Giveaway: Beautiful words turned into beautiful art

Lucky Tuesday Decorology readers!  I haven't held a giveaway in a while, so why not today?  This giveaway is for something I particularly like, and is near and dear to my heart.  It's for art (I have my degree in illustration),...and literature (I know how to read) ...and the beauty of typography (I'm a web designer).  I will award two posters by Affichionado to two lucky, randomly drawn winners. Check it out below:

One of my favorite heroine's stories, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, is artfully composed on this poster.  The first winner drawn will win this poster.

The second winner drawn will win the adorable and pretty Alice poster.  I think this would look especially cute in a nursery or little girl's room.

Another cool thing is that the posters can be hung landscape or portrait. The paper they are printed on is top notch, in fact, they look great even unframed.  

I think The Narrative of Sojourner Truth poster looks particularly snazzy hanging in my little home office - what do you think?

To enter, use the widget below to either "Like" Affichionado on Facebook, "Like" Decorology on Facebook, and/or tell us what literary masterpiece you'd like to see on a poster. Each option you complete earns you another entry in the giveaway. The contest will close on November 21 at 12:01 AM EST. The first name drawn at random will receive the Pride and Prejudice poster, and the second name drawn at random will receive the Alice's Adventure in Wonderland poster. You must use the widget for your entry(ies) to be counted.
a Rafflecopter giveaway All dark, poor quality photos property of decorologyblog.com, all other photos property of Affichionado

You have read this article art poster / giveaway / hanging art / home office / my apartment / poster design with the title my apartment. You can bookmark this page URL https://bellashabby.blogspot.com/2012/11/giveaway-beautiful-words-turned-into.html. Thanks!

A new rug for summer

Undoubtedly, one of the elements in most homes that can make the biggest impact in a room are area rugs. The variety of rugs available on the market today is staggering, with rugs coming in just about every color, pattern, texture, and material you can dream up.

 Choosing a rug out of almost infinite possibilities though, can be daunting. That’s why, when I was given the chance to test out an area rug from Rugs USA , I decided to go with the classic powerhouse of all rugs – a beige jute 5’ x 8’ rug, with a smart, well-tailored trim to match - the Maui Jute Beige Rug. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with a classic rug that would allow other objects in the room to take center stage while silently tying the room together.

As far as craftsman ship goes, the rug I received does not disappoint – the jute seems very tightly and evenly woven. I was also very pleasantly surprised to discover that there is a rubber backing on the rug, so I don’t need to purchase a separate pad. Like most natural fiber rugs, it is not the softest underfoot, so if you have a lot of little ones who like to play on the floor it might not be the best bet. I haven’t had it long enough to tell how long it will last, but it seems to be very durable, and I have had to spot clean it twice, and it cleaned quickly and easily.

What I am especially excited about is the neutral base for the room that will allow me to add a lot of fun bright throw pillows on the couch this spring and summer, without worrying that they will clash with the rug.

The rubber backing was an awesome surprise.

 Next time your floors start whining for a new area rug or carpet, RugsUSA.com has a plethora of really well priced rugs. If a neutral, natural fiber rug like mine bores you, not to worry - as they have categories ranging from “Animal Print,” “Braided,” “Kids,” “Natural Fibers,” “Southwestern,” “Shag,” “Outdoor,” “Country & Floral,” and “Solid & Striped.”

*disclosure:  I received this rug as a sample from RugsUSA.com

You have read this article area rugs / jute rug / my apartment / natural fiber rugs / neutral rug with the title my apartment. You can bookmark this page URL https://bellashabby.blogspot.com/2012/05/a-new-rug-for-summer.html. Thanks!

My curtains revealed and an introduction to The Loaded Trunk!

My curtains are finally finished! Some of you might remember this post awhile back when I asked for suggestions for curtain colors after we moved into our new apartment in Chevy Chase, MD.

Before:

After:

The curtains the apartment came with were drab and heavy. Our couch had to stay, and is an olive-colored suede, that depending on the light and colors around it can look gray, brown, or green. The rug is a new purchase that I love, and wanted to make it work. Our walls, though hard to tell in the picture above, are a light aqua blue.

