3D Butterly Wall Art

In an earlier post I mentioned that my almost 5 yr old daughter Grace requested butterflies in her room. I wanted to give her something fun and whimsical but also wanted the ability to remove it when she tired of it. I decided to purchase translucent plastic butterfly decals from Butterfly Bazaar on Etsy. The butterflies ship flat and instructions say to fold the butterflies with the glossy side down. Adhere a glue dot to the center and stick it to your surface. I used an artist canvas but these can probably stick just as easily directly to the wall. After folding all the butterflies that I purchased, I sorted them by color and then started playing around with the composition until I created something that I was happy with. I stuck a glue dot on each one and in a very short time I had a custom piece of art for less than $50.

The butterflies are shipped flat like this:

Here’s what they look like once they are folded:

Trying to figure out a layout that I like:

Finished product:

 

Living Room Art

I am in desperate need of art for my living room wall behind my sofa. Ideally I would love to find a piece that is 40 x 60 that doesn’t cost a small fortune. I have been an admirer of Massimo Vitali’s work for some time. He is an Italian photographer who shoots these incredible crowd scenes and I am particularly fond of his beach shots.

His prices, however, are astronomical and not even close to being in my budget. So I started looking around to see if there were other artists who took similar photos that would be better suited for me. I stumbled upon Christian Chaize on the site 20×200.com (which has since been shut down) and started liking it even more than Vitali’s work! It appears as though Chaize is shooting from a higher vantage point looking down and I LOVE the color of all the beach umbrellas that he is able to capture.

A few weeks ago in New York City, while at the Affordable Art Fair, and I was introduced to another aerial beach photographer Gray Malin.  And now I can’t stop dreaming about how these pieces would look in my living room! They just make me so happy to look at!

Where do YOU source art?

Faux Snakeskin Ikea Lack Table

In addition to redoing my girls’ bedroom, I decided my living room needed a makeover as well. I don’t recall how I came across Emily’s blog Recently, but the moment I did I fell in love with her DIY faux snakeskin table and HAD to HAVE one of my very own. Her step by step instructions were so easy to follow. Click here for the step by step guide. Emily reused a plastic table that she picked up at goodwill. I purchased a very inexpensive LACK Sofa table from Ikea because I knew it would come in separate pieces and I thought that would be easier to work with. It’s a good shape and height but seriously lacking in personality.

I purchased this faux snakeskin fabric from Hancock Fabrics on clearance for $1.99 a yard!! Talk about a bargain.

And I scooped up some Mod Podge and a sponge brush and was ready to begin. I ran out of mod podge half way through the project so make sure you have enough. You will need to paint it on the surface of your table to make it sticky and then again on top of the fabric several times to get it to harden and shine.  ( I used two 16oz bottles for the entire project.)

My piece seemed a little rough, almost sandpaper like, when it was dry so I contacted Emily to see if she sealed her table with anything. She recommended Minwax Polycrylic finish so I applied 2 coats of once the mod podge dried.

I am beyond obsessed with my new table. Seriously, if you were to purchase this in a store you would pay hundreds, if not thousands for a similar table. A huge thanks to Emily for her inspiration!

 

Foyer Wallpaper

My foyer and living room are essentially one room so when I decided to redo the living room, I clearly had to update the entryway as well .  I live in a rental apartment so there’s not too much I can do but, I think at a bare minimum you have to paint those horrible white walls and make it feel homier. We did change the paint from a beige to a grey but I still felt like my walls were lacking some personality. I love wallpaper and would probably wallpaper every room if I owned a place. Fortunately, there are tons of companies that are making temporary wallpaper targeted towards renters. I scoured the Spoonflower website to try to find a pattern for my one wall when you walk into my apartment. I purchased two swatches and polled everyone who walked through my front door.

Here’s option A

diamond_circles wallpaper by holli_zollinger for sale on Spoonflower – custom wallpaper

And here’s option B

watercolor dots magenta on dark grey wallpaper by katarina for sale on Spoonflower – custom wallpaper

Personally, I liked option B but literally every person that came in liked option A so that’s what we went with. Here’s what our foyer looked like before…

And here’s how it turned out after the wallpaper was applied.

