No one will ever know

 You can never have too many vases or luminaries. Creating your own  from materials on hand is both fun and cost effective.  You also get to have the pleasure of looking at it every day and knowing that you upcycled something.  Of course, accolades from your friends and family don't go astray either.

  Here are some of my personal favourite ideas collected from  Pinterest.    Happy creating.

 I would use these for their sculptural value and forget the greenery which looks forced.  Get various shapes and sizes of clear wine bottles.  Tape off or use adhesive stickers to create design.  Spray paint white and there you have it.  So easy and they would look very interesting massed together on a table top or mantle.

 52 Projects

So, so easy!  Use elastic bands  to stretch around  around the clear cylinder vase .  Vary the position of the bands and make sure you have some overlapping, then spray paint. When the candles are lit the design is greatly enhanced. You can now buy battery powered candles which would work best in something this tall.

Hey Gorgeous

Check out the very detailed instructions for creating this tissue paper collaged vase.

Poppytalk

 You may have seen this idea in Canadian House & Home.   Wait for a nice day where you can take your spray paint outside. Clean (remove any labels and adhesive)  and dry the bottles and then by pouring a dollop of paint into the bottle, gradually rotate/swirl the paint inside until the paint coats the entire interior. Some may need two coats. Dry on a damp or plastic dropsheet.  I think the colour you use will make or break this look.  I'm particularly fond of the sea glass green blues.

Update: Watch a video how-to by Stephanie White on House and Home's TV.

  BHG

 Print your photo on Lazertran paper, making sure the image prints on the chalky eggshell side. Let dry for 30 minutes. Cut the image to size. Soak the printout facedown in a pan of water for about a minute. Peel off the backing and place the filmy printout onto a ceramic vase, smoothing out any air bubbles.

 Deliciously Organized

These look stunning and they are so, so easy to make using Krylon  Looking Glass Mirrorlike  Spray Paint. Clean out the vases/votive,  spray the interiors lightly with water and then with mirror paint. Turn upside down and let dry overnight.  Repeat the process if the first application looks too sheer. If you want to use them for flowers you have to inert a small glass inside to hold the water. Imagine the beautiful table centerpiece these would create using some with flowers and some with candles.

5 +1 Design Solutions

Every home has challenges- not enough  storage space, oddly shaped rooms, nowhere to put the TV etc.  There is always a good design solution for every problem. All it takes is patience to look for the solution or some thought to figure it out yourself.  Sometimes the solution is a mixture of the two.     Do any of these ideas help solve a design problem in your house?

 No  space  for a desk

 

 Pinterest

So you think you have no room for a small desk in a room.  I love this idea of a fold up desk that turns into a framed art work.

  

Space too open

Pinterest

A floating wall of this type serves to partially separate a space while adding a place  to locate furniture.

 
No wall for a TV

                                                                    Pinterest

What about no wall space for a TV?  This happens in many open area homes, but there are solutions as you can see. 

No space for a buffet

 

Houzz 

Sometimes taking space from another room or a hallway is an option.  This buffet fits perfectly into a small space. 

Small foyer

Pinterest

When you have a small entrance space consider fooling the eye by using a large mirror and layering furniture in front of it.  This sleek table accepts a bench below it very nicely.  It looks good but the bench is also functional.

Looking for a home office

This is such a great solution for a small space.  The trunk can do double duty as a coffee table and a space to lay your laptop when the lid is closed

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Does a ceiling have to be white?

That's an easy one.  Of course the answer is no, but very few people veer away from this standard. If you're feeling adventurous and want to break away from the pack  here are some suggestions.

Consider practicalities 
When you decide to paint your ceiling a colour you need to think about  how that colour will flow into other rooms both physically and visually.

Is there a place (e.g., molding or beam) where you can stop the colour? 

Urban Homes

 The ceiling in the kitchen is on a different plane than the living room, thus providing an easy break for painting.

How will the colour look when viewed from the next room or rooms?

In the room above the ceiling is acting as an "accent wall" and flows nicely into the living room.  The same blue is used in hints around the room creating a visual flow.

Will you have to  change the colour again when you paint your walls? 

Chances are you will.  Are you up to painting several coats to cover a colour?

Is your ceiling in good condition?  

Flaws will show up more with darker colours.

Consider ceiling height
How high is your ceiling?  Nine feet or above will provide lots of height for darker or warmer colours.

 Beverly Bradshaw Interiors

Allison Cosmos

 However, if you have standard ceilings (8 feet) and your rooms are smallish you might consider lighter, cooler colours to help the ceiling recede and give the feeling of greater distance.

via Gus and Lulu

 

  Traditional Home

Blue seems to be a popular ceiling colour.

Consider your  wall colour

DecorPad

If you really want to paint your ceiling and aren't sure which colour to choose, take the cue from your wall colour and simply go several values lighter.

 Toby Fairley 

Or keep the ceiling and walls the same colour and break it up with crown moulding.....

 or go a value or two darker for the ceiling.

Consider your trim colour
 If you have a trim colour other than white/cream, look to it for ideas for your ceiling.These room have a very pulled together look by using the trim  colour  as a branching off point.

Real Simple

 The ceiling is darker than the trim colour

 Catalyst Architects, LLC

 The ceiling is the same colour as the trim. 

Consider your accessories 

This is where things could get exciting...

Tineke Triggs

Can you imagine this room with a red ceiling?

