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Rattan Vanity Bench Cushion Reupholstery

October 23, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Hey Guys!

I’m really excited to share with you this little reupholstery project I finished recently. If you remember a recent thrift score thursday post, I chatted about how excited I was to pick up this rattan vanity. It’s in good second hand shape, and the rattan bench seat was recently upholstered. But I’m not loving the fabric they chose. It’s clean and in good shape, but the color and texture just felt… “old?” I don’t know. I wanted to instill a bit of my style into the bench and thought a shibori patterned fabric would do just that.

I’m trying to film a few more of these simple kinds of DIYs since pictures can be a little hard to follow and it’s just so much easier to trim down the video than edit pictures. I hope you find that helpful, and if you do feel any kind of way about it- I welcome you to leave feedback in the comments below!

How To Reupholster A Bench Seat

Supplies: (I’ve included links to products so you can complete this project, too. They’re affiliate links, so any purchases made will generate a commission for me and will help cover the costs of running this blog.)

Staple Gun – this one looks much easier to use than mine, and is pretty cheap!
Staples – Essential to the whole operation I’d say.
Fabric – Get $25 off your order of $50 with my refer a friend link.
Scissors – these are my favorite scissors!

Minted provided me with the fabric for this project. This post is not sponsored. The idea for this project is my own. The process is my own. It’s no secret I love shibori. I’m committed to only talking about products I can honestly stand behind.

And this is how the upholstery job turned out!

It’s so simple and easy. I don’t know why I’ve put off trying this for so long.

Naturally I love a lot of plants everywhere in my home. Because this little corner gets pretty great light most of the day, I chose to put a ponytail palm and philodendron. They’re pretty easy to keep alive and I enjoy their presence when I’m playing with my cosmetics.

I have a drawer by my bed where I keep most of my makeup. Here I’m keeping the products I’m currently using, as well as a few eyeshadow palettes (I like having versatility!).

The mix of baskets really brings out the earthiness and global feel of the set up. I say pick a style and then choose elements that emphasize it for maximum impact. Make sure they make you happy and that’s all you really need.

I like the shibori inspired fabric here because it adds a small dose of color without losing the earthy element. It’s a grounded pop of color. And the pattern is organic.

I hope you’ve found this tutorial helpful and interesting. I know I can’t tell you where to find an epic vanity like this one, but I hope the basics are something you are able to take away for a project piece of your own! If there is anything else you’d like to see via video, let me know! The more I film and edit, the better I can get at bringing you video content 🙂

TST #86 Special Halloween Announcement!

October 22, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Happy Thursday!

You guys know how much the hosts and I love to save treasures from heading to the landfill and Halloween is no different! From costumes to decor, second hand finds are awesome. We want to challenge you to use your thrifty resources to find Halloween scores, Tag them with #thriftscorethursday on Instagram and we’ll be featuring our favorites for the next 2 weeks. We know how amazing you all are at finding true gems so I can’t wait to see what pops up!

My local thrift stores have been gearing up for weeks with a massive selection of costumes and loads of sweet decorative items to sort through. I especially adore that little piece of pottery with stars painted purple. It would be fun to use in a Halloween mantle display!

This week’s features are still the same ol’, but make sure you’re tagging your Halloween finds because those will be featured next week! EXPLORE THE #THRIFTSCORETHURSDAY FEED

I heavily gravitated towards these three photos with thrifted treasures. I love the boho vibes!

@design_it_vintage #vintage #folding #wooden #chairs #thriftyfindsthursday #thriftscorethursday #made in #Germany #slated #wood #frame #modern #mcm #ranchstyle #home #decor #pillows #style #love #plants #macrame #porcelain #planter #yellow #frogs #design #halloween #decorating ??✔️???

spiced_sweet_chilli#freshflowers from the #garden #bottlebrush and #orchards ??? — @spiced_sweet_chilli #freshflowers from the #garden #bottlebrush and #orchards ???

