TayRose Design interior design Craft Project Archives - Page 2 of 2

Sea Shells far from the Sea Shore…..A mirrored view

One can’t say enough about shells….their shapes; colors; and sizes from a tiny spiral to a large conch- shells have been a part of decorating through out history. Shells add beauty whether displayed in a dish, or on a shelf or, in my case, adhered to an old mirror.

I have 2 examples of mirrors and a memento box that I have made that changed their entire look just by adding shells. On one mirror, I painted the shells, and the other, I left the shells in their original colors. Both I feel have done shells proud…

The first mirror I had a large oval gold-painted mirror that had some rose bas relief along the rim but only in a few places so I wanted to fill in the whole rim to make the mirror more sculptural looking.

Whenever I see shells at garage sales, or thrift stores, I try to scoop them up for I know they will be used one day, in one way or another. Or I just admire them in a bowl or jar- reminded of the waves from whence they came.

I used a putty type product called Laticrete to apply the shells to the rim, working in small sections so the adhesive wouldn’t dry out too fast.

It’s waterproof and used to set tiles. It has a creamy consistency and I used a putty knife to apply then set the shells into the soft putty.

After the putty was dry, I decided to paint the mirror plus the shells in white, with several coats, using up some white paint I had leftover in my basement.

I thought white was an appropriate color, where I could envision the mirror in a beach house at the Cape, or in a contemporary loft in the City, or cozied up Shabby Chic style in a vintage cottage. I love the mirror in white, it’s so sculptural with the shells, and you really have to walk up and look closely to verify they are shells, which makes it all the more interesting.

For the 2nd mirror, I decided to keep the shells in their original forms, and I again used putty to attach the shells, but I added some black acrylic paint to the putty to darken it to a gray color so the shells would stand out more. I also painted the inside rim in black so the shell color would pop, and give a nice contrast rim around the mirror.

I worked with the putty in small sections at a time, fitting shells and adding tiny shells into small openings, filling as many gaps as I could find with more shells. This mirror was in pretty bad shape, so by covering it with the shells, the life was saved with a little hint of it’s history at the top. The mirror too is timeless, and really fits into any style of decor be it eclectic to contemporary. It has found a spot in my bathroom, and if I tire of it there, it will find another wall in the house to be appreciated.

(And yes, the mirror is hanging on some bead board that I painted the wall color and then hand painted the seams of the bead board slats in gray….call me crazy, but for this accent wall in the bath, it works really well and didn’t take all that long to do.)

The last piece I did with shells, but certainly not the last piece I will use shells on, was a memento box I had covered in shells as a card box for my wedding. This box now holds trinkets and memories and the shells encircled a favorite photo of ours on the lid.

Shells will always be a part of my home decor, and though I may not live by the seashore, the sea is remembered by the tiny treasures found on beaches and in thrift stores that share their natural beauty… off shore.

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Transforming a thrift find bedside lamp

Taylor

19 Jan 2015

Craft Project, DIY, Kids Room, Repurposed, Theme Room

When designing a room for a client, or just a room in your own home and you just can’t find the right lamp you are looking for, or maybe it’s out of your budget, try making the lamp yourself.

Now you may be saying right now, whoa…I’m not good at crafts or electrical, or coming up with ideas, or any other excuse that comes into mind -why not give it the ‘ol college try…Rah!

I did not go to art school, nor did I study art or design until I was way out of my school years. I was studying to be an Elementary School Teacher. Amazing how life veers us down different paths! Anyway, my point is, you don’t have to have an art degree to attempt the following baseball lamp project. All you need is a baseball, or a picture of one so you have the design in front of you. The rest is just gathering the supplies: black acrylic paint, red acrylic paint, 2 small fine tip paint brushes with rounded tips, a paper plate or container to squeeze paint onto, container of water to clean brushes, rag.

To make this baseball lamp, I was looking for a small lamp that would mimic a baseball and fit on the nightstand in the sport theme room for the Parade of Homes I was designing. I had already made the basketball shade for the floorlamp that would be in the corner (see my post on that here) http://tayrose.com/2015/01/07/transforming-a-student-globe-to-a-basketball-floorlamp/ . I wanted to keep with the sports theme and I knew it would be almost impossible to find a football shape lamp, so fortunately, I found at a thrift store, the right size, color and shape. SCORE!! Even though the lamp had ridges, I didn’t care, it was the right shape, size and when I painted the seams and stitches, it will look like a baseball.

At first, I thought I would just draw the seams on the lamp with a felt tip marker, but the ridges on the lamp kept messing up the line so it was jagged, weak or missing all together as I drew, so I nixed that idea and wiped off the lines to start over. I knew my lines and stitches were not going to be perfect, nor did I want them to be, I wanted the lines to look painterly and hand painted. Those ridges proved to be very challenging in the end, and did I wish they were not there? Absolutely! I was on a time crunch, and the texture those ridges brought to the lamp, I kind of liked.

Once the seams were painted with a black acrylic paint, I took a small brush, some red acrylic paint and proceeded to just flick stitches along the seam lines. I had to stare at the photo of the baseball over and over again to figure out the way the stitches were sewn, for they were different on each seam. Are my stitches straight and perfect? no, are my seams perfect? no, but that’s ok, I was able to make a lamp that was just right for my design project, and once the Parade of Homes event was over, I could take it to the shop to sell. Even if it doesn’t sell, I can remove the paint and I have a nice little white globe lamp…it all worked out and I think it was a home run!

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Baseball lamp in sport room by TayRose Design

Old kitchen chair gets makeover to a child’s desk chair

While working on a client’s bedroom for their daughters, a need for a desk and chair for their youngest was requested. The desk would be in a separate room and would be part of a wall closet unit so the desk was taken care of, but a chair was still a need. I thought, every little girl would love to have a chair made just for them-one that would have their name on it and make them feel very special. So, I started to look through my furniture stash, and pulled out this vintage painted wooden kitchen chair that I had purchased at a garage sale a couple of years ago. I liked the curves of the chair and the legs had nice details so I could accent them in some way. Plus, the chair was on the smaller size, not a big bulky chair….perfect for a desk chair. Now, I just had to design how to transform this dowdy find with a makeover for a seat for a princess…. Read more!

Transforming a student Globe to a Basketball Floorlamp

I love designing themed rooms….it can be challenging…always a treasure hunt, and most likely, I always have to create something myself for I can’t find the item or it’s out of my budget. For several years now, I’ve been invited to do the interior design for the Parade of Homes here in Upstate NY. The Parade is a huge design project, choosing everything from the siding color to tile, and cabinet knobs, but also, picking out all the furniture and accessories. It’s a little different when there is no clients, so I’m pretty much designing for a “pretend” family…something that is neutral enough to please, and unique enough to attract attention.

Teen room designed by TayRose Design Parade of Homes 2014

For the 2014 Parade of Homes in Clay, NY there was a large bonus room which I decided to design for a teen boy bedroom. My friend Judi from 1829 Farmhouse, owner of shop (Inspired in Liverpool, NY where bed is currently for sale) made the bed out of a pallet with pipe arms that we turned to the side so it was more like a sofa loaded up with lots of pillows. A trunk on wheels served as at coffee table; a found at a Flea Market of a large cardboard cutout sign of a basketball player laying up for a dunk that would be perfect when I place it next to the wall hoop positioned right over the laundry hamper….Nice Dunk!!

Basketball cutout themed room laundry dunk