TayRose Design interior design Interior Design Room Archives

Owl Inspired Theme Toddler Bedroom

12 Feb 2018

Craft Project, DIY, Interior Design Room, Kids Room, Theme Room

#floating shelves, #painted tree mural, #placemat, #vintage linen, custom, decorator, designer, DIY, Home Decor, Home Design, owl, pillow, TayRose Design, theme room

B4 and after owl theme room

Evolving from a nursery to a toddler bedroom is always fun especially when there is a theme involved. Keeping the budget in mind, the client wanted owls to be the theme. With purchased artwork as inspiration, owl pillows; shelf sitters; a tree mural and floating shelves were added to the design.

Inspired owl artwork

A new trundle bed replaced the crib on the back wall. White furniture and ruffled curtains coordinated with the bed and trim. That left a huge blank focal wall behind the bed, just prime for a hand-painted tree mural. What better place for an owl to sit than in a tree!

The wall tree had limbs that reached towards the corner of the wall with added white floating shelves and green painted mini birdhouses for a bit of whimsy. A metal owl wall art piece was painted white to match the tree. Painting the tree, hanging the wall shelves plus accessorizing was complete in a day.

Painted tree mural

Starting Owl Pillows

For one of the owl pillows, I found a pair of woven green rectangular placemats that I purchased for under $2 each. Walmart had some nice inexpensive assorted cottons that are sold in packages just right for small projects. I chose colors that would coordinate with the pink, gray and white color scheme going on in the room. Vintage linens and cut up discarded clothing were used as fabric as well.

owl placemat pillow layout

The placemats were sewn on the vertical for the pillow with a couple of small feet at the bottom. Felt eyelashes, a suede beak from an old jacket, and cut out fabric circles made up the eyes and feet. All the pieces were sewn to the front side first before sewing the seams. Due to the fringed edges, I sewed the seams just as they lay with right side up. At the top ear corners, with a needle and thread, I tacked a couple of small stitches so they would “pinch” together like little ears. The suede beak was hand embroidered showing the hand stitches for that ” handmade” look.

owl placemat pillow ear

I cut the border edge of my vintage linen into strips to sew together as the “tummy”.

owl placemat pillow tummy

For the feet, I made a quick pattern, cut out fabric , pinked the edges, stuffed with fiberfill and sewn to bottom seam. Sew around all the edges with about a 5/8″ seam leaving about a 5″ opening to add stuffing. After filling with desired amount of stuffing sew the opening close and voila, pillow done!

owl placemat pillow finished

Shelf Sitters

As for the owl shelf sitters….making the patterns for the first time was challenging and then filling them with rice found more rice on floor than in the owl!

making pattern for owl shelf sitters

A pink and white feather boa from the Dollar Store was cut and sewn as little tufts to the ears for some texture and fun. These little owls definitely like to “sit” and not be played with by little hands, so they were set up high in the branches on shelves.

Owl shelf sitters finished

In Conclusion:

All in all, this was a very fun project, lots of room for additional accessories as the little one grows older without having to change too much, which is great for the budget.

“Who” would like to try and take on a theme room and watch it grow? Ahhh…..very wise…..

Owl theme toddler room finished

Painted trunk blends with Decor

Taylor

06 Feb 2018

Custom Design, DIY, Interior Design Room

custom, DIY, hand painted, Home Decor, Interior Design, storage, TayRose Design, trunk, wall paint

before and after painted trunk blending with wall color

painted trunk blends in with wall color

After having some of our interior room walls repainted due to sheet rock issues, I had to remove all the artwork from the walls and then rehang it back up after walls had cured. With the paint cans sitting in the mudroom to be stored back down in the basement, my eyes went to the trunk that holds some of my excess dishes, and seating in our photo studio, and I thought it just needed an fresh updated look.

The details on the trunk are really lovely, and I appreciate the worn areas that validate the age and adventures it must have been through- the wooden slats and nail trimmed leather strips framing the edges and all the metal hardware that were a bit lost against the dark background color. I didn’t realize that most of the trunk was actually a canvas fabric, so, could I paint it with the same paint as our accent wall? Why not?

