Wild Wild Desk

Hello fellow DIY-ers! 

Yes. We are back! For how long?! Well, I don't know...just enjoy this moment and make the most of it (i.e. read very veeeery slowly. Multiple times even).

Because you are a very smart bunch and also thanks to my - always intended, never admitted - puns, you probably figured what the topic of the day is (I should say 'topic of the quarter', based on our publishing frequency): DESK. Nothing Wild about it. Don't worry. I mean, you can still paint some kind of leopard print on it. If you want. It's a judgment-free zone here people. Go ahead. Just be your-wild-self.

Can we at least discuss the whole 'making a desk' process before even mentioning any paint and finishing touches? Let's not put the cart before the horse (little cultural parenthesis: the French version of this expression, uses 'ox' instead of 'horse' - I wouldn't try to analyze this too much if I were you. Just wanted to share some knowledge, you never know, it might be useful one day to make conversation during dinners in society).

Now that you feel a little more educated (you're welcome), let me tell you a bit more about this desk. After all, this is why I am here today. And so are you. You probably didn't know that when you woke up this morning, but you must know how to build a desk. At least, you must read about someone else who did it. Again, I am all about educating you.

Full disclosure, I didn't touch a piece of wood, a screw or a saw during the making of this desk. But how is this even possible?! - you may ask. No, I do not have magical powers (well, this is actually arguable. After all, I am a mother, working full-time. I must have some kind of powers that are preventing me from becoming insane). My only magical power is that I married a very crafty and handy guy ('awe, so cute' - ugh stop being so naive, I needed a handy guy to build me things. Starting with a desk, all the way up to a throne. Muwhahaha. Echoing Evil Laugh).

OK, so A. did all the work. Once again. What can I say, I'm an artist. I don't want to take the risk of injuring my beautiful hands. The very same hands I use to paint fabulous Art pieces. I knew you would understand. You're the best.

Stop judging me and look at the pictures below. Don't you want the same desk now? Yes you do. I know you so well. 

Best part is that you can make your own desk. Theoretically. Exactly like this one. Theoretically. I'm not trying to sound smart using a word over 3 syllables - it's just that since I don't know much about your 'building-things-skills' I'm just keeping things, well, theoretical. But I believe in you. Empirically (yeah this time I just wanted to sound smart).

I would love to share with you the secret recipe to make this desk - but as mentioned above this is where my jurisdiction ends...

A.R.T, people. That's what I make. Art. And a mean fresh Tomatoes tart (coming from someone who could live only on wine and candies, being able to make something that has some nutritional value is pretty impressive).

All I can say is that it only took a bunch of screws and two sheets of plywood. We went to Ikea to get the legs of the desk. Well, A. went to Ikea to find the legs, I just tagged along for the meatballs. For the style, we (I just want to feel like I'm part of it) had to stay consistent with the overall atmosphere of our apartment: Scandinavian, with very clean and simple tones and designs. That's why we went with plywood - which is a very natural, light wood. You can just leave it as it is, no need to treat it heavily, it is usually a very sturdy material. For the Swedish legs (doesn't it sound super expensive said like that?!) we went with a medium-dark grey to blend with the theme we've got going on in the bedroom (end the filthy thoughts right now) using greys and yellows.

A. made a desk with a 'special' compartment for his turntable and mixing table (yes, you read correctly. He is a Furniture Maker/DJ. It is a pretty rare combination). But this specific design could be used to put away many things: make-up, computer, correspondence stationary (for whoever still writes letters. With a real pen. On actual paper. My mom, I guess), etc. This is a great way to ensure the desk surface will always look clean, and your room will remain tidy (until someone decides to look underneath the flip-top to discover how messy you are).

Next time I'll share some pictures of this Art of mine - along with a pic showcasing my fresh tomatoes tart (I could sense some skepticism when I mentioned it).

 

A few screws and sheets of plywood

 

Ta Daaaaa!

M.

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Yummy Color Of The Year

In case you didn't know (that's ok, you can tell me, I won't judge you) Pantone has named the color of the year 2015 and let me tell you, it will make you hungry. 

