Chenille curtain upcycle

 I've been upcycling chenille bedspreads into curtains, and a Victorian ceramic cookie jar into a vase (simply spray painted white).



...and taking some photos around the house, working my styling skills. I made the tufted headboard above with curtains that came with my home when I bought it, some diy covered buttons, a scrap of dense foam and a piece of plywood. Pillows are upcycled from vintage quilts, dresses, doilies, men's western snap button shirts and vintage ties.

Texas Eclectic

Dallas couple Adam and Alicia Rico put together this amazing home (photographed by Lyndsay von Hagel), and I'm pretty sure it's nothing short of absolute perfection. I've been on Houzz.com since its beginning days, invited to join and post images, but as far as I can tell, I've never come across a design so close to my heart. I can't find... one thing... wrong. I lived in Austin for a short time, and they seemed to give Dallas a hard time... it's all very competitive. Austin claimed to be the 'weird' capital, and Austinites many times claimed Dallas was on "Dockers patrol," yuppies without a cause. But here's proof there must be some awesomeness in Dallas.  I wasn't surprised this is the home of fellow creatives; the couple own a floral design company, Bows and Arrows, hence the beautiful flowers found in the photographs. Be sure and check out their website (the Bows and Arrows link), it's like Pinterest on its very best day, full of great photos and ideas.

More photos below, go see! go see!

Awakening the carpenter within

I finally finished my wood slat wall a couple of weeks ago and then came across these amazing wooden chairs at the Catholic Thrift Shop, five bucks apiece!  I found the kilim pillows and the cardboard moosehead on etsy... links to the shops provided. We seem to have a lot of musical instruments laying around; people just seem to keep leaving guitars, amps, drums, all sorts of things at our house. Not that I'm complaining, I just wish someone would leave me a fiddle. I can ROCK the fiddle. And that's all brag; I think I'm really good; everyone else seems to run and hide. Ever since I heard 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' the first time, I've dreamed of playing it, with some pyrotechnics in the background maybe.  Guys screaming and throwing their boxers at the stage. Bob Dylan watching from the audience entranced by my playing, and ohhh, they don't even know my name is Jonnie!!! And it might be a sin, but I'll take your bet and you're gonna regret, cuz I'm the best that's ever been....
Okay, I'm better with a camera. Silently searching for just the right light, just the right odd combination of people, trees, cars, weather. Sometimes I think I'll finally take "the photo" like the one that says IT, that does IT, that explains the whole universe to me and we become one, I turn into square little biological pixels, and the pixels crumble, scatter to the winds and I become a rainbow. That's what happens, they say, when there's too much magic in a rectangle at once. I haven't done it yet, but there are a few photos I'd at least call memorable. I'll get around to scanning and posting them one of these days; the meantime, here's another example of the carpentry skills, not necessarily a photographic awakening:

Kitchen: Accomplished

After four long years, I finally feel like the kitchen's complete. There have
been arguments about color, style, appliances, but at long last, it was all
worth the huge pain in my ass. I hated to paint over the beautiful wood in
the top photo; that was one of the biggest hold-outs. Problem was, and you

I've GOT to make one of these...

Loving this upcycled suitcase chair... I've got to try this.  Thanks inhabitat!

Bonbonkakku badarse prints

LOVE these new bonbonkakku fabrics. If you haven't heard of it, it's a Finnish spoonflower... you can design your own or find amazing fabrics by designers. I've been dying to try my hand at a fabric design; I need to get to work on it!

Update: bonbonkakku is on hiatus. Not sure if they'll ever return. Dammit.

Thanks Etsy!

I was really excited to get an email from Christine that I'd be in Etsy's "Get the Look" series on the blog. It's always a wild ride when this happens... tons of things to box and ship (which is great!) and everything feels as if it's happening at once. Geesh! I can't imagine when it happens to handcrafters... if you suddenly had TONS of orders for custom pieces, I'd imagine it would get really stressful and crazy! And, thanks for the blog love! From 8-31 to 9-9 I'm offering a 15% discount in the shop for anyone who becomes a blog follower. Just enter the coupon code "bloglove" and, of course, sign up to follow me here. Also, some upcoming contests and giveaways!

Putting some life in 'em

I LOVE searching through home decor photos, but after, oh, several hundred it can get a little dull. I love these photographers/designers/artists who've shot new life into their photos by adding the adorablest kids they could find (I'm assuming they're theirs though).

Wold's World

They're sort of like what would happen if Dr. Seuss had been a furniture designer instead of a children's book author. I don't know Thomas Wold, but I picture him at rummage sales and thrift shops rooting around for the perfect wood furnishings to paint and put together... coming up with amazing color schemes. You rock, Thomas Wold!

Some inspirations from Casper James

Casper James had me at "living room," this living room to be exact. Maybe it was meant to be, me and Casper being contacts on flickr. Perhaps it was pre-written in the cosmos. But, oooh! every time I look through my favorites I'm drawn to this image:

If you need some more CJ goodness, follow the see more link to see more of the stuff he's creating now. It's nothing short of magic!

Tuesday Flickr Favorites