My first thought was to paint the whole thing, but fortunately, I started one row up on the side and after painstakingly using a fine artist brush to paint around all the little spaces of the hardware, I thought….”I think I’ll paint every other row then the top.” I actually was glad I decided to leave some of the original color on the trunk for the new paint color was much lighter and really enhanced the details on the trunk much better than before.

Painted trunk details

Such an easy update, it dried very quickly and I wiped on some leather cleaner and wood conditioner and it now has quite the face lift!

The trunk blends in much better with the wall color and the items set upon it.

painted trunk blends with decor

Funny how inspiration will hit you….from repainted walls to paint cans waiting to be stored away….a beloved piece gets a fresh look and blends in all the better now!

Create a “trunk” inspired look for a Nightstand

finished nightstand trunk inspired

I was commissioned to transform my client’s little girl’s room to a jungle theme room. They had originally seen and fell in love with the bedroom I had designed for the Parade of Homes recently.

It’s a Jungle in here! Parade of Homes Pigliavento Builder, TayRose Designs

My client had asked for a nightstand next to the bed rather than the lidded crate I had used in my previous showhome. I wanted to choose something that still had a feeling of traveling the ocean seas towards jungle paradise. I started shopping both online and in local shops but didn’t quite find what I had envisioned in my mind. So, I checked out my furniture stash of odds and ends pieces I’ve collected for future transformations on projects that come my way, and I found the perfect size night stand that had a drawer which my client had requested and room on top for a lamp and maybe even a book.

However, in its current color it would not work with the design. I kept thinking about travel and how I might be able to simulate the look of a trunk or suitcase for this furniture piece. I knew the orangey colored stain color was not going to work, so by using a palm sander and sand paper by hand, I sanded down to practically the raw color on the sides and front frame work so I could stain it a darker brown. I wanted to bring in some jungle green color and I thought that chalk paint would be great choice for it covers just about anything with little prep. I chose Spanish Moss chalk color from JoAnn Fabrics Folk Art series and I also picked up their clear wax as well to go over the paint to seal and protect the color. http://www.joann.com/folkart-home-decor-chalk-8-oz/13830781.html

http://www.joann.com/folkart-home-decor-wax—8-oz./zprd_13358940a.html#q=FOLK%2BART%2BCLEAR%2BWAX&start=1

Folk Art Chalk paint and wax

I also wanted to add details to my “trunk” so my inspiration came from age old steamer trunks that had wonderful leather straps and metal hardware. I haunted the local thrift stores for leather belts and picked out a few that I could cut up and apply with upholstery nails into the wood.

thrift store find belts

For metal accents, I found at Hobby Lobby perfect corner pieces that came with their own tiny nails to tap into the corners of the top and drawers. https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Wood-Crafting/Hardware-Tools/Antique-Bronze-Plated-Corners/p/80783525 and https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Wood-Crafting/Hardware-Tools/Antique-Bronze-Plated-Corners/p/80783621 For the front, I found at Lowes some brass cabinet latches that I could use that simulate trunk latches. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gatehouse-2-Pack-Polished-Brass-Cabinet-Catch/3355522

hardware for trunk nightstand

The latches were a little too bright brass in color, so I sprayed on some brown paint and dabbed off with a rag to give more of an antiqued look. Now I was ready to start the staining and painting…….

I removed the drawers and sanded the fronts lightly for they were to be painted, then sanded the sides of the stand, the edges and inside the opening, then wiped down with a tacky cloth to remove sand dust. I had some leftover dark walnut stain from another project that I brushed on to the sides, edges and inside of the opening shelf then wiped off with a cloth to the desired color.

staining nightstand darker

I think I applied the stain twice after letting the first coat dry per can instructions.

I decided to paint the inside of the drawers in the Spanish Moss green chalk paint and since the little girl loved purple and polka dots, I thought having a surprise when the drawer opened would be a fun addition.

Inside drawer surprise dots

The top of the stand and the drawer fronts all got painted with the Spanish Moss and I applied 2 coats and only needed 1 jar, so the paint really goes a long way. After paint had dried I applied the clear wax over the painted surfaces according to jar instructions which was really easy and let dry. Over the stained areas I wiped on a poly with a cloth and let it dry as well.

