Sunburst Mirrors

Tobi Farley





Harpers Bazaar



Suzanne Kasler House Beautiful



Sunburst or Starburst mirrors have been used in home decor for years, peaking in popularity in the mid twentieth century. In the last year or two, I have seen them used in room designs in all the major print and net sources. They have slowly won me over. Now I am searching for some inexpensive starburst mirrors to do a wall collage in my own home. There are frames  made from a variety of materials, though I prefer the silver and gold metals. They can work well in a variety of decorating styles, though for me they seem to epitomize Hollywood Regency, exemplifying the elegance and sparkle of the Hollywood heyday decors.

 My home is ecletic. Basically I use items I like, those that make my house feel comfortable. Maybe a Starburst is just what I need to add a little sparkle!

Decor Universe



Decor Universe





Lamps Plus



Decor Universe



Maps as wall art





Elle Decor



via Apartment Therapy

 My 13 year old daughter told me today that she wants to buy a big map to put on the wall of her newly painted room. I just recently read an article about how using maps as wall art was going to be a design trend in 2012, so I decided to do a little more research and see what designers were saying about it. I found quite a few examples of interior decorating using maps.There are all kinds of maps and they come in a wide variety of colors. Vintage maps have that old, worn, comfortable feel and work well in traditional decor while a brightly colored map would work well in a child's room. For me, maps bring back childhood memories of elementary school, where they had the big maps on a roller above the blackboard in the front of the class. I found a great tutorial on how to take a map and make it into bigger wall art, if you are interested it is on Little Birdie Secrets blog. When my daughter gets her map and puts it on her wall I will post a picture, but for now, enjoy looking at the great pictures I found for inspiration in your own home!


Elle Decor                        



via Ordinary is Boring



Elle Decor

Better Homes & Garden



Animal Heads in home decor

via Kaboodle.com

I was looking around the West Elm website when I came upon some interesting home decor items...paper mache animal heads! They were painted white and I have to admit they intrigued me. I began thinking of the possibilities of using them in my own house. I also did some snooping around the blogosphere to see what other design nuts are saying about this design trend. I found people who were in love with it and those who were disgusted by it. Of course, the issue is that it resembles the result of hunting, those taxidermy heads found in lodges and displayed as trophies of' the big kill'. So people opposed to hunting and killing for sport may not be too keen to have heads, even paper or porcelain, hanging on their walls because of what it represents.  Of course, up here in the North Country it is very common to find a big moose displayed proudly on neighbor's living room wall. If you dare to utter a word of disapproval, you take the risk of becoming a social outcast in this world. Hunting is one of the top sports in this happy mountain valley, and my neighborhood abuts the White Mountain National Forest, where a virtual candy store of hunting trophies roam freely. In fact, it is not unusual to see deer, bear and moose wandering around my backyard. My neighbor has a life size wooden moose in his front yard, and one day at sunset a large moose came into the yard to see if it was real!

There is one aspect to this design trend that I do think is a bit weird. Dwell Studio has them on their site advertised as a nursery decorations. Hmmm would the little kids think this was cool or creepy? It will be interesting to see if this design idea catches on or fades away! What do you think? Would you use these heads in your house? If you are interested in buying Faux Animal Heads, check out  West Elm, Dwell Studio, Anthropologie.

Trendy Ikat



Ikat is a very old technique used around the world to dye and process fabric. The technique is very similar to Tye-dying. Knots or bindings (which resist the dye) are applied to the threads to make patterns and then the

 threads are dyed. Changing the location of the bindings and using different dyes can create intricate patterns. After the drying process is completed, the threads are then woven into fabric. The difference between Ikat and Tie Dyeing is that in T.D. the thread is woven into fabric first and then the bindings are applied. In Ikat, the threads are bound and then woven into fabric.     



House to Home



Coco Co.

 In the past few years, Ikat has slowly been invading the world of fashion and home design. The runways have been filled with Ikat apparel and accessories. Ikat is trending in home decorating fabrics and can be seen in pillows, upholstery, drapes. The patterns have even been applied to picture frames, bowls and tea pots! Wallpaper, which is making a comeback, is also being produced in Ikat patterns. I recently saw someone do a DIY project on the Nate Berkus Show where they took an old bureau and painted an Ikat pattern on it. Do you have any Ikat in your home decor?

Anthropologie



Nate Berkus





via allthingsmodern.blogspot.com

 

via blogthefind.com







Painted stairs!

Have you seen my stairs? Pink carpet! OH NOOO! I am considering painting the stairs and have found all sorts of examples. Some are solid, some stripes, some use stencils and others have designs painted freehand. I also am thinking about painting the railing and balusters. The plain wood ones are boring, and these ones in particular just look like sticks that were stuck on the railings.  But what if they look terrible painted? What do you think? Would you try it, or are you chicken too?

