We got fantastic feedback on the story about Marsh & Clark’s elegant and contemporary powder room design for the 2009 San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

I was thrilled when Stephanie Marsh Fillbrandt wrote me about another version of the room they recently completed. Here’s the new room:

Photographs by Elisabeth Fall

As you’ll recall, the original room featured an incredible stone mosaic in artful swirls that crawled up the luminous Venetian plaster walls. Warmth was brought to the room with a custom-built, cantilevered, wood vanity.

Another client adored the design.

“The client wanted ‘the same bathroom’ but did not have the budget to replicate our original design, so we updated the look with more cost effective materials,” said Stephanie.

Details from Stephanie:

• Paint on walls is Benjamin Moore Grey Cloud in a satin finish, instead of Venetian plaster.
• Fun center light fixture (the company is no longer making this, but we have had it custom made for other projects).
• The new light cast a glow on the wall which actually gave the walls the appearance of Venetian plaster.
• Custom tile floor with swirl pattern inlaid.
• Custom cantilevered, wood vanity but this time from mahogany rather than the more pricey machiche wood.
• Matching wood wall mirror, instead of antique mirror.
• No tile detail on wall and no custom art window.

The new design cost about sixty percent less than the original.
 

What do you think about the new powder room? Have you ever been inspired by a more costly design that you emulated for less?

I just met two of those people.

Seattle-area Interior Designers Piper Salooga and Sara Eizen have fun with what they do. At their latest Home Accessories Swap they scanned the crowd for toilet brushes, and had their referee whistles at the ready in case of a decorator pillow fight.

Thankfully feathers didn’t fly. “It’s a whirlwind. But, everyone was really good-natured and must have read our rule ‘No Bullies Allowed’,” said Piper.

With their design events series called ReDecor Revolution (formerly Sit + Sip), the design duo shows locals stylish and fun ways to go green.

The Home Accessories Swap idea came to Sara one day when she was clothes shopping. She thought, “I need clothes and I don’t have much money to spend. I had heard of clothing swaps and wished someone I knew was having one.”

That’s was the lightbulb moment. She zipped off to meet with Piper and said, “Why aren’t we swapping home accessories??” Immediately Piper agreed and they went to work planning their first swap.

In their Seattle design firms, Piper’s Natural Balance and Sara’s Nest, they often show clients how just a few new accessories can freshen up a space. Thing is the pieces don’t have to be new—just new to the client—like what they’d find at a swap.

The swap meshes perfectly with the designers’ green motto: Reduce, Reuse, Restyle. “Rather than dump it, someone’s junk is someone else’s treasure,” said Piper. “And it’s a local event, so people don’t have to drive far.”

“Every level of green makes a difference. Complete sustainability is complex. But once you take that first green step, you feel more comfortable.”

About the swap Sara added, “Besides being green it feels so great to clean out and refresh our spaces and get something to turn us on.”

For their most recent event, about sixty enthusiastic swappers showed up, re-usable shopping bags and laundry baskets in hand. For the first hour, people dropped off their three or more items, and were allowed to preview other’s items and “plot their attack.”

Shoppers queued up and were released to enter the swap in timed rounds, based on the time they first arrived at the swap. The designers draped people with colored Mardi Gras beads for the Red round and the Blue round.

The event ran as smoothly as a pair of silk draperies, thanks to the designers thinking through in advance the logistics, and providing swappers tips and rules, like:

• Plan beforehand what types of accessories you want, and bring a shopping list to target your hunt.
• Bring masking tape and a Sharpie to claim larger items you find at the swap

Swappers knew the list of acceptable items:

• Absolutely: Lamps, vases, table linens, small furniture, rugs.
• No Way: Exercise equipment, large furniture, electronics, anything broken or damaged, and–ahem–no toilet brushes.
• There’s more—read the full list here.

The designers were thrilled with the quality of swapping merchandise: “We got a really neat shaker martini set, and someone brought a Persian rug,” said Piper. “We have been so pleasantly surprised — Sara and I are amazed at the varying styles.”

