Color Me Trendy - Gallery Goodness

Spend more than 3 minutes on Pinterest lately? Then you've probably seen a gallery wall or four.

I've been a fan of gallery walls for years. My high school bedroom had bright blue racing stripes with a gallery of post cards, small prints, and cards all in infinity/floating frames. I'd die for pictures of it. Alas, I wasn't blogging in high school so it never dawned on me to document it!

But now I'm all grown up with an apartment of my own (okay, our own) and the gallery wall has been re-incarnated. Again the collection is in the bedroom but this time it is more personal, more sophisticated and much more subtle.

A few of my favorite things

Gallery walls are a way to show off your favorite things in one place. Our gallery wall is our favorite quotes and sayings and pictures of us and our families.

The staggered shelves and having one piece on the dresser help to create focus in a large space but still fills the large wall without feeling busy. I'd say, unless all of your images are the same size, staggering and layering your pieces is the best way to make your gallery wall look cultivated but not too perfect. This way you can swap out pieces whenever you want!

My gallery images are all different sizes and so I created some symmetry with my books. I've stacked them to create a solid block that is about the same height as the drawer/shelf that holds my necklaces and our alarm clock.

Looking at the picture now I wish I would have stopped for a bouquet of flowers for that Waterford vase I keep on my dresser!

Color Me Crafty - Chic Coasters

Coasters were never big in our house growing up. Until we redecorated the family room and fresh, new tables arrived. Then coasters were essential.

Then came college when coasters were a fun girly accessory for our apartments but rarely used.

Color Me Domestic - Dining in Small Spaces

Ready for Guests! Chairs and table from IKEA

Living in Chicago means I have to make the most of every square inch at my disposal. So my love of entertaining is in constant conflict with my lack of seating. We had a pub height table that fit perfectly in the spot where a dining table would go but we ate dinner there maybe four times in the last two years.

With the holidays approaching (quickly, I might add) I felt the itch to entertain and then felt the itch to redecorate so we began the search for a new dining table solution.

The first criteria with decorating is always, ALWAYS budget. We decided to dip into our Christmas budget and replace our dining set as the gift to each other this year. Our total budget was $500... and anything we didn't use went back into Christmas so I set my target around $400.

The I discovered that most dining tables are made to fit whole rooms dedicated to meal time. So the second criteria for a new table was size. It couldn't be any bigger than 36" x 36" or 3 feet. We found a few solutions to fit that size criteria from Target, West Elm and IKEA. 

The other trick with a small space is that everything has to go together. Not exactly match, but it does need to coordinate. In our small space we already have a black side board with brushed silver hardware, a pistachio sofa, a grey chair, a glass and matte grey desk and shelving unit and a glass coffee table. 

Now, excluding everything I just said about the new stuff having to coordinate, my dream coffee and croissant set (because 3 feet is a bit small to be called breakfast nook) is the West Elm Tripod Table in Red with two Reed Zinc chairs from cb2. 

And this little set did fit, if only barely, into the max budget. But the argument of comfort over style won out because the metal chairs didn't seem fit for long term sitting. Plus the red table was just a bit too much for our space.

Back to square one.

I decided to focus on chairs then and by-gosh, by-golly, upholstered dining chairs are expensive! Which led me to IKEA. The source for all things cheap-chic. I found the NILS chair for only $80 each! And there is a great company called bemz that creates IKEA slip covers in all sorts of trendy fabrics. I am now petitioning for these Marimekko ones.

So chairs were settled but we still needed a table. Those of you who have gone to IKEA without a plan before know the stress of wandering throughout that "store" aimlessly. I was already a little anxious getting the chairs without having settled on a table when we came across maybe the most perfect match there could be.

The TORSBY table with chrome legs and a black-brown top. It is 33.5 inches square (size, check!). The black-brown and chrome fit perfectly into our "scheme" (coordinate, check!). And it cost only $140 (budget, check!).

Then came the joyous experience of fitting all it into our Mazda 6, getting it into the apartment via the freight elevator and assembly. Luckily the table and 2 chairs proved to be much (MUCH) easier than the queen sized bed with drawer storage and two dressers I've previously had to transport and assemble from IKEA.

And wha-la! Here is our new dining table, chairs and a view down the hall into our office!

Color Me Crafty - Floating Frame Accent Wall

Living in Chicago rental units can drive a design fan crazy. All day I see these amazingly designed homes on Pinterest or on a variety of blogs and then come home to my apartment and want to re-do everything. So when friends of mine move I am eager to see how they design their new spaces.

To be budget, and lease, friendly. Katie put together this great DIY project for her new walls.

It was as simple as finding wooden or plastic frames from the bargain bins at the dollar store or the craft store. You can have as many as you like! Then select acrylic paint colors that fit the decor you already have in your room. Depending on the number of frames you can use 1-5 colors as long as it doesn't get too Rainbow Brite! Use foam brushes because they're easiest to work with on a variety of surfaces. 

Then there is no great science to a frame collage. These were hung without their glass on the wall using two nails on the inside of each corner. Check the leveling... iPhones have an app for that. Or if you're old school like me... just use a level! 

