Back from the Big Apple

 

 

What a city! What a week-end! My feet hurt from walking, my head is still spinning from all we were able to cram into 2 3/4 days and I am still marveling on the vastness of what New York City has to offer.  From the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, to seeing "Memphis" on Broadway and The Frick Collection on the Upper West Side, from eating pastrami sandwiches at Katz's Deli and having drinks at Peacock Alley in the Waldorf, to seeing family, we had a whirlwind and wonderful time.  One of the highlights for me was a visit to ABC Carpet & Home.  Stay tuned this week for my low down on that New york City home furnishings institution.

Cheap {window} Tricks

Yesterday Jenny at Little Green Notebook shared some inspiration on using sheets as the basis for window treatments and profiled this fantastic nursery as an example. This got me thinking about the efforts I have made over the years in my own home, to have wonderful window treatments "on the cheap," so today I am sharing my efforts to that end. 

First up, my kitchen treatments.  I was originally inspired by a fabulous Lulu DK fabric, which, while I loved it, did not work with our budget:

 So I had to get creative. (Today I could have had that fabric, as it is now available as sheets.)  Lucky for me, I happened across a gorgeous table cloth on sale at Crate & Barrel Outlet and had these "faux Roman shades" whipped up by a talented seamstress.  (I could have saved even more $$ were my own sewing skills a bit more refined, like my CSIL.)

My goal was to have an interesting treatment that DID NOT look like it started as a table cloth, so I mixed it up by using the stripe on the diagonal and a bit of trim on the bottom and I LOVE how they turned out.

Next came my dining room treatments.  I  knew I wanted panels in here, but was not inspired until I found red linen panels on sale at Pottery Barn.

 Adding a beautiful trim was going to customize and set the panels apart, but again, with my champagne taste and beer budget, I had a difficult time finding a cost effective solution.  Then one day at my local fabric store, I found upholstery webbing.... at 69 cents a yard!

Viola!!!!  An inexpensive and striking trim! (As a side note: I bought 3 panels and split one in half to add to the other two in order to beef  them up.)

Finally, my last "cheapo" window treatment is in my presently "scary office" (which is a story for another day, so no photo.)  These do involve sheets...

Years ago I lived in a studio apartment in Chicago and I fashioned a room divider from a hand-painted, canvas fabric and sheets. I made 3 panels and hung them from the ceiling on dowel rod, fishing line and hooks to create a bedroom.  These panels have made an appearance in each home I have lived in since, in one form or another, and I still love the hand painted fabric.... (does it date me?!)

So, the lesson is, don't sacrifice great looks because of your budget.... sheets, tablecloths, upholstery webbing, or "old" treatments can be the basis of a fabulous window treatment.

What clever things have you used in creating your window decor?

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me,
I would love to help!

Matchbook

Wow, online magazines seem to be the latest craze and is it ever exciting!  Have you seen the recent launch of Matchbook?  A wonderful new lifestyle magazine, check it out here, it's well worth your time as there are lots of terrific interviews, photos and content.  One could be sitting on their computer all day with the proliferation of these wonderful  magazines......

Stylish Blogger Award

Was I ever excited when, late the other night (when I should have been sleeping,) I found that Sarah from Pewter + Sage gave me a "Stylish Blogger Award."  I was doing the "happy dance" careful not to wake those sleeping at my house!  I got hooked on Sarah's blog several months back when I stumbled across one of her Mood Board Monday posts. I loved the ability to see how others would use a certain item or theme in putting together a room. When I finally got up the gumption to share my own Mood Board Monday creation, I met a lovely group of fellow bloggers and felt officially welcomed into the wonderful world of blogging.

Sarah's blog is delightful as she shares bit about her own house and the process of making it a home for her family, her inspirations as well as tidbits about her custom invitations and paper products business, be sure to check it out.

So in keeping with the rules of this  award, I am to share 7 things about myself (I have never really liked doing this but here goes)...

My "hubby" Tom and I

1) I am more of an earthy girl than a fashion maven, though I really do like to be pulled together, which, for me, could easily mean fleece and yoga pants instead of designer duds and heels.  Don't get me wrong, I like to get dolled up in the latest looks too, but most often I can be seen in jeans.

2) I love the outdoors and am an avid biker during the warm months.  I actually love winter because getting out for a snowshoe, cross country/downhill ski or sledding with my kids is so invigorating. We camp and drag our kids to National Parks as often as we can, hoping to instill the same love of the outdoors in them.

 

Some collect coins and stamps, we collect National Parks.

3) Madison, Wisconsin has been my home for the past 4 1/2 years.  When we decided to move here from Chicago, our friends thought we were crazy to leave the place where both my husband and I had grown up and established lifelong friends and bonds.  This town has been everything that we had hoped for, lively, progressive, a manageable size, good for our 3 kids and easily accessible to the outdoor things we love to do. Top that off with a wonderful group of local friends and I can assure you it was a good move.

4)While I love DIY projects and always look at things and say "I can make that,"  I am the queen of unfinished projects, I start things and  loose steam if they take too long (I like immediate gratification...)  I wish I was more like my creative sister in law (CSIL), who when I say, "Isn't this cool?  You can make that."  She does and the results are always incredible.

How about this amazing ottoman made by my CSIL?!

5) Cooking (more freewheeling and creative) not baking (too scientific and fattening) for me.

My kitchen is only this clean when I am taking photos!

6) My one truly guilty pleasure is watching "The Bachelor/Bachelorette.  I know, it's ridiculous, but the armchair psychologist in me finds it such an interesting source of character studies.

7) I have to keep my "creative juices" flowing so I love crafting and get together occasionally with other like minded crafty friends to create, chat, eat and admire each other's work. I have found blogging to be a wonderfully creative outlet for me, more than I ever imagined.