I measured and cut the leather belts to fit down the top in 2 rows and down the front of the drawers as if the leather strap was one continuous strap. I used gorilla glue as well as upholstery nails to adhere cut straps to surfaces. For the latches, I placed the latch where I wanted to screw it down, then marked holes with a pen and started the hole with a small drill bit and screwed latch in place. I nailed the corner pieces to the top and drawer edges with the tiny nails included in the packages and then came the handles.

adding leather belts as straps

The original drawers had a wood knob right in the center and I wanted to have a handle. So, I needed to deal somehow with the hole in the center of the drawer. I could have tried to plug it with putty, but the drawer front was quite thick and it would take a lot of putty and challenging to get load it up into the smallish hole. I could have found a wood dowel to glue into hole then cut off, sand and then paint over too, but I just decided to use the hole rather than hide the hole. I found at Lowes the perfect length brass bolt with a rounded head that fit through the drawer and had a brass small nut on the other side…done. I lined up the handles and screwed them on the front.

I loved the way this little night stand turned out. Plenty of space for her to store her books, a reading lamp on top and her secret treasures tucked inside the dotted drawers. It feels great to transform a simple piece of furniture that may have been set aside for awhile, to a new usable piece with a new look that now fits in again!

jungle nightstand in room

Decorate fireplace wall “naturally” on a budget

large canvas owl photograph by Everet Regal

Before and after fireplace wall project

What to do? Our fireplace place wall was enlarged when we removed the ceiling and vaulted it, and after tirelessly trying to match the vintage stone below the mantle to no avail, we had to think about another budget friendly way to finish the space above. We thought of reclaimed wood, but that would require framing it and that would be very heavy and the ceiling is so tall we don’t have ladders high enough to get to the ceiling to secure any materials we chose.

So, for several years I just decorated the mantle with decor items, but they just didn’t fill the empty space above as much as we would have liked.

Mantle decor before revamping fireplace wall

Finally, I was browsing through my husbands photos online (he is a photographer and sells his art on Fine Art America here, https://everet-regal.pixels.com/) and found this picture of an owl in a grove of birch trees during a snow shower, and thought, “if this was enlarged on canvas it might just work on the wall over the fireplace”. I roughly sketched a layout I was envisioning, for I am so visual I need a picture…especially when trying to describe an idea to someone else…uh huh, need a picture!

Sketch of fireplace wall layout with owl canvas and birch trees

I showed my sketch and ideas to my husband who re-sized the photograph online to a larger size canvas that would be available to purchase, and we ordered it. (You can find where we purchased it here https://everet-regal.pixels.com/products/silent-snowfall-portrait-ii-everet-regal-canvas-print.html ) We chose the 33.5″ x 48″ size, but there are many sizes available as well as other mediums, such as acrylic, metal, paper, and it can even be printed on a shower curtain or pillows!

large owl canvas purchased for vaulted ceiling fireplace wall as centerpiece

But just hanging a large canvas art would not be enough for the wall, so I suggested we bring in trees to line up around the art so it really looks like the owl is sitting in the trees! First we had to find the white birch trees. A request on facebook from my husband had several people responding back with permission to go on their properties to cut what we needed. (Please ask first for we are NOT encouraging that anyone go and cut down trees where there are posted signs or on private property) Hubby went out several times walking properties that we were given permission to search and came back with several trees perfect for the project.

Cut birch trees brought in to start fireplace wall project

We chose white birch only because those type of trees were in the owl canvas, but one can use just about any tree-however, be aware that most trees have sap in them and will run more in certain seasons of the year- be sure to read up on whichever trees you choose. Also, faux trees could be used as well, whichever works best for you.

We were trying to decide how we would attach the trees to the mortar on the wall, and if there were ways we could bypass any wiring or nailing into the fragile mortar background. I thought if we put the base of the trees in a glass vase with a little bit of playground sand (my hubby thought to put the sand in) and cut the tops just enough so there was some tension pressed onto the ceiling, we wouldn’t need to have any nailing or screwing into the wall. We shopped for clear vases and there are so many choices with just as many prices, and we finally opted for some hefty weighted large glass mugs to do the trick. We found these at the Dollar Tree, and for a dollar, how could we pass them up!! https://www.dollartree.com/Brand-Name-Jumbo-Glass-Sports-Mugs-26-5-oz-/p412969/index.pro

