SMALL ROOM DECORATING MAGAZINE

Back in January, Small Room Decorating shot my apartment - all 425 square feet of it. Photographer Helen Norman meticulously, and beautifully, documented every inch of the space (though not so many inches, to borrow a phrase from J.M. Barrie), while writer and stylist Charlotte Safavi brought in lovely, fresh touches with flowers.

The issue came out last week! I'm hoping to have some of Helen's beautiful photos to share soon, but in the meantime, here are a few shots of the spread.

Small Room Decorating is on newsstands now, at Barnes and Noble, Target, CVS, and Safeway.

The issue also features two of my favorite designers, the pattern-mad daredevils of Madcap Cottage:  John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon!

DIY LATTICE RIBBON PILLOWS

Effortless Style blogger Camila posted this fantastic pillow DIY, and I thought it was just a genius idea - and perhaps one that you didn't have to be a genius to pull off, since my craft skills are pretty much limited to anything that doesn't require precise measuring. I particularly wanted new pillows because, back in the Fall, I was lucky enough to have my apartment photographed by The Washington Post. But, when the photographs were published, I noticed something I hadn't seen before... the pillows and curtains didn't really match. They USED to match, but sun exposure had faded some hues more than others. And of course, once I noticed it, I noticed it every day. I really wanted to change my pillow covers, but without a major financial investment, so I decided to make my own.

Then:  slightly different shades (Photo by Katherine Frey).

Now:  I kept the emerald green ikat pillows, and made my own lime green ribbon lattice pillows, adding a leopard print pillow that I LOVE, purchased on Etsy. 

A close-up of the pillows.

Want to have a pair of your own? They're so easy to make! I used RITVA pillow covers from IKEA, for $7.99 each, and grosgrain ribbon. I decided to go with a bold pattern (surprise) using a wide ribbon centered more on the pillow, 4 inches from the edge. Without cutting the ribbon, I loosely laid out my pattern to try the look.

Take your time to get it right! I cut extra inches to fold the edges into the pillow seams for a finished look, and then wove the ribbons over/under, pinning them in place. I cut four 21 inch ribbons for the "square" part of the pattern, and four 19 inch ribbons for the cross pieces. ALSO:  the IKEA pillow covers were supposed to be 22x22, but were actually slightly different sizes. You may need to eyeball the final look, rather than relying on your measuring tape.

Tuck your ribbon edges into the seams as below, and be careful not to glump the fabric glue - as you can see, it will spot a bit if too much is applied.

After you've glued down each ribbon, take a toothpick and run a little glue under the edge of the ribbon wherever it bulges. This will keep it from rippling when the pillow is plumped inside. (I made these over Christmas vacation, so my Dad took some photos. He has requested credit as photographer :).

And here's the result!

I really have a thing for leopard, and was delighted to find this lovely pillow in the AriannaBelle shop on Etsy. It's great quality, and she shipped it quickly. I think it just makes the space. To tie the pillow into the look, I added a few more leopard touches, including Jan Shower's decor book, Glamorous Rooms, with its animal cover, and a cheetah-print lucite tray. I made the tray myself - you can find the DIY here.

TIPS and SUPPLIES

You will need:  
IKEA pillow covers, fabric glue, several yards of ribbon, a tape measure, toothpicks, and stick pins.

-Be very careful not to get any glue on the zippers when folding under end pieces of ribbon. A simple piece of masking tape over the teeth will do the trick.

-Even though it dries clear, fabric glue can "stain" through the ribbon, and show up darker when dry, so you want to avoid applying too much. Applying glue in a  zig zag worked best,  and was less prone to leave a mark.

-It's pretty nigh impossible to glue the ribbons without wearing the adhesive - I found that nail polish remover will get fabric glue off your skin (tip within a tip:  don't get a manicure before doing this project). 

For the full DIY, visit Camila's post. Happy crafting!