"Marsala"! Yes, ladies and gentleman, you probably already ate the color of the year accompanied with chicken at an Italian restaurant. Well, now it has to go on your walls, in your wardrobe, your furniture (just the color...not the actual dish, please. What is wrong with you?!). 

And now you're asking yourself: "What does that mean for me? My house? MY INTERIOR??? Does that mean I need to eat Chicken Marsala for the rest of the year?!!!" - very VERY valid questions.

So I did some research because, you know, I really hate leaving you with so many interrogations in your life. That's just not cool. The Pantone website gives some answers when it comes to Marsala for your interior and your home decor (thank you Pantone, you don't just throw an Italian dish color at us, you teach us how to use it. We appreciate your support).

Complex and full-bodied without overpowering, Marsala provides a unifying element for interior spaces. Add elegance to any room by incorporating this rich and welcoming hue in accent pieces, accessories and paint. Marsala’s plush characteristics are enhanced when the color is applied to textured surfaces, making it an ideal choice for rugs and upholstered living room furniture.

Nurturing and fulfilling, Marsala is a natural fit for the kitchen and dining room – making it ideal for tabletop, small appliances and linens throughout the home. The hue will be especially prominent in striping and floral patterns found in printed placemats, dinnerware, bedding and throws.

Feel better now, right? OK, so for some reasons, I want a glass of wine now. A "complex and full-bodied" wine. Wait?...Do I want it in a glass or on my wall?...Actually, you know why using a "red wine" color is a pretty good idea? When you are clumsy - well, I don't like this word, sounds too negative. Let's say, when you are very enthusiastic, energetic and a little more accident-prone than the average human being, you probably already spilled some wine on a sofa, a rug, or a cushion (on all three?!! Damn, you ARE clumsy..). 

When you spill your glass of Merlot on a Marsala cushion, well I'm pretty sure you don't even have to tell your hosts that you've just ruined their favorite West Elm pillow: they won't even be able to tell. You know what we say? "Wine on wine, no reason to whine". OK, no one ever says that but I am willing to bet you that this will become a thing thanks to this year's color.

OK people, time to go Marsala. And don't forget to buy your "Wine on Wine, no reason to Whine" t-shirt before leaving this blog.

Need some inspiration? Check out Dot & Bo.

M.

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Once Upon a Time

Our last post was published 6 months ago - this is a fact, a sad fact indeed. So I did the maths and it appears that we are not very productive bloggers. When we first created this blog I deeply believed I would post something at least once a week. Ha. Ha. Past-Me was full of hope and good intentions. Cute.

What can I say, I have an issue with self-discipline. This is probably why I only took 2 months of violin classes, 9 days of fencing, 5 months of basketball, and 4 weeks of horse-riding...

Anyway, always a pleasure to be back...even if it's only happening twice a year (doesn't it make this whole thing even more special?!).

When you're an avid DIY-er and passionate by interior design, everything is an excuse for decorating, embellishing a space: Guests coming over for dinner next week? I MUST paint the dining room. The dinner will be ruined with no accent wall! Want to cook something delicious for this dinner? I MUST change the knobs on the kitchen cabinets! The salmon & asparagus quiche will taste much better if prepared in a kitchen with nice cabinets! 

Obviously, some excuses are more valid than others (what do you mean my salmon & asparagus quiche is not a legitimate reason?...You never tasted it. Obviously).

For instance, a new arrival in the family - like a baby (aww). OR a puppy (puppies are a great excuse for anything). In our case, it was a baby (I know, you're disappointed. You were expecting a great puppy story. Sorry).

For A. and I, the best part of becoming parents was decorating the nursery. Ahem. I mean, the best part was: welcoming a little human being into the World and nurturing this amazing creation. Blah blah blah. No, seriously: the nursery.

You can have so much fun with a nursery - you're basically in charge of decorating and furnishing an entire space for someone who is not even able to complain if the color palette is not the right one.

There is no right or wrong when decorating a nursery or a kid bedroom. Actually, that's a lie. You see, color accounts for 60% of our response to an object or a place. So when selecting a color for a nursery or kids bedroom, consider the 'mood of the room'.