   

I was under the impression the wallpaper was going to be some kind of peel and stick paper. This was not the case. The wallpaper arrived with adhesive already applied to the back of it. The wallpaper required much more work that I anticipated although it wasn’t really hard to do. Basically you had reverse roll the paper, soak it in water for 15 seconds, fold it like a book on itself for 1 minute and then hang it from top to bottom while smoothing out the air bubbles. It was definitely a two person job, one which my husband wasn’t too thrilled about doing, but it didn’t take long. It was about an hour to hang the paper (our wall is approx 12′ wide), then we let it dry for 3 hours and then with an exacto knife we trimmed the edges. I think it makes a pretty big impact on such a small wall.

Designer Crush: Jonathan Adler

I just received the latest Spring catalog from Jonathan Adler and it made me so happy! I love Jonathan’s style and playfulness and somehow even though he uses so many crazy patterns and color and styles it all still works! In case you didn’t see it here you go. Enjoy!

Girls’ Room Reveal

I am so excited to share with you Grace & Charlie’s new pink princess bedroom. Here’s what their room looked liked before (I was anti pink when I was pregnant with Grace)

And here’s how their shared room looks now….

Girls Reno Part II – Storage

As I mentioned in my last post about the girls’ room renovation I have been working on a few DIY projects. One of them was giving new life to a tired, sad, little storage bench that used to live in my office area and relocating it to the girls’ room to serve as their dress up station. As anyone with daughter’s knows the amount of dresses, tutus, high heels, tiaras and wands can be overwhelming if not stored properly.  Their dress up clothes used to hang on a custom Princess Dress Up Peg Rack.  While this was very cute, and easy for the girls to get their dresses and clean up afterwards, there was still the issue of  what to do with the accessories? Since everything had to come down from the walls so we could repaint I decided not to re-hang the peg rack. Instead I decided to reuse the piece from my office and freshen it up.

This is what the storage bench looked like before

The guy at the hardware store told me I wouldn’t need to prime the piece, just a light sanding with fine sand paper and two coats of Krylon Gloss white paint.

After the first coat I was a little concerned about seeing all the brush strokes. Yikes!

I waited 30 minutes and then applied the second coat. The brush strokes were vanishing and the piece was looking bright and shiny

Like most little girls mine are obsessed with all things princess. I didn’t want their room to feel juvenile so I didn’t put princess decals on the wall, or get them princess bedding, but I did want them to have something princess-y so I ordered princess decals from ebay and stuck them all over their new dress up box.

Now there’s a container each for dresses & tutus, tiaras, wands & fairy wings, and high heels. The girls love their new dress up station and I love how neatly everything tucks away out of sight.

How have you re-purposed an existing piece of furniture?

Girls Room Reno part I

My youngest daughter Charlie started climbing out of her crib when she was 19 months! While she was a pretty good escape artist I was concerned that she would injure herself so I reluctantly made the decision to switch her to a bed. Charlie and my eldest daughter Grace, who will be 5 in May, share a room that was decorated before Grace was born, so of course I wanted to seize the opportunity to redecorate. Grace had been sleeping in a bed that coordinated with the crib since she was 2 1/2  but I wanted something that was more girly that the girls could have for a while. I was going to keep their existing Moda Dressers from Room & Board, a cream colored area rug from ABC carpet that was still in relatively good condition, their modern luca glider, and an Ikea billy bookcase that I had wallpapered on the interior.

I found these Plain High Arch Upholstered Headboards online and that became the starting point for the design

I then came across this fun Pink Chandelier  that I knew would be the main focus of the room. Since we’re in an apartment rental I needed to find something that could be plugged in instead of hardwired into the ceiling

Grace helped me pic this cute bedding from PBteen

And I also ordered these needlepoint heart pillows from PBteen

Cathy from Cathyscustompillows is making me these adorable PINK SUZANI CURTAINS

I found this hot pink mirror to go above the dresser from One Kings Lane

Grace requested butterflies in her room, so I’ll be working on a custom 3D butterfly project that I’ll share with you soon, as well as an existing storage bench that got new life as a dress up storage solution fit for a princess!