DIY CHINOISERIE ETAGERE

My tiny little apartment suffers from awkward corner syndrome. In 425 square feet, there are five doorways/doors, a bump out, and numerous soffits. Some of the corners even have corners. So, part of my challenge has been finding pieces of furniture that will fit the space. One such spot was an 11 inch deep corner leading into the closet area. I REALLY needed to use the space for storage, but without making it feel even smaller. An etagere seemed like the perfect answer, but all the beautiful vintage pieces I found were just too deep. So I decided to MAKE an etagere. By which I mean:  go to IKEA and alter something they sold.

Here it is! A Chinoiserie etagere.

IKEA makes this VITTSJO shelving unit for $70. The open concept and glass shelves would keep the space from feeling overwhelmed, and there was plenty of room to stack books. The only problem was the black color, which didn't play nice with my green walls.

So I broke out the Rustoleum...

And then emailed Danika Herrick, founder of the fantastic company O'verlays, to ask if they had anything that would suss up a plain iron shelf. A week later, these arrived:  greek key corners! 

BEFORE

AFTER!

Seriously, O'verlays are the best thing since sliced bread. "Transforming" my shelf required about 10 minutes, some gorilla glue, and masking tape (to hold the greek key pieces in place while the glue dried). I waited an hour for good measure, whipped the tape off, and enjoyed my new Chinoiserie etagere. The O'verlay pieces are paintable, so you could customize them to any shade. I was lucky that they were already white!

A "through" view of the shelf. I love how spacious it feels, without blocking the view into the living room.

Check out all the other amazing O'verlay patterns HERE, and you can find my greek key corners HERE. A few more patterns and ideas below...

An O'verlay pattern under glass, dressing up a plain hall table. They also look great over mirrors.

On an ikea chest of drawers (also, Danika painted that wall herself. She's very talented).

/Images/ my own/ black shelf image, IKEA/ O'verlay patterns, O'verlays/

DIY ROLLER SHADE

I should have called this the "PIY" - "Paint It Yourself" - roller shade project. A few months ago, I ran across this image on Pinterest, and was so taken with the playful trompe l'oeil design mimicking austrian shades, or as they're more popularly called, balloon shades. It looked fun, colorful - and easy to duplicate. And I desperately needed an inexpensive shade for my kitchen. To the Home Depot!

I'm a very impatient DIY-er (as you'll soon see), and I just dashed quickly through the store, grabbing an assortment of brushes and supplies. The shade itself is medium-weight vinyl, for a grand $7.95, and the paint is black tempera craft paint. I purchased several brushes and sponges to try, but the one that worked best was a super cheap one-inch brush. The coarse bristles gave a look very similar to the professional design above. My window was much shorter than the shade, so I rolled the shade out full length, and then marked out six equally spaced marks before painting the full swags. As you can see, I quickly smeared and splattered paint all over - lucky for me, this is not a project that rewards precision.

In about 10 minutes, I had this. 

And there we are:  a sew-free, $15 window shade in the kitchen. All it needs is a tassel! I'll get around to that eventually.

 I just hung up the wall decor too; the green tortoise shell is Nate Berkus for Target, and the green chair print is from Jennifer over at The Pink Pagoda. 

One of my favorite New Yorker cartoons, clipped from the magazine. I dream about the "Horn of Extra Square Footage" every Thanksgiving.

A few other "PIY" shade ideas - wouldn't snaky squiggles be fun?

Or, free-hand a little greek key, a la Dana Gibson.

/Images/ Blue and white shade, Casa de Valentia/ Black and white shade photos, my own/ Snake painting, Jacques Grange Interiors/ Greek key shade, DecorPad/

Or try wavering stripes, circles, or polka dots! The possibilities are endless. Happy painting!

OH CHRISTMAS TREE

Last week, Jennifer at The Pink Pagoda kindly highlighted my Christmas tree. Here are a few shapshots, and be sure to click over and see the full post, and as well as an abundance of other TPP holiday decorating ideas.

The theme was Chinoiserie meets Tony Duquette - thus the sunburst topper and ornaments, and "coral" accents behind the plates.

