Interior Motives: How To Decorate Antique Eclectic

General | 02 April 2012

This week I’m celebrating my favorite style of interior design, Antique Eclectic, where vintage furniture and knick-knacks are mixed with modern pieces, and textures and color abound. One of the best things about this style is you can do it on a budget. Second-hand pieces can be brought to their full glory, and if you are at all crafty, you’ll have fun repainting furniture or making your own throw pillows or curtains.

Pick a Color, Any Color: Like any space, you’ll want to start by picking a color that is interesting but not overwhelming for you. You can take inspiration from a piece of art or decor that you already own. Below is a great example of working around an aqua blue. The color shows up on an accent wall, as well is in the painting, vase and throw pillows.

Create Space: You’ll want to start by adding interesting shelves and tables in solid colors. Feel free to choose interesting colors that tie into the room, maybe mint, red or cream. If you’re not sure, brown or white is a perfectly acceptable and neutral way to begin.

Containers and Trays: Now that you’ve got the big surfaces taken care of, you can start filling them in. Vintage apothecary jars and painted trays are great for storage as well as “layering” the eclectic appeal of your space.

Add a Granny Square!: Use the vintage color palettes in your favorite afghan to pull out other colors in your space, and don’t forget to add plenty of throw pillows!

(images courtesy of etsy, slantedmansion, alkemie.blogspot, apartmenttherapy, designsponge)

DIY: Multifunctional Picture Frame

Art, General | 03 October 2011

by Annie

My inspiration:

I’m always on the lookout for cool interior design ideas, so when I stumbled upon Emmas Designblogg and saw this totally cute (and easy)Try this at home! Project, well, I just had to “try it at home” for myself.

I added a few creative twists of my own, so feel free to embrace the nature of the DIY and get adventurous with your design choices. I love the key hanger/potted plant idea, but I already have a chalkboard/key holder thingamajig by my door, so I turned my project into a fancy schmancy jewelry organizer, because nobody likes to untangle necklaces when you’re rushing out the door!

What you’ll need:

- Picture Frame (they have the perfect, unfinished wood frames at Michael’s)

- Wood Moulding (for the panes; and a saw to cut to size)

- Chalkboard Paint (and newspaper or something underneath to keep the mess at bay)

- Hooks (Screw-in, so yeah, you’ll need a drill too)

- Wood Glue

- And Chalk!

And here we go!

1. First things first, cut the wood moulding to fit inside the frame. You want it to be centered and criss-crossed for a window pane look. Glue into place with the wood glue and let dry.

2. Spray two coats of the chalkboard paint all over. Let dry.

3. Grab your electric drill and drill evenly spaced holes across the top and center pane, or wherever you’d like your hooks to go.

4. Then screw the hooks into place, and, done!

Just hang it up or lean it against the wall on your dresser and let your lovely jewels bring it to life!

That’s it! How easy was that??? And you can do it all for less than $20.00!

Interior Design How To: White Wall Makeover

General | 19 April 2011

by Annie

I’m a very recent Chico transplant, so all of my free time lately has been devoted to unpacking boxes and trying to tackle the decor of my beloved new apartment. I have a pretty promising blank canvas, but there is one little wrench in my decorating system: my boyfriend.

Everyone warns you about moving in with your significant other: “Oh, he leaves his dirty socks on the floor!” Or: “The dirty dishes just sit in the sink and he never touches them!” But nobody warned me of this: he wants to help decorate. I thought that all men were just happy with television and a comfy chair, but my boyfriend made a very sincere request to be included in the process. It was kind of sweet, but then I realized what his help meant: no pink, no purple, no flowers, but a definite affinity for frat house chic (well, minus the chic…).

Hurdle #1: He works at a brewery, but instead of stocking the fridge, he wants to stock the walls with free beer posters. Once I stopped laughing and adamantly shaking my head, I got to thinking; it is his home too, so maybe I could hear him out and turn his tacky contributions into an eclectic collection of quirky wall art.

So my search began. I started checking out different framing ideas, which led me to a treasure trove of inspiration for creative wall decor.

These gorgeous displays manage to mix a variety of subjects on one wall without looking disjointed, but rather lend a classy vintage vibe to the room. In addition to the funky frames themselves, matting can add a lot of character to a piece, either with differing sizes, colors, or patterns.

Framed shopping bags prove that wall art can be made of any found objects just lying around your house. This one gives me hope that maybe even a beer poster can look artsy if given the right framework. Plus, you can afford to fill more shopping bags with the money you save on art!

Spacing is key to how your wall decor comes together. Have fun playing with different arrangements and don’t be afraid to experiment with different sizes, shapes, and colors on the same wall. It also helps to break up your newly framed artwork with other wall-friendly decor, like shelves, hooks, candles, sconces, clocks, mirrors, metal wall art…. the list goes on!