My Fall DIY Tablescape!!!

Listen, I love a good tablescape. I really love when you can put one together for fall that is understated enough to last you through the holidays with some minor tweaking (and who knows, maybe some twerking depending on how your holiday party festivities go:) This year I decided to go big! I have a huge chandy above my table. It is much much bigger than the size they recommend when you look up the desired size for your fixture above your table size. I have never been a rule follower on that one. Anyway, centerpieces can be tricky. Sometimes too many things going on under a big chandelier can look busy. And something small on a large table can look dinky and unintentional. 

For this DIY project I needed a big round urn looking planter. You know the big stone saucer looking ones you see with the short squatty pedestal bottom? I mean I feel like I see them everywhere! Well, until I was looking for one! I looked everywhere and even went to Pottery Barn!! Those who know me know I am not a fan of Pottery Barn. I feel like I could nod off looking in there... same stuff reinvented every year in different shades of beige! I never did find one exactly like I was looking for but did find a sale planter at a local nursery that was black stone and was a good size for the project!

To add some interest I decided to use some Martha Stewart gold pearl paint and give the bottom that dipped look that you have seen recently. I thought it would also make the planter look more "indoor friendly" and less like it belonged out on the porch. Here is the painting in the progress. To give it that dipped look I applied the paint thicker on the edge and let it run down a little as to not have a solid straight line. 

Once the painting was finished I filled the pot with indoor planting soil to the top. I purchased 2 bundles of the curling branches that you can find at any craft store (Hobby Lobby, in this case) and arranged them in the center of the pot. Then I planted 7 small moss plants, I found in 2 inch containers from a garden shop, in a circle around the branches. I then used some flat moss like the one pictured below from Hobby Lobby to fill and cover the dirt around the edge of the planter. 

This is how it looks thus far with the steps above completed. 

Then I decided to add some pine cones to give it some dimension and to break up the green a tad around the edge. Regular old pine cones won't do when you have left over gold paint from the pot!! I decided to try to roll the pine cones in the paint so that just the edges were dipped. They turned out pretty cool!

The final result..... 

What do you think?! I think it could make its way through fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas, no?!

Hope you enjoyed! Cheers!
{Laura}

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Knock Me Down and Roll Me Up! Serena and Lily Wallpaper!

Serena and Lily have expanded their catalog of original patterns and fresh colors to wallpaper! Samples are available to order online for $10 and each double roll is $88. If you haven't received your Early Fall 2013 catalog or visited their website lately, here is a sneak peak! Happy Shopping! {Erin}

 

Home Tour: Rick & Elene's Eclectic Harbor Springs Hide-Away

Laura's family and mine make an annual pilgrimage to northern Michigan once a year to visit our dad and his fiance, Elene. Laura and I (and our sister, Jamee) spent most of our youth in this area of Michigan. As kids, we were first exposed to Traverse City in the early 80s and as a family we worked our way north through Charlevoix, Bay Harbor and now Harbor Springs. Our dad has long been an avid sailor and boater in general, but now he splits his time between the land and lake in his two bedroom apartment above downtown Harbor Springs. 

My dad and Elene purchased their apartment furnished three years ago from a woman who is a world traveler and collector. The apartment is over-flowing with treasures from Bali, Morocco, Spain, Mexico and Tibet, to name a few places. It is truly a masterpiece of eclectic, global design. Enjoy the tour!
{Erin & Laura}

 Living Room

 

Kitchen

 (Cabinets are from Ikea)

 

Dining nook

 The view from the loft.

Master Bedroom

 Patio

DIY Painted Rugs

Well summer is officially over.... This summer we have jam packed as much as humanly possible in the short time we had off. I kicked off the summer in Atlanta, then we went to Wisconsin, near the Dells. The kids were on a swim team that practiced every morning until late July. Dana and I traveled to Switzerland. The kids did a week long camp up at Clear Lake, we visited friends at Lake Witmer, went to Holiday World (the greatest kid's water/amusement park ever...in my opinion) and spent labor day up in Harbor Springs in Northern Michigan. Whew! It has been a great summer and we had a blast but now it's time for what I crave most, routine! Oh, and what I love most, staring at my house (in silence) and re evaluating what should change next:) Dana and I had an 8 hour car ride to and from Michigan to discuss a couple things coming down the pipe for the house! The first of which requires a lot of garage time, a mask and a couple bottles of bleach! Look out neighbors!! And I can't wait to reveal a client dining room I have been working on for some time! We took a shopping trip last week and I am excited to see it all come together soon!

Until then I want to share something I have been obsessing about and is on my project DIY list for fall/winter. Painting my own rug!! So intriguing to me to be able to control the colors and the design to create the perfect statement piece for a room. 

I have always been under the impression that a rug can be like a great piece of art! Now there are so many cool stencils out there you could use to create a unique design. If you are like me you have a million samples of paint colors piled up in your basement and what a great way to finally use some! The possibilities for the canvas are endless... a cheap cotton rug or an old tired sea grass or natural rug you already had, a piece of canvas from the craft store or even a drop cloth from the hardware store. So without further ado and since pictures tell the best stories... here are some great examples!

First I will start with a Moroccan inspired painted rug done by one of my favorite DIY bloggers, Sarah M. Dorsey Designs. She used a plain Ikea rug and a stencil she cut out of plywood to design this amazing rug. It looks awesome in her room, yes?!?

via: Sarah M Dorsey Designs

via: Sarah M Dorsey Designs

Here is another simple design but looks so great in the room. I love the gold, a huge color this year and a perfect rug for a kids space. This design was made on a cotton Ikea rug and the full tutorial can be found here.

Above photo and three below via: Emily Winters

I was stunned when I saw this DIY Aztec painted rug on Nellie Bellie Blog. The best part, she painted the design on a drop cloth.....yes, a drop cloth! I love the colors, the detail and the uniqueness of this! Do you agree?!?

via: Nellie Bellie

via: Nellie Bellie

via: Nellie Bellie

I love the idea of making a traditional Persian rug design like the one below!! These babies are expensive to buy but they are versatile enough to go well with modern, eclectic and traditional design. Because of their lofty price in the stores I would love to try one like this! Awesome. 

via: My Hands Made It 

via: My Hands Made It

We have all seen the cowhide and other animal print rugs and they can be very expensive! Love this copycat look on the cheap! This awesome tutorial is on the Home Depot site! Here are some snapshots of the process and you can get very detailed instructions on the link above. 

Above photo and next three below via: Home Depot 

via: Pinterest

So what's it gonna be?! You could find a cool rug and recreate it or design your own! Would you DIY paint a rug??

To see more of these cool painted rug options link to House Envy Blog on Pinterest. I also have some cool painted wood floor options pinned on the rugs board. 

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Hope you enjoy and cheers!! {Laura}