Archive for December, 2009
Fab Freebie: Quirk It, Baby
***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries***
Hooray for a giveaway from Quirk Gallery! We’ve been friends with the lovely ladies at Richmond-based Quirk for a while now and have already been lucky enough to have them grace our site on multiple occasions. Not only are they sponsors, but we’ve crashed two of their houses: Diana’s lively and eclectic home and Katie’s light and dreamy abode (which once appeared in Domino!). So you can see why we’re excited to finally be bringing some of their spot-on style to you guys in the form of a giveaway.
Quirk is part art gallery, part home decor shop, part jewelry store, part paper peddler and an all around good time. And since so many things always catch our eye whenever we visit, we couldn’t bear to narrow down this week’s prize to just one thing. So this week’s winner will actually get to pick from one of three quirky gift sets.
Option 1 is all about entertaining. It includes a Jonathan Adler candle of choice that will set the mood while you set out treats in the ampersand bowl.
Option 2 is right up my ceramic-loving-wife’s alley. It’s the iconic Polaroid ”ghost camera” paired with these poodle salt and pepper shakers that’ll make anyone smile.
Option 3 will spruce up any desk. It’s a graphic business card holder paired with the new Malibu Barbie Johathan Adler candle (or another fragrance if you prefer).
So how do you get your hands on one of these three Quirk-tacular gift sets?
- PRIZE: Your choice of either Option 1, Option 2, or Option 3 from Quirk Gallery.
- TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “QUIRK IT” and…
- BONUS QUESTION: … spill the beans about one of your personal quirks. Do you have a strange morning routine? A weird eating habit? Or an unsual lucky charm? We’d love to learn something new and unusual about you guys!
- GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, December 16th at 8pm EST
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
- PRIZE SHIPS: United States Only
- USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday. Good luck!
Get more info about our freebies on our Giveaway FAQs page. Images courtesy of Quirk Gallery.
Adding A Little Holiday Sparkle
We actually whipped up this fast and easy holiday decorating video before we finished our tree (which we shared last week), but because we’re sticklers for order around here, we thought tree-decorating-video-numero-dos made more sense following tree-decorating-video-numero-uno so we’re squeezing this baby in at the end. But good things come to those who wait, right? According that that cliché they do anyway. So without further ado, here’s a video* (with plenty of belly for those on bump watch) all about seasonally decorating every nook and cranny of your home on the cheap and in a snap. And the best part is that we used things we already had laying around (so we spent zero bucks this year on these holiday accessories). You can watch it below on Vimeo (or over here on You Tube):
And for those of you at work who can’t exactly fire up the video, here’s a little summary of what we touched on. First we detailed how we tossed together our mantel decor using cheap-o stocking holders along with stockings that we customized with little DIY labels and then flanked with gleaming silver candlesticks topped with ornaments.
Sure a few glowing candles in those candlesticks would add gentle ambiance, but with a slew of candles burning in the fireplace it’s quick and easy to add color and holiday fun by topping them with shiny ornaments instead.
Here’s a detail shot of the stocking situation. Basically we hung our little neutral stockings from Tar-jay on our cheap-o $5 stocking holders (also from Tar-jay) and layered on a 20 cent sparkly green snowflake ornament (yup- also from Tar-jay) with a little tag that I made with each family member’s name on it (I snipped cardstock into a tag shape, punched a hole, knotted on a little loop of twine, and scribbled “John”, “Sherry” and “Burger” on the front. Easy, eh? And now Santa knows which one is which (without any spendy monogramming).
We also quickly switched out the normally ivory and cream pillows on our sofa for some green silk ones that we had in the third bedroom (we snagged them for $10 each at TJ Maxx a while back). They definitely tie into the tones on the mantel, the nearby console (which we’ll get to in a minute) and of course our citrus themed Christmas tree. And the silk material feels extra luxe with all the glittering ornaments in the room. Oh and tossing a throw with a bit of green and some playful fringe (also stolen from the third bedroom) and one of our home’s many traveling faux sheepskin rugs (from Ikea) over the back of the sofa added even more layered and plush texture. And we actually like how they don’t scream Christmas at all, but definitely work with the decor in the rest of the room.
We also should warn you that it’s not Christmas in our house unless we shove ornaments in practically every vessel that we own, so we started by filling each of our glass based lamps with silver ornaments for a super simple yet totally stunning result.
