A Designer At Home

How To: Fringed Wicker Plant Stand

February 23, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Ooh, I think you’re going to love this one. We love thrift scores around here. Sometimes the struggle is seeing beyond the current state of an item. A simple clean up, alteration or full on makeover can take an ugly find to the jealousy inducing pieces we see on Etsy. Jess from Domicile 37 rallied up a group of bloggers who love taking thrift store/craigslist/yardsale/flea market finds and bringing new life to them. The name of the challenge: #ItsSoUglyItsCool.

You can join the fun, too. Simply tag your makeovers on Instagram and use the #ItsSoUglyItsCool tag. We’ll be sharing our favorites on our accounts. Don’t get stuck on the word “ugly.” Basically what you need to do is to find used piece(s) (furniture, decor, vintage items, odd items, etc…) and show the BEFORE and AFTER of how you transformed the piece to fit in your home. You can DIY it, clean it, polish it, etc…Just share how you make it your own or how you add life to it.

There’s going to be a pretty big divide on my project. I already know there are going to be people who feel very strongly that my “boho-ifying” of this piece is ridiculous and that it was better before. Oh well!

I call it: Boho Fringed Wicker Plant Stand

It’s like it’s wearing a fun festival style skirt. And it allows me to throw plants into it that are still in their ugly store containers without it being visible through the weave. I love it. It’s really as simple as picking out some kick ass yarn and cutting it to the length plus a little excess of the pot holding part. Knot it into the weave and knot additional pieces onto the first set.

I used this “Pueblo” colored yarn and this cool mixed yarn. And a couple episodes of mind numbing children’s cartoons and I was finished knotting. I’m not quite a maximalist but I do like to live on the embellished side of life.

And because everyone loves a before and after. Here’s a side by side comparison of my handiwork. It’s kind of like a string wall hanging on a planter. In fact, that’s exactly what this is, ha. I love string wall hangings because they’re simple but look really, really good when you use good yarns and mix different textures. Here’s one I made to look like a moroccan wedding blanket!

boho fringe yarn skirt on vintage wicker plant stand - handmade creativity - it's so ugly it's cool challenge - adesignerathome

Even better than a before and after? MORE thrifted makeovers! Yes, my awesome blogging friends and I have a whole slew to share with you. Please give these wonderful ladies a visit:

Domicile 37 // Britt Kingery // Shabby Grace Blog

Up To Date Interiors // Vintage Romance Style

A Designer at Home // Casa Watkins // Iris Nacole

Want to see what I scored along with this planter? Don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed so you can get notified when the #thriftscorethursday post goes up and you’ll see!

Guidelines: Budgeting for Home Decor and DIY

February 22, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Everyone’s home journey is very, very different. Some choose to decorate, some choose to DIY and others choose both or neither. I do think that decorating a home is a necessity. Happiness is important and there is a correlation between happiness and surroundings. Home is more than surface level so it can be hard for each person to determine how much of their budget should go to the home décor and DIY part of the budget pie. It’s going to end up being different for everyone but here are 5 guidelines for determining what to budget for your home décor and DIY projects.

5 Guidelines for Budgeting for Home Decor & DIY Projects

Explore the impact your own home has on your mood.

Pay attention to how you feel in other’s homes (and note whether or not they’ve decorated). What restaurants do you enjoy visiting? What spaces in magazines or online are you drawn to? If you have very specific feelings towards particular spaces and you catch yourself feeling differently in decorated versus undecorated spaces (and how they’re decorated), then the way your home looks and feels should take priority. If you aren’t drawn to anything in particular and you don’t notice changes in your mood in different places, then your priority would be low.

A generic and rough list of Budget priorities for me would go in this order: Shelter, Food, Bills, My Son, Health and Wellness, Home Décor/DIY/Improvements, Entertainment (and the list goes on and on)

2. Impact on How You Live life

The next area you should explore when determining how much of your budget to spend on home décor and/or DIY projects in what impact it has on how you live your life. Do you enjoy hosting dinner parties but don’t because you don’t have anything on the walls? Or maybe it’s more extreme and you don’t have guests stay over (but you want to) because you don’t have a bed for them.

Will life be enjoyable and fulfilling if you make tassels for a basket or a geometric light fixture?

If you don’t invite people over because you aren’t satisfied for any reason of the state of the public spaces of your home, you either need to prioritize doing something about them OR be easier on yourself. I can’t decide this for you, but creating a list of what you want to do in your home and beside it writing down why you don’t can help give you clarity on what impact having a decorated home has on your life.

3. Personal Worth Of the Results

Do you go out and buy something for your home, bring it home and display it and feel anything? If you feel dissatisfied, there could be a few reasons for that. 1) You’re trying to fill a bigger void than what 1 small thing can fill. 2) You didn’t love the piece to begin with. 3) You don’t actually love decorating.

