In the Trenches featuring Kristy, aka Vintage Pleasure

Happy Wednesday budget decorators!

I’m glad to be back with another “In the Trenches” interview today. To be honest, this interview was scheduled to go live well over two weeks ago, but my crazy offline life really threw a wrench in my online plans. For that I offer my sincerest apology to you, my dearest readers, and to Kristy, who has been waiting so patiently to see her interview go live!

I ran across photos of Kristy’s home while browsing for inspiration for baby Elizabeth’s nursery and was immediately charmed by every photo! I could rave on and on about how I’m ready to move in any time she offers an invitation, but instead I’ll keep my introduction brief and let you discover the lovely Kristy and her home for yourself…

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Let’s start off by finding out more about you… I know you’re an extremely creative stay at home mom of four. How would you describe your decorating style?

I live just on the outskirts of Manchester,UK in an Edwardian house that needed total renovation from new bathrooms to complete redecoration. Partly due to financial necessity I have become addicted to thrifting, but I must admit that I just love vintage pieces so much. I love the history and the integrity they hold. I would say that my decorating style is definitely ecclectic. I am too much of a vintage loving pack-rat to stick to any one style or era for decor. I want my home to look like it has evolved rather than been staged and I really don’t like matchy matchy things. Any imperfections would drive me mad!

One of the things I love about your home is the way you intermingle vintage pieces with more modern/contemporary pieces. I think if I tried to do that, my home would just end up looking like a hodge podge of mess; your home, however, feels so pulled together and charming. How do you manage to create that balance?

I try only to buy things that I really love or make me smile. I think the best decor advice I was given was to always buy things you love when you see them. Don’t worry about where they will go. Eventually you will find a home for them. Don’t be scared to live with something for a while and move it around until it feels right. That’s the joy of many thrifted pieces as they really are affordable. I love the juxtaposition of a vintage piece next to a hopefully modern classic. Like my edwardian armchairs next to my glass coffee table. I love vintage pieces or modern pieces but I really don’t like modern pieces pretending to be vintage.

I also try to keep in mind certain colours for each room. So for example my kitchen is based around the colours of my collection of 1940’s china (that we use everyday by the way)- pastel pink, yellow, green, and blue against a white background. The same way a lot of people feel you should always have an element of black in a room, I always include a little red. It’s a colour that really lifts my mood even in very small doses.

I have to admit that while exploring your Flickr photos, I became completely fascinated by the images from your inspiration books. Will you tell us a little bit about them? How/why did you start them and how do they assist you in designing your home? (And just for my own curiousity, are they made from altered books? I noticed type written words in the background of several pages…)

My inspiration books are one of my most valuable decorating tools. I love interior magazines but got really fed up having to flick through them to find the images I wanted. I decided to start a scrap book of torn out photos. As I tend to look for a vintage option before a new one I picked up a couple of old household encyclopedia for a pound in a charity shop. I ripped out about half of the pages (otherwise it gets too thick to close) and kept any interesting pages. I just stick my torn images directly onto the pages and build them up randomly. It is so good to be able to flick through them and they really highlight exactly what I like. Themes and colours emerge naturally and keep me focused.

What would you say has been your greatest challenge decorating your home so far? Is this a challenge that you’ve conquered? If so, will you share how you managed the challenge? If not, do you have any ideas about how you’ll tackle this challenge?

Most rooms have had to go back to bare brick so I guess the biggest challenge has been raising a family in a building site! My girls are a dab hand at avoiding pots of paint and the odd tool lying around. Specifically though I think that the kitchen renovation was the most major undertaking. It had been heavily remodelled between the 60’s and the 80’s and had been stripped of all its character. It was just a box with ugly units and dark appliances. We reinstated the chimney breast and restored the doors and windows back to their original positions. The ceiling was also raised to it’s original level. Even the floor had to be taken up and relaid.

