Soleil 100 Days

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Technical Difficulties

I have a virus. Or rather my computer does. I've been fighting with it for a couple weeks now, and every time I think it's gone it pops up again in a few days. This basically means I'm effed.

I backed up my important files and digital music as best I could online, including project pics, but now I don't want to pull any more images from my camera until I reinstall Windows. Oy.

Just for the record, the coffee table is finished, the dinning room chairs are recovered, and I made a pendant lamp. And I have pretty pictures of everything...I just can't show them to you yet. So I apologize if there is a delay in posts. I should work on the computer tonight when I get home, but we'll see how that goes.

Side Table Before and After

When I moved from my studio to my current 1 bedrom I had a serious furniture shortage. This resulted in a trip to my local Salvation Army in search of tables and lamps, on a serious budget. I came away with a load of stuff, including two matching side tables.

Sister table in the bedroom

The dark wood and black center insert just weren't working for me. I considered trying to pull out the middle and laying mosaic, but upon further investigation I realized the black board was the only thing in the center.

Not wanting to do serious measuring/construction on a cheap table, I decided to just paint the wood and cover the middle.

Emma provided moral support.

Please excuse the darkness. It was probably about midnight when I finished.

An improvement, no?


Close-up of the decoupage.

It was an easy project. I got a lot of mileage out of can of white primer. Then I only had to buy paper and decoupage paste, which wasn't terribly expensive.


Supplies.

I have to say, I'm super happy with the changes in the living room. I have a few more projects to post still, then I'll be doing some total room pics!

Painted Front Door with a Surprise

My front door was hideous.

I mean it was a special brand of awful. It was probably a kind of slate-ish, blue/grey color at one point, but that had long since evolved into dingy filth. And it has clearly been forced open once in the past, which is most likely what prompted the addition of the dead bolt. Seriously. Ugly and creepy.

See?

Now, I'm not technically, exactly allowed to paint in my apartment. But this called for a little bending of the rules...and really they only ever told me not to paint the walls.

Instant improvement.

So it started, and in a few hours, this:

Became this:

As for the surprise? A splash of color on the inside!

This is far from the most involved thing I've done. But I have to admit it has probably made the most impact on how I feel about my home. And I did it with stuff I had around from other projects.

Decorating with maps

I've been thinking a lot lately about ways to take up a significant chunk of blank wall space. Since I moved the new couch in I had to rearrange every bit of furniture, which of course means the art has to be shuffled as well.

Decorating on a strict budget has been a challenge, but the availability of alley-found furniture and discount stores for fabrics and rugs has made it manageable. The one place I'm having trouble is with art. I've seen a lot of creative things done with paper and even coffee filters, but that just isn't my aesthetic. I also can't paint the walls, so I need to throw some color up there. Hence my current train of thought: hang some maps.

The idea of a big classroom map with original hanging hardware makes me swoon, but I'm having trouble finding one. I would use it has a back drop behind the couch and always have it pulled down. But there are other maps that might look cool in a grouping or one their own. And Etsy is a great place to find vintage maps. Here are a few of my favs:


French map of the US from Extra Virgin Home


Map of TX with Blue Bonnets Hankie from Blue Bonnets Etc.


Archeology/Natural history 3D map from Austin Modern


Illustrated NY state map from Holcroft

I'm going to continue hunting for my pull-down classroom map, but these are other examples I might keep in mind. Anyone know any schools that are upgrading their maps?!?

Teaser: coffee table

Just a quick teaser to say that I found a giant, solid wood coffee table in my alley last night. I tried to find something similar online but can't find anything remotely close. It's currently covered in stickers and glitter on top (I have no clue), but I should be able to fix that and make it cute again. I'm smelling a project for the long weekend!

Paris Men: Spring 2010

Dear Fashion Gods,

If it wouldn't be too much trouble, would you mind possibly, maybe, dressing the men in my life from the Dunhill and Hermes Spring 2010 lines? I'm a sucker for great tailoring.


Dunhill Spring 2010 Designer: Kim Jones
Image via men.style.com


Hermès Spring 2010 Designer: Veronique Nichanian
Image via www.wwd.com

Full slide shows here and here.

Merci et bises,
E