Decorating inspiration, architecture, renovation ideas and more.
By this time of year, when the garden is devoid of flowers, the florist shop is not the only source of plant material to put in an attractive vase. Cuttings from a potted plant purchased at your local supermarket or corner store can take their place.
BEAUTIFUL & EASY | We’ve used a combination of origami light cubes and bare LED bulbs (in a ratio of 1 boxed light to three bare bulbs) on every Christmas tree we’ve decorated in the last dozen years. The origami boxes produce beautiful, diffuse squares of light, something you don’t normally see on a Christmas tree. Some years we’ve chosen to box only white string lights, but mostly we box multi-coloured ones. To make our boxes, we worked with vellum squares (available at art supply stores or online) that deepen and intensify whatever colour light they cover. Read more
THE CREATIVE SOLUTION | Metal home or office furnishings dating from the 1950s are hot accent pieces for contemporary interiors, but painted items must be stripped entirely to the raw metal to bring them right up to date.
There are three ways to strip metal furniture. People with the space, time and muscle can use a biodegradable chemical paint remover such as Heirloom Furniture Stripper. Another method is to sand the paint off with an electric sander using a sanding pad specific to metal. Sanding leaves painty skid marks and a distinct pattern, giving the piece a timeworn look. Read more
Have you got boxes of old 35mm slides that need to be scanned and transformed into digital files on your computer— then turfed because you’ll just never, ever look at them on a slide projector screen again? Well, here’s something novel you can do with a stack of them.
My inspiration for this retro-look pendant lampshade came from the infamous credit card dress that a fashion designer wore to the Academy Awards ceremony a number of years ago. The construction method for both items is similar. Read more
White kraft paper, the kind that comes in big rolls from art supply stores, is the perfect blank canvas to use for wrapping gifts. I like it plain, dressed up with beautiful ribbon topped off with greenery such as sprigs of holly or bits of twig. I also like it decorated in the ways I’ve shown here. Read more
MONEY WELL SPENT | One of the best things we did the first time we renovated our house, when my now teenage son was small, was to put a gigantic black chalkboard on one wall in our dining area. We had to order it from a company in Ontario that supplies visual presentation products to schools because we couldn’t find anything locally that was the four-by-eight-foot size we wanted. The board was surprisingly inexpensive, but crating and shipping it nearly doubled the cost. And the cost doubled again when we ditched the anodized aluminum trim kit that can be purchased with the unit in favour of a custom-fitted natural wood picture frame we thought would look better with our hardwood floors and furniture. In the end, I think we paid around $800 for the whole thing, which isn’t dirt cheap but certainly less expensive than a framed artwork of comparable size. Read more
CREATIVE SOLUTION | Regular hardware store metal window screening, with its nostalgic cottage connotations, has obvious uses-and some that are less apparent. Here it has been folded into holders for votive candles.
Start with a form and fold the screening around it. I used plastic nursery-style flowerpots because of their gentle tapering shape and the variety of available sizes.
Use utility scissors to cut out a square of screening big enough to wrap up and over all four sides of the flowerpot. Set the pot down in the centre of the square, making a sharp crease along the bottom. Fold the remaining sides, bringing the corners together as if you were wrapping a box. Pinch all folded edges firmly against the form. Trim the excess screening to about one centimetre above the top of the pot. Carefully remove the pot. Fold the top edge to make a tidy hem. Smooth and adjust the crimping with your fingers.
I used aluminum-coloured aquarium stones to surround my tea lights. They weigh down the base of the holders, keep the candles in place and make the entire product more stable.
These candleholders make an attractive gift for anyone with a cottage (or patio, for that matter). They are also a great project for family members on holiday suffering from rainy day cabin. — Brendan Power
You can find metal mesh window screen at hardware stores.