Oh and the tip here is that we store the 15 ornaments for this lamp in a large plastic ziplock bag labeled “lamp base #1″ and the other 15 that we use for the second lamp in another large ziplock labeled “lamp base #2″ so it’s practically autopilot decorating from year to year. Of course to switch things up you could stuff your glass based lamps with glittered or painted pinecones, faux snow balls or fake snow, black and white family pictures (vintage looking ones of children on sleds would be cute) or even fresh pine boughs clipped from outside.
And since we are not above decorating the faux animals around Casa Petersik for the holidays (we admit it’s weird, but kind of oddly festive too) we took a piece of ribbon from a gift we got last year and tied it around Mr. Dog’s neck. Presto, in about thirty seconds he was wearing his holiday best. You could also do this around any ceramic deer heads (and their antlers) that you might have on the wall or even around concrete lions that flank your driveway.
To further demonstrate that we don’t take ourselves too seriously over here, it’s an annual tradition to give our iron bull (who hails from a North Carolina flea market) some funny ornament earrings. Because isn’t it every bull’s dream to be decked out for the holidays? Olé!
Even the kitchen got in on the action. We just moved the fruit that we usually store in our faux clam shell (from Z Gallerie) over into an alternate bowl on the other side of the counter, which freed up our giant shell for- you guessed it- a whole bunch of ornaments. We warned you we’re pretty much all about stuffing ornaments everywhere and calling it a day. Anyway, we layered cheap shiny silver balls with smaller frosted ivory and gunmetal colored ones, which actually look like big gleaming pearls (which we think is quite appropriate for a clam shell). And not only does this display dress up any kitchen for ol’ Saint Nick, it can actually serve as a great centerpiece when you’re entertaining (check it out on our dining table two Christmases ago).
Because we like to change things up on our console table for certain holidays (here’s what we did for Halloween and Thanksgiving), this season we simply popped a feather tree in the middle of a pretty green tray, added a cylinder full of green ornaments, and even used a bit of real live greenery to hammer home our green-is-the-new-black decorating riff.
And in case anyone’s wondering, the green feather tree is from Target last year (we picked two of them up on sale after Christmas for just $4 a pop)
Then we made our way into the den which also has a mantel that was desperately in need of some seasonal spin. We threw up a pretty neutral wreath with fun green accents (purchased by my sweet mother-in-law at Pottery Barn for my birthday back in March- it was super on sale since it was so far past the holidays). And yes, we could have removed the framed art that you see leaning behind it, but we didn’t mind the layered look since the mat was so large that the wreath doesn’t obscure the picture behind it.
Then it was as simple as dropping a few green glittery vase filler orbs (picked up a while back at TJ Maxx for $2) in each hurricane for a soft and symmetrical arrangement that feels cozy and welcoming- especially when we light the candles and fire up the gas fireplace.
Isn’t my birthday/Christmas wreath awesome? The white paper leaves had me at hello (along with the super sale price that didn’t put it out of birthday-list range). Gotta love those waaay after Christmas sales that just happen to fall over March birthdays…
So that wraps up our little holiday decorating roundup for Casa Petersik. And although a lot of the seasonal accent pieces that we introduced were pretty neutral (gleaming silver ornaments and candle sticks, tan stockings, an ivory wreath, etc) except for some fresh pops of green, our bright citrus-themed tree really amped everything else up and looks so festive and fun along with the rest of our holiday decor.
So good, in fact, that it inspired us to make a few last-minute switcheroos to inject even more color into our green and neutral decor (like the orange ornaments you now see on the mantel).
So from the bottom of our orange, lime and lemon loving hearts- we hope you all have a blast decorating your home for the holidays.
And while we’re on the subject, what kind of seasonal decor do you guys bring into your home beyond just decorating the tree? Do you have a family tradition to buy a fresh boy scout wreath for the front door? Do you set out lots of holiday treats like candy canes and caramel corn? Do you string up lights around your house’s entire exterior? Let’s talk about how you really set the scene for a stellar holiday season.
* Yes, in hindsight I realize that there are two “that’s what she said” moments in the video (for those who watch The Office). Both are totally unintentional.
