CORINNA HENDERSON

Welcome to “A Designer At Home”

July 1, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

“And Although This Blog Be Little, It Is Passionate.”

Hello New Friend!

Well, how do we do this?

My name is Corinna and I welcome you to my little slice of the Internet- A Designer At Home.

I’m starting this blog because I’ve dreamed of being an interior designer since I was a little girl.

I was a very creative little kid. I loved rearranging rooms in the home I grew up in (I think my mom is thankful I’m out of the house so she can do that now), I loved doodling dream home blueprints on page after page of geometry class graph paper. I was always looking for my dream home layout where everything flowed and made sense. I once created a home where there was a driveway that went through the house. The portion on the top and top right of the house was all master bedroom heaven and the portion downstairs from the top right was an at home office. I’ve always loved the idea of refining and perfecting spaces to be beautiful and to function well for living in.

I also loved the idea of teaching when I was a kid. I would use notebooks from my other classes to take attendance and track grades for my imaginary classroom. I enjoyed making up pretend lesson plans. It has always been in me that I want to teach others. It’s a spark that was ignited when I was very young and it is still strong today. I may not be interested in teaching traditional subjects, but I want to teach others whatever it is I know and am passionate about. Because, I believe people learn from people who are passionate.

I was also a very driven little kid. I wanted to succeed in life. I found out early on that teachers did not make good wages. But I’d heard that scientist did! So I set out to be a geneticist at around 10 years old. I took advanced classes in Math and Science, took Summer classes for education advancement in Middle School, and was accepted into the Leadership center for Sciences and Engineering in high school. I completed 3 years before the realization that college is expensive hit. I didn’t want to spent the first 10-20 years of my career paying back student loans. So I dropped out of the Leadership program to pursue “regular income.” I chose to be a Pharmacy Technician and have not enjoyed it a day since.

I’m in a Marriage where my husband and I have had to work together to figure out what it is we each want in our careers. My husband is certain he’s found something right now that he enjoys and wants to do for a while. I’m certain I want to pursue my life-long dream of becoming an Interior Designer, through school. We hope to make things work within the next 2 years where I can start taking classes and it’s the 5 year plan for me to be finished and to be in my “dream job.”

I guess all this time, I never realized I just wanted to be Emily Henderson 😉

So, how does this all fit in right here, right now at A Designer At Home?

There’s no better time to start than the present, they say. I saw it on the internet once so it must be true.

I want to share with others what I know now. I want to share how I make my house beautiful with not a lot of time or money. I want to share my ideas for cleaning and maintaining a home; for managing finances and getting organized.

I want to be an interior designer who designs real life spaces while also helping as many people as possible through an online platform (this blog!).

I have a lot of good ideas and there are people who will benefit from my good ideas. So this is my platform to do that.

I hope this all sounds like a good idea with you. And if it does, please give this blog a follow (sign up to receive posts by email). I can’t wait to share with you what I learn along this process and even more so when the “real” stuff starts.

Here’s a little about me: I like going for walks and nature, power tools make me anxious, I think I hate painting but as often as I change wall colors I’m pretty sure my subconscious loves it, I’m a vegetarian, I listen to every genre of music and have an obsession with bohemian decor. Get to know me even better by reading my about page.

Here’s a little about my style: I’m refined and wild all in one. I like pairing elements of bohemian decor with mid century but I really love all styles. I like white walls and warm wood floors but I also like grey walls and dark wood floors. I really love retro details and I try to highlight and keep details that are from the period of a home. Pairings of rustic wood are right beside sequins. My style is a lot like my personality, and that’s all over the place!

Here’s where I need your help. Tell me what you’d like to see here on A Designer At Home. Everything from nitty gritty home owner perils to Do It Yourself projects. This blog is just as much mine as I hope it will be yours, too.

How To Paint Over A Stenciled Wall: Saying Goodbye to my Hexagon Wall

February 20, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

I can’t really pinpoint an exact feeling for how I feel about that. I created my Hexagon Painted Accent Wall for my entry in the Frog Tape Earn Your Stripes Contest 2013. I didn’t place for anything, but it received a bit of attention on the world wide web and even landed me my first ever guest post gig on Remodelaholic. So there’s sentimental value in that wall. But as my style has evolved and furniture and decor pieces have been purchased for the house, I was finding it harder and harder to “work with” the wall. And I knew I wasn’t loving the wall anymore. So, I figured out how to paint over a stenciled wall.

Plus, it wasn’t perfect and it had started to see some damage 🙁

I’m not a wall painting expert but I have been learning an awful lot the past few years as I’ve painted and repainted rooms in our home. Since I can now add “painted over a painted stenciled wall” to the list of painting projects I’ve conquered, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned.

How To Paint Over A Stenciled Wall:

1. I still recommend a flat paint for this such as I would recommend as the paint paint finish for wonky, uneven textured walls.

2. Use a decent paint. It doesn’t have to be expensive by any means. But go with the paint you know covers well and dries with a good finish. It needs to stay where you put it, even with a thicker than usual coat.