I didn't realize until I looked at photographs from 2011 that this tree was MUCH bigger than last year. It's a table top tree in the fullest sense:  it takes up the entire table. But, I had to have enough room for all my fun ornaments, especially since I keep finding more, and in the most unusual places. I discovered these fine fellows for sale at the Warner Theater, when I went to see Septime Weber's The Nutcracker (they are of course, from the Tea Dance).

A close up of some "coral" - also known, at the Hobby Lobby, as "glitter branches."

You can see the rest of my holiday decor HERE - including some tips for bringing Christmas cheer to small spaces. Hope your holiday decorating has been fun!

/Images/My own/

SMALL SPACE CHRISTMAS

Christmas is the time of BIG! Big trees, big gifts, big hearts. But for small-space dwellers, the holidays can also offer a unique challenge:  where to fit all that Christmas cheer? Here are a few of my favorite holiday things - and how I used them in my pint-sized apartment. 

Tip One:  Go real! Faux greenery wastes storage space for 11 months out of the year, and nothing is lovelier than the fresh scent of evergreen. In my 425 square foot apartment, a tree would take up valuable floor space, so instead, a miniature fir fits on the dining table. I repurposed a ginger jar as a tree base (one less thing to store). You may notice a slight Tony Duquette sunburst and coral theme going - I got a little carried away this year!

Tip Two:  Switch out your everyday artwork for something seasonal. I love artist Jennifer's prints (over at The Pink Pagoda), and her green chinoiserie chair brings a bit of Christmas color to this bookcase, propped above some red books. Changing out pictures in frames can be a simple space-saving way to decorate.

 Tip Three:  Use decorations sparingly, but with impact. I gathered a few free evergreen branches when I bought my tree, and used a skien of ribbon and a handful of miniature golden ornaments for this spray. It's a simple way to transform a credenza or mantel, and the ornaments and ribbon fit in a ziplock bag for off-season storage.

In the bedroom, I also did very little - just a red glitter ornament, and a silk chinese knot on an evergreen branch. Even tiny touches like these bring Christmas cheer to a room. 

Tip Four:  Invest in little things you love. I have a thing for nutcrackers AND Asian-inspired design, so you can only imagine my thrill at discovering geisha nutcrackers! Who knew? They feel right at home with the foos.

/All images/ Sanity Fair; please attribute/

Happy Decorating!

AMBASSADOR FOR GREEN

Interior decorator, stylist, and blogger Valorie Hart recently put together a wonderful Guest Pick for Houzz on Kelly Green, and kindly included a scene from my (very green) apartment. Valorie's ideabook reminded me of how I originally came to paint my walls bright green.

It all started with this photo of a design by Miles Redd, featured on the cover of Veranda. Just as I was contemplating a bright green wall, Valorie was also inspired by the Redd design and set out to recreate the color, which she dubbed, aptly, "Miles Redd Green."You can read her fantastic post about the process HERE; she even custom-created the color with New Orleans shop Helm Paint, based on the shade. Valorie's post was the extra push I needed to go ahead with my crazy painting scheme. 

Determined to see it through (or at least, live with the consequences until I found time to re-paint), I went to Frager's Hardware on Capitol Hill. We started out considering a few custom creations, but actually settled on a paint color that already exited:  Hanging Vine, by Mythic Paint. Here is the result (Photography by Katherine Frey, The Washington Post).

All along, I had envisioned the green as a dramatic backdrop to my collection of blue and white; here's why. Very bland - the plates just blend into the walls!

At the time, I hadn't seen these great images of green with blue and white china, but it's such a winning combination, of course it's been done before! Every time I see it, I love the look more.

House Beautiful

Tory Burch

If you'd like to "go green," check out Valorie's Houzz picks HERE!

/Images/ Veranda/ Two, my own/ House Beautiful/ Tory Burch/ Houzz/

Finally, I hope that if you were in the path of Hurricane Sandy, all is well with you and yours. I survived a very long, very windy night, but thankfully didn't experience any major damage. 

Stay safe, and a speedy recovery to everyone on the East Coast.