Choose very carefully the colors you'll put in your kids bedroom - you want your little bundles of joy to be happy but not overstimulated (i.e. you need them to sleep as much as they can). Avoid intensely bright colors (it's like sugar on a wall! They'll be jumping around all night with such strong stimulation).

For us, having a theme was very important. Like that, we kept a very consistent "message" for this room. However, if you're not big on themes and think being surrounded only by jungle animals or rocket ships will limit your child's imagination - then, who am I to judge. Go ahead, create the perfect "Curious-George-goes-to-the-beach-on-a-plane-with-his-friends-the-Care-Bears" room.

We preferred to stick to one theme (yeah. yeah. bo-ring.): the peaceful forest. "Peaceful" is key when you're about to welcome a newborn in your home. This time, it is not a lie.

I won't bore you with too many words (stop applauding please) - pictures are always the best way to visualize things (duh!).

Paper Birds Mobile from Pottery Barn Kids / Grey woven baskets from West Elm
Art made by myself on the wall

Pretty easy to create. All you need is a book (you are literally going to destroy...), stencils (I create these ones myself), paint and mod podge

The wall decals have been found on Etsy, the wooden boxes and the white bench are our own 'Ikea hacks'

One thing to keep in mind: your child will grow in this room. Your motionless newborn will become an energetic toddler very soon. Sounds pretty obvious. You're probably wondering why I'm even mentioning it. Well, that wasn't that obvious to us at the beginning and we just thought that the room will always look immaculate and orderly, that the stuffed animals on the bench will never move and will always look happy to be neatly lined up and organized. 

Two years later, I've discovered that 'neat, organized, immaculate, orderly' have now became long-lost friends, a sweet fantasy that might - hopefully - come true again when we'll be happy empty-nesters. Unless puppies are involved.


M.

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Teal me about it...

I guess we can all agree, we do not give the impression to be passionate blog writers...but we do care, really. OK, so the last post was 4 months ago...I hear you, seems like a long time ago. But really, what's 4 months when you're your age, right? I'm not saying your old - geez, relax - but unless you're under 2, you can't say 4 months is a big deal.

Let's just say, we missed you - you missed us, we both said things we didn't mean...

Now, we're back and we have something to teal you - don't say a word unteal you know what this is about. Well I guess the picture at the top kind of gave it away (I bet you only paid attention to the dog). And the bad puns as well. Wait?! Bad puns? Not cool - just trying to entertain you here...

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, Teal is here! Sure I was aware of its existence before today (duh!) but never really thought about it...But you know what, Teal is an awesome color (take that Radiant Orchid - you might be the Pantone color of the year but I will never let you touch my walls. Pfff Radiant Orchid. Who wants to have radiant walls anyway? Sounds too...noxious...).

Do you remember the chevrons wall we had in our dining room? Don't pretend you don't... Yes I know, that was 4 months ago - but seriously - it was ONLY 4 months ago. Good job on training your brain and your memory folks! I bet you can still recite the lyrics of an Ace of Base song but you don't remember our last conversation. Selective memory...I get it. We're just not that important to you.

Well that's OK - I'm still going to tell you and you're still going to forget in a few days. I mean, you're sTEAL going to forget. That was the last one. I promise.

It took us some time (4 months. I know. Thank you.) but we finally found the perfect color to cover up these chevrons. I'll let you guess which color we chose. Come on, you can do it...Yes, Teal. Good job.

The before and after pictures just show how much color and pattern on a wall can change the entire vibe of a room. In a few hours we transformed our "Legoland" clutter into a clean and classy dining room. Much better for a couple in their 30's 20's.

Before:

After:

M.

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A fault confessed is half redressed

JANUARY 2014 - When it comes to interior design, home decor and DIY I will always encourage anyone to take risks. Go big or go home. 

Nothing is irreversible (well, if you tore down a wall you're pretty screwed...): you don't like that bold color you chose for your walls? Well paint them again. Realizing you're not a big fan of these new curtains you bought? Dye them, return them etc.