And it was good for business. “I have new client that came from the swap,” said Sara.

So homes were freshened, landfills left alone, and merriment spread. Surprisingly, one woman found a vase that’s a perfect match for a treasured set of vases she had at home.

And thankfully, not a toilet brush in sight.

Here’s a video News report on the swap.
 

What do you think of the Home Accessories Swap concept? Do you think you might organize a small-scale swap for your friends and neighbors, or a larger community swap like Piper and Sara did?

I’m glad because truth is for me, they never went out. Quilt designs are a comforting link with our past, and today’s quilt artists are incredible. (If you ever get the chance — drop in on one of the large quilt shows like Pacific International and you’ll see what I mean — awesome artistry and craftsmanship.)

I’m especially smitten with the bold, graphic color play of Amish quilts. Just about the best Christmas presents I ever got were two vibrant Amish wall quilts—straight from Pennsylvania Amish country—that my husband had custom-made for me. They add such life to our great room.

I’ve wanted to create some home decor designs using quilts as inspiration. I thumbed through my quilt books and decided rather than stitch a quilt, this time I’d try my hand at painting one. Painting would allow me to make a more detailed design than I have the patience to sew, and I could mix whatever colors I want for my design.

At the same time, our ottoman was talking to me. Screaming actually. “Hey over here! It’s me with the maple syrup stain on top, from when you let your groggy nine-year old eat pancakes in the living room.”

The idea was born — I would paint an Amish-inspired quilt in contemporary colors, to reupholster and resuscitate my ottoman. Waa-hoo! Fun for me and a fab DIY for you.

Here’s what I made:

And here’s how. I started with this:

I used a white, cotton/poly blend canvas and traced the shape of the old ottoman top on my fabric. I decided on the Sunshine and Shadow quilt pattern. For my ottoman’s size, a grid of 1″ squares would work well, so using a carpenter’s square and pencil I measured and drew grid lines.

This book below provided me great inspiration in Amish Quilt designs. You can also find wonderful designs online. With graph paper and colored pencils, I tried different color combinations that would complement our decor.

I was careful to pay attention to the relative value of the colors—dark, medium, light—that is the key to getting a striking, graphic effect with the Sunshine and Shadows, and other Amish patterns. And for our room in comparison to other dark textiles, it was important that the ottoman still feel somewhat light.

The small sketch is the scheme I arrived at: purples, greens, brown, tan and a nice dose of off-white. I would later tweak the placement of a few colors, but this was the plan.

I bought small bottles of matte-finish, acrylic “soft fabric paint” from the craft store. For my scheme, I was able to use colors straight from the bottle except for two colors that I custom-mixed.

I broke out my good, large, flat-tipped watercolor brush. That was a huge help when painting the colored squares. Here’s the painted quilt in progress:

It took me several evenings to finish the painted quilt. Here it is:

After drying overnight, I was ready to upholster my ottoman. So I laid the painted quilt fabric over the ottoman top’s foam and plywood layers; then I got to work.

This job called for my trusty Craftsman electric staple gun. Bought it years ago when I reupholstered a couch and it’s still going strong. A heavy-duty manual staple gun would probably also do the trick. (Oh and like Norm says, wear your safety glasses.)

I wrapped the fabric around and centered my design. Like recovering any seat cushion, I started by putting a staple in the center of each side, while yanking the fabric taught with the other hand. Then I just continued on around yanking and stapling each side, stopping just before each corner.

I folded the corners and stapled like this.

I trimmed the excess fabric and yippee! Ottoman top complete.

Now all that was left was to screw the ottoman top back to its legs. A nine-year-old can (and did) do this step.

Voila! I’m thrilled with it, and how it sparks up our living room.

The fabric paint seems sturdy, but I might finish the painted quilt top with a protective coat. Can I get a matte-finish, water-based polyurethane that will work well on fabric?? What do you think?
 

Have you used quilts, or quilt designs in your decor?

