Bookshelf Facelift
March 18, 2008
A few days ago, I posted about a nifty idea I saw over at Rhoda’s site. Got a note from Rhoda that she’d stolen the idea from another blogger. 
It’s what we bloggers do! We re-use… we recycle… we re-invent. So I gave the bookshelf facelift a go, and here is what I ended up with - it’s not nearly as well executed as Rhoda’s. I was pretty haphazard in slapping the paper on, I must admit. Some of my close friends may be surprised by the fact that I did not even attempt to match things up and make patterns repeat. I just couldn’t be bothered!
Oh yeah, there’s a story about the cat in the first photo. I’m sitting here at the computer, shortly after I’d said goodnight to Michelle via IM, and all of the sudden, the cat went absolutely NUTS because another cat came up to the glass door where my cat was sitting. She went SO nuts that she lunged and ATTACKED the door, which was apparently - and unfortunately - not completed closed. So kitty went flying out the door after the rival cat.It is now 6 hours later, and kitty has not returned. I looked for her for about an hour, in the middle of the night. She is nowhere to be found. She’s an indoors-only cat, but she isn’t declawed, and I suspect she can defend herself. But I just don’t know where she’s off to, or if she’s hurt, etc.
I’m putting her food & water bowls outside the front door and hope that she’ll find her way back. “Wow” (my kids named her) was a Katrina rescue cat, so she’s been through much worse!
After losing a cat I had for 15 years a few years ago and then starting over with this one that’s now disappeared, I have to say that if Wow doesn’t show up, I think I’m done with cats. I am more of a dog person, and I have two of those. It’s not that I don’t like cats; they just don’t like me… or they like me too much… or they become mentally challenged.
I think a nice, calm tree frog might make a good alternative.
On with the photos! I used 9 sheets of scrapbook paper and some sort of rolling adhesive thing that broke, twice, mid-taping (GRRRR! so then I ended up switching to craft glue).
Before & After:
The contact paper cure
March 9, 2008
I’m soaking up this great idea from Design Sponge… they used woodgrain contact paper in multiple colors to give an old Ikea credenza a funky, new look.
Don’t throw out the scraps.
March 9, 2008
For the record, I think that Scrapbooking is some kind of cult. It scares me a little. But I have been known to peruse the scrapbook supplies in arts & crafts stores, because there are usually some neat papers and such to be found.
I happened upon a simple but brilliant idea for scrapbook paper. Check out Rhoda’s bookshelf. She lined the back with different scrapbook papers, and after seeing it, my heart is all aflutter. I have two plain, black bookshelves that are now begging to be papered in crazy, patterned fun. What an inspiring and inexpensive way to add new life to an old bookshelf!
I think I’ll be paper-shopping this week. Look for some before & after photos soon.
Do you have “nontraditional” bathroom floors?
November 6, 2006
Are your bathroom floors any of the following?
- carpet
- hardwood
- cork
- bamboo
- glass tiles
- leather tiles
- glass mosaic
- rubber tiles or rolls
Have you reglazed or refinished vintage bathroom fixtures instead of replacing them?
If you have or have done any of the above, contact Kate, as she may want to interview you for HGTV.com.
How do you touch up Ralph Lauren suede paint?
October 19, 2006
Here’s a question we received via Myspace:
Hi,
I repainted a dresser a few years ago with paint I purchased at Home Depot that I thought was Ralph Lauren suede. It has looked great, but now needs touchup. How do I do this? Do I have to strip the whole thing and repaint? Can I paint over what I have? I remember a 2 step procedure with a base coat and a glaze? Help!
Debbie
As I have personally never opened a can of RL paint, I shall have to consult Those Who Have Gone There and Done That. I will report back here with my findings.
Meanwhile, if any of you fix chicks have experience with this, feel free to comment away!
Creative room painting - dot, dot, dot!
October 3, 2006
Here’s a really cool project from Katye, whose home office is covered in colorful “dots”, thanks to her creative ideas and painting.
Here’s how she did it:
I originally thought of the room idea to inspire me while I’m working at home. Bright colors stimulate the mind (reds and yellows are used in restaurants to make people eat more… pastels in kids rooms help calm children, etc..) so I chose a collection of bright colors I thought would work well for me. Before I began, I researched different patterns to use or use in a modified form inside the circles. The most resourceful I found for pattern ideas were scrapbook websites (I had a difficult time finding ANYTHING useful so that’s why I’m listing this part as a resource). The patterns I liked were printed so I could get a better idea of what it would look like. I then did the usual paint preparation (placed masking tape on the trim, drop cloth, etc…) I painted the walls themselves a very subtle beige and the trim and the ceiling base coat was painted white. Once the paint was dry, I went around marking where I wanted the circles by placing small pencil marks where the approximate sides of the circle would be.
Some of the circles were intentionally placed where the corners intersected them (to break up the negative space). Then I grabbed a tape measure, a thumb tack, a piece of fairly sturdy string (about the thickness of embroidery thread but I’m sure anything comparable would work… just not sewing thread). According to my pencil marks I made earlier for the circles, I measured horizontally from one pencil mark to the next (which determine the outer edge of the circle). I divided that measurement by 2 to find the exact center…. I then tied one end of the string around the tack and placed the tack in the very center of the circle (according to the measurements, of course). The other end of the string was tied to a pencil… I used the string like a compass to draw the circles on the wall. An overhead projector can also be used to draw the circles but I didn’t have that available to me so I had to improvise – ha! I then painted a wide trim around the circles with alternating colors.
I went back to paint the patterns inside the circles after the trim was dry. In one of the photos you can see that I used a semi-gloss clear coat to paint over some of the circles (one of which I painted large stripes in). Most of the patterns you see in the circles were measured out, marked on the wall with pencil and then masking tape was laid to use as a guide.
The ceiling is actually my favorite part… and it’s simple to do! All I did was measure (from the walls toward the center) for however wide I wanted the square to be, laid masking tape, painted and moved on to the next color.
Katye further noted that a rug she got a great deal on at eBay became an inspiration for the room. It reminded her of one of Kandinsky’s paintings that is a favorite of hers and just happens to be a favorite of mine, too!
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Thanks for sharing your project with us, Katye! And thanks for the inspiration.
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