I am usually pretty happy with my design choices - however there's something bothering me in our place right now. Not talking about the neighbors - referring to the chevron wall I did in our dining room. I was super confident with this idea ("Oh my god, I have a vision: chevrons! Orange chevrons!" - right? Even you can tell it was a bad idea...). I seriously thought that was going to be the focal point of the room - well, it is (it's kind of hard not to notice it) but for me it has become more a focal eyesore. I actually avoid any eye contact with it.

However I don't regret doing it - it was tough (I almost cried) but it just seemed right at the time. People, when something seems right at some point it doesn't mean it will always be right - like silk shirts with shoulders pads in the 80's. It seemed right at the time but when you look at old pictures you just don't understand what happened.

So I have made a decision: this chevron pattern must disappear. I need to be able to look at this wall in the eyes and say "You are beautiful and I am proud of you". I'm not going to lie it was a very difficult decision to make. After all, this chevron wall was one of my greatest achievements. I can hear some of you say "oh my god what a horrible mother! Isn't her daughter her greatest achievement?!!!". Well yes, but a human being is actually easier to make than this freaking chevron pattern.

Before we cover it with something completely different (NOT chevrons) I just wanted to dedicate a post to this crazy great design project before it sinks into oblivion.

If you have the necessary mental strength (and a "few" hours to spare) - I would actually urge you to try chevroning (I bet you were not expecting that after my anti-chevron lampoon - surpriiiiiise!). It is a huge trend and it does look good in the end. I would just recommend doing it on a small wall for a cool accent in a room without being too predominant.

You can find a lot of nice tutorials online on how to do a chevron wall - there are many ways to do this type of pattern. I used the "squares" technique - basically I measured my wall and then divided it into many (many many many) squares (I used a pencil, you can use a chalk stick - in both cases you have to be prepared to erase the lines once you are done. Thank you Mr. Clean for your magic erasers!). The size of you squares will determine the size of your chevrons (thin or thick stripes, taller or wider pattern, etc). You best friends in this project: a level, a ruler, some painter's tape, a pencil or a chalk stick. Once all your squares are drawn place some painter's tape in the diagonals (up and down, up and down - to outline your chevrons). Be careful to place the tape in the inside of the lines for the chevron you won't be painting. Once you're done (a few hours later) remove the painter's tape before the paint is dry. Step back and enjoy your hard work (auto-congratulate yourself with a firm but friendly pat on the back).

A few pics to visualize the process and the result:

Dear Chevrons, you actually looked pretty good. I was proud to be your creator. But all good things come to an end - so you'll have to disappear. I know, it sounds awful, I'm sorry. There's a silver lining, you're going to become a nice painted wall with no crazy pattern - maybe teal or something super fun. You'll be happy. We'll be happy.

M.

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Blog Sweet Blog

Happy New Year people of the Web (+ my mom, who does not really qualify to be a people of the Web...I know, this is so sad... Maybe 2014 will be a digital revelation for her).

Anyway, we would like to apologize for being too busy (or lazy?!... Let's say busy, it's better for our karma) to post anything since 2013 (it sounds like it's been a year but really it was only a few months... So please don't be that offended). Let's blame the baby - taking care of a 1 year-old is just too demanding. 

Don't worry, 2014 is a new year (duh!) - we'll try to be more committed to this blog (the baby will eventually figure out how to take care of herself right? This is a joke people - don't call social services just yet. Jeez you left your sense of humor in 2013?...).

I have always loved writing - but never had the self-discipline and motivation to write stuff on an on-going basis. I had loads of diaries when I was younger (Dear Youth, I miss you. Come back please.), but they all ended as they started ("Dear Diary, today was the first day at school. It was pretty cool." THE END). If someone reads them today, they might think 1) "God, this girl dropped school only after her first day... What a shame" or 2) "Damn, she must have a pretty boring life. AND she thinks school is cool." 

Enough about my cool days at school - back to our blog.