To keep my sanity I insisted on keeping my dishwasher plumbed in throughout the whole renovation. It caused many raised eyebrows from tradesmen but helped me so much. I did have a very clear idea in my head of how I wanted the room to feel but was flexible about how to achieve that. The best advice I can give when tackling such a big job is to research and plan then plan some more. Shop around as there is always a more economical alternative. Always try and see the funny side of any catastrophies (of which we had many!).

Another thing that I love about your home is how family friendly it is. You’ve managed to create a place that looks comfortable for everyone, male/female, adult and child. What tips can you share on how to create an attractive yet comfortable family home?

I am constantly juggling the balance of aesthetics versus practicality. To create a family home that really works, storage has to be your top priority. If the storage looks good then you are halfway there. Everything needs to have a place. I utilise lots of baskets and boxes. You can never have too many!

Ours is not a show home, it’s a family home that really has to work hard for us. My personal taste has to be blended with the rest of the family especially my aspiring minimalist husband. He doesn’t always have the first choice but he always has the last word and gets to say what stays or goes. It’s important not to fall into the trap of compromising each individual taste too much. If you do, then you end up with pieces that nobody really loves. I have my own little corners that are just mine and hubby has a few statement pieces that he loves too. The girls get to input lots of ideas in their own spaces and I love to display their artwork alongside those purchased elsewhere. It gives them a sense of belonging and adds a relaxed feel to schemes.

I know that you are a very crafty lady and have recently begun an etsy shop to sell your creations. Do you find that your crafting interests influence your design of your home? If so, in what ways? Are there areas of your home where you can see the colors or style have definitely been influenced or inspired by your crafting interests/style?

I think that my home is more heavily influenced by the creativeness of others. By all the fantastic artwork available through etsy especially. Also through seeing other peoples homes in blogs and on Flickr. My mind is always sparked by other peoples decor ideas and how I can interprete them in my own way.

Finally, if you were asked to share 3 tips with someone who was just starting off decorating their home on a budget, what would you say?

1. Always buy what you love and if you can’t find it in your price bracket then wait. You’ll either save up for it or an affordable alternative will turn up.
2. Regularily check out your local charity/thrift shops, car-boots, yard sales, freecycle etc. It always amazes me just what people are willing to give away.
3.Look at as many decor images as you can so that you can work out what you like and, just as importantly, don’t like. It will help define your own style. That way you are less likely to buy things you really don’t like or need.

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As usual, I had a really hard time narrowing down the choices of photos to accompany the interview, so you HAVE to go visit Flickr to see more of Kristy’s beautiful home! You can also visit her blog, Vintage Pleasure, to learn more about this sweet lady, her family, and all her great bargain hunting finds. Kristy, I can’t thank you enough for sharing your home with my readers or for being so patient to see this post go live!

Until next time - Shauntelle

DIY Thursday: A pretty braided rag rug for the nursery

I promised to share details of a DIY project for the nursery with you last week. And then life fell apart a little bit and I never did. Sorry! Please forgive me. I’ll make up for it this week by giving you a little tutorial with photos on it today.

If you remember, one of the items on the floor plan for the nursery is a big round rug. Technically, a 4 feet in diameter round rug.

Rugs, especially larger round ones, can be very expensive so I knew off the bat I would need to do some brainstorming for a creative way to meet that need without the large expense. I considered a few options, including knitting a rug, quilting a rug, or even using a large blanket. Then I had a little conversation with an older relative, who mentioned the rag rugs her mother used to make from cast-offs and old sheets. PERFECT!

I picked her brain to see what she remembered of her mother’s technique and then did a little online research. This tutorial is my adaptation of that information… but I’m also going to include links at the end if you want to do more research into the different methods that are possible. Warning: this project requires a lot of eyeballing and figuring it out as you go along. This isn’t a project for someone who requires very specific directions because the need to adjust as you go along will drive you crazy.

So let’s get started!