If you don’t actually love decorating (and decorating can be hanging posters of your favorite sports teams, don’t get me wrong here!), then don’t budget much to it. Instead consider decorating by buying “cute” but practical pieces that you already need. Like pots and pans with a fun color or bath towels with pattern.

4. Resale Value

If your neighborhood isn’t raising in value, even the houses that have had renovations done, you should skip the decorator tile. I can’t truly tell you that your personal enjoyment is worth the potential loss in resale value. Just because you’re saving yourself money to do it yourself doesn’t mean what you do spend in materials is worth it. You just can’t ever know what the future holds. While some will disagree and tell you to have fun with the home you have and enjoy it- If you had to put your home on the market tomorrow and you had absolutely no money for some awful reason, will you want it looming over you that every potential buying is walking away because you put in something you enjoyed?

On the other hand, if the monetary risk is smaller, say you got that decorator tile for less than the basic tile. Or a DIY light fixture that doesn’t cost $100 in materials. I’m a realist and I understand when something is too much. There are so many other ways to DIY and decorate and just have fun than taking on a huge financial commitment.

DIY projects should make sense financially. Decorating should make sense financially. Don’t price yourself out of paying bills, out of your neighborhood, or out of reversing and going in a different direction.

5. Personal Journey

Everyone’s personal journey is different. You’re going to experience different financial situations, changes in what you enjoy and changes in experiences. You know how Jon Acuff’s saying goes, “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” How about “Everyone’s middle is different, embrace your own middle.” Your beginning and on is different, your middle will be different because of it. If you have a lot of excess income and you actually enjoy decorating and creating things, than you know how much you can spare. If you don’t have so much, embrace the things you can do, really hone in on your creativity and celebrate what you make and do.

Be honest with yourself, are you creating it because it’s cheaper and you love to make things?

Will you be happier making something versus other things you could be doing instead?

If you hate creating things, can you wait until you’ve saved up a bit or it goes on sale?

If you wait to buy it 2 weeks from now, will you still love it in your space?

Is it the item you’ve been needing to mold the atmosphere of your space?

Is it essential to your journey?

Does it make financial sense?

There’s no special formula with an exact number for every case. I think 2 books I’d highly recommend for those in this journey who are feeling constrained by time or money are Love The Home You Have and The Nesting Place. They’re very encouraging with lots of practical ideas and tips for those journeys. Even if you do feel like you have a comfortable budget, those books are fantastic. But you could also have fun with Styled or Sarah Style.

If your considering decorating, feeling frustrated by DIY or are curious what a home decor and DIY blogger would suggest when creating a budget for either/or answer these questions: Does it affect your mood? Does it impact life in your home? Are the results rewarding? Does it affect future or current financial stability? and Does it work in line with your personal journey? And gauge your budget from there.

Vintage Bohemian Dining Room Mood Board

February 19, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

I’m still avoiding the bathroom remodel and dreaming of other spaces so I put together a mood board for the space I want to set my sights on next- the dining room. The basics of great dining room design is simple, but looking into the function of the space and playing around with all of the different furniture options we have now gets a little daunting. Overall, I have a general idea of what I want the space to look and feel like. I have most of the furniture but the walls need to be painted. I have little trinkets and window treatments. But, I also have a pile of junk that I need to figure out what to do with. An ugly old light fixture that needs replacing. And a lot of painting to do. I’ll consider sharing pictures of all that chaos later, for today- it’s pretty spaces and a mood board 🙂

Featured in my mood board: Hairpin Bench, Chairs, Shades, Tapestry, China Cabinet from Retro Therapy Rehab, Dresser, Rug, Light, Bar Cart, Boho Chair

I’m inspired by eclectic dining rooms. With a lot of neutral pieces and pops of rich jewel toned color.

This dining room from Lindsay of The Buffalo Styling Co. has inspired me for ages now. That light fixture has haunted my design dreams since the first time I saw it. But there’s other pieces, too, that I’m inspired by. Like the subtle, yet still fresh and vibrant, curtains. The rustic vibe of the table paired with the clean lines of the mid century china cabinet is so interesting. And the fact that the space isn’t huge is a big thing for me. It can be so overwhelming looking at giant spaces full of all the bells and whistles when that just isn’t relatable to my space at all.

There’s a similar trend with many of the dining rooms that serve as inspiration for the space I hope to have. This space from Ashley of Bigger Than The Three Of Us also has a fresh and bright vibe. Eclectic, again, is the theme of the space. The mid century dining set is to die for. She also used an interesting light fixture, different style but still so cool and different. Those same style chairs pop up again and it’s a mixed seating situation in both spaces. Hm.. and now that I think of it, anyone else seeing double with the cowhide rugs? Ha, I’m kind of predictable, eh?

