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Look for Less: "Custom" Bathroom on the Cheap

Apr 16, 2010

{Short & Sweet Friday}

PHOTO: Michal Graydon for Canadian House & Home.

I was inspired by the budget-minded yet stylish solutions in this bathroom renovation. Canadian House & Home senior editor Meg Crossley designed this look for her own basement bathroom. Inexpensive stock elements take on a luxurious custom look with savvy paint usage.

The vanity came as a unit from a big-box store. To create the custom feel, panel moulding was installed on the walls and in front of a dingy old bathtub. Crossley painted it all in the same beautiful shade of powder blue. Brilliant.

What sorts of projects are you tackling this weekend? I'm going to get some projects finished ASAP so I can go out and soak up this beautiful early spring. See you next week! —Diane

Have a friend who might enjoy my blog posts on budget decor, home style, repurposing and revamping? Suggest they become a fan of my Facebook page, where each blog post shows up in your daily news feed. You can also follow the same posts (sans enticing photo) on Twitter: @dwelement. Or RSS feed. My FB Fans are my favorites, though, and I reward them occasionally with Dwelement giveaways. Watch for one next week! —Diane

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Inspired Idea: Bold Walls for Renters

Apr 14, 2010

So you're renting your home and frustrated that the landlord won't let you paint? You don't have to live in a sea of renter-beige or stark white. I was perusing the website of Canadian House & Home and ran across this photo illustrating a brilliant idea. Apply wallpaper or the bold paint shade of your choice to a 4-by-8 sheet of lauan plywood (price at Home Depot today, $10.44) and lean it against the wall. Instant color, pattern and personality, without losing your security deposit. A few more pops of color in the furniture and accessories are all it takes to make this room look colorful and customized.

PHOTO: Kim Jeffery for Canadian House & Home.

Do you have a room that could use a little help? Need advice on space planning, color, and accessorization? The Dwelement Mini-Makeover is perfect for you. It's only $95, and it could be just the shot of inspiration you need to create a space that functions and looks better. See an example here. Ready to spiff up your space? Email me to order. —Diane

TAGS: renter wall color solutions removable wallpaper for apartments rental units temporary color for walls luan lauan painted wallpapered decorating apartment

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Craving: Wake up your windows with colorful curtains!

Apr 12, 2010

An easy way to change the look of a room from season to season is to change the window dressing. Curtains collect a lot of dust anyway, so it's a good idea to wash them every six months or so. If you're going to the work of taking them down anyway, why not switch things up a bit?

Here are five inspiring ideas for waking up your windows with a shot of color and pattern for spring. You don't have to go whole-hog with pattern if that's not your style. There are a lot of ways to showcase just a touch. 

Use pattern in small doses. Cafe curtains offer privacy but still let in plenty of light, and their smaller size means that a pattern won't overtake the room.

Another way to get a little shot of pattern is with a border on solid-colored drapes. This catalog shot goes a little overboard in its use of the same fabric throughout the room, but you get the idea.

Another example of standard, inexpensive cotton drapes that are cheaply customized for a designer look. This time patterned fabric is added to the length of shorter curtains with a contrasting border between. Even the sewist with only basic skills can do this project pretty quickly.

Window shades can be customized with a jolt of color with the addition of colorful ribbon ties. Here, the ties are functional, but you could apply this idea to basic roller shades by using fabric glue (I like Unique Stitch) to affix ribbon along the length of the shade. Go bold with a ribbon that's at least 1-1/2" wide.

Jessica of the fun and crafty blog How about Orange jazzed up an inexpensive roller shade with artist's masking tape in her favorite color. Simple.

Have you tried this or any of the other projects I've written about on Room for Inspiration? Send me a photo! —Diane

PHOTOS: 1,3,4: Better Homes & Gardens. 2: Linen, Lace, & Patchwork House. 5: How About Orange.

TAGS: window treatments drapes curtains shades draperies color pattern how to embellish customize designer look ribbon fabric strips

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Color Love: A Crocus Combo

Apr 06, 2010

PHOTO: Diane Kolak, dwelement.com

Spring came early to Northern Michigan, and my crocuses are in full bloom right now. Generally, they're covered in a deep pile of snow until mid-April. I was inspired by their brash, devil-may-care color combo to do a post featuring rooms that successfully combine purple and yellow. The colors are complementary, in the color-theory sense of the word, but not always easy on the eyes when juxtaposed in a room. But it can be done.

This rustic yellow table provides color and textural contrast in an orchid-hued space. Photo: decorpad.

This bedroom proves that  you need not commit to experiment with this color combo. A yellow coverlet cozies up to a lavender blanket with beautiful results. Photo:Traditional Home.

Small touches of yellow appear throughout this house whose color scheme is anchored by deep blue-purple walls. The home was designed by Emily Walker of H&H. Photo via Odi et Amo.

The living room from the same house showcases the color scheme's inspiration, a Donghia fabric beautifully framed in duplicate.

A neutral black-and-white backdrop in the bedroom brings bright yellow and violet accessories to the fore. The color punch from these three pieces is magnified by the monochromatic surroundings.

Are you inspired by something coming up in your garden right now? Need a little help creating a room that showcases it? I can help. Just email me. eDecorating is fun, affordable,and perfect for the do-it-yourself decorator.

TAGS: interior design decorating purple yellow rooms pictures photos inspiration

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Green Idea: Upcycle Your CD Cases

Apr 05, 2010

At my former job as a magazine art director, we had a joke that never seemed to lose its appeal. Over the years we'd collected a huge box full of CD jewel cases. There were so many, and even though we reused them all the time for transferring files here and there, the pile only seemed to grow. Just about every day, one of my coworkers would stop by and ask with a sly grin, "Do we have any empty CD cases?" We would laugh. Every time.

In homage to the never-ending supply of CD jewel cases that are surely scattered upon this poor, over-burdened planet, I offer this idea. It's simple as can be, hardly worthy of step-by-step instructions. The only trick is hanging, so here are some tips for creating a perfect grid using the most brilliant household adhesive ever invented, 3M Picture Hanging Strips.

PHOTO: Rob Brodman for Sunset Magazine.

HOW TO CREATE A PHOTO GROUPING USING CD JEWEL CASES

1. Lay the CD cases on the floor, arranged roughly with the spacing you'd like for your grid. Measure the overall dimensions of the grouping.
2. Using painter's tape, mark off the upper left corner where you want the grid to begin. Use a level to draw a light pencil line across the top.
3. Measure off the width of one jewel case plus the space between. Stick on another piece of tape. Repeat for each row.
4. Load the cases with your photos. You can use 5-by-7-inch photos trimmed to size, or size the photos in Photoshop and print them on an inkjet printer using photo paper.
5. Attach a 3M Picture Hanging Strip to the back, centered near the top. (One will do for these lightweight frames.) Peel the backing and firmly press into place following your taped guideline. When it's time to remove the frames, the Picture Hanging Strips will leave no trace.

And if you need any jewel cases, just go hit up my former coworkers at Traverse Magazine. —Diane

TAGS: how to create a photo grouping using cd jewel cases recycle repurpose upcycle reuse inexpensive art display ideas

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