$7 of Brass Metallic Paint

Can really change a piece! Case in point, my friend Courtney took down a lamp she once liked because it had an outdated brushed nickel base and she didn't like the look. But a little inspiration from the Brass Monkey and her lamp had a new look with a painted base. What an easy update!

gotta love turquoise and brass!

Looks great with her grandparent's antique brass-footed table! 

Catalogs

Still exhausted and full from a fun Thanksgiving and needing to blog ;).  I love all the catalogs that come at Christmas time.  I've counted 37 received in the mail since last Saturday.  So, tonight I decided to grab ten of them at random and find at least one thing (i thought) that could be great in a home...then its off to the recycling bin.  Here goes:

Room and Board Hive Orange Pillow

 

[ProductDetail_TopEspot]

Grandin Road mirrored wall tiles

[ProductDetail_RightEspot]

Smith and Noble firenze custom curtains

Company Store Belly Table Lamp

Home Decorators Reflections Lyre Cabinet

Pottery Barn Teen Lattice Rug

Chiasso Chrome Arc Lamp

 

Wisteria Crosshair Hide Stool

Serena and Lily Octavia Headboard

Crate and Barrel Chloe Chair

Book Nooks

 How cute is the idea of converting a unused closet into a book nook for your little ones?  I LOVE this idea.

 

  

 

Mermaid

So, I DIY'd.  Yes, it is funky, and no, hubs hasn't seen it yet.  Tomorrow I'll make a mad dash to find a 24x36 frame to finish it out and will post the final product.  I would LOVE a mirrored frame....will have to go on the hunt.  Scroll down for pics of my "mermaid" while in the works!

It is finished, but needs a frame:)

The blog post from Babble said to cut shiny poster board into circles, then spray paint gold.  While at Michaels, I went exploring in the scrap booking aisle and found lots of lovely card stock in various colors and lusters.....including a shiny gold.  So, for $0.49 a card (which yielded about 2 rows of "scales"), I had immediate colors to work with.  Above was my original plan....tracing my Wrights Silver polish container as the perfect circle size. 

ahhhhh......the magic of an extra large punch.  About 2 pages into my circle tracing and cutting, I realized this was going to take a while.  Thanks to my very creative friends at Trio Design Studio, and a lovely glass of Cabernet, my brain became unfrozen and I heeded their advice to use a PUNCH.  Look at all the fun colors to play with! 

After playing around with all the fun colors, I decided on a lime green and gold combination.  Using Fabri-tac glue, I mounted the circles onto a 24x36 foam poster board making the "scales" then trimmed the edges.  The key to making it look even more "scaly" and textured is to lightly flip up the scales.

Arden & Scott

Every now and then I get a chance to help a friend with decorating their home. Sweet Arden Ellis and her husband Scott wanted to finally furnish and decorate their formal living room and dining area.  They might have been the easiest people to work with as they knew EXACTLY what they wanted, and both  have very sleek & modern taste.   Kristen and I worked on getting these two rooms together, and are very pleased with the way they turned out.  Just a few more accent pieces for the Living room and it will be complete!   Scroll further down to see the before photos and the room in progress.

The AFTER

view from living room into dining area - chandelier picked by Kristen from shop ten 25.  What could be more perfect for these two Longhorns than Slipper chairs recovered in orange and white trellis!

This vintage Thomasville dresser was the focal point of living room.  Artwork was a gift from Scott's sister, Melissa Ellis who is a local artist here in Dallas.

Scored two Missoni vases and two cool lamps

They already had the table, chairs and artwork, just needed a fabulous light fixture.  at night the shadows from this chandelier are beautiful. 

A chrome x-base bench is serving as seating opposite the slipper chairs.  The large sisal and cowhide give the room warmth and texture.

Lucite nesting tables and a fab book complete the look

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEFORE

BEFORE - trying to figure out just the right layout and what chairs to use

Sweet Ford playing Angry Birds on our chair option # 2.  Notice the lamps.....

Scored these at TJ Maxx!

Arden has decided on this fabric

And these chairs

Do I DIY? I think so!

Next in the que.....this may need to go above my fireplace!

This was made from posterboard, paint, and a frame(!).  What if instead of posterboard, I use a cool vinyl fabric.....or multiple colors of vinyl.....my head is spinning!

Brass Monkey

In the next few months, I'll be re-doing a cool pair of brass chairs that I found off of craigslist.  Brass isn't an easy thing to bring back into a home when for so long, the mere mention of the word meant you were talking about something outdated.  I was timid at first to consider it for chandeliers, lamps, chairs, accessories, but now I love the way it so easily mixes with various colors, and adds a splash of glam when done right. 

Looks amazing with all the black.  The brass candleholders, and brass colored vase really pop.

WOW....love these tables.  They look gorgeous with the jewel-toned room!

Even the slightest detail of the brass feet on the loveseat, and the framing of the table make a sleek room even sleeker.

A little out of focus, but love that the side table is trimmed in brass.

can be masculine in a bar....

Even with the most bare and neutral of spaces....it just works

Vintage brass mushroom lamp.....very cool

Not for everyone, brass colored fixtures and pipes are making a splash again

The brass bar cart.....very Mad Men and so sophistocated

I love these colors.....and that the slightest brass detail adds so much to the look!

what a gorgeous campaign dresser and brass ring mirror.  LOVING the brass and grey.

perfect lamps for this credenza

Jonathan Adler

I drool.....and LOVE this lamp.....would love two of them!  Maybe Santa will think I was nice this year

Another example of how the slightest brass detail really adds something to a space

brass knobs and handles and kickplates!  soo glam.  as if the fireplace isn't enough....the chandelier above it is dreamy.