Pumpkin Carving Season!

Halloween has never been my most favorite holiday...I'm fairly certain my mother and sister scarred me deeply when I was little with their creepy soundtracks of dragging chains and screaming that started on October 1 and played steadily until November 1.  Our house was known to feature a graveyard of foam headstones with friends' names, skeletons leaping out of closets that literally sent children running into the woods, and ghostly decorations that caused the Jehovah's Witnesses down the road to finally give up on us. 

Maybe because I grew up in such a creepy crawly-obsessed family, I have always been more partial to "cute" Halloween decorations.  Like smiling pumpkin cookies and balloon ghosts rather than blood-stained candlesticks and bowls of eyeballs.

To celebrate my kind of Halloween, I've complied some of my favorite CUTE pumpkin carving ideas from this year.  HAPPY Halloween!!

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Benjamin Moore Razzle Dazzle

I just love this pink.  Not sure I could handle it in a full room, but in an entry hall I think it is very Razzle Dazzle!

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My salmon pink dining chairs DIY!

I can't really remember the last time I was this excited about a set of dining chairs.  Perhaps never.

I have to say I was pretty nervous about this move...painting my mom's old dining chairs bright salmon pink in extra high gloss was a bold move.  But now that they're finished and amazingly reupholstered by my mom in Ralph Lauren chintz, I don't know if I've ever loved a piece of furniture more.

Pairing with a glass-top table I think helps prevent too much going on in a small space.  I also love the way my grandparents' silver tea set looks, lending some polish without adding any additional color saturation.

Adding some wall decoration is the next step.  Perhaps the cat portrait from my post below...?

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The view from my kitchen

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And the before...

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The chairs were a whitish cream color before.

Here they are set up in my parents' front yard, ready for a good sanding!  Emily is going to help...

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Yes, this is the upholstery color from before.  No, it did not ever appear this way in my mother's house.

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I ended up doing all the painting with a flat oil paint brush. It allowed me to apply an even layer around some of the trickier turns and corners. Plus, I sometimes like when you can see some brush strokes (as opposed to spray painting) because I think it gives things a handmade quality.

DIY Navy Blue Lattice Dresser

They said it couldn't be done!

My mom tried to convince me to not take her hideous old washstand (her words!) to my house but I was sure I could give it a new life with a coat of paint.  Plus, it had my all-time most favorite attribute - it was free.

I forgot to take a "before" picture so here is a "mid-project" picture:

 You can sort of see evidence on the door of how beaten up it was to start with.

And here is the "after":

The drawers used to have pulls instead of knobs so I hid the extra holes inside a criss-cross...

Yup, it needs a little decor help but, hey, I'm just getting started!

I got some inspiration from these lovely dresser DIYs - so many fun ideas to choose from!

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Green and Burlap Webbing Chair

This chair is just a DIY waiting to be copied!

I love the green on this chair and the burlap webbing for upholstery.  While the burlap weave upholstery may be beyond my skills, I'm definitely wanting to go find something to paint that green color!

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Paint By Numbers Kitty!

I recently came across a post on The Ambitious Procrastinator, which I think is a truly amazing DIY!  You could make really fun oversize art to fill up that blank wall for cheap, plus you can embrace your inner cat lady in a very cool, non-cat lady way.



Find all the instructions here on how to turn this:

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into this!:

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Small Accents, Big Interest

Hi all, I’m Susi, a writer for Design Shuffle, a fantastic social media site for decorators, interior designers, home owner and other design professionals to share inspiration, showcase their design projects and network. Thanks for inviting me and Design Shuffle to visit Wells Interiors today to talk about small accent decorating ideas that can create big interest in our rooms. In interior design, the devil is in the details. Small accents can create a big impact that makes a room go from ordinary to interesting.

 

Better Homes and Gardens via

Use food to decorate your kitchen. Grouping like objects, like colorful bottles of cider or cookies in a glass jar, add interest to open shelves or counters.

 

Design Hole Online via

Piping in a contrasting color creates an accent on furniture that draws attention to the lines of the piece. White on dark, dark on light or a contrasting color can become a small accent that creates big interest.

 

Photobucket via

Like piping, bias tape and ribbons are a simple design element that can add big interest. Orange ribbon trim on curtains and pillows adds a graphic pop of color to this neutral living room.

 

Urban Outfitters via

Pullbacks for curtains are an old fashioned accent you don't find in many interiors today. I think they should make a comeback because despite being small, they add great style to curtains—perfect for a bedroom design.

 

Pinterest via

A single brightly colored accent adds interest to a space. Paint an existing mirror, lamp, frame or object with spray paint to change the look and feeling in a big way.

 

Pinterest via

The orange runner is a great splash of color in this foyer and staircase. But the small accent that caught our interest is the stripe of orange paint just above the baseboard; it completely changes the look of the space.

 

Brass Works Blog via

Changing knobs and handles is a small detail that has a big impact on the look of a cabinet or piece of furniture.

 

Rue Magazine via

Small objects can add big interest to a shelf or table. Sparkly metallics or shiny ceramics reflect light and draw the eye. Animals make charming objects in almost any interior design.

This guest post was designed by Design Shuffle, a website that helps give exposure to Los Angeles interior designers to New York interior designers and is a source of inspiration for design enthusiasts.

Fall Colors

It's officially becoming fall outside my bathroom window!  Like or dislike?

Like: sweaters, wool skirts, apple pie
Dislike: winter on the way :(

Fall Heather Curtains

It's starting to feel a little bit like fall here and it's time to start thinking about some of my favorite fall colors!  Yesterday I broke out the heather purple and I'm loving it in curtains, too!

The Decorista

Headboard Progress

Earlier last month I went up to Vermont where I got to see the first of my beautiful headboards being handmade!  These headboards are to be the first examples of my furniture line, designed for those of us who are looking for well made, beautiful furniture that isn't stuffy or prohibitively expensive.

Without giving away TOO much and spoiling the surprise, I wanted to share the amazing process that turns one rough 4x10 into a beautiful headboard frame.

The painting and upholstering steps are next so hopefully I'll have some finished products by the end of 2011!

Here are the very rough boards which will soon become beautiful headboard frames!  I had a lot of fun at the lumberyard learning how to pick the best piece of lumber, but I think the man, who was forced to show me just about every piece of wood they had, was pretty glad to see me finally go.

 This machine planes the wood down so that it's smooth and flat.

 The wood had to be passed through multiple times to get rid of all the roughness, which you can see here.

 Next, the smooth piece of wood was cut into long pieces that were roughly the size of the two sides and top of the headboard frame

 Tangent: this is where all the sawdust in the workroom goes for recycling.  I thought it was actually kind of beautiful!

 Finally, a couple of detail shots showing the craftsmanship on a couple of the headboards.  But no final pictures...yet!!