lantern Festival, a time when everyone in town decks the streets with thousands of beautiful paper lanterns. They make them out of paper cups and tissue paper, then hang them from trees and fence posts and exchange them with strangers. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Anyhoot, my friend Bird needed a lamp, so when we went to Chinatown last weekend, this giant white lantern came home. This project is so simple, it really doesn’t warrant a tutorial. Wrong way: Glue them on in tight clusters. Tips (images above, left to right) For a lantern with a 36" diameter, it took 300 standard muffin cups + 100 mini candy cups to accent. Also made this little one for a BBQ this weekend using orange and red polka dot cups. Happy weekend!
DIY Roman Shades « It always feels great when you have your mind set on how you want something to look and then it all comes together. This is exactly what has happened with my entry way/porch area. I knew I wanted to put stripes on the wall but it was a matter of finally getting around to it. Once that was done and the porch was all cleared out I knew I had to make it something that was worth having. That’s when I ordered my desk and watched the space slowly turn into what I had envisioned. Waverly Chippendale Fretw Quartz Premier Prints Gotcha White/Candy Pink Waverly Cross Section Raspberry I knew I wanted a geometric pattern so that almost immediately eliminated the second fabric (Waverly Chippendale) and I wasn’t too sure about that first print because of the whole papaya part. Fabric, Measuring Tape, Scissors, Fabric Glue, Mini Blinds. 1. 2. Should look like this when it’s all done. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. I know it seemed like a lot of steps but trust me it is so simple and quick! Like this: Related
Project 1 Week 1 – Ruffled Coffee Filter Pendant Lamp Hello and welcome to the 3 R’s, the blog about my mission to live life based on the concepts of “Reduce, Reuse, Redecorate!” If you want to learn more about who I am, and this mission, then check out the About Me section above. In short, I am a crafty architecture school graduate, and I have decided to embark on what I’ve termed, The 30x30x3 Project, a mission to create and blog about 30 projects in 30 weeks based on the 3 R’s. So without further ado, I might as well jump right into my first project, a large pendant light made from a simple paper lantern, and approximately 699 coffee filters! The project started when I spotted Aunt Peaches’ Ruffled Lotus Lantern on her amazing website. While I didn’t have any cupcake liners lying around, I thought her idea of gluing something to a paper lantern was absolutely brilliant, and just the sort of idea I could take and run with! I don’t have many process photos, unfortunately, but the concept is really very simple. Ciao for now, Allison