Christmas DIY

I am not a "traditional" Christmas decorator, meaning I tend to steer away from the sole green and red combo. I recently helped decorate a home for our local Christmas Tour and thought I would share some of the DIY projects we created. You can click on each image to get a better view.


First up is a simple tree. We cut a medium sized branch from a tree in the yard and suspended it on the floor using fishing line tacked to the molding and rafters above. We then decorated the tree with prisms and balls in a color theme complimentary of the living area.


This eye catching arrangement was so easy to make. We took a large glass vase and filled the center with a cylindrical piece of floral foam which we had cut to fit. We then took the purple balls, which consisted of flat and shiny finishes for variation, and filled up the space around the foam. The twigs and sticks were then arranged to suit.


A simple pewter tray filled with choice ornaments is quick and easy yet makes a huge statement.


Just about everybody has a glass cylindrical vase. We took plastic faceted beads and layered them with cranberries, creating an illusion of cranberries on ice. The branches were spray painted metallic silver, then embellished with silver berries we tore off an old, out-of-date garland.


We took an iron tree and decked it with clear prisms, creating an icicle effect. We then used marshmallows as snow, placing pinecones around to keep it sophisticated.


So, if the Season has you gloomy and seems so mundane, I hope these creations inspire you to go out and have fun creating something new and different for your Holiday decor this year.

Coming Color Trends

An emerging color trend composed of greens, deep blues and turquoise derived from the palette of the Peacock will be hitting stores early Spring.

These ceramic egg vases from West Elm



along with the Miranda Vase and Regina Pillow from Crate & Barrel


are great examples of this looming trend. Brown is a great neutral to intermingle with this palette.

Designers Guild also has some fabulous examples of this trend via their wallpapers and fabrics. Unfortunately, their website is undergoing some revamping so all products are not accessible at this time, but you'll want to bookmark it for your future viewing.



So, if you love blues and greens be on the lookout. It's coming to a store near you. :)

The Look for Less

If you've got the dough (no pun intended), this Basswood Deer at $449.00 from Viva Terra is a beauty.

But if you're budget challenged this sort of price tag can easily take up what you would spend accessorizing an entire room or two. For some affordable options that recreate this "look" for less I submit the following:

EBAY is a great resource for all things known to man and you can almost always bet the price will be right. You can find these gorgeous white tail antlers, shed at no expense to the deer, going at a final price ranging anywhere from $50.00 to $80.00.

Place them in a book case or on an end table and they're an instant attention getter.

To complete the look I suggest a DIY project that ANYONE can do. Just check out the current edition of Domino where Nate Turner gives us a tour of his rustic home and teams up with Domino to give us step by step directions showing us how we can make this


TOO!

Although Nate's is a reindeer, I think it is a graphic, yet subtle piece that makes a huge statement. If you feel reindeer are too "Christmasy", then simply follow his instructions using the silhouette of a deer. If you don't own a projector and have even the minimalest of drawing skills I have no doubt you can complete this project without purchasing the projecter. Just eyeball it. The 30" x 40" canvas is currently on sale at Pearl Cotton Canvas for $14.93 plus shipping.

So, if you're on a budget, you can easily recreate this $450.00 look for right around $100.00 and take pride in the fact that you did it yourself!

Inhabit Living is Having a Sale!

Check it out here : http://www.inhabitliving.com