I will have actual photos of the room’s reveal once the curtains, mirror and art are hung, but in the meantime here’s the style board for their room.

Update

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post. To be honest I got swamped with my full service design firm and just couldn’t find the time to write.  But now I’m back and I can’t wait to share with you so many fun new projects that I’ve been working on! It also got me thinking that in the spirit of the new year (3 months ago!) the blog is going to change a bit and not focus solely on children’s design, but all things design related. I hope you’ll still follow me on my design journey.

Finn McDermott’s Giraffe Inspired Nursery

I will admit it…I love Tori Spelling. I hated her character Donna on 90210 back in the day, but ever since her reality TV show I have grown to really like her and her style a lot.  So, it was no surprise to me that the newest family member, Finn McDermott, has a super chic nursery which Tori & Dean recently showed it off. I love the unexpected color combinations and the nod to mid-century modern style.

Custom ducduc Regency Crib and Pebble Mattress

Tori found inspiration for Finn’s room from a vintage flea market find of a ceramic giraffe. I love the gallery of mixed frames on this incredible and bold wallpaper from Tempaper Designs.

This fantastic Custom ducduc Savannah Changer  has a retro feel. If you weren’t working on Tori’s budget this would be a great flea market find that could be transformed with a little DIY work.

Of course an important feature in a nursery is a rocker, Tori found hers at Anthropologie.  I love the small rope table right beside the rocker which is great spot to set down a bottle or burp cloth, and rope stool to rest your feet.  She continues her giraffe theme with a small patterned pillow on the rocker and the ceramic figures on the side table.

Tori found a great dresser in this vibrant orange from SPI Baby. If you’re working within a tight budget this is anther great opportunity to transform a flea market piece with a few coats of paint. To achieve this high gloss look send the piece out to be spray finished.

And she of course did not miss even the tiniest detail. A great flea market find letter “F” makes Finn’s room more personal, as well as what appears to be a home-made giraffe mobile.

Rainbow Hued Cribs

Color is so important in our lives. It evokes feelings and stirs emotion. Color in a room can really change the whole feel of a space. I love these new colorful cribs that are popping up all over place. Gone are the boring black, brown or white cribs. Say hello to the new crop of colorful cribs that are available now.

Caravan Crib – Kalon Studios  (available in 5 colors)

Kudos Crib by Young America (available in 24 colors)

Hudson 3-in-1 Convertible Crib – Babyletto (available in 3 colors)

Parker Panel Crib – ducduc (available in 2 colors)

Lit Joli Môme- Laurette (available in 9 colors)

Alma mini crib – bloom (available in 4 colors)

Encore Crib -Young America (available in 24 colors)

Moda Crib in Colors – Room & Board (available in 11 colors)

Adjust Your Facebook Settings

So I just learned from another blogger that Facebook has started to charge page administrators a fee in order to promote our updates so the updates can reach the fans.  They are asking $10 per status update.  If page administrators don’t pay the promotion fee, only 10% of the fans will see the updates in their main Facebook feed. So, if you are a Cool Cribs Online facebook fan, and would like to keep receiving posts on your news feed, then please follow these simple instructions:

Click on the Cool Cribs page and click on the wheel next to the like button.

Now select the “add to interest list” button and then select “new list”, and then “next”

You can name your list BLOGS, and add other blogs to your list by following the same procedure. Click done, and that’s it! Now any status updates that Cool Cribs makes will show up in your news feed.

Thanks to Chelsea at two twenty one for letting me know about this!

The Modern Murphy Bed

I recently found myself in the ResourceFurniture showroom in midtown and was amazed at how incredible ALL of their stuff is. This showroom carries modern furniture from mostly Italian designers that has the “ability to transform a space with both beauty and functionality.” Almost every piece can transform into something else and becomes multi-functional which for small spaces can be life changing.