Materials:
Cotton, cotton flannel, or wool fabric (old curtains or sheets are good, in colors that you like)
scissors
large darning needle
heavy thread in a coordinating color (carpet thread is good)

Directions:

1) Cut the fabric into 3″ wide strips. The longer the better, but preferably all the same length.

2) Divide the strips into three equal piles. Then, for each pile, sew the strips together end to end, until you have three long strips remaining (one for each pile). It’s very important that these three strips are the same length!
3) This step is for the anal people (if you’re not anal, skip ahead to #4). If you’re a type A personality, it probably will bother you to see all these raw edges hanging around. So this is the time for you to grab your iron and ironing board and make your strips nice and neat by folding the raw edges under, then folding your strips in half and ironing them. This keeps the raw edges out of sight. You quilters can probably do that with your fingers… you know, that finger ironing thing you do…I’m no good at it, so I used an iron for my samples.

4) Tack the top of the three strips together.
Place this tacked edge under something flat and heavy. This is important! Then begin braiding. You don’t have to braid very tightly, just aim at keeping the same tension throughout.

5) Depending on the length of your strips, you can either: braid until you have about a foot and a half of fabric unbraided and then begin to shape your rug, or braid until you have about a foot and a half of braided cord, then shape and sew the rug together as you go along. (I’d go the second route because I have to see a project coming together to keep myself motivated.)

6) Continue to cut strips and attach as needed to make your braid long enough to make the size rug you want.

7) Finish by tacking the end of the braid and then sewing it to the rug.

I only worked with a sample to create this tutorial (as you can see), so feel free to e-mail me if you have specific questions. And, as promised, the following are links to other tutorials that feature different techniques. I promise it won’t hurt my feelings if you decide one of their versions works better for you.

Variations:

• Do you crochet? Then you’ll love this version of a rag rug by Vintage Chica.
• Want to be more authentic? Read these braided rag rug instructions from 1932. (The pictures on this scan are great!)
• Find all kind of in depth information about rag rugs at Rugmaker’s Homestead.
• Not real instructions, but a pretty picture of a finished rug over at yes, i MADE that, to encourage those of you who might be freaked out about a project that requires winging it

Happy DIY-ing!

Shauntelle

Full moon madness…

I’m feeling really guilty that I haven’t posted since Wednesday, but I’m feeling really worn out this week and can’t seem to put two words together in a coherent manner.  So I’m going to take a little break.  I’ll be back next week with our regularly scheduled posts, no worries!  I will ask though that if ya’ll could send positive thoughts/prayers my way, I’d appreciate it…

In the meanwhile, here’s a few links that you might find inspiring today:

• 6 Tips for a Tidy Scrapbook Closet
  
• 9 Beautiful Bookcase Makeover (today’s photo is courtesy this article)
• 3 Step Makeover:  Master Bedroom
• Design Mom: Wheat Grass (I’m going to work on this one this weekend)
• Vintage Chica (a new blog find I’ve been enjoying)
• Whiteport (beautiful white wares from an Australian company)

I hope you all have a very lovely Easter!  See ya next week…

Shauntelle

Designing a nursery fit for a Princess: week 1

It’s been a busy week behind the scenes as we begin our countdown to the birth of Tricia’s baby girl, Elizabeth, and her new nursery.

See that space? That’s the area we’re working on. Tricia’s immediate (and big) project is decluttering and she talks about the plan to do that in her post from Tuesday. In the meanwhile, it’s been my project to take the bones of that space and design a pretty room that will fit the needs of baby and mama.

I started by sending a little questionaire to Tricia. In addition to finding out the basic measurements of the room, window, and closet, I needed to know how she intended to use the space, her general design style, and what “feel” she wanted to shoot for. Through the questionaire, I discovered that Tricia loves the romance and details of Victorian design (hmmm… now who would have figured a romance writer would love romantic details? LOL !). And she’ll need the nursery to be a quiet retreat for her and the little princess for nursing and naps (and escaping a busy man-filled household I bet!).

