I’m so excited I can barely contain myself! Why? Because I interviewed the Novogratz on my other blog, BringingBackAwesome.com for our #SummerOfAwesome! Be sure to check out how Bob and Cortney Novogratz answered 7.5 fun questions…
when your home is your canvas
I’m so excited I can barely contain myself! Why? Because I interviewed the Novogratz on my other blog, BringingBackAwesome.com for our #SummerOfAwesome! Be sure to check out how Bob and Cortney Novogratz answered 7.5 fun questions…
If you’re short on art around your place there are ways to create almost instant (and cheap) art.
I work in advertising, so we frequently get giant catalogs of different types of royalty-free images that places like ad agencies purchase. Like this one…
These catalogs frequently land in the trash or recycling so I snagged this one and found this awesomeness…
…which I decided definitely needs to be hanging on my wall, so I cut it out of the book and framed it in a $4 floating poster frame and got this…
Sorry about the glare…I have lots of windows.
Isn’t she awesome? For this kind of project an inexpensive floating poster frame is usually your best bet because a) it’s cheap, and b) the art likely won’t be standard size. This was 7 1/2″ x 9″ so a floating frame was ideal. Plus the paper very likely isn’t acid-free, so it probably won’t last forever, but then you can feel good about changing things up when you get bored, because you only spent $4!
Doesn’t she look fabulous here on the small wall between my linen closet door and my bedroom door?
Accompanied by some other whimsical pieces…this folk art snake I created on a scrap of wood, using paint, buttons, and decoupaged ransom note letters cut out from a magazine…
And this multi-media, silk-screened and quilted art piece by Janice Taylor…
But don’t worry if you don’t have access to books of royalty-free art. If you have a graphic designer friend, ask them if they ever get them and would be willing to pass them on to you. Or buy a cheap second-hand coffee table book to cut up and frame. (And don’t feel guilty about cutting up a book! I know how these things go, and we need to get over that. Think of giving it new life that you can enjoy every day!)
Another inexpensive option is to clip magazine ads. There are some beautiful ones and again, they may not last forever, but for now they’d make great little art pieces. Here are a couple that I’ve saved over the years with the intent to frame…
Or you could even frame an interesting piece of wrapping paper like this…
…or a sheet of artsy scrapbook paper…
So there’s no excuse for you to not have any gorgeous art on your walls! Now go frame something!
Showing off at Funky Junk Interiors.
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Recently I freshened up my family room by adding some simple accessories and not spending scads of money. My new accent colors are orange, yellow, and a vibrant green.
I chose those colors by taking a look at some of the accessories I already had in the room (that I knew I’d be keeping) and picking out some of the more vibrant colors, like the orange and yellow in this lamp shade (which has a great story behind it)…
The spicy pumpkin orange and greens in this chair…
The golden lamp…
The yellow in this vintage advertising art…
And the vibrant yellow lemon zest in the poodle’s martini…(and what poodle doesn’t deserve – hell, even demand – a martini?)…
All pieces that I already had in my family room that either I love (the art and the striped lampshade) or that need to stay because the lotto fairies didn’t leave me a winning ticket (the 90s chairs). Bottom line…I built an entirely new look based on what I already had with just a couple of colors that are now here…
and here…
Plus, just to keep everyone on their toes with a little design surprise, I didn’t just stick to orange, yellow, and green, but also added in a little zebra and black and white…
…because doesn’t black and white zebra match just about anything? Just shake your head yes and agree with me and no one will get hurt!
See it all pulled together in the family room here.
by Andrea 2 Comments
This is the tenth installment in a series, Find Your Creative Voice, based on the article 10 Questions that Will Help You Find Your Voice over at Accidental Creative, because it’s so important to find your voice when building a comfortable nest, be it a one room apartment or a sprawling mansion. I will be answering the questions that author Todd Henry has posed, and I hope that you will answer them too.
In case you missed the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth installment…
Question 10 :: If you only had one day left, how would you spend it?
No, I wouldn’t spend my last day plunger fighting. But I would want to spend it with those two crazy awesome people in the pic – my amazing kids!
My kids drive me to excel and to find my creative voice. They inspire me to greatness. Because I want to set an example for them of someone who has found what they want in life and pursues it with passion. If I can teach that to them, what an incredible lesson!
So if I had only one day left, I’d spend it with them, the most important people in my world. I’d probably spend the first 30-60 minutes getting all business out of the way – do this, don’t do that, call about this, etc. And then I’d spend the rest of the time with them creating awesome memories. Which is what I want to do with them every single day.
If you only had one day left, how would you spend it?
