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Greetings!
WOW! It's August already. I can't believe how fast time flies. I had a wonderful six weeks with my daughter, Christine when she came home from college. My son Andrew arrived about halfway through her stay and for about a month I had my whole family under one roof. Bliss. Now Christine has headed back to Oregon, Andrew is here for a bit longer and Benjamin starts school in just a couple of weeks. Astounding.
I also realized it has been almost one year exactly since we first saw our new house! If you're like me, you may look around and find that you have a houseful of projects undone! Some of them, seem so overwhelming that you just put them aside for next week, next month or next season! I can totally relate as I am guilty of that as well. Especially bad for the designer to NOT have all her decorating projects complete. Ah well. I thought a few fun fixes would get ME out of the decorating doldrums...perhaps they will inspire YOU as well!
Enjoy the weekend! Ten "Try Me" Techniques to Tantalize |
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#1 - Do you love IKEA? IKEA is a store that has a great variety of afford-ably priced items. There are hundreds of things you can do with IKEA furniture and accessories to make them look less like, well, less like IKEA. One of my favorites is a re-purposing of a LACK small table. Visit the website for the complete list.
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#2 - Wrapping Paper Placements:
Often think wrapping paper is too beautiful to recycle? It's easy to turn the prints into placemats (or desk blotters!) with a copy shop laminating machine. Click to view the details!
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 | | You HAD to know I'd love this one! |
#3 - Outdoor Chandelier. How cool is that?? This is from Sunset magazine. Click the picture to see the 'how-tos' on the Sunset website.
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#4 - Closet to OfficeThis is a great option when your home office needs are not great! Empty a closet - removing the rod and kit it out with shelves above and a deeper shelf to serve as a desk top at about 29" off the ground. For a great and useful surface, have a piece of glass cut (this can wait until Monday!) to fit on the desk top. Makes a nice, smooth working surface AND a great little place to put photographs OR you could put a calendar under glass and keep some wipe off markers close by! Scared of a big color commitment? This is the perfect spot to back the closet with a great splash of color or wallpaper.
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#5 - Gametime. Okay, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea. For anyone that DOESN'T know this about me, I am an AVID Scrabble player. Biggest day? Beating my mom at Scrabble. Doesn't happen very often, but when it does? AWEsome. (Don't even need to apologize for this sentiment as she almost always beats me!!!) This outdoor Scrabble board is pretty cool! Read More!
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 | | Mix it up! |
#6 - Saturday night dinner party?
Feeling like your space looks a little blah??? This one MIGHT require a trip to the local thrift store, but for under $20 you should be able to create a really awesome look for your dining table.
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 | | Great Painted Dresser: I'm heading this color direction in my family room on my old cherry sideboard!! |
#7 - Painted Furniture. Okay...ask my daughter or my husband. Get a piece of furniture near me that has a great shape but a slightly off color (including my kitchen cabinets!) and I'm ready to whip out the paint brushes and go to town! This article links to a video tutorial series to walk you through. You'll be amazed at the transformations that can take place!
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 #8 - Help for your home design projects. This clever little tip is a great one! Use popcicle sticks to keep track of your paint colors around your home by making your own swatch ring. Drill a hole in one end. Dip the other into your room color and allow to dry. Write the color name, finish and manufacturer on the back and put all swatches together on a ring (available at an office supply store). Instantly you have a complete record of all the paint colors in your home!
Not pictured, but a great addition to this is to cut a swatch of all your fabrics from around your home and do the same. Keep both of these swatches in your handbag or car for those spontaneous home purchases.
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#9 - Bare walls? ANYONE can do this. Today! I might have a creative eye, but I can't paint and I can do this! The article is a series of easy, DIY wall art projects, but I really must confess to liking how EASY, CHEAP and PUNCHY this one is. While it looks solid colored, do add in a few different shades to get it interesting. Have fun and feel like Picasso!
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#10 - DIY Tips & Tricks! In case it wasn't obvious, I love the concept and practice of remaking an ugly duckling! I have devoted a Pinterest Board (or two???) to this online pursuit of fantastic projects. Click this link to be taken RIGHT to my DIY Pinterest board. Follow me to stay abreast of the fun stuff I find! For an added (young!) twist and treat, my daughter pins to this board as well!
The photo next door is simply second hand frames painted in a 'story' of colors and hung on a contrasting wall in a unique collage.
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Thanks for reading! I hope you got just a little inspired! Writing this week's article inspired me. (Look out sweetheart, my paintbrush is calling!)
Happy Weekend.
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