That's my gal, Martha!

Now on to the next step of the "Stylish Blogger Award" process, sharing the love.  These are a few of my favorite blogs, some are relatively new to me and some I have been visiting a while.  While I have not "met"  all of the authors, or even commented on all of the blogs, those I have "met" and conversed with are simply delightful and quite stylish. I imagine the other authors to be as well, based on their blogs, so give these blogs a peruse, I know you will enjoy.

Cottage and Vine

{Me} Longings

Effortless Style

Art Wall (a local Madison Blog)

Debut

Jones Design Company

Maddie G. Designs
Madigan Made 
Flip Flops and Pearls
design indulgence

As part of accepting the award and spreading the blog love, they'll...

1. Thank and link back to the person that awarded them {me}.

2. Share seven things about themselves.

3. Pay it forward to 15 (or so) recently discovered bloggers.

4. Contact those bloggers about the award!

Thanks for following along today and bearing with this long winded post...as you can tell, I was just a little excited!

Design 101 - Ikat

 

The Ikat fabric design trend has been quite popular in fashion and decor for the past couple of years, so much so that it has gone mainstream by being offered for the home through popular retailers like Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs and HSN.  Since I posted here and here about a Room Rx that I have in the works which revolves around an Ikat settee, I thought it would be fun to share a little education or "Design 101" on Ikat textiles.  So I fired up the old search engine and found loads of great info, engage your brains and let's get started!

 Ikat Weaving Tour

The word Ikat was derived from a Malay word "mengikat" meaning to tie.  What makes Ikat fabric distinct is the fact that the images are dyed onto the threads in a resist dye process similar to tie dyeing, before they are placed on the loom and woven into the finished fabric. There are three types of Ikat, the most often seen is the warp Ikat (only the warp or lengthwise threads are tied and dyed,) there is also a weft Ikat (weft or crosswise threads tied and dyed) and double Ikat (both warp and weft threads are tied and dyed.) Through common use, the word Ikat now means both the process as well as the finished cloth.

 

Central Asia is the home of Ikat textiles and for hundreds of years Ikat weaving has had social, economic, ceremonial and traditional significance. During  the 19th century's economic and cultural growth in the region, the making of these fabrics blossomed and demand increased via the "Silk Road."  As with any art form, Ikats vary greatly in technique, design and motif. Animals, birds, flowers, geometric and ancestral figures are represented in varying forms by craftspeople throughout the region.  A sophisticated, painstakingly produced textile art, Ikats have been used both as a form of currency and as a marker of status as over the course of their history.

The Language of Cloth 

Fast forward to today where the essence of the Ikat tradition has been interpreted and incorporated into interesting decor for the home.

From pillows and table skirts.....

 Aesthetic Oiseau

 Madeline Weinrib Atelier

Number Four Eleven 

To fabrics available for upholstered pieces at national retailers...

 Ballard Designs

 Pottery Barn

To wall stencils and framed artwork.....

 Ikat Wall Stencil

 Elle Decor March

Art, Posters and Prints

to gorgeous rugs....

 Company C

WS Home

  and to that wonderful little settee that started me on this whole journey to learn more about Ikat, there are so many ways to bring the look into your home.  
I love Ikat and feel it brings a well traveled, world vibe to a room.

 

Nate Berkus™ Studio Sofa at HSN.com, $500

I hope you enjoyed getting a little education today!  I look forward to sharing more "Design 101" in the future so if there is something you want to know more about, let me know and I'll do my best!

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me,
I would love to help!

Week-end furniture

This is where I spent my time this past week-end...(figuratively not literally) as my 3 kiddos all play basketball and between them there were 6 games on Friday and Saturday.  With the hubby gone (winter camping...brrrr) I was the solo "Wall Family Fan Club" member attending and was able to see 5 of the 6 games. 

 

While I do love to watch my kids play ball, my bottom gets tired of "bleacher butt."  I think most bleachers were built for kids and their shorter, smaller frames and not for long legged people like me. I'll get over it quick though because, lucky for me, my hubby, Tom and I have a getaway planned to the Big Apple next week-end, yippee!  I think my bum will be much more comfortable perched here:

 

or here:

We are staying at the iconic Waldorf Astoria (gotta love those Hilton points amassed from the hubby's out of town work assignment,) a New York City luxury lodging institution for over 100 years.  While the traditional decor pictured is not my style, I can certainly appreciate and enjoy the elegant surroundings and comfy looking furnishings. Our adventure to NYC will be short and busy, we'll take in a Broadway show, a couple of museums, visits with a few family members and a home decor store or two (a bit of arm twisting was necessary for this.)  I'll be armed with my camera (and my rather inadequate photography skills,) so that I can share the sights with you, my "armchair traveler" friends.  Lots to do to get out of "dodge"..... so, just letting you know this will be a short week of posting for me, today through Wednesday.

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me,
I would love to help!

Cure for the common chair

Chairs are my weakness and a good chair make-over gets my heart pounding, so when my "Stylishly Casual" client told me that one of the pieces she wanted to incorporate in her Room Rx was this darling caned chair, it was all systems go.  How to freshen up a decorating staple from the 60's and 70's?

My client had already given the chair a couple of coats of black lacquer and after going back and forth virtually a few times, this fabric by Robert Allen was chosen: 

The yellow is a perfect compliment to the Ikat settee fabric and will bring a pop of color to the room.

Check out the finished product!  Is it not adorable?  The upholsterer did a terrific job of matching the pattern and bringing new life to this tired old chair.

 

 

This is the perfect chair for a smaller room as it is not visually or physically large, it is easily moved around and it requires just a few yards of fabric to re-upholster so a fun fabric is an ideal option.

What great chair make-overs have you done or seen lately?  I would love to hear about them.....

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me,
I would love to help!