I tried photoshopping some different color options in this post, but all of them left me a bit underwhelmed. You guys offered up some amazing suggestions for DIY's, specific fabrics, and other resources. The amazing Christine of Design with Christine came up with an amazing edesign for me, utilizing some Ikat curtains, and some throw pillows to tie the rug in with the couch. You can see the amazing job she did in her post.

The curtains Christine chose.

My photoshopping the curtains and pillows Christine found. Christine’s genius really got the ball rolling for me to find a pattern to balance out the visual weight of the bottom half of the room with the visual weight of the top. So, since I wanted to sew my own curtains, I began the search for the perfect (afforadable) fabric.

via 6th Street Design School

I really liked the fabric above, which a reader suggested to me . Even though it was above our price range, I ordered a swatch. The medallions were a bit too large for my liking, and the background was more of a beige than a white, so we decided against this one. I also ordered a few more swatches, but I wasn’t sold on any of them. Then, I noticed the curtains below on Danielle Oakey's blog, and went on an internet scavenger hunt to find the fabric.

Long story short, I finally located enough to sew my curtains (9 yards) from Red Rhino on ebay. They were actually the only seller I found with the fabric available. Red Rhino gave me a great price, amazing response times, and I couldn’t have been happier with the fabric. The match was very accurate to what was on screen.

via Danielle Oakey Interiors

So, after hours and hours of measuring, ironing, starching, sewing, and ironing and starching again, we finally had our curtains. I also added a black tape on the right and left vertical borders of the outermost curtains to mimick the black border on the rug. We are really happy with the results. I'm also in the process of testing out some swatches to sew throw pillow covers.

Another view of the room with the ikat curtains

A close up of the curtain and the black border

I'm testing out a suzani style swatch, as you can see from the bottom pillow.

Isn't this red pillow AMAZING!?!?

I couldn’t be more thrilled with the pillow, which  I received from The LoadedTrunk!

There couldn’t be a better cohesive element between my couch and my rug! What’s even cooler is the history of the pillow, called a Hmong pillow:

“This beautiful vintage textile was once part of a garment worn by Hmong women in Vietnam. The Hmong, an Asian ethnic group living in the mountainous regions of Vietnam and Laos, are known for their traditional textiles which feature cross-stitching and often indigo block printing. They have been given a second life and were re-cycled to make these lovely pillows.”

 

They offer a handful of one-of-a-kind Hmong pillows.  This one in purple is gorgeous

I love that mine is one of-a-kind. They have other hmong pillows, and lots of other global goods. I could make a really long wishlist of items from this store, but here are just a few:

These bronze hammered bowls would look glamorous and beautifully organic anywhere.

The color in this Mexican coverlet is so rich.

Thanks again to The Loaded Trunk! You can see all their treasures on the online shop.

SO..how do you think our living room is coming along so far? 

We still have some art to hang,  maybe a floor lamp for the corner behind the palm, and the rest of the throw pillows for the couch (I want a pillow that will tie in the colors from the curtains)

And how about that pillow from the Loaded Trunk?

I can't wait to hear what you guys think!

*disclosure: I received the Hmong pillow as a sample

You have read this article curtain diy / DIY / eclectic interiors / house tour / ikat / living room / my apartment / oriental rug with the title my apartment. You can bookmark this page URL https://bellashabby.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-curtains-revealed-and-introduction.html. Thanks!

Introducing the newest Decorology sponsor and a great resources for designers and DIYers...

Some of you may have noticed my newest advertiser on the left hand column - the pretty blue box that says "Lewis and Sheron Textiles." I was surprised when they emailed me about advertising because I had just ordered some swatches from them the week before. I had heard about how great their selection/prices were from the post "Fabric Searching on the Cheap" on Cote de Texas. As some of you may remember, I was on the search for a fabric to make curtains for my new apartment. The current curtains are tan and drab and do not tie together my new Iranian rug and my sofa. Below is a picture:

Pretty drab right? Well, I got some amazing tips and suggestions from you guys, and I finally found something I like at the right price point.

The fabric I chose. (I'll be doing a curtain reveal soon).
via Danielle Oakey Interiors

Well, several of the swatches I tested were from Lewis and Sheron, and they stood out because the swatches were the largest I received - around 18" L by 5" W.  Also - they were the only store to  include matching trim samples at no extra cost.