Some of my favorite pieces were for kid’s rooms. With the slightest pull of a concealed lever what looks like a wall opens up to become bunk beds! The front panel comes in several standard finishes but can also be customized with a pattern like the Lollisoft SD  shown here:

On the top of the unit is a flip-up shelf for linen storage.

The headboard flips up and folds down easily when stored.

The top rails also collapse and open in a snap, and the ladder just clicks right on.

Probably my favorite feature of the bed though, is that the top bed comes down at an angle making it easier to change the bedding. Is that insanely brilliant or what??

Here’s a single bed version with a desk unit that rises up from its standard position, and a twin bed that folds out below. No need to remove items from the desk top before opening the bed – everything will stay in place.

These pieces are high-end and look very well made. If you are working with a small space, or if you have a lot of guests who plan on staying with you I would strongly recommend that you look into this company. I can’t wait to use them for future projects.

Fabric Covered Faux Nailhead Bulletin Board

Here’s an easy and inexpensive way to add character to a bland cork board.

Step 1: Purchase, or reuse existing cork board (in my case I was reusing)

Step 2: Purchase cute fabric – I liked this geometric pattern from Cedar House Fabrics and wanted something cheery to go with my new silvery/grey striped walls. Fabric cost $14 for 1 yard which was all I needed.

Step 3: Iron the fabric so there are no creases

Step 4: Position fabric on board leaving 4″-5″ all the way around

Step 5: Using brass thumb tacks start pushing tacks along edge. I think what I actually should have used was nailhead trim strips so I would have a more even effect.

Step 6: Flip board over after nailheads have been pushed in and hot glue gun the excess fabric to the back of the board.

And voila! For less than $20 (because I already had the cork board) I have a cute bulletin board that I can use for my daughters’ art and calendars etc. This project was super easy and can be customized to any space – perfect for a child’s room above a desk!

Restoration Hardware Baby & Child

I just spotted an amazing looking bunk bed that is UPHOLSTERED! I have never seen anything like it before and it’s genius. It’s called the Chesterfield Upholstered Bunk Bed by Restoration Hardware.

I had kind of forgotten about Restoration Hardware as a source for children’s furniture because they used to be so similar to Pottery Barn Kids. However, check out some of these incredible pieces from their collection – you definitely won’t find these at PB!

This rocker is the perfect balance between modern and traditional. Roll Arm Rocker With Slipcover

I am obsessed with the steam voyage collection. How amazing would this look in a boy’s room? Voyager Steamer Nightstand

And this desk? I mean?!!? Voyager Steamer Desk

This is a gorgeous tufted full size daybed. Devyn Tufted Daybed

All of these pieces are so unique and would add such character to a kid’s room! And don’t forget to check out their bedding collection too (there were too many to post). They have a very sophisticated looking collection which is such a nice change from most of the juvenile stuff I usually see.

Benjamin Moore Metallic Paint

A few months ago I read about a metallic paint line from Benjamin Moore that looked really cool.  (A Metal-Like Paint from Benjamin Moore – NYTimes.com.) When I was considering revamping my hallway I recalled this article and thought that metallic silver stripes would really punch up the small space. I selected a color called Shyness (PT360) and the man at the paint store told me I needed to select a base color that would compliment the silver otherwise the metallic would not show.  Armed with my paint brushes, rollers, tape, and paint I set off back home to map out my design.

When determining the layout of my stripes I had to consider the fuse box which is located in my hallway.  I wanted to leave it white, so I determined the height of my stripes by the size of the box which is 10 1/2 inches. I borrowed a long level from my handyman and measured every 10 1/2″ up and down the wall. Then, using painters tape I positioned the rows of tape either on the interior of my mark (if the space was to be white) or on the exterior of the mark (if the space was to be painted metallic) and made sure the lines were straight with my level.  This definitely gets confusing so it’s a good idea to double-check the space in between each row with a ruler once you have completed a section. To make matters even more confusing I had to work around 5 doors and still try to make sure that each stripe lined up horizontally 360 degrees around the space. Make sure you rub the tape in place so you get clean, sharp lines.