 Elizabeth Gordon

What to hang over a fireplace

If you were going to hang something over a fireplace, what's the first shape you think of ?  I bet it's not a circle.  Most people would think rectangle, but I would like to suggest  going against that natural inclination and putting a shape there that plays against the straight lines of a fireplace.  What do you think of the impact a circular motif makes?

Visualle 

 While the art is square you hardly notice the frame.  It's the circular mark making that catches the eye. 

Barry Dixon 

An empty frame with two other objects creates great impact.

The Lennoxx  

 A circular mirror with a mirrored frame sits back quietly while the blue accessories do all the wow work.

 

Houzz

A simple round mirror bordered with driftwood.  This is an easy DIY project. 

Remodelista

This vine that has been fashioned into a loose circle is calligraphic in its statement.

This  Austin branch mirror provides the best of both worlds, a lovely circle and radiating branches.

Sneak peek

It seems I've been in the middle of a bedroom update forever.  It takes so long when you are doing things yourself.  This is the before picture.  My husband loves black and I love geometric patterns.  Everything in this picture including the carpet and window seat are gone or going.

The new look will be the opposite to the strong contrast of this one.

The new look:
Soft and serene, no one thing standing out- harmonized to the hilt
Lots of textures and gentle patterns

 My new duvet cover is very patterned but soft looking.I'm still working on accessory pillows to play with this design. I like to do that when everything else is completed.

 Love this basket I found at Winners.  Don't like the dark interior so a little spray paint will be in order.  I want some  very tall  natural colour sticks to put in it.  Still looking.

 New light fixture from Rona.  I spied this when I was shopping with a client and loved it.  When I went back to buy it,  both styles were marked down to $20.00!  I bought  one of each.  Here's the other style just waiting for a new home possibly in my summer house.

 

 My refinished oak mid century modern bureau.

 

   Can you believe that I had this beauty in my studio? I stripped it, sanded, created a grayed green wash (water and paint), brushed it on, wiped it off, dried overnight,  and then applied a coat of satin varathane. I left the exposed border and areas behind the drawers natural colour.

You can see that I like my hardwood light no matter what the current trends!  This mirror is temporary until I can bring the one I want back from my summer house.

 Handy hubby made dividers for the skinny top drawer and now I have a very tidy storage space for all my jewellrey. 

 New tray from my sister, two vases originally black got the spray paint treatment. Still working on the arrangement of all these piece and still collecting.

One of my  mixed media art works called Turning Point, new drapes which are tone on tone with the wall colour - Benjamin Moore AF Collector's Item.  I can't praise this colour enough if you want a warm, soft neutral for any room in your house.

 

More art work.  I'll always love this piece created by a friend  Cathy Driedzic.    I'm working on a new painting for over the bed. 

 This trunk/bench  is currently being used in place of my built in window seat which had to be removed to lay the hardwood.  Haven't decided if it will stay here or go to the other side of the room where is originally resided. Colour Benjamin Moore AF Wind Chime

 How it currently looks.  Painting is coming down because it is lost in this space. One nail hole to fill in. It will probably go on the wall by the closet - nice narrow space for it.

An there you have it.  We are moving to a king size bed and trying to decide on a design for hubby to make.  Too many ideas, too many discussions, and not a lot of patience because I want it done, like yesterday.  The full reveal will come later. 

Details- gray vintage

Pinterest

Some images need to stand alone to enable us to thoroughly enjoy all the nuances they contain.  Because  too much text can wear out an image as well as a post I'm  planning  a series of posts titled Details that highlight things that please me visually.

Gray is not everyone's cup of tea, but it's been my neutral go to colour since the mid 80's.  Gray is actually a very complex colour and it's "nature" is defined by the colours that have been neutralized to make it.  

The details I love:

•  the shape of the vintage credenza with all those drawers
• the variety in the values of  gray used
• the high sheen on the door makes it stand out from the other more matt textures
• the one hit of colour in the flowers
• the ornate crown mouldings contrasting with the simplicity of everything else

 is there anything about this vignette you like?

4 ways to make pattern sing

Adding pattern to a room is one of the quickest ways I know to create excitement in decor.  A room without pattern is a dead room.  If you want to play it safe add your pattern in smaller punches, e.g., pillows, throw or small area rug.  Here are several quick and easy  tips to have you decorating like a pro. 

 Vary the type and scale of patterns used

Elements of Style

Personally I would not have this many pillows in a row but the patterns really work well together.  Start with a large scale print in the colour scheme you want (floral above) and choose the others based on this. Note how the linear geometrics vary in colour and size - always a good formula.  The circular raised flowers in yellow play well with the larger floral and pick up on the colour of the larger geometric.

Keep the patterns in a tight colour scheme - complementary is easy

Caitlin Wilson via Houzz

This is a more adventurous use of pattern  when you consider the wall and the ottoman.  Similar to the last  arrangement, this one uses a large scale print as a departure point for the colour scheme.  A smaller and larger linear geometric is chosen  in complementary colours.   If you want to have a lot of energy add pattern to the wall in yet another pattern.  It's too much for me, but I'm pretty plain in my tastes!

 Break up pattern with a solid 

 Z3 Diseño

This is a pretty intense pattern but it is played down by using white and a solid colour in pillows.  If the chest was painted white the pattern would be further controlled.

Play down colour, go neutral

Photography : Margaret Ryall