department of the interior: home decor

i have strong suspicions about the quality of print-to-order custom goods in general, but my opinion is strongly informed by printing being my family's business. it looks like it could be fun, tho, as long as you aren't to fussy about matching exact color. i'd be interested to know the printing method, whether it's dye sublimation or what.

i figured it probably wouldn't be as great as I imagined it would be. Also browsing the other designs has made me realize that mine are never really going to be very spectacular no matter how personally pleased I was with the idea. I think my artistic skills stopped developing somewhere around middle school.

In good news, I put up some solar powered lights (from ikea, $11.99) on the porch and now there's free light back there at night. With some candles it makes a v v pleasant atmosphere, esp on warm nights.

due to painting i had to move my garden into the house. i like it but i think they will have to move back outdoors for their health

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2870/9012800694_a708851835.jpg

on second thought they look really ratty. so summer project 1: repotting!

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5336/9012790332_7ebbbf6e92.jpg

They are a subdued delight! The colors of everything in that photo are really warm and great, I actually like the over-exposed/blown-out light spots.

But I like MAXIMUM SUNLIGHT in everything.

those are some lovely succulents, tlg!

Nice. Sometimes I like plants that look "ratty." Like older plants that have gone all crazy leggy.

LL, I saw those solar powered outdoor lights at Ikea and they are pretty cool. I can't wait to see your place!

those are attractive succulents! all of my plants are leafy. i had an aloe plant because i singed my hands one too many times in the kitchen, but it kind of rotted or something and the aloe inside smelled like sulphur.
je55e you will see it soon :)

made some e-z curtains with this super cool fabric (that my sis in law sent me!) that had another life as an infrequently worn housedress/muumuu.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7457/9035038570_d3529fb316.jpg

not her muumuu, but that of a person unknown to both of us
(she's a quilter)

That was fast! Nice curtains btw.

love that print

i just cut, ironed, and hung them -- still have to fix up the top but it didn't really take much. both pieces were almost the right size for that window, the end. so easy!

i don't know if any of you nice folks use pinterest for home decor purposes but i've fallen into the trap, come join me in my shame

in related news, i would like for my new apartment to basically virtually drip with macrame

http://media-cache-ak1.pinimg.com/736x/be/48/2d/be482d567f89c4a7a9612dae913a7a05.jpg

man I should raid my Mum's stuff for you elmo, I swear she macrame'd pretty much everything in the house. We had like 20 macrame'd hanging plant holders, in various shades of cream and orange

tbh i am trying not to engage in stuff-obsessing -- it's really easy for me to do and i need to start proving to myself and others that i am going to do something with the cool stuff rather than just accumulating it. it's a pre-emptive measure for me, as i have identified myself as a very particular type of aspirational craft supplies hoarder. :-( instead, i am trying to use things as i find them/as they cross my path. it's working out ok so far.

in positive news, i saved a plastic gelato jar (with a screw top!) and used it to make some bath salts (the kind you put in your bath, not the drugs kind doi) that are scented in a gender neutral way with cedarwood, lavender, and juniper berry oils. recommended if you like baths! not really related to home decor, but to...homemaking, i guess?

not to mention that i have been squirreling things away for a decade and now i'm finding them all again. it's a rather pleasant byproduct of packing up and moving.

LL i feel you, i have been trying to focus more on actually making stuff instead of buying it, developing skills and just going about it by trial and error, and it's been very good and therapeutic for me. also, i really can't justify to myself bringing any more stuff in to the house until we actually have storage for all the accumulated things we already own.

that said, i would gladly accept any and all grandmotherly knotted things VG

fwiw i really really like your ties and i support you making them!

oh wow you got your red chard drapes! awesome!

i was totally o_O at bath salts at first

i want to try making candles with wood smells

i guess i mean i can get more things, i just need to prioritize and focus on things like painting rooms and figuring our storage solutions instead of treasure hunting for tchotchkes xpost

thank you, LL! i was pleased with how they came out. need to figure out my work table situation pronto

also: what flavor of talenti was it

lol you knew it was talenti -- salted caramel, totes going back for more because it's like a container that i have to eat a bunch of gelato to use. poor me!
candles seem kinda hard to make but then again, i've made lip balms so it can't be that different, right?
i think artisanal people want to make candlemaking seem all impossible because they want to charge us $15+ for a scented candle. and honestly, no way. it can't be that hard, right?

candles are pretty easy, it's true.

$15 is sort of a deal for scented candle, they can get SO spendy

talenti switched up their line and cut my favorite flavor

:-(

http://www.amazon.com/Diptyque-Grey-Feu-Bois-Candle-10-2/dp/B005ZJ1HS0/ref=pd_sim_hg_23

Talenti is everywhere now and looks delectable and taunts me with its dairy-having.

I have nothing to say about home decor today. I can't think about that stuff in the summer.

although free-standing pillars are trickier to make than container candles in a glass or a tin

price has a lot to do with the packaging & quality / source of the fragrance oils, whether they are natural or synthetic etc

i made candles for a year after college

that's awesome!

it was cool and i really enjoyed the work. i would reaally like to get to a place where i can work as an ~artisan~ again

BUT then my dad and my boss got romantically involved and she got pregnant and whoops, there went the candle biz lol

i got some cool siblings out of it, tho, so its alright

that is a much richer backstory to "i made candles" than i expected! wow. none of my jobs have ever yielded siblings, at least not that i'm aware of.

couple of consignment store finds! exciting.

as the new bedroom has no closet, we got a super rad coat rack (2 tapered wood pillars, braced and set on flared black rectangular bases, metal grill rack on top). we've just been using rolling racks, so this is a pretty snappy step up.

also matches a floor lamp nicely. i'll post pics, maybe, if i remember!

here it is, newly established & holding some of my boyfriend's clothes

we went to a yard sale at a vintage shop an acquaintance runs, ended up picking up ~50 vintage wood (some wire) clothes hangers of various origin -- some are marked with the names of tailors, hotels, furriers, etc. i will not be satisfied until the last plastic hanger is banished from sight forever.

http://i.imgur.com/Qi3ZjAD.jpg

Read that as 'furries'

i will not be satisfied until the last plastic hanger is banished from sight forever.

this is my mission also

i just bought twenty of them :/

plastic hangers are fine if you have a closet where you can banish them, i don't tho

I've been criticizing the unthinking nature of "let's put some reclaimed wood on the wall" for a while but this takes the cake in a way that makes my blood boil:

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/16/9d/ec/169deccbb400df78420dcdd4be0ce4e6.jpg

gross

I mean if that were an ilxor's house I'd be like, A for effort and the paint color, it's full of cliches but it's not a bad tableau, I like all the colors and the succulent. But from a designer?? Erk.

But then I write this from my silvery-grey room that I have decorated with vintage handbags, found objects, 1930s pottery, and a Budweiser glass full of paint brushes.

So my approval is highly suspect (I DIED may never come over).

I don't think I can ever post my diy decor photos here bc I love succulents and reclaimed wood :/

I think it's the fact it's a backdrop for a widescreen TV

the cable makes it

yes it's "hmm what should be the centerpiece of this carefully arranged vignette of distressed wood, old suitcases, and a faceted terrarium? I know - it will look PERFECT with a flat screen TV with a cord playfully draped down the side instead of hidden behind the plant"

and then taking pictures of it and proudly submitting them to a design blog...

idk that major authentic mise en scene seems like it would really bring out the real in reality tv!

or that vimeo of the crackling fireplace