Posts Tagged ‘wood’
It’s raining here in Southern California today, which doesn’t happen all that often. But when it does, I am reminded how much I enjoy having wood floors. There’s something about the cold wet outside that makes the warmth of wood inside that much more appealing. Perhaps that’s why it’s such a favorite in Scandinavian design. The variety in wood flooring makes it perfect for any space. Straight-set full boards, staggered multiple size pieces or herringbone patterns just scratch the surface of choices you can make. Want to make a long hall feel shorter? Run the boards across the width, and choose one with a distinct break between the linear pieces. A wood type with lots of grain adds texture to your floor to play off of smooth or monochromatic surfaces, while a low-grain flooring can appear smooth and almost monolithic.
Painted wood floors are a great option if your original flooring doesn’t really fit your decor, but the boards are still in decent shape. Or cover a discolored area with a painted ‘rug’ to showcase the wood flooring while hiding its flaws. And what if you have stone or concrete floors, and really don’t want to remove them? Try floating a wood platform over the top of a portion of the room. This can help define a space within a larger area and increase the spatial interest within your home.
(above) Separated planks
Wood up the side + Herringbone
Amy wrote this post. She is the designer and owner of FormFire Glassworks, where she creates modern lampwork glass beads and jewelry, and by day designs custom homes for a small firm in Southern California. You can follow her twitter @formfireglass.
I have a couple of last minute Thanksgiving-related projects I’m trying to finish up before next week and as I get them done, I’ll share ‘em here in case you want to recreate one on your own. The first of the projects will only take 5 minutes (not including drying time). So let’s start with that one…
I found these really cool salad servers at Target (from The Curiosity Shoppe – only $10 online) and immediately put them in my cart. I’m not a big salad tong kind of girl, but for some reason I felt like I had to have these. Plus, we’re having a couple of people over our house this year for Turkey Day, so why not do it up?
I painted each arrow’s fletching (or ‘feather’) for a pop of color amongst the sea of browns and tans with turkey, potatoes, and stuffing galore on Thanksgiving. Here’s how I did it…
Supplies: paint brush, acrylic paint, acrylic sealant or matte medium, sand paper
How-To: Very lightly sand the area so your paint has something to stick to. Wipe away debris and go straight into painting. You can use a primer if you want to, but it’s not really necessary in this case. I painted three layers for each color and used a sporadic color pattern. Seal the paint with an acrylic sealer or matte medium and you are ready to use. Hand wash only.
Do you have any Thanksgiving-related projects you are working on right now? I’d love to know what you have cooking for the 22nd.
Concept, styling and photography by Brittni Mehlhoff for papernstitch.
Perhaps its fall and the colors it brings, or maybe its the thought of a roaring fire and sharing warmth, but I’m on a wood-sy kick these days. Lucie Veilleux of 3 Dots is not making my mini-obsession go away easy either. Her shop is filled with hand cut + polished wooden modern jewelry and other niceties. Here are my 3 favorites for wooden fun this season:
Home decor for the guests to enjoy: Retro Modern Cube – $25
Visit 3 Dots on Etsy now.
With the recent move I’ve been a bit obsessed with trying to repopulate our home with unique decor items that give me a special feeling. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but when I saw the laser cut wall art from Pepper Sprouts, I thought, “This might just work!”
More modern home accessories await you at Pepper Sprouts.
We often neglect our ceilings when it comes to designing a room. We worry about the color of the walls, the furnishings, the floor, but often the ceiling gets short shrift. Perhaps we figure it has to stay the way it was built in the first place, but even lower drywall ceilings may have a little trick up their sleeve. And if you’re lucky enough to have a higher ceiling, or perhaps one that is sloped, you may have lots of options to dress up the plane above you. Wood beams can make a great addition to any of these spaces, giving our ceilings a little character to coordinate with the rest of the decor.
Perhaps you’ve always wanted a wood beam ceiling. There are two ways to go about it without completely rebuilding your floor or roof. The first is to apply beams to the bottom of the existing ceiling. If your ceiling is on the lower side, you might try beams that are shallow (2-3″) and wider (6-8″.) This gives you the look of a beam without sacrificing the height of your room. And if you space them out a bit, say at around 3-4 feet, you will not feel that the height of the room has changed. Your other option is to open up the ceiling, either in full or in part. This may require a bit of shifting of wiring and lighting, but even a small area over a defined space can look great, either by leaving the exposed joists as is and finishing the lower portion of the floor above or the roof, or perhaps cladding the joists to get a cleaner look. These beams can be finished clear, stained, or painted white for a textural look without a shot of additional color.
(above) Whitewashed Beams and Plank Sheathing
Painted Rafters in Kitchen + White Sloped Ceiling
Beams as Ribs + Beams Become Columns
Amy wrote this post. She is the designer and owner of FormFire Glassworks, where she creates modern lampwork glass beads and jewelry, and by day designs custom homes for a small firm in Southern California. You can follow her twitter @formfireglass.
