TayRose Design interior design Theme Room Archives - Page 2 of 2

Cuckoo for Nursery Wall Art

I had a vision in my head of how I wanted the Nursery wall in the Parade of Homes to look…soft, sweet, something that could remain on the wall as they grew, and something sparkly…for I was designing the space for a baby girl, and they are sugar and spice and everything nice you know…and sparkly!

I knew I was going to use a vintage iron crib (more for show during the Parade, I would suggest a white new crib for the baby) and a dresser that was painted in a soft color. There would be soft carpeting on the floor, and I wanted to do a billowy, flowey, window curtain treatment.

I commissioned my friend who is a wonderful surface painter, Sarah of Sarahharrisdesigns.com to paint a wall mural of a large tree, where the branch would reach out over the crib so I could hang birdhouses in the branches. I also wanted to have smaller birdhouses be part of the window treatment to hold up the curtain rod, which was both a wooden dowel and real branches that I had painted white. So, how did the idea come about using birdhouses for the wall?

I was at a local auction and looking through all the box lots that were going up soon to be auctioned off, when I spied a box with several wooden cuckoo clocks that were all broken, some parts missing, the backs off of some, some with no hands or pendulums etc. I knew right then that these will be my “birdhouses” that will sit in the branches of the wall mural in the Nursery. Now, I want to mention right here, that I would never take a working cuckoo clock that had all it’s parts and deface it in any way, so I’m not telling you to run out and take your Grandfather’s clock off the wall and make it into a birdhouse….I found these parts, and rather than having them end up being in someone’s burn pile or in a landfill, I decided to save these parts and create art….oops, better raise my number up!

I won! Got the box and happily brought them home to where I proceeded to clean them up and start to paint them all a nice white color. The tree I wanted to be a white silhouette, so the “birdhouses” would look like part of the silhouette as well, plus the color balanced with the window treatments too. As I mentioned above, I wanted to bring some “sparkle” into the room, so I went online and looked for some German glitter, ordered it and couldn’t wait for it to arrive. After several coats of paint- I used some latex paint I had on hand-and after they were all good and dry I was ready to apply the glitter. I wanted the houses to be covered in glitter, like a fairyland, so when the light from the windows streamed in, it would make the birdhouses glisten.

I experimented with several types of glue to apply the glitter with. I tried a spray adhesive first, spraying small areas and then sprinkling the glitter on by hand. The adhesive was just ok, it didn’t hold as much of the glitter I was hoping it would, so I switched to plan B which was taking white glue, (Elmers or Dollar Store brand) and I watered the glue down a little bit in a plastic tray and applied with a brush. I also discovered at the Dollar Store a package of salt & pepper glass shakers which I filled up with the glitter and found this was much easier to use than sprinkling with my hands. I kept gluing and sprinkling until I got the coverage I wanted and left them to dry.

I thought to myself, transporting these babies without knocking off all the sparkles was going to be the challenge if I didn’t spray it with something to hold the glitter down. I decided to bring out the spray adhesive again and spray over the whole house thinking that it would at least help with some of the glitter dropping. The adhesive spray worked pretty well, and there was hardly any glitter at the bottom of the box after transporting.

After deciding where in the tree to hang my “birdhouses” over the center of the bed, they were easy to hang with a screw in the wall. I was so happy to be able to repurpose the clocks into birdhouses, although, birdhouses painted and treated the same way would be perfectly fine as well. I just like to challenge myself to see things in a different way and relish in the joy when I see how well my challenge was met! Are you as “cuckoo” for cuckoo clock parts as I am?

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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

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

Surprise hit of the Parade of Homes 2014 Pigliavento Builder Home

It’s been a quick several months preparing for the Parade of Homes this year, in Clay, NY. Our builder got in to the Parade late, so he hit the ground running in March to have the 3,100 sq.ft home finished by June 5th. After strange weather, and having to re-varnish the red oak floors twice due to humidity changes, which pushed back the furniture delivery, I had just a mere week to furnish the whole house…but did it with a little time to spare.

Model Home Parade of Homes 2014, Clay, NY

2014 Parade of Homes model, Pigliavento Builders, TayRose Designer, Clay NY

I had an intern helping me from a local College, plus the builders wife for a day helping to hang wall art etc. So glad I had them!

Intern helping during Parade of Homes TayRose Designer

Intern helping at Parade of Homes TayRose Designer

The Realtors wanted interior photos the day the furniture arrived, so I managed to delay them a day while we rushed to make at least the major rooms photo ready….whew!

The house colors were inspired by a pillow, and I based the outside siding, stone, and interior colors with that pillow so everything felt connected in a way.

The kids rooms I always individualize, for kids all have their own personalities, so this year I did a nursery,

Nursery at Parade of Homes 2014 Clay, NY

Nursery designed by TayRose for Parade of Homes 2014, Clay, NY

A sports themed teen room, with handmade sports equipment headboard and pallet bed

Sports teen theme bedroom for Parade of Homes 2014 TayRose Designer

Sports themed teen room for Parade of Homes, Clay, NY 2014 TayRose Designer

Of all the rooms this year, the hit was the boys Jungle Room.

That room has had everyone giggle, and leave with a smile on their face. It was also the most fun and easiest room to complete. My husband even burned the song, “The lion sleeps tonight” on a cd for me to play continuously as background music in the room.

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

The ceiling fan makes the giant Ikea leaves sway up and down to the beat of the music. So fun! The arbor was made with old ladders and planks for the top. Raffia table skirting for bed skirt and around window panels.

Jungle Room large leaves swaying for the 2014 Parade of Homes Pigliavento Builder, TayRose Designs

Plush animals with velcro feet hold up the curtains while hanging on the curtain rod.

Jungle curtains with plush animals curtain “hooks” and raffia accent

Hand painted dresser using animal print in lettering on drawers by 1829 Farmhouse/Inspired.

Jungle Room crate dresser for 2014 Parade of Homes

Jungle Room animal crate designed dresser by 1829 Farmhouse for TayRose Designs Parade of Homes 2014 Clay, NY

A reading nook with handmade coffee bag cushions, an electric lantern and netted tent in the corner, brings a safari feel while sharing a story with a friendly tiger. To receive posts via email click HERE Subscribe in a reader or sign up in subscription box in sidebar.

Reading nook in Jungle Room 2014 Parade of Homes TayRose Designer