@brittkingery Pulled this trunk out of the trash pile at an estate sale yesterday. It might be a little past perfect patina, but I don't think it's ready for the curb just yet. What do you all think? #vintage #antiquetrunk #interiordecor #interiorstyling #eclectic #eclectichome #thrifted #thriftscorethursday — @brittkingery Pulled this trunk out of the trash pile at an estate sale yesterday. It might be a little past perfect patina, but I don’t think it’s ready for the curb just yet. What do you all think? #vintage #antiquetrunk #interiordecor #interiorstyling #eclectic #eclectichome #thrifted #thriftscorethursday

As usual, be sure to stop by my cohosts for more thriftiness! Click their beautiful faces below to head there next.

Choosing Fabric Pattern for Shower Curtains

October 20, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Hey Guys!

I briefly mentioned recently that I wanted to go the DIY route with our shower curtains. I’ve taken a look around the internet at both shower curtains and regular curtains and I just don’t see a whole lot that I love (in my price rage I should add). Purchasing fabric to make curtains can be more expensive than buying basic curtains, but I find that it’s oftentimes a whole lot cheaper than buying the curtains that would have given me the same look in the first place. The look I’m going for is Shibori-Moroccan-Boho.

I am so thrilled to have partnered with minted.com for this project. I’m a long time fan of their fabric selection and that’s why I chose to work with them. They’ve provided the product but no additional compensation. All opinions are my own.

The inspiration for this idea is this bathroom designed by Emily Henderson for Target with the challenge of using mixed shower curtain panels. I LOVE the concept and I love how she pulled it off so I’m heavily taking inspiration from this space. Plus, I want to be just like Emily Henderson when I grow up. So do as Emily does I do 😉

The first thing I did was decide on the color palette. Because I’m highly gravitating towards the shibori look, I immediately decided on Indigo. I like how Indigo pairs with mint and turquoise, so I also added in a few options with those colors.

To further analyze things, I broke my favorite fabrics into two categories- “Indigos” and “Complimentaries”

1. Painterly Ikat 2. Moroccan Diamonds 3. Painted Feathers 4. Savonnerie

1. English Garden 2. Not Your Mamas Paisley 3. Hand Dyed Shibori Diamonds

4. Hand Dyed Shibori Stripes 5. Leave It Be 6. Bright Suzani

Here are a couple combinations I came up with. When I created these I was thinking I’d do two panels on either side and one panel in the middle. I’m leaning away from that now and thinking I’ll just do one panel of each. It’s a narrow bathroom, not necessarily small (especially for the age of the house), and I think 3 panels would get too busy. But the mock-ups kinda show the feel I’m going for and hopefully it’s enough to get your feedback?

I’m obsessing over that Moroccan Diamonds Fabric. I think if we had spirit fabrics like spirit animals, that Moroccan Diamonds Fabric would be my spirit fabric. Which fabrics are your favorites? Do you think the mixed panels will look cool or are you secretly laughing at me right now? It’s OK not to agree with me, but I think you’ll change your mind. I think one thing we all can agree on, though, is that these fabric patterns are perfection!

Yesterday I chatted about the towels I’d like to use in this space and I think they’ll work well with these patterns, too. I ordered the paisley and engineered global towels. There’s a lot of blue going into this space initially. But I think it’ll all work out since I’m also using a lot of white and brown. We’ll see!

I hope you’re enjoying seeing how all of this is evolving as much as I’m enjoying putting it all together. I also hope you’re having an awesome day!

Get $25 Off Your Minted.com Order By Using My Refer A Friend Link

Making Decisions For A Bathroom Remodel

October 14, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Hey Guys!

I’m checking in a week after announcing my participation as a guest One Room Challenge participant for Calling It Home‘s challenge to bring you a few decisions I’ve made thus far for the bathroom. It’s getting harder and harder to choose materials for some parts of the room and I’ve flown through others. Trying to marry global with boho doesn’t appear to be difficult on the surface, but when these changes affect resale value and will cost us big dollars to replace if we change our mind- they become very hard.

bathroomremodeldecisions

Probably the first decision I made for the space is the bath/shower surround tile. I chatted all about the tiles I was considering and why I didn’t choose them versus what I did choose yesterday. Definitely go check that post out because I think it also gives a fun glimpse into the vision developing for the space. The tile I picked is the Jeffrey Court Marrakech wall tile available from Home Depot. There are so many things I love about this tile.