We also discussed the design budget and potential challenges. Tricia wants to use a budget of $300 -$500 for this project. (I know some of you might be raising your eyebrows at this, but hey, this is a blog about BUDGET design, remember? We’re gonna rock that room for well within that budget, I promise you!)

Tricia’s in-laws have a white crib and bassinet in storage that baby Elizabeth will be able to use. This is a blessing, because that means we don’t have to budget for those big purchases. The minus (or challenge) is that they are white, and the room is white, and their home is a rental, so there’s no painting. This means we’re gonna have to bring color into the room in some other way… most likely accessories and fabric treatments. The other challenge is that the one small closet in the room has a slanted floor. This limits its use for storage somewhat, so buying furniture that will provide storage for onesies and cloth diapers and other baby accoutrement will be a big priority!

So let’s review. Our goals for the nursery are:

• Create a peaceful, calming, Victorian retreat
• Provide plenty of storage
• Bring color into the space with accessories and fabric
• Stay within a $500 budget

Tricia also requested that we include a comfy glider for late night nursing and general cuddling.

Armed with that information, here’s the results of my work for the week:

Floorplan (via Jordan’s Room Planner)

And, debuting for the first time ever, here is the inspiration board for baby Elizabeth’s Victorian inspired nursery:

1. Color & pattern inspiration, 2. Custom curtains similar to these in toile with pom-pom fringe, 3. Definitely need a victorian style mirror, 4. if we can’t find a dresser, we could do this to an inexpensive bookcase, 5. Must have bookcase for $50, 6. cute side table - $18, 7. example of victorian style dresser, 8. These are the details we need on pillows, bedskirts, curtains, 9. crib bedskirt inspiration, love color, add pom-pom fringe 10. pom-pom fringe, 11. glider, 12. example of boudoir pillows 13. dark olive ribbon to add to curtains, bedskirt, pillows

What do you think Tricia? What do ya’ll think? Does this provide the bones of a pretty and soothing Victorian nursery? I am a little nervous about the feedback…so be gentle with me!

So that’s it from me so far. If Tricia agrees with these ideas at this point, the next step will be to create a source list for the items that have to be bought and a DIY list for the accessories and decorations that we’ll be making. I have some GREAT ideas brewing for inexpensive DIY projects… so go tell Tricia to give me the go ahead so I can start letting ya’ll in on them!

Tackle It Tuesday: Sewing a straight line

I bet ya’ll thought I missed this week’s Tackle It Tuesday, huh? Nope. I’ve just been a busy little bee, sewing away at my tasks for the day. I started off this morning with this pile:

A pile consisting of 5 yards red cotton twill, 6 yards white cotton, 4 yards of multi-colored striped cotton, and a half yard each of a multi-colored dotted cotton and a plain yellow cotton. Oh, and let’s not forget the 4 rolls of black and white coordinating ribbon.

The goal was to complete the following for the on-going redesign of my youngest children’s room:

• red curtains with black ribbon
• white fabric blinds with black ribbon
• multi-colored striped bed skirts
• two yellow pillows
• two multi-colored dotted pillows

I swear it didn’t seem too ambitious when I started. In fact, a storm had knocked out our internet, so it appeared to be the perfect way to spend a web-free day.

HAH!

Somehow I forgot that I am by no means a professional seamstress. All I can say is that at 9:00 pm (eastern), I’ve just about finished the curtains. Just. About.

Yeah, that’s right. ONLY. THE. CURTAINS.

sigh.

One day I’ll learn how to make realistic goals.

Don’t forget to visit the Tackle It Tuesday page to see what everyone else is tackling:

In the Trenches: Featuring Jen of Sanctuary Arts at Home

Are you all as excited about the new interview today as I am?!?! In case you haven’t visited her blog previously, Jen is a wife, at-home mom, and handpainted furniture artist in Illinois. Her work is so gorgeous that it tempts me to change my design style so that I can purchase a few pieces for my home.