            This picture from Martha Stewart inspires me. I love the white against all the beautiful shades of blue. This was accomplished by using the small pots of sample paints and painting 2 balusters 1 color, then moving onto the next, starting with the lightest shade and gradually getting darker. I think it makes a very striking statement.        

    

MarthaStewart.com

   

These striped stairs give the illusion of carpet. I think its a great way to get a pop of color.

Another interesting idea is to use stencils to paint words or designs onto the stairs.



conversationpieces.co.uk



via thisisbombdotcom

House to Home, UK

Christmas trees!

Turquoise theme       Trendytree.com

Flamingos!  Altogetherchristmas.com

I am getting ready to decorate my Christmas tree. I toyed with the idea of doing a themed tree this year, but my kids would have no part of  it! They love the tradition that I started when my oldest son experienced his first Christmas.: every Christmas I pick out one ornament for each child which represents something that that they either participated in that year or was interested in. Each ornament serves as a memory trigger, so that now, years later, when they look at the tree, they see all the ornaments and remember each year's activities. Its fun to see them get excited about stuff that they had forgotten and to laugh with each other about all the fun they have had through the years. Someday I will have new themed tree, but for now I will continue the tradition and put all our ornaments on the tree. As each child grows into an adult , moves out and gets their first Christmas tree, I will give them all their ornaments to take with them. In the years to follow they will have memories of their childhood and plenty of stories (and traditions) to share with their own children. For today's blog entry, I am posting pictures of  some fun themed trees. What are some of your Christmas tree traditions?

Coastal theme by Martha Stewart

Dinner Plates as wall art

homedit.com



Addicted to Decorating



                                                                                     

purplearea.blogspot.com

Using dinner plates as wall art is a decorating trick that has been around for years and is currently trending. I recently saw them on the wall of a kitchen on Modern Family ( I think I watch tv shows as much for design ideas as I do for the storlines!). Plates can can fit into any decor depending on the designs and colors you choose. I collect transferware plates and use them in almost all rooms of my house. Here's a good article on transferware collecting: http://www.erasofelegance.com/home/transferware.html. You can hang plates on the wall by using wire plate hangers or you can hot glue a paperclip or picture hook to the back of your plate. I am posting some pictures to inspire you to create your own wall of plate art!



BHG.com



BHG.com





Painted Chairs...the inexpensive solution to my dining room dilemma

via BHG.com

Since I don't have one extra cent to my name this holiday season, I am looking for cheap creative ways to get more seating around my dining room table. We are a family of 5 with only 3 real dining room chairs, which means 2 of us have to eat at the kitchen counter. Not exactly a very good way to have a  family meal. So I have decided to look at yard sales, craigslist and the dump (yes, you can find treasures at the dump) for wooden chairs in good condition. I am either going to paint them all the same color to make them look somehow coordinated, yet funky and visually interesting, or I will paint them different colors to highlight and celebrate diversity in design! Anyway, I started to surf through lots of design sites and online stores to get some ideas. I think the key to pulling it together and making mismatched chairs visually pleasing is to try to find similar styles and similar heights.

via HGTV.com

via The Decorologist




 

via BHG.com

    

vis chattafabulous

French Door project



dining room before redecorating



sliders



I have always loved french doors, but never had them in any of my houses. Our Beachnut Lane house had a huge sliding door in the dining room. It was 12 feet wide! On the same side of the house there are 2 more windows, both 12 feet wide. I wish I could tell you that sunshine pours into my house and warms and brightened my decor, but nope! This side of the house faces southeast and only gets morning sun. So in the afternoon and early evening when we are mostly home, the living room and dining room are dark. Anyway, the dining room had a really ugly, nondescript slider and for 3 years I longed for french doors. Finally it happened. Thanks to my brother, who is amazingly talented when it comes to construction, and my husband, who is not in any way talented in construction, I got french doors! We bought regular 6 foot doors, so we had to frame a wall on both sides of the door. I now have wall space! I love it.



Before: sliders removed



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After: French Doors! Yes, I know the pink rug must go. It is still a work in progress!

Chevron......Trend in decorating

The Chevron trend in decorating is in full swing, and many designers say that it is nearing the end. There certainly does seem to be an overload of Chevron on all the design blogs and in the stores. The Chevron pattern is what I have always called Zig Zag. Its an inverted V shaped pattern, and according to Wikipedia, the chevron occurs in early art including designs on pottery and rock carvings. Examples can be found approximately 1800 BC in archaeological recovery of pottery designs. The Chevron pattern can make a bold statement, especially when it is in bright colors or contrasting colors. Nate Berkus has a blue & white chevron rug on his tv set, which I love. I did a search and sure enough, he has Dhurries with the Chevron pattern for sale through HSN. I think If you don't want to commit to a big item (rugs or drapes) with the Chevron pattern, then accent pillows are a good way to add a little pop of chevron into your decor. I found lots of them at Etsy.com.

Houzz.com

Pieces Inc. Rogers Davies Photo

me oh my mama

Nate Berkus