Once your walls are taped you’re ready to paint. I had to apply the base coat first and two coats of the metallic finish on top.  A tip I read about was “to remove the tape immediately after the last coat of paint is applied, while the walls are still wet. Waiting until the paint has fully dried may cause peeling and uneven lines”. While I followed those instructions I still had some paint that bled from underneath so once everything was dry I had to go back with a small paint brush and touch up some of the lines. It was very frustrating since I had spent so many hours taping to begin with.

I learned after the fact that the paint is really meant to be used for faux finishing – think textured walls – so unfortunately my walls didn’t come out the way I had hoped. You can see the roller marks and brush strokes within each stripe.

Also, since this is an apartment rental the walls are not in very good condition and are not very forgiving. If you were going to attempt this paint in a well-lit area you must make sure the walls are skim coated prior to painting. Every crack, hole, or minor imperfection becomes glaringly obvious.

While in theory this project seemed like a good idea the end results were not what I hoped for.  Has anyone used a  metallic paint and achieved a smooth finish?  Since I did all the taping myself (except for the top row which I had to enlist my husband for) it took about 7 hours and the total cost was around $75.

After painting I added a few black and white family photographs, and covered a bland cork board in fabric (more to come on this project). I think the space looks better than it did before, but the roller marks still bug me. Does anyone have any tips on how to fix this?

Gallery Wall

I was getting a little tired of my living room and while I would LOVE to get rid of just about everything and start fresh that’s just not happening at this point. So I decided to use what I already had and add a few new things and freshen it up a bit. I’ve been pinning gallery walls for a while and I really wanted to create one behind my sofa. I will admit I was a bit nervous about how it would turn out but I am very pleased with the results.

This was my living room before:

And here’s how it looks now:

To create the gallery wall effect I first gathered all the frames I had on various walls throughout my apartment and laid them out on a large piece of craft paper that was the length of my sofa wall in the design that I wanted.

Once I was happy with the design layout I traced around each frame and taped the paper on the wall.

Using the outline of each of the frames as my guide I measured the center of each frame and then located the position of the hanging mechanism to determine where my wall hooks should go.

Once all the hooks are in place remove the paper from the wall and hang your photos. (I made the mistake of trying to remove the paper after the pictures were up – I do not advise this.)

I used a combination of family photos, my children’s art work, mass produced prints, even framed wallpaper samples and an Hermes scarf that was hardly worn. This gallery will evolve over time. I think that it really makes a big impact on the wall and makes it much more visually interesting. The project probably took a total of about 3 hours, because I did all the hanging by myself, but the best part is that it cost me nothing because I just reused what I already had.

Little Sloan Leaning Desk

I love the open design of this new desk/wall unit from Land of Nod. This sleek desk and shelving unit is perfect for small spaces! It secures to the wall and can be used with or without the leaning bookcase. Each section costs $149 and is available in white or java.

Back to School – Dorm Style

In a few short weeks kids around the country will be going back to school. For many this will be their first experience at college and what kid wouldn’t want some serious dorm room style to show off? It’s been quite a few years since my college days but I still remember my move in day and how excited I was to put together my room and make it my own. There are now amazing sites like Dormify which have everything any college kid would need to design the coolest space on campus. The best part is that they have already assembled all the pieces you would need for a cohesive look and prices are very reasonable. Here’s just a sample of their many options.

Butterfly Bliss Collection

Fall Into Fall Collection

Botanic Bliss Collection

Teen Dream Collection

Closet Nook

My daughters Grace and Charlotte share a bedroom at my parent’s weekend home and the closet that was in the 100-year-old house was not at all functional. There were 2 large sliding doors that were basically falling off the hinges and the doors were so heavy that it was very hard to open. So I decided to remove the doors, paint the interior a bright pink, and put the dresser and some hooks inside to turn the wasted space into a cute, functional nook.