Jen’s personality is as warm and beautiful as her art pieces. Which is why she’s adding a new role to her list of accomplishments: Television personality! Read on to find out more about this talented and multifaceted artist:

May I gush for a moment? You are such an amazingly talented designer/artist! The first night I visited your blog and website, I literally spent a good hour looking at your handpainted furniture. Every piece was so beautiful and lust worthy. Share with us how you got started? Do you have an art background or was this a talent that you stumbled upon?

Back when I was 17, I was originally a theatre/art major (and, actually, what I received my Associate’s Degree for) but I was at a loss as to what to do after jr. college because I thought “well, nobody makes any money in art, that’s not a very stable career.” I only had 10 credit hours left to graduate and I was dating a firefighter and he suggested the EMT class to kill the credit hours.

I took it and I loved it! It was exciting, and stable money-wise, so I started testing for fire departments, got into paramedic school, and got hired as the first and only woman at a full-time career department as a firefighter/paramedic. I loved it, but after I got married (my hubby is a cop) we didn’t want two of us in high risk jobs so I “retired” so to speak. And started doing craft shows for money (this was after a stint as a personal trainer… let me just say, I was a bad personal trainer….) and then did a few projects like murals and furniture for friends and my business grew word of mouth.

Each of your pieces share a certain elegance that I really appreciate, but at the same time, each piece is unique. Where do you draw your inspiration?

A lot from antique pieces. I love botanical art as a passion, so that theme shows up a lot, and I love the art of 17th and 18 century Italy and France. Sometimes I’ll just see something and think, this just needs to have pomegranates on it. This part is going to sound very eccentric-but sometimes the furniture kind of tells me when I look at it what it wants to have done.

How would you describe your personal design aesthetic? Does your artwork reflect your personal style? if not, what would you say is the difference?

My design aesthetic…I have 2 preschooler’s and a toddler. I like to tell people it’s early Fisher-Price with a twist of post-modern Little Tyke’s (wink). I guess my main adult aesthetic is eclectic with a bit of French country; a smidge of Traditional with a hint of Europe and a big dash of trash… actually I mean thrift. Always on a budget, a lot of what I put in my home had been thrifted, resaled or yard-saled and has a coat or two of paint slapped on.

From the pictures I’ve seen, your home looks picture perfect! You’ve set up all these wonderful little vignettes and tablescapes… worthy of Victoria magazine I’d say. Do you have any suggestions for readers who may be trying to put together those little finishing touches that make your home look so put-together?

I just put together what I love, and when I get bored with something I move it from one floor to another. I do try to do little grouping of related objects. Right now in my living room on the console, I have all “natural” themed items…

My biggest piece of decorating advice in regards to accessorizing is one I am passing on from my girlfriend, Amy, an interior redesigner. “Shop your own home first.” Most people have enough stuff. And they don’t need to buy more stuff. Half of it might be in the attic or buried in a box; but see what you can do with what you have; it might just need a coat of paint, or just might need to be used in a new way.

We both have young children, yet somehow your home always looks so pretty and adult… every picture i take would have matchbox cars or stuffed animals in it! How do you keep things looking so gorgeous with three young girls at home?

I’m laughing, because everything looks good for pictures. With 3 kids age 5 and under, most days my husband walks though the house and whistles the theme from “Sanford and Son.” It’s such a mess! I shove a lot of things into baskets or drawers and I always wait to take pictures until they are in bed. I have recently banished most of the toys except for a few of the baby’s to the downstairs and those go into a basket. If it doesn’t fit into the basket it stay’s downstairs (where I can close the curtain in the doorway so I don’t have to look how they’ve trashed it.). I have to admit, I’m a bad mom, I don’t make them pick up the basement every day…

I know that you are also a stay at home mom who decorates on a budget. Will you share with our readers how you determine a budget for your decorating projects?