Hey Design Junkies — Have you been over to our RoomsByYou Custom Home Textiles Challenge yet? Just a couple days left and someone’s going to run away with a great prize of custom, print-on-demand bedroom textiles.

So give it a whirl — click and drag designer patterns and colors to create a virtual room for the teen in your life. (And don’t worry if you don’t have a teen — go ahead and create a room for a pretend teen.)

Here’s the room that Stella Fortuna designed:

But hurry! You need to submit your design by Midnight Pacific, this Friday, March 5 to be eligible for the prize of beautiful a custom duvet and Euro shams of your choice—for your teen or for you.

Have fun; we can’t wait to see your entry!

Last night there was a bit of a party. A fascinating, chatty, colorful party. And this Design Junkie attended in her pajamas.

You may know that besides producing HomeWorkshop.com, I report on interior design and decorating on Twitter (my Twitter name is @HomeWorkshop). It’s been an incredible venue to meet other design-crazed homeowners and design professionals.

Now back to last night.

Two women planned a little shindig. North Carolina-based interior designer, Wanda S. Horton (Twitter name @WandaSHorton) and design and furniture industries social media pro Leslie Carothers (on Twitter as @tkpleslie).

Wanda and Leslie’s idea was this event where professional interior designers, specialists, artists, craftspeople and retailers from all areas of all home design, could gather virtually with consumers, in order to answer as many questions as possible, and to share
design tips.

For free.

So last night at 8 pm Eastern, I signed in to Twitter and searched on the special hashtag created for the event. #IDzinechat. (A hashtag is a way to quickly see all the “tweets” (Twitter entries) related to one topic.

A few designers including Wanda were online, as well as some homeowners. Right on time, a question rolled in:

Where do I begin a room from scratch?

An answer magically appeared:

• Start with a carpet and pull colors from that.

And another:

• We start with the artwork and go from there.

The next query:

How to finish a basement wall system?

• Put stylish wallpaper on the inside back of shelf sections.
• Better yet cover with wallpaper removable inserts, for easy updating.

Ideas were flowing, and more and more people came to the party.

Then keyboards and fabric samples began to fly.
 

There was talk of Eco-design…

and Feng Shui.

A retailer got instant direction from the field on current hot colors in baby rooms.

Sources were tweeted, and photos of projects. Links to helpful articles and blog posts were shared (yowzah!).

And everybody had an opinion about what to do with the darn TV:

• Some had great ideas for working it in over the fireplace.
• Others said okay, but here’s how to camouflage it there.
• Still others asked why the heck we are still hanging the TV over the fireplace, and hey a decorative cabinet is a better way to go.

Tweet of the evening was awarded to designer @kimberleyseldon:

“u don’t need face lift – u need table lamps”

(I’m off to buy more table lamps first thing tomorrow.)

I admit it’s not the simplest thing to follow a Twitter group conversation. Picture a cocktail party—a big, hip, happening one with the best decor of course—where you are privy to ALL the conversations at once. The key is to smile and jump in when you are interested and have a tidbit to add. (That and to wear hot shoes).

And tools like TweetDeck can help you follow along.

What was the best thing about #IDzinechat?

People met. However briefly, contacts were made. Designers met homeowners and vice versa. Retailers met design pros. And designers met other designers.

It was a friendly neighborhood gathering and (thankfully) with little of neighbor Herb pushing his latest multi-level marketing product.

People came to the party with a genuinely helpful mindset. And this blogger enjoyed
the decor.

So the first #IDzinechat is a wrap. We showered our hostesses with compliments and are plotting the next party. This time you’ll all be on the list.

Get shopping for that hot pair of slippers and I’ll see you there.

Award-winning ceramicist Nancy Monsebroten examines things others walk right past. “As a child I was very lucky to grow up on an isolated farm in North Dakota,” said Nancy.

“I was outside all the time, walking through nature and looking at nature. I knew where every flower was and when it bloomed. We didn’t get a TV until I was ten.”

