Chalkboard Markers on Picture Frames

How great is this living room of one of my readers, Linda?

She wrote to me:  "I recently spied my old chalk board markers and randomly decided to draw on the glass of a couple picture frames.  It ended up being super fun and I liked the look (a bit irreverent), so thought I would share with you.  It's so simple and something your girls might enjoy for personalizing existing framed pictures.  And it wipes right off with a damp paper towel."

I love this! It is endlessly exciting for me to see the creative ideas you guys come up with. Sometimes the blog world can feel a little stale and your submissions are like a breath of fresh air in my inbox! :) If you'd like to share one of your ideas, feel free to email me.

And for kicks, here are just a few more photos of Linda's pretty living room. Man, I'm so loving dark wall color, always and forever.

Faux Brick Hardboard Wall Panels

I took a trip to IKEA recently and noticed the badly patched seam in this brick wall on one of their displays and thought, "oh, that's not brick then. duh."

Looks like they could have filled the gaps a little better? But I did like the effect of the texture from the "bricks."

Later I did some digging around the web and I discovered these faux brick hardboard sheets at Lowes. I wonder why I've never noticed these before in the lumber aisle? About $26 for a 4x8' sheet is so affordable! And the reviews are all really positive.

I think with a little effort and some plaster you could make the walls of your bathroom or laundry room look crusty and old like this:

Or if you're on a super-tight budget, I bet you could use the sheets in your kitchen even (painted flat black or white like the IKEA room above, but seamed better, of course!). Have you ever tried the faux brick hardboards? I'm dying to use them somewhere now!

(WHOA, FLOORS! ^^^)

Reader DIY: Stenciled Kitchen Floors

I'm a big fan of old encaustic tile used in kitchens (I'm using a repro version in a laundry room project). This kitchen from Kristen Buckingham that features the prettiest encaustic floor tiles, will always be a favorite of mine.

So I was excited when Jessica from the Eagle's Nest blog (and the woman behind this amazing hardware line) emailed to share this cool project she tackled in her kitchen. The brave woman glazed her concrete floors:

And stenciled on a geometric pattern (with several layers to the pattern!) and then gave the whole thing a glossy seal. Jessica gives the full rundown on her blog here.

I love the after photo and think the pattern on the floors really brings that space to life. Great job, Jessica!  :)

If you have a project you'd like to submit to be featured on LGN, email us.

More Framed (Faux) Butterflies

I'm still in love with framed butterfly collections. Some of you were creeped out by the idea (and I suggested this paper cuts version), but I still like something a little more real-looking.

via Desire to Inspire

Recently I was at Michael's picking up some frames for a project and I spied a whole section of faux butterflies that were actually quite pretty! I think a framed collection of these would be adorable in any room, but especially in a nursery or a play room.

Not the real deal, but still pretty, right? Before any coupons, they were priced at about $1-$2 each, which is a steal.

And why not try a unique arrangement pattern (like with these) to mix things up a little?

Reader DIY: Mongolian Lamb Stool

I love the look of benches, stools and chairs upholstered in fluffy sheepskin. They look really great as small accent pieces in a living room or a bedroom.

     

via La Dolce Vita

via the Decorista

via Decorpad

Erin Gates via the Everygirl

via Flickr

via Design*Sponge

Reader Nadia used the simplest IKEA stool and a Mongolian lambskin pillow cover (this one would work really well!) to make a gorgeous little stool for her home.

I love the pink legs of her IKEA stool (and how about that wallpaper?)! For the full, very easy how-to, check out Nadia's post here.

If you have a project you'd like to share on LGN, please email me here. Thanks!

Roll On Wallpaper

My friend Grace from A Storied Style (who posted the cutest room reveal today), tweeted me a link to this company recently.

I think I got a PR email from them or something once and was intrigued with the idea. Do any of you have any experience with patterned paint rollers? I wonder how hard it is to line up the patterns perfectly and to get the paint on the wall in a consistent layer? I suspect you'd have to get okay with the idea of there being a lot of variation in the color shades. Could look cool though?

I'd be tempted to try something like this neon pink in a kid's room, or a closet or the backs of a bookshelf. A stencil would work just as well, though I wonder if the roller application would be much faster?

domino

Happy weekend, friends! Let's make it a great one! xx

Framing Baby and Vintage Clothing

Not to get all TMI on you all, but we're in the thick of some big family planning decisions around here. I would love to have more babies I think, but we're trying to be thoughtful about the timing and about what makes the most sense for us and for our future.

Me Oh My

Before we moved this summer, I donated, gifted and tossed basically all of our baby clothes. Truthfully, it was a little heart-breaking. I'm the kind of person that can remember what I was wearing at every single important (and semi-important) event in my life. Isn't that weird? There's a similar memory attachment to my kids clothes too.

Both images above from Eddie Ross

But, after three girls in a row, most of the clothes had been passed down once or twice (poor Evie!) and they were just done. It made sense to not waste precious storage space any more. I did keep a couple of really special pieces - blessing dresses and some of the really teeny tiny clothes from the newborn days. And I love to have one or two of those items framed - maybe in the hallway to the girls bathroom?

SCW Interiors

I also love all the vintage bathing suit ideas that have been floating around for the past couple years. Shoes, purses, wallets, jewelry, glasses - all of these would look great for those heirlooms you'd like to be able to enjoy, but that need protecting (like my grandmother's buttons).

KD Hamptons

Jeffrey Bilhuber design

Camila from Effortless Style recently framed her son's going home outfit in a standard acrylic frame from the craft store. It was a really cute and easy DIY that I might just have to copy! Check it out here.

White and Gold Design

Marianne and Jamie from White and Gold Design are based out of Salt Lake City. They are doing some great work and emailed me with one of their simple DIYs for their new office space.

Jamie says:

"Needing some desks for our new office space on a tight budget, we were inspired by your etageres post and how the spray paint completely transformed the piece. We bought the Vika Amon table top and it has a thick glossy finish that is actually pretty nice. We also bought plus two of the trestle style legs. Total spent $55. 

"We picked up some Rustoleum Metallic Gold spray paint, did two quick coats on the legs and absolutely love the finished product!  

 

"This DIY was awesome because it was so incredibly simple and best of all, cheap. You could buy any size of the table top from Ikea and create a similar look for a console table or even a small dining table. 

"The legs really look like brass and the ordinary IKEA screws that we all hate transformed into nice brass bolts." 

Looks great, right? Marianne and Jamie are a really talented duo! Check out these photos from Marianne's home:

If you'd like to submit a room or project to share on LGN, please email me.

More Sharpie Les Touches

The lovely and talented Caitlin emailed to say she was inspired by this old post and took a sharpie to her IKEA slipcovers.

Talk about bang for your buck! And I'm really liking the more open pattern she went with here. It's a little more subtle. (also much easier to pull off!)

The rest of her home is so lovely. Check out her full house tour here.

PS Caitlin mentioned she has a new color in her Deco pillow line - mint. So pretty!