Mostly the change in the bottom of my purse!

Seriously… I had an orange juice container I filled halfway with in 3 months from change in my purse (I never spend my change, that’s an Oprah tip…) and around the house… it had $70! Also, when you shop thrift, that can go a long, long way….I spend a lot of the birthday and Christmas money I’m given on my house. Also, if I have a garage sale, I get to use that money to decorate with. While I don’t have a set budget, I try to save up over time when I want something new like curtains. And I garbage pick a lot. It’s free.

As an expert in revitalizing thrifted furniture that other people have given up on, can you share thrifting tips with us? How do you determine if a piece is worth saving? How rickety is too rickety… or is there such a thing?

I’m a huge fan of Gorilla Glue and Aleen’s tacky glue. Rickety, if it’s meant to hold any weight, is bad. A little shake to shimmy is okay, sometimes a fresh glue will fix it up. But Good wood is really important. Pass on laminate or pressboard. There’s no quality. A smoky (cigarette) smell is okay because most of the time a good wash, cleaning and fresh paint will take care of it. Always pass on anything that has water marks up the back and sides, smells/looks mildewy or moldy or has a funk to it you just can’t place. I am sure stuff ends up in thrift stores that has been in basement floods and who knows if that involved sewage or not so it’s better to be safe than sorry (This goes for garbage picking too.).

Also, when buying thrift, never look at the color of an item. Especially furniture. Almost everything decent can be repainted or reupholstered. Some of the best furniture starts out as the ugliest color….

We both know that “blogland” is a huge place and the finding the best blogs can be hard work! We found each other through Manuela… who are some bloggers that you consider MUST see for decorating inspiration?

Besides Manuela, I love, love love, Rhoda from Southern Hospitality, Angela at the Cottage Magpie, Notes from a Cottage Industry, Sadie Olive, the Paris apartment, and Debbie Egizio’s Beat of My Art. Those are always on my “daily read” list if I’m in hurry. But I do have to say I have so many other favorites, I actually read every blog on my blog roll at some point almost everyday, even if it’s just a click in to see if there is anything new.

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All of the photos accompanying this interview are of Jen’s home and work. Please drop by her blog, Sanctuary Arts at Home, to comment and show her our appreciation for chatting with us! You can also see more of her work and learn how to make your own painted furniture masterpieces. (But if you’re like me and hopelessly paint disabled, take a peek at her business site to see what lovelies she has available for you to purchase!) And if you’re in the Illinios area, keep your eye out for “Inside Studio 180″ where you’ll get to experience Jen’s sparkling personality as she keeps you in the know about the local art scene.

Craigslist Monday: What’s a bargain hunter to do?

Try as I might, I couldn’t find anything on craigslist that I thought was worth featuring. I know, you’re hugely disappointed, right? But that’s the nature of bargain hunting. Some days you score big. Other days-nada!

So, what’s a bargain hunter to do when the normal hunting ground dries up? In my case crawl into bed with a hot cup of tea and some nyquil. And soup. Definitely chicken soup. Maybe the craigslist dry spell will end when my cold goes away.

But I’m not going to leave you empty handed… oh, no. Instead I’m going to point you off to a few great reads to keep you entertained:

• Have you been hankering for a large scale art piece? Jessica at How About Orange has a great tutorial for turning a large piece of fabric into a great wall hanging.
• Don’t feel like being crafty? Why not browse the Poppytalk Handmade Online Artists Market and buy some indie art instead.
• Budget decorating not taking up enough of your spare time? Visit Smith Magazine and begin a new addiction reading six word memoirs.

Finally, why not give your brain a little workout with some online scrabble at Scrabulous? (I warn you, this can be very addictive! Especially since you can play your friends via e-mail now as well…)

My bed is calling my dears… see you tomorrow! And don’t forget to check in Wednesday for the new “In the Trenches” interview.