One other space that I’ve swooned for pretty majorly is Thought’s From Alice’s dining room. Striking lighting never fails to enter the dining room of my dreams. Her space isn’t so heavy of the jewel tones like Lindsay’s is, but I love that they both have a rustic feel to them. The pretty coordinating artwork have warmer tones that I adore. And look, more of those cafe style chairs. Every one of these spaces are stunning. It’s crazy how beautiful they are, but they still look comfortable and easy to be in. That’s exactly the feeling I want in my space.

My long standing obsession with the Peacock Wicker Chair

February 18, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Welcome to the post I’m dedicating to my long standing obsession with the peacock wicker chair. Also called a “fan back” wicker chair. These chairs are gorgeous, woven, sculptural pieces of heaven. I have bought and sold a ridiculous number of them and I’ve bought, and held on to, one more.

The ones I’ve bought in the past have been a bit faded, or had some structural issues. The most recent one, that I actually bought a few months ago, has been the cheapest one. And it’s in fantastic condition. No odd bends, no loose wicker- and it came with the cushion. Hallelujah!

Explore The #ThriftScoreThursday feed

So in honor of sharing my woven chair goodness, I thought it would be fitting to curate a favorites of things that are chairs and/or woven. While it might now make the internet explode, there will be lots of heart eyes!

I would be so thrilled to come across woven plates/chargers/bowels as pretty as these! via @sharbearrrhauls

This absolutely is the mother of all dream catchers! What a stunning piece! via @doug_fritock

I. Am. Jealous.! But, aren’t we all? via @sarahmdorseydesigns

If I could score a sweet chair like this, I might not need the Eames as much 😉 via @meganmwallace12

Intricate details in this rug are stunning! via @design_it_vintage

This one has a beautiful shape to it! via @meganmwallace12

Have you scored anything good recently? You have to know by now that we want to see!

Here’s The Rules!

We want you to participate! Hit up your local thrift stores, craigslist, yard sales, estate sales, side of the road, anything! Thrifty doesn’t necessarily mean from a thrift store. We want to see your good deals, wacky finds and treasures.
Don’t feel like you need to save those finds for Thursdays! Yes, features are shared on our blogs and Instagram on Thursdays, but we’re all checking in on (and using!) the hashtag all week long. So, when you see/find it, feel free to share it!
Each week, Trisha from Black and White Obsession, Cassie from Primitive and Proper, Brynne from The Gathered Home, and Myself (A Designer At Home) will pick a favorite thrift score or two to feature! So please note that by linking up with #thriftscorethursday, you are giving us permission to share your finds via social media or on our blogs.
Please remember that we can only share love for photos shared on public accounts. If your profile is private, we can’t see your finds.

As is always the case, I would be ecstatic to get my own hands on any and all of these scores and use them in my home. Visit the features and give them a kudos for a thrift well done ?

Before you run off for the day, don’t forget to visit your other hosts for this fab hashtag party:

Kate Spade Daisy Place Jewelry Dish Knock Off

February 16, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Welcome to the first installment of the Knock It Off DIY Monthly Challenge! Every month you can stop in on the 3rd Tuesday of every month to find a plethora of knock off inspiration. Each month is themed, and this month we are knocking off a Kate Spade item. Looking through the Kate Spade collections, you’ll find lots of really cute decor but the price tags are shocking. If you’re a creative, you’ve probably looked at those pieces and said to yourself, “I could totally make that for dirt cheap.” Well, my friend, we are doing that and we invite you to do it too!

Honestly, most of the Kate Spade decor isn’t really my style. And that’s totally OK. There’s a collection for everyone. I did find one piece that I thought was especially cute and practical and customizable. The daisy place square jewelry dish.

I found this to be really, really easy to recreate. Inexpensive square dishes can be found practically anywhere. I picked up a deeper one than the Kate Spade one to suite my needs a bit better. It’s from Target, but again you can find these everywhere from Walmart to thrift stores.

I cleaned the bowl real well and that was probably the hardest part of it all! I doodled in the same “odds and ends”from the inspiration piece with an oil based Sharpie marker. I baked it according to some miscellaneous baking instructions I found via good ol’ google search but I could still scratch off the paint after following the steps. So, who knows if that stuff really works.

And then painted along the edges with a very small craft brush and Ace hardware brand “Artistic Finishes Metallic Finish” paint in Copper. I prefer all of the Ace hardware copper colored paint products because they have a touch more pink that all of the other ones I’ve tried. I definitely recommend this paint because it has the best coverage and, even more importantly, the best metallic finish out there. It’s not as reflective as the inspiration piece, but it’s the best I’ve found. Not sparkly, just metallic.

I didn’t take any during shots because it’s hard to write white steadying a camera- ha! But there’s really nothing new to the techniques. They’ve been done a million times over. But that just shows you how fail-proof these ideas are for DIYs.

