Tag Archives: design

Monochromatic: White

I love all things monochromatic, and recently was inspired to create an all white grouping for an empty corner in my bathroom.  In order to pull this grouping together, I had to get a little creative with spray paint.

All White Grouping

If you’re thinking about spray painting dark-colored items white,  I would highly recommend limbering up before-hand.  My right arm and wrist have never felt so sore, and I definitely strained a muscle in my back while painting.  Be prepared to put in some elbow grease!

Before

I recently saw some white-painted twigs in the floral department of the ‘fancy’ grocery store near my house and thought I could probably make them for less.  I found decorative twigs for $5.00 at Marshall’s which I thought would be perfect to transform for this grouping.  I also purchased the little owl and the apothecary container at Michael’s craft store during one of their 30% off sales.  I filled the glass container with a few left-over decorative balls I had from a previous project.

The white picture frame and white coral came straight from my parents storage basement.  I figured they might as well be stored somewhere they can be appreciated and get some visual attention.

The candlesticks I’ve had for several years.  They were very dark and somewhat gothic looking before.  They were almost on their way to the Goodwill pile in my garage, when I swooped in and rescued them for a white-wash revival.

For better results with spray painting, I recommend using a primer first.  If you’re painting twigs, the primer will keep them from absorbing too much paint, so you’ll need less coats, and your arm won’t get as sore as mine!  I ended up doing 2 coats on my twigs with regular white  spray paint, and once I noticed the paint was soaking in too easily I went and got a can of primer which did the trick.  After using the primer, I did another 2 coats of white spray paint, and it covered easily.

After

I placed this grouping next to the tub in my master bathroom.  Nothing makes me happier than taking an evening bath next to this simple grouping of white.  Call me boring, but this soft white look is easy on the eyes.

White Bathroom Grouping

Terrariums Galore!

Terrariums Galore!

I have been struggling with a serious terrarium-making obsession.

My first urge to make a terrarium came last year, after reading an article in Real Simple magazine which had a couple of terrariums featured.  I am notorious for my black thumb, especially when it comes to indoor plants, so I was a little nervous to make one for fear that I would inevitably kill it.  I may be one of the few people to actually kill a bamboo plant, and my large indoor plants and trees have also been known to shrivel.  I obviously haven’t mastered the technique of regular watering, which is all the more reason terrariums are right for me.

Last year, I set aside my fears and made my first terrarium, and it’s shockingly still alive!  I’ve taken that as a sign to make more, and have documented my recent terrarium-making frenzy below.

My First Terrarium – Still Alive!

When I sought out to make my first terrarium last year, I went to Emery’s Garden (my favorite local nursery) for help with supplies and instructions on the best way to assemble it.  Sadly, Emery’s Garden shut down this past fall, otherwise I’d link to their site.  They were super helpful and gave me tips on putting it together and helped me choose the right plants.  I put one succulent in my first terrarium (against the advice of the nursery employee) and somehow it’s not dead, despite being in the wrong type of soil and getting way more water than it needs.  It might look a little wonky because I accidentally lopped off a couple of its limbs while planting it.  He has character…

Wee Little One

I was hoping to make an all-succulent terrarium this time, as succulents are another obsession of mine, but that will have to wait until the next round (click here for Succulents Galore!).  Enclosed containers are not ideal for succulents since they prefer less water and humidity, and 2 of the containers I had were enclosed.  For this project, I chose plants that thrive in high humidity.

Supplies: 

  • glass container
  • horticultural charcoal
  • washed gravel (optional)
  • decorative rocks (optional)
  • potting mix
  • assorted indoor plants
     

*For succulents or cacti, use cactus mix instead of potting mix and an open container.  Make sure that plants in one container share the same water, light, and soil preferences.

Assembly:
Step One – Select a glass container.  As I mentioned before, if you are using an enclosed container your plant selection will be limited to those that prefer high humidity.

Select a Glass Container

Step Two – Layer the bottom of your container with horticultural charcoal.  This is an important step as it will provide drainage for your terrarium.

Layer Charcoal on the Bottom

Step Three – Layer washed gravel over the charcoal.  This is an optional step as the charcoal itself can provide drainage, but the look of the contrasting layers is one of my favorite aspects of terrariums.  For me, it’s a must!

Layer Washed Gravel

Step Four – Arrange your plants.  If your container is deep enough, you may want to add a layer of soil before placing them.  This one was a tight squeeze, so I made sure my plants had a decent chunk of soil attached to their roots and then placed them in.  If the opening to your container is small, you can use long tweezers or even chopsticks to put them in their place.

Arrange Plants

Step Five – Add potting mix, additional decorative rocks, and water the soil just until moistened.  Again, my container was pretty small, so I barely needed any soil to fill in the gaps between plants.  I had a few larger rocks that I placed around the back for a little more height and interest.

Add Potting Mix

Step Six – Close it up and place in bright, indirect sunlight.  If you have a lid for your container, your terrarium will not need as much watering due to condensation.  The glass may get a little foggy on a hot summer day so you might want to remove the lid on those occasions to let excessive condensation clear.  Open containers will need more frequent watering.

