Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Fun Chalkboard Projects for Home

If you like the chalkboard trend but aren't really into painting a whole wide wall, I've got news for you. I've gathered some excellent ideas from all over the blogosphere, and they're really quite fun too. Chalboarding might have never been this easy.
bedzine pots
Paint your pots with chalkboard paint for easy marking on your plants. Can you imagine it in a herbal garden? Great!
house to home jar labels
I think labelling is one of the coolest functions of using chalkboard paint. These are so cute!
can house and home placecards
This is a great idea for parties and events. I could totally picture these in a wedding.vinyl chalkboard
An even easier option to paint are vinyl wall decals. No need to get dirty! 

Anyhoo, these are little cute ideas, easy to do and fun, for your home.

If you are into major changes (should I say, challenges), chalboard paint still has more ideas for us!!!! (I could really, and I mean really talk about this forever). =)

Let's start sharing the ideas...
apt ther magnetic paint
You might have heard or read about magnetic paint. If not, here it goes: there's actual magnet paint on the market. Just as easy to do on your walls as regular paint, it instantly turns any smooth surface into a magnetic board.
But even cooler, if you use chalkboard paint afterwards. Your surface pretty much becomes a real chalkboard, ready for you to hang thing on it (just as we do with our fridge).
apt ther mag chalk
It's out of this world for me. According to multiple tutorials, you just have to paint with magnetic paint, and THEN use the chalkboard paint. Piece of cake!

And finally, this is something that got me really hooked. Did you know you could have your own chalkboard paint in your own color of choice?
I tell you, things keep getting better and better! The always fab, Martha Stewart tells us how:
custom chalkboard how to MS custom color chalkboard
So, you need only 1 cup of flat-finish latex paint and 2 tablespoons of unsanded tile grout (white). That's all there is to it.

I've read that it's easier for you to mix the grout in a little water before mixing it with your paint, because the grout makes it heavy.

So there you have it. Of course the basic black and green chalkboard paints are pretty, but why have limitations on us and our home projects? 
chalkboard tray
apartment therapy
colored chalkboard
I tell you, options are endless!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Old Crush, New Possibilites

I think I'm falling in love again with my oldest crush.
And how could I not to be crazy about this little guy, when it's so much fun and gives me infinite possibilities?

Chalkboard paint. That's what I'm talking about. You weren't thinking otherwise, now were you?

chalkboard fridge
 What better place to write down your lists? Can't forget a thing. Click on the link for the instructions on how to turn your fridge into a chalboard. Anybody interested?
BHG garage
A perfect way to organize clutter. Everything's in place. You only need to write down each of the drawers' tags.
White study customised red chest of drawers label drawers files L etc 10/2007 Pub Orig
Then again, there's Mr. Blackboard paint, all classic and elegant. The drawers in this chest stand out beautifully from the red.
nest black dining room
The thing about black chalkbard paint is its sophisticated and modern look, yet a vintage twist. Of course it's always a big plus if you own a bookshelf like this one. That's a hot wall to me!
bhg black wall
Speaking of hot wall treatments, I'm so in love with this room. Now you know what to do when your teenage kid asks you for a black room. And it allows expression. I couldn't think of a better combo for any youngster. I also love how everything comes together, the black walls, the blue and lime beddings, The Beatles...
bhg black room
This is the other side of the room. It's so fresh and fun.
When talking about walls, kids generally get away with the coolest, most creative of them all.
nurseryblacksil
Just take a look at the village sillouette in this nursery. I personally think it's a little too spooky for a baby or any small child, for that matter, but the idea is very cool. My daughter (9), would LOVE it.
howshouse tree mural
Toddlers can get hours of fun with any sillouette they can find, especially if they can doodle as much as they want.
howshouse table mediamatic symbolic table
Transform any table into the greatest toy in their room!
Images from here  and here.
Which is your favorite so far?

Think through, 'cause I've still got one more to go.

Last, but definitely NOT least, my favorite of them all:

blackboard vw
bochito pizarron
Ain't it cute?
Now I understand my chalkboard crush!
(blogging IS my therapy)

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Dealing with clutter - Meta Lego

Sigh. Legos.
Those tiny, but totally fun bricks to build anything up -the entire universe if we could, and the total chaos that comes within. Those of us who have children at home, or adult lego lovers well know that storing and organizing are the real challenge behind the pieces.

Ok. I may be exagerating, but it's true. Legos can easily become clutter.
And we hate clutter.

That's why I loved this idea from  Kelly Farrell:

She came up with Meta Lego --acrylic lego containers. Each Meta Lego stores 64 pieces of the shape represented in the container. Clever, huh? Best of all is you can use them as building blocks themselves! And keep adding to the collection as you get more legos! WOW.

These storing blocks are not for sale, but Kelly is kind enough to show us how. If you are up for the challenge, share with us!

Now that's a classy way to organize clutter!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Which Is Your Color?

The other day, while surfing the web, I stumbled upon Colorstrology, via Pantone.
Besides being a beautiful web page, (full of color inpiration), it's a fun site where you can find what your birthday color is. According to it, this color can tell a little (or lot!) about your personality. Think about horoscope meets rainbow kind of thing.
Anyhow, I was completely interested, and this is what turned out:

Diligent, attractive, responsible... hmmmm, gotta say I'm liking this Colorstrology thing!

Ok. Serious time now. What stroke me the most is that my color (Dusky Orchid -pantone 17-1610) is exactly the same color I chose before we moved in for our TV room AND Master Bedroom. Now that's a coincidence!


(I know it's hard to tell from the dark picture, but I promise it's the same paint from the TV room)

If you'd like to try for yourself, visit Colorstrology. Oh! And don't forget to share your personality color here! ;)


Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Sex and The City II - Set Design

Sex and the City is back with lots of fashion, style and design (yay!).


That's right! Sex and The City promises to be a total delight for us, design-lovers. Fabulous rooms and decor accesories plus tons of inspiration for your home... Take a look at these pics for yourself.
Carrie's old apartment is small, yet full of style and glamour (who could tell?). I love the white chair and the mirrored table and the colors on the bed (among other things).

In her new apartment, Carrie has a more neutral decoration, considering of course she's married now. There are strong, masculine colors and elements, in contrast with feminine details...
...such as this lovely flower arrangement on the hall table. Way to make a statement.
The living room is one of my favorite rooms in the house. I love the mixture of colors and textures, and I absolutely adore the gold contrast against the dark blue sofa. The coffee table gives us a perfect example of using books to decorate.
In the dining room, the bookshelves work perfectly well giving both display and storage space. What do you think about the pendant? I believe it's a great DIY project. Anyone interested in trying?

On with the refuge... the famous Master B. Carrie, as a good fashion setter, knows about trends, so she could not miss having an upholstered headboard. Now, if you ask me, I think the pattern on the headboard against the pattern on the wall is too much. I would love a solid fabric headboard in my room. But, we all know Carrie... and this is totally her, I guess. What do you think?

Of course, the tour could not be finished without Carrie's closet. But first, let me show you Carrie's old closet (from when she was single).


Dreamy, huh? Now take a look at Carrie and Big's closet. Get ready to sigh!

My gosh, it's so sofisticated. Looks like a store. Heavenly.

Credit goes to Jeremy Conway, who has done production design for Sex and The City (both the series and the films), as well as Lydia Marks, set designer. Awesome.

I must admit, I'm not a huge Sex and The City fan, but after seeing this pics from Elle Decor, I'm dying to watch the movie. Have you seen it? Did you get any ideas for your own home?

all pics from Elle Decor

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