So, now that I've found fabric for my curtains,  I need to sew several pillow covers to create some cohesion between my drapes, rug, and sofa. So, I've ordered several swatches from the www.lsfabrics.com site, which allows me to sort by colors.  I want fabrics with reds, blues, and blacks - all of which are present in my rug.

It's easy to select a color and see all the trims and fabrics with the selected color.

You can also search by other criteria

Your cart selections are visible on the top of the site.

Below are some of the swatches I ordered from Lewis & Sheron to see if they'll make good matches for pillowcases.

Stay tuned later in the week for a really great giveaway from Lewis & Sheron!

disclosure* This post is sponsored by Lewis & Sheron Textiles

You have read this article choosing colors / curtains / fabric / my apartment / reader question with the title my apartment. You can bookmark this page URL https://bellashabby.blogspot.com/2011/11/introducing-newest-decorology-sponsor.html. Thanks!

How To: A Kitchen Pegboard Wall Organizer

As I promised a couple of weeks ago, here is a fairly-easy DIY (and very inexpensive) that can save you at least one cabinet's worth of space. For tiny kitchens, like mine - our pan and utensil organizer is a lifesaver. It can also look good and blend into your existing kitchen aesthetic with a couple of coats of paint.

The pegboard - finished!
(I apologize for the weird look of the photos - our camera is on the fritz)

We simply didn't have enough cabinet space to hold all of our pots and pans, and our kitchen only had one very small drawer in it. We purchased a baker's cart, (our's is from Ikea), which definitely helped the situation, but we still needed more storage options if we wanted easy access and organization of our most commonly used kitchen wares. I thought pegboard would be the perfect solution (Julia Child made the idea famous), and figured above the baker's rack would be the perfect spot.

First, I wanted to see how other people had implemented a pegboard into their kitchen so I could get some tips and words of wisdom.

The below proved to be valuable resources:
• Apartment Therapy "How To: Make a Pegboard Wall Organizer"
• DIY Network "How to Install a Pegboard" (gives thorough directions on how to measure, frame, and install the board).

The Price break-down:
• Pegboard: $17.48 (We also had it cut to size - most home improvement stores provide this service
• Framing wood: Scraps leftover from a previous project
• 32 piece assorted pegboard hooks: $3.87
• Tool rack: $2.97 (See where I used it for holding measuring cups)
• Anchors: $1.98
• Screws: $1.18
• Paint: (Leftover high gloss and flat paint (I mixed them to create a finish more durable than flat, but less shiny than gloss) from when I painted the kitchen.

Also note, we did this without a drill, but it is definitely easier to use a drill than drive the screws by hand.

We started out with 2 pieces of wood to "frame" the pegboard, and a piece of white pegboard cut to the desired size. The purpose of putting the "frame" behind the pegboard is to create enough space between the wall and the pegboard to insert the various hooks. I painted the wood and the pegboard with leftover paint from when I painted the kitchen. I wanted the pegboard to blend in with the wall.

From this side angle you can see how the frame creates enough space between the wall and the pegboard.

Chris has much more patience with measuring and prep work, and is better with math, so he did the measuring to attach the frame to the pegboard. We chose to attach the frame to the pegboard, than mount it to the wall, but it might be easier to mount the frame to the wall, and then mount the pegboard to the frame.

Chris also carefully measured where to put in anchor screws so the screws in the frame would line up.

Then tighten the screws into the anchors!

Now comes the fun part - getting to arrange pots, pans, and other utensils on the pegboard!

A variety of hooks

My package of hook assortments also came with hook locks - the black piece you see over the hook, which I didn't know about, but they are great at keeping the hook from falling out when you take a pan down.

I was lucky that the bottom of our baker's cart's shelves were slatted, and our pot and pan lids fit perfectly in them!

The magnetic knife strip I actually found on the curb in someone's giveaway pile.  I simply purchased screws long enough to go through the knife strip, pegboard, height of the frame, and then into the wall - and now have easy access to my knives.

What do you think?  Would you ever consider a pegboard organizer in your kitchen?  Do you currently have one?

You have read this article DIY / kitchen / my apartment / organizing / pegboard with the title my apartment. You can bookmark this page URL https://bellashabby.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-to-kitchen-pegboard-wall-organizer.html. Thanks!