Glass heavy mugs to use as vases for tree mantle project

We faced the handles towards the back of the wall, and lifted each tree up and snipped off the ends with enough tension to stay up secure to the ceiling. Since the ceiling is vaulted and at an angle, each tree had to be snipped at different lengths. I also found bags of black river stones at the Dollar Tree and used them to spread along the mantle top. https://www.dollartree.com/Black-River-Rocks-32-oz-Bags/p363671/index.pro

River rocks for fireplace mantle

We ended up putting 4 trees, 2 on each side of the canvas then filled in below with wispy branch clippings up against the wall. We also tucked in a full length tree branch along both sides of fireplace from the floor up, then cut used the cut of trunks to stick in decorative urns on hearth. The only hardware we needed was the nail to hang the canvas art. Now the owl in the photo canvas comes to life hidden in real trees and even the eyes follow you wherever you walk…so cool!

Starting layout of canvas and trees on fireplace wall

The canvas was really the only real cost in the project, the trees were free, the vases and rocks total were less than $20.00, so all in all, a very inexpensive project that has a great “wow” feature for the room.

There are so many natural materials that can be used for decor that make a great statement: large driftwood pieces, large canvases painted or printed, shells glued on mirrors or picture frames, live succulent frames, rocks ….the list goes on and on.

Especially if you find materials in your own yard, projects can be kind on the budget, plus, nature inspires art and fits in decor “naturally.”

Finished fireplace wall

How to Inspire Design with Pinterest Photos

Taylor

16 Jan 2018

DIY, Interior Design Room

custom, designer, DIY, Home Decor, Home Design, Home Interior Designs, TayRose Design

I had received a call from a client who had sold their house and most all of their decor and were embarking in building a new home with all new furnishings and needed help with shopping and pulling a design together. A busy working couple with 2 small children under 2 years, there just wasn’t enough hours in the day to shop for sofas and beds and dressers and pillows let alone appliances!
This was a challenge, for I had nothing to base my feel for what styles they liked and felt comfortable with. The clients were living in a furnished apartment while their house was being built. Pictures are worth a thousand words as they say, so I asked if they were familiar with Pinterest and if they would browse through and send me photos of design styles they liked so I would have a better direction when it came to decor purchases.
About 2 hours later, my email box was filling up with lots of Pinterest photos with comments of what they liked and didn’t like. This was perfect. I was able to make folders in my computer under their name by room and started sorting the photos to review. Next, I scoured each picture and took a few notes, building my shopping list.

One of the pictures I received was of anaccent table with wall mirror and hanging lanterns.

Inspired photo online to recreate for client

They had the perfect little niche in the wall between the living room and kitchen that I thought would be a perfect place to recreate this vignette. The hardest part was to find the table itself. Finding one in the budget, in the right size and right color proved to be the most challenging. The lanterns I found at Hobby Lobby, but they only had one and I needed 2, so I put in a rain check to order (of course, I waited until the week they were 50% off :-)) The wall hooks, glass vase and bird also came from Hobby Lobby and I stained it a bit darker to deepen the color a bit, but I loved the natural textural feel to the bird. For the chunky candlesticks, I found some on clearance at Michael’s craft store, then made one from taking a thrift store lamp apart-just the right size for a pillar candle. In another Pinterest photo, there were lots of decorative balls in different textures used in several places, so I used a few in the glass vase along with some moss rocks to help support the branch twig I found in the yard. Instead of throws in baskets underneath, I placed the matching candlestick, and a stack of baskets found on clearance at a furniture store, and a ceramic pitcher, ready to serve.
To achieve this Pinterest inspiration, it took many trips to different stores and even the yard to gather the components to come as close as possible to the desired look.

After photo of recreated niche table from inspiration picture

It was so gratifying to see how the client responded to the recreation, keeping their budget in mind and finding the perfect “niche” for the project.
Many times, a component will be elusive and challenging to find, but that is all part of the evolving process of decorating. With the internet, or books, magazines abounding from all directions, there is plenty of visual aids to be inspired by trying your hand at recreating by reusing, repurposing what you already have plus adding a few new purchases.
It is also inspiring to go in a totally different direction- like using sconces instead of lanterns, or hanging a whole wall of varying sizes of mirrors, or setting up a bar on the table top….so many routes a design may lead and it’s all part of the journey…your journey.