Supply List:

Artistic Finished Metallic Finish paint in Copper

White Square Bowl

Black oil based Sharpie

A Designer at Home // Iris Nacole // Pretty Practical Home // Domicile 37

This is Our Bliss // Vintage Romance Style // Casa Watkins

Monica Wants It // Up To Date Interiors // Shabby Grace Blog

Coastal Virginia Home and Garden Show

February 15, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Hello 🙂 I thought it’d be fun to pop in today to share what I did over the weekend. There were a lot of projects I spent the entire weekend avoiding. A few important ones got done. And I went to the Coastal Virginia Home and Garden show!

I’ve never been to a home and garden show before so I’m really glad my mom asked if I wanted to go. We went yesterday, which was the last day of the show. I only had my phone with me and the camera is pretty well gone, so please give the pictures some grace.

We showed up at 10am for the mimosa and bloody mary tasting. It was pretty quiet, the drinks were good, and we scanned the center to get an idea of what we wanted to look at first.

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Right beside us was a booth full of gorgeous Polish pottery. I’m a sucker for these kinds of things. Because I’m already a die hard fan of Le Souk Ceramique and Imari Ceramics I went ahead and stayed small with my purchases. A small adorable elephant with it’s little trunk up and a small tea bag tray.

And right beside that was Symphl Creations. They have an Etsy shop with quite a few handmade personal care items, but I was drawn in by the massive collection of soaps. I chose 4 soaps- Sensuous Sandalwood, Inspire, Activated Charcoal & Tea Tree Oil, and Monkey Farts. Yes, monkey farts, and it smells amazing- like candy!

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Right around the corner from those two booths were a bunch of really fun hippies. They were selling handmade jewelry, tie dye shirts and handmade soaps, scrubs, and body whips. I am starting to develop a problem and I bought, yet again, another soap (this makes more than 30 bars in 2 months).

Then I beelined for the handmade baskets booth. The man running it said the basket I chose took 8 days to make and was made by an elderly woman in her late 60’s. He said that making the baskets gave her something to do and purpose in life. He also made baskets, his were smaller and less intricate, but stunning nonetheless.

global decor african tribal inspired hand woven basket a designer at home home and garden show find

african global basket for throw blankets

Before we could even get down a full aisle of booths, we realized we were late for the Chickens: Pets With Perks. The speaker was very easy to listen to, reaffirmed my desire for having my own chickens, and is an author of a lot of really cool books about chickens.

After that was finished, we went to a small class about Feng Shui and it’s benefits in solving challenges in home spaces. Bonnie Primm was a joy to listen and interact with. I took some notes to share just in case you’re interested in diving into Feng Shui:

Mirrors bring energy and surroundings in.
Mirrors are a water energy.
If you live near water, take away some mirrors.
Mirrors push space back and enlarge it.
In dining rooms, round and oval tables are preferred.
Corners cause bruises, don’t bring in items than can harm you.
No corners in corners. Squares taken in the energies rushing at it and redirects in out with force back into the space.
For example, a corner nightstand can point energies back towards your body and cause knee pains, back pains, elbow pains, etc.
Turn square/rectangle pieces at and angle to avoid the pointed energy effect.
Lamps in corners are a must because they raise energy.
When cleaning a house, clean from the back to front.

After the Feng Shui class was finished we were approached by Rebecca Bushway. She invited us to join in on her Make and Take workshop. We made storage caddies out of old fence posts and spindles from old furniture.

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We ended up visiting her booth later and saw that she makes over lots of furniture. And while a lot of it wasn’t my particular style, there were a pair of made-up Chromecraft chairs I could totally see in my house. I’m a thrifter though and couldn’t justify $60 a chair.

Then I got wrapped into agreeing to a window replacement consulation next weekend. I guess I’ll let you guys know how that goes. We really need to replace our roof before we worry about the old windows but I figure it’ll be a good idea to have the quote… and I entered to win the $10,000 in window and door replacements so keep you fingers crossed for me!

I saw plants at a booth nearby and bought a new plant. What’s new… It’s a Staghorn Fern which I’ve seen so much of this past year. I hope to try mounting it and hanging it on the wall and I hope I can keep it alive :/

Unfortunately we just barely missed the animals that were there for the SPCA. They had a lop eared bunny! We’re hoping to adopt one this Spring so that was very fun to come across.

The final exhibit we visited were the Habitat for Humanity ReStore “She-Sheds.” Sheds were donated, and the designers were provided a $1,000 budget to Habitat for Humanity to decorate and furnish the sheds with the “she-shed” theme in mind.

Shed #1 had the designer present and she shared a lot about how she created her space. She is a DIY diva I tell you. I wish I could remember everything she told me she did with the space. She only spent $300 of her $1,000 budget. Impressive!

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