Ikat Love

Hi everyone! I don't know about you, but I've been on a bit of an ikat kick lately. One of my favorite parts of my job is that I get to be surrounded by beautiful fabrics and furniture on a daily basis.  I love it when customers seek and appreciate my design abilities in selecting their furniture and making their home beautiful.  I also love it when I get to choose fabrics for items we'll have on our showroom floor.  Last week I had fun with an ikat fabric that I love!  We are ordering in a transitional frame with the wheat colored fabric as the base cloth, and the other two as pillows.  It will be perfect for the coming Spring months.

I spotted this lampshade at Target a few weeks ago and carried it around the store for a good half an hour trying to decide if it needed to come home with me.  I ended up putting it back, only because it wasn't on sale and I couldn't justify it at the time.  I think it would be perfect on the lamp next to my sofa though, so I'll be keeping my eye on it to see if it goes on clearance. 

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Then I got to thinking about other ways you could incorporate ikat into your home decor. Here are some ideas.

Put it on your walls!

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Cover your windows.

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Use it on an old chair or throw a pillow on your sofa.

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Add an ikat accessory like a bowl, lamp, or area rug.

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I especially LOVE that rug! Do you have any current fabric obsessions?  

This table's got curves!

Hello! I hope you are all having a nice weekend. I've been busy cleaning because I've had a recent need to clear out my guest room where this table has been sitting for months.  It's one that my sister got at a thrift store for about 5 bucks!

I hauled it downstairs, turned on my most recent television obsession, Parks and Recreation, and started painting.  The table was in pretty good shape, but the veneer color just wasn't cutting it.  I like the curvy legs but the style of the table doesn't work in my home, so I knew that I wanted to try to sell it when it was done.  Because I too lazy to go buy paint, I scoured through my cabinet and found the left over blue gray from this dresser.  

If you are looking for a very good quality, easy to apply paint for furniture or cabinets, try Benjamin Moore's Advance line.  It is quite expensive at around $18 for a quart (if I remember right), but it goes a long way since it covers so fabulously!  I only had to do one coat over my primer on this table. It also has an extended open-time which means fewer brush marks and low VOC's so if you paint indoors like I do, there is much less odor.  They also claim that you don't need to add a protective coat because of how hard the finish dries so it is a time saver for sure!  

So after a coat of primer, a coat of Wedgewood Gray, and a coat of black glaze to antique it a bit, here is the final product!  

 

Much better than the before don't you think?  I used the original brass hardware, just polished it up using equal parts vinegar, flour and salt. You apply the paste to the hardware and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour and then rinse off and polish with a clean cloth.  It actually works really well to get rid of the tarnish and bring back the shine!   

 

DIY Starburst Mirror

After being sick off and on for the past 4 weeks, I am finally feeling healthy again.  I haven't been up to doing any projects lately because of the lack of energy and constant coughing that I've been dealing with.  Now that I'm back to normal, I decided to tackle a project that I've been wanting to do for some time.  A starburst mirror.  

If you'd like to make your own, you'll need...

1. A round mirror of your choosing.  I bought this 14" diameter one at Michaels with a 40% off coupon for less than $5. 

2. Wood shims.  I used two packs of longer ones and one pack of short ones both found at Home Depot for a total of $11.

3. A hot glue gun and glue sticks.

4. Mounting hardware. 

5. Spray paint (optional).

First, you will want to lay out the shorter shims in a circle to get an idea of how far apart to space them.   Place your mirror upside down and start gluing the shims down.  Make sure to angle them so that they are stemming from the center (like rays) and not leaning towards one side.  I had to pull a few off and re-glue because it started to look like a pinwheel rather than a starburst. Oops!

Next, break the long pieces into slightly shorter ones.  I found the easiest way was to step on one end and snap the other end off.  The only reason I did this step was because I found that the long pieces were just slightly too long for the look I was going for.  

Start gluing the longer pieces just as you did the shorter ones.  These ones are a bit more tricky because of the amount of layering that you have to do.  Make sure all of your shims are hanging off the edge of the mirror about the same length.  Mine ranged from 9-10 inches past the edge.  

Finally, attach your hardware on the back, hang on your wall, and stand back and admire your work!  Or, do like I did and take it down a few times to repair random pieces that stick out like a sore thumb until you are satisfied. ;) 

For now I am leaving mine the natural wood, but I will most likely spray paint it a metallic color.  I am thinking gold, but am open to suggestions.  

PS...check out my new drapes!  I was feeling like I needed another dimension to my coral and navy palette and I think this chartreuse green is perfect!  It makes me happy and that is what color in our home is supposed to do!