3. Use more product on your roller than you normally would. I say that because I found it really stuck to and globed up around the ridges of the hexagons (where tape welled up beside the painter’s tape) and made them smoother instead of evenly distributing paint and leaving the ridges just as visible.

4. If your walls are relatively flat with few imperfections to start with, take a fine grit sand paper and go over the noticeable outlines of anything still visible after painting your first coat. My walls are old, wrinkly, patchy and bumpy. So the outlines from the former hexagons are barely visible upon close inspection.

After all of this, I’m not sure that I’ll ever tape out or even use a stencil to paint out a wall again. I’m happy with my indecisive decorator paint color choice. I can always buy a sheet of MDF and paint it fun and just hang that on my wall. Those of you that can commit to these kinds of changes, kudos to you. You know what you like and that’s pretty cool.

If you’ve ever painted over a stenciled design before, I’d love to hear what you recommend. Share the knowledge!

Check out these other Paint Related Posts in my Once Weekly Paint Post Series!

The Paint Finish for Wonky, Uneven Textured Walls

February 13, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Things have been relatively quiet around here on the blog. Just a few small projects have been shared because I’m spending the majority of my time painting walls. Our home was built in the 1950’s and with settling and additions occurring in that time, the walls are a bit wonky. The finish isn’t smooth and patches are visible. Unfortunately for me, here in 2015, I can’t afford to have someone come out and smooth it all out. So I’ve been playing around with paint finishes to see if there was a way of minimizing the appearance of the walls’ flaws. And I have found the paint finish that minimizes the appearance of uneven textured walls!

What I was finding with the glossier finishes was that it was bouncing light off of the high points of the unevenness and casting shadows on the low points. This emphasized the flaws with our walls and it was disappointing. I was doing what I was told to do in regards to choosing paint finishes for the walls and trim in our home, but it wasn’t flattering.

A plain flat finish paint (in a scrubbable formulation) is what I’ve found that best conceals these flaws. The light bounce back in minimizes and the wonky, uneven texture to them are not nearly as noticeable as before. For those that may be concerned, because you’ve likely read the same paint finish advice that I’ve read, I have in fact scrubbed my walls and it’s held up quite well.

I’m also quite obsessed with the almost velveteen effect the paint creates on every point of the wall. Smooth and uneven, they kind of look like they’d be soft to the touch. I know that’s entirely crazy, but I really like how it looks.

So, if you’re dealing with older walls that have seen more than it’s fair share of patches and wrinkles, give a sample can of a flat paint a try!

If you’re planning on doing any painting, but also find yourself constantly switching up your decor and color schemes, check out my ultimate suggestion on Wall Paint Color Choices! That’s all for today! Please share this post with your friends and leave me a comment below telling me about your worst painting hiccup!

How to Choose a Paint Color for the Indecisive Decorator

February 6, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Seriously guys, I used to love going to the paint store on a whim and just choosing a color because I thought it was pretty. That worked for me for a long time. But, I have Decorating ADD. And the things that I like this month may be the things I hate next month and 3 months from now my new obsession may completely clash with my wall color. Actually, that’s not at all hypothetical, that’s all reality. It’s what happened to me at the end of 2014.

How To Choose A Paint Color

As I’ve tried to set out and discover the style that really speaks to me in a lasting sense, you know like putting pretty Apartment Therapy spaces and Pinterest pins aside, I’ve really been able to tune into what kind of canvas suits people with Decorating ADD. I’m indecisive, and if you’re here, you’re probably indecisive too. And that’s not said in any negative sense. It just is what it is.

Even the smallest of paint departments get overwhelming fast with the different sheens and hues. Even if you aren’t an indecisive decorator and just know what you like, that aisle can get overwhelming. Especially when advice runs rampant about living with a swatch of the color on your wall and different lightings and whatnot. It gets dizzying.

So how do you choose which color to narrow in on?

You don’t. Say whaa?

I’m not trying to be revolutionary. In all seriousness, if you’re looking for something that can go with anything you can possibly think to put in front of it, go with white. Plain white. Like the stuff that they don’t have to open the can for.

Or black. Because let’s be real. I’m indecisive. And there was no way I was going to give you just one recommendation.

But white would probably suit the majority of us better. So go with white.

So that’s how an indecisive decorator chooses a paint color. Just don’t!

But if you crave color? Domicile 37 has a detailed guide for choosing the perfect paint color. Check out the guide for loads of information.

I had a lot of fun thinking about how I’d share this idea with you all and goofy pictures were it! I hope you’ve enjoyed the concept of white walls to leave room for indecisiveness. They really are a great backdrop to go wild with.

Eames Chair Knock Off Review

July 25, 2014 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Welcome back! One of the major purchases for my Home Office decorating/furnishing adventure were the chairs. I wanted the oh-so-popular Eames style chairs for the space. I had been looking on Craigslist for over a year when it came to the final count down to getting the space done, so I started scouring the internet. I’m cheap, facts are facts, and I wanted the cheapest I could find. The cheapest I could find were on Amazon from a few different sellers. So I added them all to my cart, checked them daily for about a month, and bought the one that hit the lowest price point.