I’ve also picked a vanity. But getting it is looking to be a problem because I can’t order it online and it’s not stocked at my Home Depot. I think I can have the store special order it for me, so I’ll be looking into that next. I’m also keeping an eye on craigslist because if it’s in the stars for one this style to pop up, I want to find it! “Da plan” is to paint it a deep blue-green color, like a teal, emerald or forest green. We’ll see!

Old House VS New House- 11 Reasons why you should buy the OLD House - A Designer At Home

The metallics I’ve chosen to work with in this space are oil rubbed bronze and antique brass. I’m going to do my best mixing those two metals. But it did lead me to this beautiful Tub/Shower faucet set. It’s from Moen’s Ashville collection available at Home Depot. I like the big shower head. I know hubby will like that, too!

I found a bathroom on Pinterest recently and it seriously had me drooling (those floors-amazing!). It’s a dream bathroom for me (especially some of the materials- $$$). But one thing I found in the space that barely fit into the budget I’d set for each piece is the mirror she used. It’s from Wayfair and it’s exactly the shape I’m looking to use. It’s not currently available, sadly, but I’m keeping an eye on it (and craigslist- because I’d love to save some money there, too!).

I’ve started checking out towels because amidst the rubble, it’s fun to look at pretty things. Oh, and I don’t remember if I mentioned this last week, but the vanity is the only main piece we’ll be replacing. We actually replaced our toilet last year some time and the tub functions (though my dad has weighed in and he thinks I should replace it, so maybe the jury is still out on that one, too?). I’m stuck on floors. I really want encaustic cement tiles and I’m trying to convince myself that the Merola tiles at Home Depot would work but they’re too black and not enough white for what I’m yearning for. Realistically I think I’m stuck between slate and wood-look tiles. I think both are fairly timeless and appeal to a broad group of potential buyers. And, they fit within the design I’ve dreamed up for the space.

Essentially, things still look like this-

details-a-designer-at-home-bathroom-renovation

I have actually started on a few projects for the space, a hamper, shelves and a shower curtain idea. But I don’t want to spoil the surprise, nor do I want to reveal too much! It’s part of the fun of this challenge, afterall! If you do want a sneak peek into what I’ve not made decisions on, follow this Pinterest board to see what I’m watching!

Fall Mantle Essentials

October 12, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Hey Guys!
Fall collections have been rolling out and I can’t help but be bothered with obsessing over what I would do if I had my own Fall Mantle going on.

It was the plan last year to get some kind of faux fireplace deal going on this year but the bathroom ended up being the project of the year. I’ve totally got updates coming up on that, but I had to take a second to be inspired by the beautiful things going on in the housewares sections of my favorite stores.

And maybe I’ll help you put together or put the finishing touches on your Fall mantle.

Right now I’m all about the neutral backdrop with mixed metals. And shockingly I’m not all about the gold and copper, but rather copper and silver. The weather has gone cold and gloomy and I’m having fun dreaming up ways of incorporating the drab into the Fall season.

Above the fireplace I’d use this swanky Copper Wall Stag. Maybe perched in front of a big statement mirror using something like command hooks to attach it to the face of the mirror temporarily. I really like this larger stuffed plaid wall stag, too.

For big statement pieces atop the mantle I’d pair this large gold lantern I know it’s gold but I’m pretending it’s silver (filled with feathers a la Emily Henderson or stacked gourds because Fall) with a small village of these marble houses (both the large and medium ones) and wood houses. If I were to be adamant about the copper and silver theme, I’d go with this large copper lantern, but I actually really like the idea of pairing the large gold lantern with this smaller copper lantern.

I think the wood houses, marble houses, wooden mushrooms and filling the large lantern with a natural elements like feathers really tones down the highly metallic theme of this mantle.

I’m torn between this fabulous copper candelabra and this moody matte black one. I think either one would look good with the whole set up. I would pair the slim lines of the candelabra with this chunky copper faceted votive.

But I may just want a candelabra for the sake of having one, I could use it anywhere really.

And then for the smaller decorative pieces I really love little pops with this silver pear and copper fig. And this mercury glass votive brings back memories of Autumn years ago when mercury glass was all the rage. You think it’ll be back any time soon?

Hanging across the mantle front I’d hang my own leather fringe banner and overtop it I’d hang either this acorn garland or this wood leaf garland.