The best part is that you can start small with this project, live with it for a few days and if you decide you need more frames they're easy to add!

And, you can easily change up the location of the frames whenever you want for a bit of a change. On Katie's wall right now, none of the same color frames are next to each other... a new layout would be to group them all together by color or size!

Color Me Styled - Place Mats Reinvented

When I moved to California after graduation I had a queen sized air bed. Not just an air mattress, but a queen sized bed. Since I wasn't in a position to actually buy bedroom furniture I had to get creative in order to get "the look" that I wanted for my first solo place.

What did I do? I bought three $1.50 place mats from Pier 1 and hung them above my bed instead of a headboard. 

Fast forward 4 years and I have settled enough to own bedroom furniture (albeit IKEA) but I still use the ole place mat trick for decorating in our bathroom.

The ones I've hung in our bathroom are from Crate and Barrel and for just $9.95 each they're much more affordable than actual art! 

Chilewich Cubic Gunmetal Place Mat

Color Me Crafty - Tissue Paper Mosaic DIY

Ever since I was young I loved having art work to hang on my walls. And yes, I am counting N*SYNC and JTT posters as art.

As I matured I found myself liking actual art work but not liking the costs. It seems as soon as I found the "perfect piece" for the bedroom, bathroom or office it would be hundreds of dollars out of my budget.

D-I-Y to the rescue!

Doing It Yourself is the perfect solution. You can customize the color scheme, size and use less expensive materials to keep your costs low. This is exactly what I did for our bedroom.

Our bedroom is an internal room with no windows so it had to be something kind of light but still pull in the colors from the room. So I came up with a gold and blue two piece Moroccan style design using tissue paper, spray paint and a glue stick.

You'll need:

1 or 2 canvases in any size - or you can use a cardboard box or piece of plywood

spray paint (1-2 cans depending on the size of your canvas / cardboard / plywood)

printer paper (2 sheets - for your stencil)

tissue paper (3-10 full size sheets depending on the size of your "tile" and canvas)

glue stick (or spray adhesive)

Procedure:

Spray your canvases with the spray paint. The best method is to go in a diagonal line back and forth across the surface. Apply one even coat and let it dry before going back for a second or to touch up any light areas.

While the canvases are drying completely create your tile stencil. If you are going for a symmetrical look use the old "snowflake" trick and fold your piece of paper in 4ths and draw your shape and cut. At the very least fold your paper in half so that each side is symmetrical.

Fold tissue paper into squares or rectangles, trace the stencil on the top piece and cut out carefully. If you notice that the tissue paper is slipping and your cutting unevenly, try a smaller stack of paper. You should be able to do 6-10 at a time.

Decide on your pattern. I chose a chevron style with the two colors having the lighter one be more prominent. I laid it all out to make sure I had enough tiles to fill both canvases. 

Get gluing! Tissue paper, if you remember from grade school, is sensitive so I suggest starting near the middle of the tile and gently applying glue to the edge. You can apply the glue on a scratch sheet of paper to avoid excess glue getting onto the canvas. If you rip the tissue paper try to apply it anyways, it'll add a bit of character to some of the tiles. Unless you have a ton of extras... then toss it! 

Let the canvases and tissue paper dry for an hour or so and then go back and see if there are any corners that didn't get enough glue and touch it up. You may find using a toothpick and kind of rolling it on easier instead of peeling up the tiles and trying to apply glue directly. 

Let it all dry. Decide if you want to see the raw edges of the canvas or cover it with ribbon or washi tape or trim your tiles so they don't show on the edge. 

Hang it up and enjoy!

Color Me Domestic - Upholstered Coffee Tables

House Envy right? This is a scene from West Elm

It seems to be all the rage in the last few years (or maybe always if you ask Pottery Barn) but the upholstered coffee table is probably the best solution for small spaces (read: apartments).

Not only does it look super chic, it is a triple threat. No, it doesn't sing, dance and act but it does moonlight as an ottoman, table and extra seating during a party.

Even in homes with sizable living spaces there never seems to be enough seats. We're thinking of course of family Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations where the youngest cousins or coolest Uncles get to sit on the floor after dinner. 

Depending on your financial clout and your decor there are a bunch of options out there. Ranging from super fancy high-end to DIY. (Warning: this DIY is not for the faint of heart... cutting wood and serious tools are involved)

If you have a large sofa like the one in the picture above a similar hued but solid ottoman table is the best choice. You don't want to detract from the big piece in the room. If you have a love seat and chair combo, both in a different color, a patterned ottoman table gives the opportunity to tie it all together. The ottoman table will also serve as an anchor for the sitting area.

Other essentials include a tray and low baskets for under the ottoman table. You'll want to have at least one side table near your seating so when the ottoman does get used as a bench you've got somewhere for people to set their drinks! Finally add your favorite flowers, candles and magazines and you're ready to go!

We've rounded up a couple favorite pieces!

  

And how cool is this whole system from West Elm? And the giant white-out loft with huge windows. Dream space.