That was these guys: Designer Modern Plastic Dining Side Chair WoodLeg Eiffel Base Set of 2

Here are my thoughts:

The Seat: The seat is a semi gloss with texture. The texture is less pronounced than the plastic seats we had in school when we were kids. The color is white, point blank. There is no blue hue. The color stays consistent in both natural and unnatural lighting. The back of the seat has a bit of flex to it. I’m not sure if this is a “flimsy” quality. The edges of the seat are smooth, there is no seam where the mold would have pressed together.

The Legs: The wood legs are a light colored wood (maybe inexpensive pine?). They appear to have a satin finish of some kind that gives them the same textured feel as the plastic seat. The legs are wrapped in a shrink-wrap plastic (I wonder if this is the lacquer finish one of the reviewers was referring to). If you don’t remove the screws in the legs before ripping the plastic off, I personally experienced pieces of plastic stick around these screws that would not pull out.

Construction: Happy to call this a one man job, even with a toddler fiddling with things. However, if you’re not apt to figuring out how to put things together, you may not like that instructions were completely nonexistent. There are two pieces for each chair, the legs and base and the plastic seating portion. Attaching the two is pretty straightforward as there are included screws and an allen wrench. As suggested in the Amazon reviews, I used the felt pads that were initially covering the hardware under the chair, and put them under the legs in order to protect my hardwood floors.

Shipping: I places my order late June 18th, 2014. My order arrived, unharmed, on June 24, 2014. Stellar considering the shipping was FREE.

My Final Thoughts: They finish makes them very easy to clean. Huge bonus for those with pets, children, or messy housemates. The chairs feel absolutely steady, but I have experienced one toppling over while my toddler was playing around on it. I don’t quite blame that on the chair though as he seems to topple off of any furniture (without tipping them though). With these chairs you get a lightweight, well made chair that attaches to a sturdy “Eiffel” style base. There are so many Eames replicas out there with variable reviews and prices and these were the cheapest ones I could find for sale. At $64.50 per chair (shipping and taxes included in that flat price!), and better quality than I expected based on reviews, I couldn’t be happier.

Gold Duct Tape Accent Curtains

July 21, 2014 by CORINNA HENDERSON

With progress on my Home Office officially over (I love the space, it’s turned out beautifully and you should absolutely check it out!), it feels like the perfect time to go over my radical gold duct tape curtains. I spend more time than I’ll ever admit to watching fashion and beauty Youtubers. One YouTuber in particular who inspired me in this project is Evelina Barry. She’s a fashion Youtuber with an amazing film space. One of the walls she uses to film in front of is white with very cool gold painted chevron accent wall. I already have a Southwestern Inspired Accent Wall in my office, so I thought curtain panels that I could pull together would work best for my needs.

The thought of taping out the design, painting it, then peeling back all that tape felt daunting. I just finished a project like that and just wasn’t feeling up for taking on another project like that so soon. That’s when Jenna LaFevor’s Duct Tape Trim Curtains came to mind. I remembered enjoying her project a while back and I knew I could apply the same concept to my accent wall of curtains.

What I Used

7 rolls of Gold Duct Tape, Canvas Drop Cloth, Canvas Drop Cloth, Canvas Drop Cloth, Canvas Drop Cloth, Marker

How Long It Took

3 Hours

The Process

I started out by Washing, Drying, and Wrinkle Releasing 2 canvas drop clothes. The “panels” were still pretty wrinkly despite being run through the wrinkle release so I laid them out in the most empty room of our house and flattened them by placing heavy objects along the corners. Once they were flat enough, I used a tape measure to find the center of each side, and a marker to mark that spot.

Once the center point was found, I folded over the side that I wanted to be the top and clipped my rings over the fold. By doing this after marking the center, it created a more diamond shape. I used a tape measure and yard stick to connect center points and lay a piece of duct tape.

Once I had the center points connected, I used my yard stick to create a space between lines of duct tape. The distance used was 1 roll of the yard stick. I did a roll, laid down a line of duct tape, another roll, line of duct, and so on and so forth.

I used the excess tape along the outisde of the panel to my advantage to tape the panels to the floors. The drop clothe would move all over the place as I moved around atop it and taping the edges down like this helped a lot! When I had the design as far as I wanted to take it, I lifted up those edges of tape and folded them under. The corners of the inner diamonds I just snipped to a point with scissors.

Then I hung them up and stood staring at them with a huge grin on my face. I really like them! I think they turned out cooler in person than I had imagined them!

The ripples made when hung are so groovy. I love the shine that the tape provides and the unique way the pattern catches the eye. I bet this would look cool in any of the colored tapes. Perfect for a kid’s room!

I can hardly decide what it is I first want to say and do in front of these cameras. I’m feeling completely inspired and hope you’ll stop by my YouTube channel in the future to see what happens!

This is one of many projects I worked on for my Home Office. My office is pretty stellar if you don’t mind my saying so; Don’t forget to check out some easy DIY projects like the Southwestern Inspired Accent Wall, DIY Vase Lamp, and Gold Rhino with a Giant Paperclip for holding cute pictures and notes!