Psst- Looking for more holiday decorating and entertaining ideas? Check out this post, this post, this post, this post, this post, this post, this post, this post and this post for more seasonal fun.
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Reader Redesign: Just Add Water
When Samantha over at one of our regular blog reads sent us an amazing armoire redo (just wait to see what she turned it into), we had to share her insanely inspired DIY undertaking. Here’s her letter:
It’s probably too late in the year for an outdoor space before and after, but here’s our armoire-to-fountain makeover. The outside of the fountain is painted with weather-resistant paint. The inside tanks are coated with roofing sealant. The fountain pump is from Home Depot. It makes a wonderful refreshing sound that drowns out the traffic and (almost) the constant helicopters that hover overhead every evening. – Samantha
That’s right. She turned her old pine armoire into a fountain! Here’s the before:
Here’s an in-progress shot:
And here’s the amazing after:
Yeah… unbelievably cool, right? For more info and photos drop in on her awesome blog right here. Thanks so much for sending the before and afters our way Samantha! We’re loving the fact that you reimagined that old armoire in a totally unexpected way. The serene sound of running water must be amazing out on the patio on a warm sunny day. Ah to enjoy a warm sunny day again… is it spring yet?
View The Math
Facts and figures aren’t usually married to design and color (unless maybe you broke out markers to do your math homework as a kid). But this new book I bought totally proves that statistics and art can live happily ever after after all.
The Visual Miscellaneum is the perfect read for someone like me (a total geek when it comes to trivia and trends, but a sucker for something beautifully or interestingly designed). David McCandless has taken “the world’s most consequential trivia” and visualized it for easier and more entertaining consumption. It caught my eye when WIRED magazine featured this excerpt showing Pantone’s official summer and winter colors for the past 8 years:
Since I’m always on the hunt for a good coffee table book / conversation starter (or even wall art – just tear out a page and throw a frame around it) I just had to buy this book. Its 200+ pages contain fun facts about history, entertainment, health, religion and even humor. Here are some of our other favorite visual grids, graphs, and charts:
A Periodic Table that shows when certain condiments go bad:
A visual list of baby names graphed by popularity (the darker spots indicate the years where the name peaked in popularity and sometimes even suggest why):
For coffee lovers, a mixologist’s chart of popular java drinks (with lots of visual ideas for serving up something gourmet):
And lastly, since I mentioned there’s a bit of humor mixed in, here’s the ever-important graphic entitled: Farty Animals. ‘Nuff said.
So that’s a little taste of my new favorite book. Hope you guys enjoy it. And just to be clear, no one gave us this book for free in exchange for a little write up, we bought it with our own money and thought it was so visually appealing and entertaining that we just had to share it. And the fact that some of the graphs could make awesome wall art or the book itself would be a great conversation starter on a coffee table/guest bedroom nightstand doesn’t hurt either. Oh and we’d love to hear if anyone else has found other books that might satisfy my craving for information-turned-art. Do tell.
Tackling The Basement: Chapter Eight
We know this was supposed to be the final chapter when it comes to our big basement makeover, but because we tackled two different DIY projects (making a screen to block off our fugly water heater and frosting the windows for 100% privacy that still lets in the light) we realized it would be crazy to try to squeeze all those step by step photos and instructions into one post… so we’re breaking it down to two. Just look at it as twice the fun. So without further ado, here’s how we made a custom screen to hide our eye-sore of a water heater with $18 worth of secondhand bi-fold doors and a quart of punchy bright green paint (stay tuned for the window-frosting tutorial coming soon).
Before we get into all the nitty gritty details, we should remind you what the aforementioned water heater looks like. Remember this guy?
Of course the room has come a long way from that point (we added a rug, brought in a bike rack, upgraded the the lighting situation, papered the insides of the armoires, hung some art, brought in some storage, and organized our paint). But the frighteningly gross water heater remained… taunting us with its hideousness. We debated springing for a tankless variety, but because we’re big fans of working with what you have (and didn’t want to cart off our fully functional water heater to a landfill) we opted to create a screen that will block off the water heater along with the ugly trap door in the wall behind it (which leads to the crawl space under the house). And when this water heater finally breathes it’s last breath we’ll definitely consider upgrading to a tankless one (and we’ll still be able to use the screen to hide the unsightly trap door in the wall behind it).
