Home Style Guide – Brought to you by Federated Media

What do you gift the person who has everything? Or what is the MOST personal thing you can give someone in a scientific sense? Or how can you indulge the most egotistical person on your list? Or if you need an excuse to go all CSI and try to lift some DNA without their knowledge…

DNA11 has been known for their awesomely beautiful artworks that are made from your DNA! You send in a sample, pick a color scheme, and *poof* wall art that’s so YOU! I mean i can’t help wondering what someone can extrapolate from your DNA or fingerprint hanging on your wall… someday will they clone you based on your art?

They started with the DNA Portraits a few years back, which are the wall prints… then came the Fingerprint Portraits – you print yourself until you make the perfect one… then there were Kiss Potraits , where you “Apply the provided M.A.C VIVA Glam lipstick.”, and send them the perfect pucker… and freshly launched, there are now MINI DNA Potraits in beautiful desktop ready glass frames!

This is my favorite of five blue-glass pieces that I inherited from my late Granny Hamilton. You can find pieces exactly like this in almost any antique store, and although at first I didn’t think it fit my style, I find that the unique color adds just the right amount of eclecticism that I like to my home. Plus it reminds me of her, of the many summers we’d visit her house and she’d still have the Christmas tree up in July. Do all Grannies do that?

I found this at my favorite local antique shop, The Green Ant, and the moment I saw it I thought, yeah, we’ll be taking that home, thank you very much. It plugs into the wall and keeps the correct time, except my correct time is much different than the world’s correct time, meaning that the clock in the kitchen must be two minutes slow, while the clock in the bathroom must be five minutes fast. This one I’ve to set ten minutes fast, don’t ask me why because I don’t think I could explain it. It’s just the way it has to be for me to live my life, and now you can understand why Jon is rapidly losing his hairline.

We’ve been working on spiffing up our downstairs playroom and living room in anticipation of a visit from my husband’s beloved grandmother. We’ve installed new wood floors, we’ve painted, and we’ve even added a new ceiling fan and light fixtures.

But we’ve been left with one big problem: big, open walls.

Since we’re nearing the end of our decorating budget, I’m looking for ways to fill the wall space quickly in a way that makes a big impact visually, but not financially. Here are some things I’m planning on implementing. If you have more big ideas, share them in the comments.

Fabric Wall Art

Being the crafty gal that I am, I can’t resist the idea of displaying large panels of fabric throughout my house. It’s a fast way to create unique, beautiful decorations. CRAFT has a great video podcast that walks you through all the how-tos.

Wallpaper Panel Art

Sweet Jessie used vintage wallpaper remnants to create this dramatic and fun wall panel.

Fun With Stencils

With a little paint and the Stencil 101 book by Ed Roth, you can quickly add repeated visual interest to your walls. Roth’s designs are cool and edgy, and the book comes with tons of precut stencils, ready for you to use in every room of your house

Whether you decide to go with fabric, paper, paint or all three – don’t be afraid to make a big statement in your big spaces. What other ideas do you have for a big impact in your home decor? Leave them in the comments.

Last year for Christmas I asked Jon for these plates, told him exactly which shelf they were on at Anthropologie, and explained that if he decided to get me socks instead he could just go ahead and cut my heart right out of my chest because IT WOULD BE THE SAME THING. I take my Koi decor very seriously.

Ok, add this to that “omg, why didn’t i think of that?” list ~ Solar Lanterns! Such a perfect mix of traditional classic lantern designs infused with a tiny bit of oh so obvious technology ~ solar panel, light detector, and two tiny (but super bright!) LEDs. Basically the same technology as the Sun/Moon Jars and all those solar walkway lights you see everywhere these days…… only its hanging from your trees or patio!

Really it makes such perfect sense, i had to buy one to see how the lighting looked at night ~ after all, LED coloration can vary so greatly, and you never know how the shadows will turn out with these unknown fabrics. I purchased the Soji Silk Effects Square Lantern in Slate and its absolutely gorgeous both in the day and at night. The slight sheen of the silk-like material on the bamboo ribbing gives the lantern that extra little sparkle that makes it dance in the light of the sun, and create perfect mood setting shadows at night. Read the rest »

So, remember how I told you I collect vintage clocks that don’t work? Well, I also collect coasters that are too small to use.

Lovely, aren’t they? They are approximately the size of poker chips. With winter coming on, I’ve begun to question the wisdom of owning three sets of coasters, none of which is big enough to support a mug.

I’ve been poking around Etsy trying to resolve the situation, and here’s what I found: Read the rest »

Over a crib isn’t the only place to hang a mobile. Even if you don’t have a baby in the house, dangling decorations can make a nice addition to any room. I once read somewhere that hanging a mobile above your desk or workspace helps inspire and increase creativity. Who knows if it’s true, I just know that I’ve always loved having one above my desk.

Here are some options for fun mobiles that would work in just about any room in your house. Read through them – if you can think of another place you’d like to hang a mobile, or if you have an idea for a clever kind of mobile to hang in a particular room in the house, leave a comment below.

Read the rest »

We’ve been remodeling a guest house on our ranch—called “The Lodge—since last February…and I’m just now realizing we’re actually going to have to buy furniture for the place. Well, I suppose we don’t HAVE to put furniture in there. We could just go the bean bag route, drape beads in the doorways, and act like we’re trying to recreate Greg Brady’s room.

Think anyone would buy it? Probably not on a cattle ranch. Cattle ranches, as everyone knows, aren’t very groovy.

I don’t know how to buy furniture. I’ve never really had to outfit a house all at once as we’re having to do with The Lodge. Aside from being a little overwhelming from a financial perspective, it’s also intimidating to think the decisions I’ll make over the next couple of weeks—what I’ve deemed the “furniture buying weeks”—will be with us for a long, long time. The last thing I want to do is go on a big splurge over a two-week period…and regret half of my decisions later.

So I’ve decided to make The Lodge very, very sparse, at least for now. And when I say sparse, I mean it: in the bedrooms, beds. Maybe a nightstand. In the dining room, a long dining table with benches. In the living room, comfortable sofas and enough end tables to allow guests to set down a drink. Maybe a lamp here and there for light. And that’s it, I tell you—IT! (Remind me I’m saying this, okay?) Read the rest »

One of my favorite artists online is Eleanor Grosch in Philadelphia, PA. She has a huge selection of screenprints available and I own six of them, including this Elephant print which is sadly sold out. Her designs are simple yet boldly graphic, and remind me a lot of Charley Harper’s work. Any one of these prints would make an excellent gift, but since I love elephants I will be keeping this one and hanging it in Leta’s room, although it will probably be years before she appreciates it.