Being in the middle of a post-Holidays depression (no more presents to open, no more "Jingle Bells", no more Rudolf, no more Santa - well actually there is this old fat bearded man wandering in our neighborhood, I'm pretty sure it's Him... You can't blame the man for moving to New York - I mean, seriously, the North Pole?... Must be pretty depressing once all the Elves are off). Even with Santa moving to Brooklyn, this period is always super sad and cheerless. So we decided to post a few photos of our Christmas decorations - before we take everything down (who am I kidding, everything will still be around in March. Lazy?!! NO! Christmas enthusiasts! We're the lost cousins of Buddy the Elf. If you just asked yourself "Buddy who?!", I can't do anything for you... This is so sad).

Most of the decorations are from Target (oh Target what would we do without you?!). We tried to create 2 different ambiances: Winter Wonderland in the dining room for a chic and sophisticated look (lots of white, snow, silver and sparkling stuff) and Cabin in the Woods in the living room for a cozy feel (red, green, gold, wood and pine).

Hope this will inspire you (well, for next year... We do not have the best timing, do we?!...).

Oh and if you still don't know who Buddy the Elf is please, pleeeeease watch ELF (you'll do yourself a huge favor).


Hope 2014 will be an awesome year for everyone. See you in 2015 (kidding! We'll try to post something before :P).


M.

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The hunt for great faux taxidermy

OCTOBER 2013 - If someone had told me that one day I would spend a lot of time looking for the perfect animal head to be hung on my walls I probably wouldn't believe it (or I'd be pretty freaked out by the fact that I would be looking for heads... to decorate my home...).

Well this is actually what I did for the past few weeks - I was looking for animals heads! I don't know if it's because Halloween is coming but it just happened. I might need to specify something: I am talking about FAUX taxidermy people! Stop making this weird face "eeeeew is she seriously looking for dead animals to hang their heads in her home?..".

Do you really believe I could do that? The neighbors' dog is pretty annoying and barks for no reasons - I have to be honest, it might have crossed my mind for 2 seconds - but I rather have a deer head made of paper mache than having to deal with my neighbors' sorrow for the rest of time.

Anyway, back to faux taxidermy. There are actually a lot of options - you can either buy or DIY. My lazy alter-ego (she's been acting up lately. Damn you, lazy me!) convinced me to choose the buying option. For someone who's constantly praising the Gods & Goddesses of DIY, buying is really - REALLY - the lazy option (but sometimes it just feels right). Finding the perfect animal head was pretty tough - took me some time searching on and offline - so really, you have to give me some credits here.

Before I show you what we decided to buy - let's just review the DIY options (Lazy me wouldn't even review these options... I know you will consider them! I have faith in you):

- Paper mache animal heads: 
If you can pull this one off, you'll be impressed by the result. Paper mache is a pretty cool process and when nicely done it gives really great results. One of the best methods is to use newspapers and masking tape to build the basic shape of the head and then go with paper towel and glue (you can buy a special glue in craft stores or just go crazy and make your own with flour and water! No, you won't end up with bread, only a paste with pretty strong gluing powers). I haven't tried this yet (booooo) but I've found 2 nice tutorials for you to enjoy, my little DIY-ers. I like them because they are pretty simple AND you'll learn how to create a zebra head and a unicorn head (A UNICORN!!!).

         

They both look pretty cool - my 12-years old self wants me to make the unicorn head! I will, I have to! 

- Paper deer head:
I found another DIY option - which doesn't involve glue (for the clean freaks among us). You'll only need: some cardstocks, a printer and scissors. You'll have a deer head following a few steps: print, cut and assemble everything to create your deer head.

It's a very different look - love it too! Besides, it seems fairly simple to create.

I had no excuses, I know... I should have done one of these great DIY heards... But I totally fell in love with the animal heads from Bend (the heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of...).

Here is the beast (we went with the long-horn):

Just loved the fact it's in metal - it's different from the (fake) trophy heads we've seen this past few years (a lot of them are in resin). The industrial look make it more modern.

However we were actually torn between this one and the "common" deer head (you can find really nice one in resin here).


Bottom line, you don't have to hunt for a long time to find the perfect trophy head to spice up your home! Paper mache, cardboard, metal or resin - buying or DIY-ing - the options are numerous! Just need to pick your animal (the unicorn!... I am so going to make this one!).


M.

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