My husband painted the interior walls and shelf in Benjamin Moore Strawberry Shortcake 2000-40

I found these really great antique looking wall hooks on Etsy, of course, and positioned them on either side of the dresser that I repainted a few months ago. I hung them low enough so the girls have a sense of independence and can hook up their wet swim suits and robes, or hooded sweatshirts by themselves.

I reused an antique mirror that we had hanging in a different spot and placed it at the right height for the girls and added a cute lamp that used to be in Grace’s nursery when she was a baby.

I also had these custom silhouettes created by a very talented vendor on Etsy, and also found these perfect shabby chic oval frames on Etsy and installed them just above each hook.  (I was really serious when I said I was addicted.)

I added a pink and white polka dot hamper, a few pink and white striped boxes and voila! I am so pleased with how it all turned out. I think removing the doors really helped to open up the small room and I love how the bold pink on the interior compliments the pale pink walls.

Ombre

A huge trend right now is ombre (having colors or tones that shade into each other) and it’s such an easy DIY. If you have a room with an exposed radiator try painting it with several shades of one color for an awesome effect. {Just be careful if there are small children around, I would advise a radiator cover instead.}

Another super easy trick is to purchase an inexpensive unfinished dresser or desk, or reuse an existing piece you already have, and paint each drawer a different shade. The effect is fresh and unique and will match the rest of your decor.

Of course you can also always create the ombre effect with wall paint. I love the idea of a chevron ombre!

Wee Decor

I would like to thank the kind folks at weeDECOR who sent over the most adorable wall decals for me to test out. They were so easy to install  that even a 4 yr old can do it (no really, my daughter Grace had a blast installing these). I was very impressed with how durable they were (as well as PVC free), and how easily they were to move around (since a 4 yr old installed them some of them were a bit crooked). This company has some of the cutest wall decals I have seen in a while – they have a modern fresh feel to the design and a wide array of themes to choose from. If you’re looking for something more personalized they do that too. My girls love the new addition to their farm bedroom!

My Design Inspiration

I love looking through design magazines and finding inspiration from other designer’s work. I think for anyone looking to decorate a room this is a fantastic place to start. Get a huge stack of magazines and tear out pages that speak to you – whether it’s a fabric, or wall color, a lamp or even the whole vibe of the space. Make sure you write notes on the page about why you like it so you can remember when you need to reference it.

Designer: Katie Ridder

Bedding: Leontine Linens

Bedside tables: Bungalow 5

 Carpet: Paul H. Lee Carpets & Rugs

 

Designers: Carol Egan & Wayne Nathan

Ant chairs: Arne Jacobsen

Photographer/Designer: Pieter Estersohn transformed an image he took in Udaipur into a giant mural

Crib: Netto Collection

Walls World Map:Hammacher Schlemmer

Cabinet and bench: George Nelson

Designer: Miles Redd

Wallpaper: Marthe Armitage

Bed: Ikea

Rug: Dash & Albert

All Images curteosy of Elle Decor

 

Colorful Bookcase

I am in love with this custom Italian designed bookcase by Dearkids. I am sure it costs a fortune, and would take many months to order and have installed, but I think it’s such a statement piece and could see it in any child’s room.

Perfect Picnic Table

When my parent’s purchased their weekend home in upstate New York – which we refer to as “the farm”- several years ago, there was an old picnic table in the back yard that stayed when the former homeowners left. The picnic table was in very poor condition so we hadn’t been able to use it.  But recently my daughter had been asking us to eat outside so my husband decided to take on this project of refinishing it. (Disclaimer – he’s a city boy with very little DIY experience). Here’s how the table looked before…

We purchased a hand sander and my husband sanded down the bench as best he could. He applied an anti wood rot product and used some wood filler in a few spots that had been eaten away.

Then it was ready to be primed…

And finally the green spray paint could be applied. The girls couldn’t wait to have their dinner outside on their “new” picnic table! My husband did a fantastic job breathing new life into this old table and I know we are going to get a lot of use out of our upcycled table.