Feel free to start a dialogue on the subject of creativity and if you only had one day left how you would spend it in the comments and on the Homage Style Facebook page.
Hope you enjoyed the series, and most of all, may your find your creative self!
by Andrea 3 Comments
This is the ninth installment in a series, Find Your Creative Voice, based on the article 10 Questions that Will Help You Find Your Voice over at Accidental Creative, because it’s so important to find your voice when building a comfortable nest, be it a one room apartment or a sprawling mansion. I will be answering the questions that author Todd Henry has posed, and I hope that you will answer them too.
In case you missed the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth installment…
Question 9 :: What change would you like to see in the world?
I’m sure that there’s plenty of change that each of us would like to see in the world. I don’t know that I can reasonably narrow it down to one single change.
But there is something that irritates me in the design world that I would like to see change. The attitude of “let’s change out everything and get everything new.”
I see it a lot on house & home shows, especially those where people are looking to buy a new home. They will walk into a perfectly fine home, look at the bathroom or kitchen and say, “Oh, this is a complete renovation,” when in fact the room was just fine.
It’s part of the reason that I prefer to do home styling rather than work as a full-service designer. I can’t bear to see all of the waste, just because styles have changed a little.
The change that I would like to see in the world is for first world inhabitants to learn to live smaller. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Just because you have the money to renovate your entire kitchen, doesn’t mean that everything needs to go and be replaced with new.
This is not to say that I will never renovate anything, because I’m sure that I will. But I will strive for a timeless look that can survive fads and won’t need to be renovated every decade.
It’s painful to see so much waste in the world, so much that goes to the landfill. Let’s all move toward a world in which we reuse that which can be reused or give it to someone who will reuse it. I’m sure there are plenty of people who would love your old out-of-date kitchen cabinets. So while I’m sure you think it’s cool to smash them for the TV cameras, it would be so much cooler to casually unscrew them and let someone reuse them.
That is the change that I would like to see in the world.
What change would you like to see in the world?
Feel free to start a dialogue on the subject of creativity and what change you would like to see in the world in the comments and on the Homage Style Facebook page.
Up next in the series…If you had one day left, how would you spend it?
by Andrea 3 Comments
This is the eighth installment in a series, Find Your Creative Voice, based on the article 10 Questions that Will Help You Find Your Voice over at Accidental Creative, because it’s so important to find your voice when building a comfortable nest, be it a one room apartment or a sprawling mansion. I will be answering the questions that author Todd Henry has posed, and I hope that you will answer them too.
In case you missed the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh installment…
Question 8 :: What platform do you own now?
You can have all the dreams in the world, but if you don’t make a move to follow through and take steps to begin the journey to make those dreams come through, what good are they?
Sometimes – many times – we may not be in the perfect situation to do a full launch of the major dream. Just as often there is a way to kick it off low key. Small steps, you know?
So what platform do you own now? What can you start doing now?
Homes are my passion. I want to buy them, design them, renovate them, and decorate them.
However, right now I’m not in the financial position to launch a full-scale renovation operation. I’m a single mom with two kids, one of them in college, plus I work full time in another industry. So it’s just not feasible now.
But I do have a platform I own now…my house. Why not start with what I have? It’s the place that I can begin to launch my dreams. It may not the ultimate end goal, but it’s what I can do for now. The place that I can practice my craft. My launching pad.
What platform do you own now?
Feel free to start a dialogue on the subject of creativity and what platform you own now in the comments and on the Homage Style Facebook page.
Up next in the series…What change would you like to see in the world?
by Andrea 3 Comments
This is the seventh installment in a series, Find Your Creative Voice, based on the article 10 Questions that Will Help You Find Your Voice over at Accidental Creative, because it’s so important to find your voice when building a comfortable nest, be it a one room apartment or a sprawling mansion. I will be answering the questions that author Todd Henry has posed, and I hope that you will answer them too.
In case you missed the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth installment…
Question 7 :: What would blow your mind?
This one is easy! See day 5 and day 6!
It would completely blow my mind if I could spend my days working on homes. All things homes. Decorating, designing, renovating. You know the drill.
I love homes. I love dreaming about them. I love dreaming about blowing out this wall or designing a room a particular way. I love being on site when a house is being renovated. I love it all!
So it probably comes as no surprise that it would blow my mind every single day if I could make this my full-time gig. Someday soon, I hope.
The original article at Accidental Creative suggests that you list 40 things that would blow your mind. I won’t bore you with my entire list here, but try writing down the entire list…it’s great fun and pretty damn inspirational!
So again I will ask…what would blow your mind?