Nancy’s love of flora shows in the graceful porcelain pieces like her Thousand Petals Vase, that she creates in her Onalaska, Wisconsin studio.

“I am just so inspired by nature,” said Nancy. “I will never run out of inspiration. My work is contemporary but it’s very organic and botanical.”

I was attracted to the serenity in Nancy’s work.

“People tell me that my work makes them feel very peaceful,” said Nancy. “A woman told me she has a very hectic job and she can sit down in
her living room, look at my piece
and relax.”

Nancy’s been making things all her life and credits her grandmother with sparking her artistic interests. “She taught me to sew and knit, to bake and to raise flowers,” said Nancy. “I was really lucky to have a creative grandmother.”

Nancy’s memories of Grandma have even inspired ceramic designs. “I have a vase called Grandma’s Perm,” said Nancy. Grandma washed her hair in rainwater to keep it white without yellowing. She would wash my hair in rainwater. This vase is homage to her.”

Another woman was instrumental in growing Nancy’s ceramics technique.

After getting hooked on ceramics when she happened upon a class at the University of Hawaii, Nancy’s husband’s job moved them to the East Coast.

“I did an apprenticeship in a private studio that I found when I visited the Smithsonian in Washington, DC,” said Nancy. I met a woman—Eleni Demetriou—at outdoor art fair there. She had a ceramic studio in DC and was looking for a full-time apprentice. She really showed me that ceramics could be a full-time career. I learned an amazing amount.”

“She would come down and show the two of us how to throw a pot and would say ‘make 50 of these and I’ll be back at noon.’ It’s so different than being in a formal class — it’s
so intensive.”

Nancy’s pieces are bathed in quiet, soft-colored glazes. “I mix my own glazes using recipes handed down to me during my apprenticeship…continuing the tradition of teacher passing knowledge to students.”

What Nancy does is not a quick process.

“A lot of my pieces are really time-consuming, like the Thousand Petal Vase,” said Nancy. “It really has 900 to 1,000 pieces. I get very relaxed sitting there repeating the process. It feels very meditative to me.”

Nancy works full time in her light-filled studio, right on the banks of the Mississippi river.

“We have a large, walkout basement. It has these giant windows and an oversized glass door overlooking the river. I can watch the sun move across the sky.”

Her ceramic students thrive in the setting. “They say it makes them feel calm,” said Nancy. “The view is so beautiful.”

This poem, “The Sensitive Plant” by Percy Bysshe Shelly, inspires Nancy in her work.

A sensitive plant in a garden grew
and the young winds fed it with silver dew
and it opened its fan-like leaves to the night
and closed them beneath the kisses of night.

Why do these words touch her?

“It is so simple yet so complex,” said Nancy. “It is something about finding the most amazing beauty in the most ordinary places.”

Nancy Monsebroten can be reached, and her porcelain ceramics can be purchased through:

• Her Web site
• Her Etsy store

Nancy found inspiration for her designs in plants, and in her grandmother’s curly, white hair. What simple things inspire you?

Production designer Darrell Cooke and designer Kate McConnell created the metamorphosis of the station for the home improvement giant’s advert. Purple damask wallpaper, comfy couches and floor lamps adorn one platform, and even kitchen units were brought in.

But my favorite is the station’s bridge that was transformed in this celebration of paint and glitzy chandeliers.

According to Homebase spokesperson Rebecca Brock, “The campaign is about inspiring people with ideas…so the bridge was completed to demonstrate the range of Homebase paint colors–where any paint color can be mixed in store.”

Here are some shots of the bridge “before.”

And a peek at some of the platform decor:

The makeover was intended as temporary, but some station passengers wish otherwise. The event has even resulted in a Facebook fan page as locals are keen to keep the station under its new guise.

What do you think? Should the makeover, or parts of the makeover remain?

Here’s a living room that Debbie recently decorated. The room before was bland and lacked the warmth of the family. In fact, the room was so uninviting that the family and even the dog, spent little time there.