And that’s my dream fireplace mantle set up this year. Maybe next year I can actually put all this together 😉

If I weren’t shopping for tile and towels for the bathroom remodel right now, I would be filling up my online shopping cart with these goodies (and using Ebates, of course).

Have you already decorated for the season? What pieces are you finding essential to your decor?

Beaded Necklace Pendant Knock Off #SwapItLikeItsHot

October 9, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Boho Light Anthropologie Beaded Pendant Knock Off

Hey Guys!

Today I have a cross between an Anthropologie Beaded Necklace Pendant Knock Off and a Thrift Repurpose for #SwapItLikeItsHot. I received an interesting and challenging mix of items from Charlotte of Ciburbanity (the host of this fab series!) and I’m excited to put my creative skills to the test with the items I received.

If you’re new here, my name is Corinna and this is my blog. It’s a happy place where I love to share my journey in creating beautiful spaces meant for living in. I love design and will begin Interior Design classes next year but until that starts, I’m just having fun sharing my DIY, decor, and renovation stories here. I would love it if you’d keep up with the happenings here, my email newsletter is a great way to get notified when I post, but I’m also a big fan of Instagram and Facebook and would love to see you there. If you’re also a blogger, be sure to leave me a comment with your link so I can come check you out!

The items I chose to work with are the two chalkboard hanging stars. I actually didn’t realize they were some kind of hanging art until I went to pull the stars out of the box to work with them. The way they were sitting in the box made them look like a container of some kind.

I’m a huge fan of Anthropologie and had already been stalking the beaded neacklace pendant lamp so that’s probably where this whole idea came out. Lots of chunky wooden beads are involved with those pendants and because I love boho, I thought the chalkboard star “container” would make a really cool “bead” on the lamp.

I pulled leftover twisted fabric wrapped cord and wood stain out of my stash. Picked up a few different dowel rod sized (big and chunky ones), a plug and light socket. Once the supplies were gathered, it was time to get creative!

My husband pulled through for me and cut the dowel rod into big bead sized chunks and then drilled holes into each piece, making it a true bead. He even went in a sanded them for me. I pulled the stickers and hanging bit off the chalkboard stars and smooshed them together back into the “container” shape I thought they were all along. Husband then drilled a hole through them turning them into a fun bead. A huge part of this DIY goes to his efforts!

While he was doing all the power tool parts, I spray painted the bulb socket and played with our little guy.

I went in when he was finished and stained a large chunk of the cut wood dowel with the last of my “Special Walnut” Minwax stain, most of the remainder with “Ebony” Minwax Stain and a few I left in their natural state.

cut-dowel-rod-wood-bead-large-giant-diy

cut-wood-dowel-stained-large-diy-beads

Whilst those dried, I went inside and wired the plug to one end of my cord. I wrapped a loose knot where I wanted the pendant to hang from the ceiling.

Then once the “beads” were dry, I played around with where and how I wanted the beads resting atop one another. When I was happy, I wired the socket onto the end of the cord. I hung the lamp from an ordinary hook, twisted in an Edison bulb, and let there be light!

Boho Light Anthropologie Beaded Pendant Knock Off

I collected items for Melissa of Polished Habitat. You just wouldn’t believe her amazing transformation with one of the items I sent her. It’s so creative and beautiful!

Check out her project here.

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Tune in all week to see the crazy items this talented group of bloggers has been making over! Search the hashtag #swapitlikeitshot on social media to follow along with all the fun or check out our Pinterest Board.You simply must take the weekend to check it all out!

MONDAY

That’s My Letter / DIY On the Cheap / Run To Radiance / The Gathered Home

Two Thirty Five Designs / Chaotically Creative / Decor Adventures / Homemade By Carmona

TUESDAY

Thoughts From Alice / Reinvented / Confessions Of A Serial Do-It-Yourselfer / Restoration Redoux

Always Never Done / I Am a Homemaker / Black and White Obsession / Windgate Lane

WEDNESDAY

Town and Country Living / brepurposed / The Charming Farmer / 58 Water Street

Designer Trapped In A Lawyer’s Body / Year of Serendipity / White House Black Shutters / Desert Domicile

THURSDAY

Two Purple Couches / Like A Saturday / Finding Silver Pennies / Artsy Chicks Rule

Something to Be Found / Shades of Blue Interiors / Simple Designing / Our Southern Home