Feel free to start a dialogue on the subject of creativity and what would blow your mind in the comments and on the Homage Style Facebook page.
Up next in the series…What platform do you own now?
by Andrea 3 Comments
This is the sixth installment in a series, Find Your Creative Voice, based on the article 10 Questions that Will Help You Find Your Voice over at Accidental Creative, because it’s so important to find your voice when building a comfortable nest, be it a one room apartment or a sprawling mansion. I will be answering the questions that author Todd Henry has posed, and I hope that you will answer them too.
In case you missed the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth installment…
Question 6 :: If you had all the time and money in the world, what would you do?
See Day 4. What gives me hope.
Because what gives me hope is the very same thing that I would do if time and money were of no consequence.
Houses.
Glorious houses.
I’d buy them and fix them up. Maybe sell them, maybe rent them, maybe both.
Sounds like I’m really beginning to put a name to the face of my dreams.
How about you? If you had all the time and money in the world, what would you do?
Feel free to start a dialogue on the subject of creativity and what you would do if time and money were no object in the comments and on the Homage Style Facebook page.
Up next in the series…What would blow your mind?
by Andrea 2 Comments
This is the fifth installment in a series, Find Your Creative Voice, based on the article 10 Questions that Will Help You Find Your Voice over at Accidental Creative, because it’s so important to find your voice when building a comfortable nest, be it a one room apartment or a sprawling mansion. I will be answering the questions that author Todd Henry has posed, and I hope that you will answer them too.
In case you missed the first, second, third, or fourth installment…
Question 5 :: What did you want to be when you grew up?
Or, if you don’t think you’ve grown up yet, what do you want to be when you grow up?
To be honest, I went through a heavenly host of career choices as a kid, from teacher to writer to actor to brain surgeon, and finally to opera singer, which is what I ended up studying in college. And is not what I’m doing now.
While it’s quite motley selection of professions, one thread runs through most of them – creativity.
I’ve always been a creative type, beginning with Mom-inspired crafty projects and knitting and sewing. But the difference between me and my mom was that I was always a crafting risk taker, which would end up serving me well in my adult life, allowing me to just jump in and do things – decorating things, that is – that might scare most people. After all, what couldn’t be solved with some Kilz and a couple of coats of paint?
It wasn’t until I owned a home that I was exposed to what I consider to be my true talent – decorating and renovating homes. A late bloomer of sorts. Which is why I don’t always think there’s a clear-cut direct link from your childhood dreams to your adult talents. Sometimes, it’s more of a progression. Learning this and that, leading to the next thing, then the next, and suddenly you realize what you want to be when you grow up. Even if you’re already grown.
And sometimes it’s a case of having other life responsibilities when you finally figure out what you want to be when you grow up. Like me. So that’s when it’s critically important to do little things to feed your creative soul, and if you want to go in that direction, make plans to gradually transition into your new career as your reponsibilities permit.
Honor your path, no matter what it is. And every week, do a little something, moving you toward your new creative life!
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Feel free to start a dialogue on the subject of creativity and what you want to be when you grow up in the comments and on the Homage Style Facebook page.
Up next in the series…If you had all the time and money in the world, what would you do?
by Andrea 3 Comments
This is the fourth installment in a series, Find Your Creative Voice, based on the article 10 Questions that Will Help You Find Your Voice over at Accidental Creative, because it’s so important to find your voice when building a comfortable nest, be it a one room apartment or a sprawling mansion. I will be answering the questions that author Todd Henry has posed, and I hope that you will answer them too.
In case you missed the first, second, or third installment…
Question 3 :: What gives you hope?
As the saying goes, hope springs eternal. Without hope, what is there?
What gives me hope? Like so many, I hope that some day human beings will be able to live together in peace, accept and celebrate one another’s differences, and that all will have what they need to exist and support their families. Whether or not that will ever happen, who knows.
But on a more personal note, it gives me hope that maybe some day I will be able to purchase a house to renovate, which I could then rent or resell.
It gives me great hope to imagine fixing up a shabby interior and dreaming up an amazing new design for the house.
And it gives me hope that I can share my experiences here on this blog, and maybe, just maybe, touch someone who finds it interesting and even helpful.
It gives me great hope to know that somewhere out there is a tribe of people who love what I love, just waiting for me to join in the fun.
And finally, it gives me great hope that maybe some day, I can spend my days doing this that I love so dearly.
We always have hope…
What gives you hope?
Feel free to start a dialogue on the subject of creativity and what you have mastered in the comments and on the Homage Style Facebook page.
Up next in the series…As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?