Global style DIY, home decor and paint projects
I’m feeling defensive after very basic DIY makeovers I posted recently. A doorbell cover? A soap dish? And today, a picture frame with scrapbook paper stuck in it? Really? Is that all I have to offer you?
But this is so much more than a picture frame with scrapbook paper stuck in it. It’s the key to sanity. It’s a Clutter Prevention Strategy:
Clutter prevention strategy? This? Yes! Here’s how:
Continue reading “DIY Coffee Table Tray with Picture Frame and Scrapbook Paper”
You may not have your own Chola temple, and you may not have built a Mughal sandstone city. But you can have India’s patterns on smaller everyday things you live with. We found these pillows at Good Earth in Chennai last year. Note the golden touches …
I’m planning to make similar pillows to take to the Chennai apartment on our next trip. I found metallic fabric paints at Joann, and will play with stencils and patterns, and will try printing images on fabrics.
Funny story: One day I left the pillow cover with the woman’s face draped over a pillow in our living room. The face is pretty much life size. And it was draped a bit lopsided as if she were reclining on the couch, as we do. My husband went downstairs in the dim light of the morning, and the “blue lady lying on the couch” scared the cr*p out of him!
Somewhere in the India apartment there will be a column or two. But they won’t be there to exert muscle strength and support the structure. Instead they’ll casually hang around, maybe even be lazy and lean a little bit. The only job requirement will be to have good looks. Like these columns …
We saw these at Crafters in Fort Kochi, India last year:
Next are half columns that are flat on the back, so they could stand against a wall. They’re not very exciting here, but don’t let the current look of something stop you. They could be painted, they could become fabulous:
We saw these column capitals (?) at Crafters and imagined them as bases for low tables with glass tops:
This exquisite column was in our hotel in Kochi:
How about these columns with original blue paint from the early 1800s, available at Eron Johnson Antiques:
From SalvageOneChicago, teak columns the color of butterscotch:
I also like the idea of making new creative interpretations of old things, like these painted wood columns that greeted us at Good Earth in Chennai last year:
So many of you are liking the elephants in the current giveaway, I thought today that we could discuss the elephant in the room. Or, the many elephants …
Do you ever look around and suddenly notice a recurring theme? One day I noticed lots of big ears and stocky bodies around here. Not on the people, on four-legged creatures!
Here’s a bejeweled beauty on a frame from Z Gallerie. We’re shown in a happy vacation photo:
Continue reading “Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room”