But how did we end up with a giant screen without blowing our meager basement budget (many store-bought ones are in the $100-300 range and a bunch of those weren’t even tall enough to work for our space)? We just brainstormed materials that we could use to whip one up on the cheap. Here’s how it all went down.
Step 1: Locate three adequately tall bi-fold doors that are sturdy enough to stand on their own and will easily obscure a 6′ water heater. After debating the use of everything from all-weather curtain panels hung from the ceiling to bookcases on wheels (which could be pushed aside for water heater access) we finally decided a screen was the perfect solution for our space. And what’s an easier way to make a screen than hinging three bi-fold doors together and calling it a day? At first we thought about cutting a full sized door in half but bi-folds are like pre-cut doors, so they’re ready to go. Even better. Plus they’re easy to move, relatively simple to find, and definitely would add some playful color to the room if we opted to paint them a bold hue.
So a plan was born. For just $18 we snagged these three bi-fold doors at our local Habitat For Humanity ReStore (they were having a 40% off door sale when we went in- uh, awesome!). Plus they already came with enough hinges to join them all together and create one large screen. Jackpot.
When we got to the checkout the lady was like “um, you’re missing a door” (since there are supposed to be four) but we explained that this wonky set of three bi-folds was actually perfect for us since we were going to make a screen by joining them together and didn’t need a fourth. She seemed excited for us until we mentioned that we were going to attempt to shove them into our good ol’ Nissan Maxima. Then she just shook her head and muttered good luck. Of course we took it as a personal challenge…
That’s me flashing my victory smile. A lot of people write to us and ask how we take on so many projects with such a small car. We’re just like anyone else with a modestly sized ride… we squeeze things in when we can and call John’s sister and beg to borrow her Ford Explorer when we can’t. In a pinch we’ve even been known to rent a pick-up truck from Home Depot for a few hours, just to cart something around. It’s all about, in the words of the ever-fabulous Tim Gunn, making it work.
Tip: when you recline the front seat and place large objects in the car as we did above, you can actually fasten the passenger side seat belt across them, which can help keep things safely in place so they don’t slide around and encroach on the person in the back seat- especially when she has an ever-expanding belly full of baby to protect).
Step 2: Place bi-fold doors on cardboard (for painting) and hinge them together in the room where your screen will be living (to avoid the annoyance of building it in one place and then moving it halfway across the house afterwards). When we finally got our precious cargo home we placed the doors on a large piece of paint-ready cardboard, hinged them together with the free hinges that we inherited with the doors, and stepped back to take a look. By golly this just might work. We also did a bit of puttying/sanding to fill in any recessed parts of the doors and smooth out anything that wasn’t exactly ready for paint (but for $18 pre-used doors, they weren’t bad at all).
Step 3: Paint your newly made screen. That’s it. You’re done. I guess we should elaborate a bit. We used one quart of semi-gloss latex paint by Behr, which we had color matched to Benjamin Moore’s Bunker Hill Green 566. Two coats later John was finished. I love this whole being pregnant thing. No painting for me (of course for the impending bathroom and nursery projects we’ll be using no-VOC paint so I’ll be back on painting duty, but for the separate entry basement we figured low-VOC Behr paint worked for us- and at just $14 for the quart it put our total cost for the entire screen project at… (drumroll please)… $32!
We love the happy burst of emerald green that it brings to the space (it complements the paper behind the armoire doors, the large green tupperware bins we brought in, the storage boxes in our Ikea workstation, and even the subtle green stripes in the rug). And the function is great. It definitely hides the ugly stuff but still makes it easily accessible. Best of all, there’s still more than enough room- over 35″- to walk to the other side of the basement, roll out our bikes, etc.
So that’s how you give an old set of bi-fold doors a whole new life on the cheap. We’ll be back with a window frosting tutorial followed by an entire basement project wrap-up (complete with photos from start to finish and even a budget breakdown for your viewing pleasure). And while we’re on the subject of repurposing bi-fold doors, have you guys reused doors or windows in any interesting ways? We’d love to hear how you’re giving old household staples a second life with a bit of DIY determination so do tell.
Psst- Want to look back on our big basement makeover from start to almost-finished? Here’s the first post, the second post, the third post, the forth post, the fifth post, the sixth post, and the seventh post. Ah memories.