Before

In order to combat the kid’s spills and the dog’s hair and messes, Debbie used textiles with vibrant color and pattern. Mixing warm and dark hues to contrast and complement, she created a space that has both playfulness and functionality.

After

The furniture is from Debbie’s Slobproof line, made to hold up to the roughhousing of both children and dogs. The line uses Crypton fabric, that features a breathable moisture barrier that prohibits liquids from penetrating the fabric to the cushion below.

Debbie specified window treatments that are high enough to stay out of the way of children and pets, and she accented the space with a few key architectural found items such as the unique red lacquered table.

More family-friendly design ideas are available in Debbie’s recent book Slob Proof! Real-Life Home Decorating Solutions.

I struggle with creating a stylish home that is also practical for my family. Do you?

WaterSpace in the UK has come up with the H2Office — a floating office space designed to fit perfectly into an unused marina slip. Take a look:

According to WaterSpace, the H2Office includes:

• Space for one or two people to work
• A “breakout” area (perhaps for small meetings, meals etc.)
• An external sun deck
• A kitchenette
• A pull-out berth (for occasional overnight stays)

Here’s a fun slide-show tour of the floating office.

(via Springwise.)

What do you think? Will this idea catch on? Do you know someone who would thrive with a floating office as their workspace?

Today we are joined by Leona Gaita, HomeWorkshop.com Interior Design Expert and Contributor. Leona shares with us her inspiring ideas and advice to help us enrich our homes and lives with beauty and elegance.

—

If you get the urge for a fresh little warming up for your windows, but you don’t know your way around a sewing machine, here’s a very simple but elegant Do-It-Yourself
Window Valance:

This style is very versatile, and really takes on the look and feel of the fabric you use. In this case, I’m using a rich autumnal floral, so I’m going to call mine an Elegant Country Valance. If you used a silk, it would look formal. If you used a white canvas with a navy blue ribbon, it would look nautical, and so on….

I let my lumber yard cut the 1″ x 3″ to the exact length I needed.

Then fold the fabric in half, selvage to selvage, right side in. Measure out the width you need, plus the two returns (the distance the fabric returns to the wall to cover the end of the lumber). Mine is 43″. plus (2) 2 1/2″ returns, plus 1/2″ on each side for “seam” allowance.

Trim the width down to the desired width, adding 1/2″ for seam allowance. So in my case, 43″ plus 5″ (for  both returns) plus 1″ (for seam allowance) = 49″.

Then, using no-sew fabric tape, make a three sided “pillowcase”, enclosing the two ends, leaving the top open.

Press the taped edges firmly (I did that with the handle of my scissors). Then carefully turn it right-side-out, and iron seams lightly with a cool iron.

Choose (and mark) two spots on the 1″ x 3″ and staple one end of one piece of ribbon to each spot. For mine, I placed the ribbon about 9″ away from each end.

Then mark the center of your lumber, and the center of your “pillowcase.” Start by stapling the center of the fabric case to the center of the wide side of the 1″ x 3″.

Then gradually staple your fabric out from the center on both sides, until you’re a few inches from each end.

Then fold the return around, and staple that to the top, and a few extra staples to keep the corners flat.

Then bring the other end of each ribbon around to the front and staple the ends  to the top.

Install two small angle irons. Make sure they’re level. For a 43″ valance, I would spread them about 30″ apart. Then sit the valance onto the angle irons, and screw up into the lumber. I like my valances kind of high, hanging just a couple if inches below the window frame, so that it gives a feeling of height, and doesn’t block light from the window.

Spend a little time fussing over the folds and the ribbon placement, and you’re done!

Now repeat…ALL OVER THE HOUSE!

HAVE FUN!

Leona Gaita has an infectious enthusiasm for interior design that she shares with us, with her clients and with the readers of her popular blog, Gaita Interiors.

With a lifelong involvement in the fine arts and design, Leona designs for Gaita Interiors, a staple of the local community for over 40 years, serving Larchmont, Westchester County and the New York metropolitan area.