Close it Up!

I assembled these on an evening visit to my parents house for dinner.  Why make a mess in my own house if I don’t have to!?  If you subtract the time spent chasing after my toddler and nephew, the three terrariums would have probably taken about 20 minutes to assemble altogether.

Their New Home

I have a curved staircase, which I love, but along the staircase wall are several large awkwardly shaped built-in shelves.  These have been a pain to decorate, but I finally have the perfect little grouping of terrariums to fill one of the spaces (the others are a work in progress).  There are windows surrounding the area, so they will get plenty of indirect sunlight.  I’m thinking this grouping needs a small sunburst mirror behind it to finish it off.  One thing at a time…

Time to Get Organized!

Before: My Dirty Secret

Cleaning out last years filing cabinet and starting fresh for the new year usually means doing an annual office overhaul in our house.  We have the best of intentions to keep it neat and tidy, and most people who have been in my office would probably think it is neat and tidy.  Those people have obviously never opened the closet to reveal the overflowing amounts of stuff that we have shoved in there to keep the appearance that we are ‘clean’ people.  I’m sure most people have a similar space in their house. Maybe it’s a junk drawer in the kitchen, or under the sink in the bathroom (we unfortunately have multiple ‘junk’ spaces in our house and those places are also in need of an overhaul).  We all need somewhere to throw that thing that we haven’t yet created a space for, especially when friends or family are making a spontaneous visit and they are just 3 blocks away (please tell me I’m not the only one who does this).

Before: Up Close & Personal

Do note that I had all of those pretty green boxes perfectly organized at one time, but real life took a toll and eventually the labels stopped matching what was inside the boxes, and they became too full to add new items.  Once you disregard the organizational system, all hell pretty much breaks loose.  As you can see in the before photos, random bags filled with stuff weaseled their way into the closet and then kept inviting their friends.  For months, I’ve been relieved to get the closet doors closed, but what kind of life is that?  The thought of someone opening the doors to find a piece of paper, to then be trampled by clutter like a cliche scene in a movie, has been an actual fear of mine.

It took a good chunk of 2 days to do this project (keep in mind I have a 2 year old which makes any project multiply in time

After

and difficulty).  What you don’t see in the pictures is that I actually had to take EVERYTHING out of each box and then put it all back together.  We had about 4 full bags of recycling and another 3 bags of trash.  I was pretty impressed with how much trash I actually fit in there!  The toughest part of an organizational project like this is sitting in the middle of the room with junk piled all around you and not knowing where to begin.  The second toughest part is getting down to the last few piles of stuff and feeling like you could not possibly create a space for one more thing and maybe you should just throw it all in that ‘other junk space’ for now.  Luckily, I resisted that urge and those items either went in the garbage, got sorted into existing boxes, or went into the Craigslist pile.

After

I was even able to add all of our wrapping supplies into this closet, which were previously out in the garage in one of those tall wrapping bins.  The issue with that is all of the tissue paper, gift bags, and rolls of paper were squished into one box and I couldn’t ever find what I needed.  I recently saw the idea of stringing a wire a few inches from the wall in a closet to store wrapping paper rolls, and thought I’d give it a try.  I really like the idea, but I’m not completely convinced that this will be the final solution for that.  However, the rest of the wrapping supplies I organized into one of the large boxes on the floor and I’m very pleased with how it turned out.  Inside the box, I separated tissue paper, gift bags, ribbon, tags, crinkle fill, and even gift boxes.  I used smaller boxes and shallow bags to keep everything in place.  Now I just need to find a use for the old Rubbermaid wrapping bin.

Holiday Home

Christmas Tree!!

Every year, we seem to get into more elaborate Holiday decorations.  Last year it was a 13 foot Christmas tree, and this year we went for a whopping 15 feet of Christmas cheer!  We made the treck out to a ‘U-Cut’ tree farm up north and scoured the open fields for the perfect tree.  Getting a tree this large in the house is complicated, but completely worth it!

Holiday Mantel

Other than the larger-than-life tree, some of my favorite holiday decorations are also items I might just keep around passed the holidays.  Mercury glass candle holders are just so sparkly, you can’t help but notice them.  They’re pretty on their own, and even prettier with a lit candle inside.  To add a little height and visual interest to my grouping, I added a focal point piece inspired by an afternoon peruse through Pottery Barn.  They were selling some overpriced balls and sparkly pinecones to fill a similar glass canister (which all together would have been over $60 to purchase).  I found this one for $9.99 at Marshalls (discount store), and the balls were cheep ones I already had.  Add a layer of fake snow, which cost me less than $2.00 at the craft store, and viola! A perfect focal point for my holiday mantel.

Snuggly Stockings

Another holiday favorite are these extra snuggly cable-knit stockings.  We took advantage of the monogramming feature, but instead of our initials we opted to put “Mom” and “Dad” and our sons first initial on his.  I added a soft green ribbon to make them a bit more festive.  What I love most about these is how big they are; you can fit a ton of stuff in them, and they are nicely lined to avoid stretching out.  I got these last year from LandsEnd.com and I’m sure we will use them for many years to come!