The Copper Bubble

You've probably seen it all over pinterest...in every magazine or blog.....

So let me formally introduce you to the Tom Dixon Copper Shade.  

It's become a sort of staple in the design world. Want to funk up a space with a cool modern piece? 

Throw in a Copper Shade! 

Now you know.

images via Pinterest

Olympic Fever

The 2012 Summer Olympics are here!!!  

Call me a nerd but I absolutely LOVE watching the games. 

Especially the Summer games! Gymnastics, Volleyball, Swimming, Canoeing, Archery....they even have handball! I mean come on! So much more interesting than the winter games (if you ask me). 

Every country tries to go above and beyond when they host the Olympics.

And what's more important than the venues?? 

Take a look at some of London's finest...

Shooting venue designed by Magma Architecture.

Aquatics Center designed by Zaha Hadid

Velodrome (used for track cycling) designed by Hopkins Architects

Gymnastics, basketball & trampoline venue

Beach Volleyball at Horse Guard's Parade

Olympic Stadium

DIY Re-do: Tape Painting

Every day I seem to pin a new DIY project on Pinterest.  

They usually just sit there on my board never to be seen again...

Well guess what?! I actually did one!  I attempted to re-create this Tape Painting found here.

Not sure if it even compares to the original but I thought it was worth sharing...

I had these leftover canvases from one of my wedding and thought I would put them to good use. 

While at the hardware store I picked up some gold spray paint. Unfortunately I struggled to get an even coat of color. The stupid can kept splattering everywhere so I just went with it and created this sort of acid washed gold look. Call me lazy but I didn't want to start over! 

If I were to do it again I would get this spray attachment seen in this video.

Next, I taped off the canvases with some blue tape I had lying around. Once again, I did not want to have to spend any money on this DIY. If you were starting fresh I may look into a thinner tape for a different look.

I then broke out my trusty acrylic paints that have lived under my bed for years!

I decided to go with different blue-gray tones as opposed to a variety of colors. 

Now comes the fun part....just mix the colors and paint! 

I honestly could just sit and paint for hours. It's so relaxing! And a little therapeutic :) 

Just remember - when it comes to painting near the tape be sure to keep the brush in an upright position and sort of sponge on the color. This will help prevent paint from going under the tape and ruining that clean line.

Let it dry and pull off the tape!

Appliance Garage

Now that most of the wedding gifts have been received our itty bitty kitchen is over stuffed with new appliances, fancy large pots and every kitchen utensil possible.  I'm not complaining (we did register for most of it) but there is no where to put it all!! 

The top of our fridge looks like a KitchenAid advertisement. 

You know what we really need?? 

An appliance garage! 

Why doesn't every kitchen have one of these???

Step It Up

I was thumbing through my Domino Quick Fixes mag last night....

 Oh how I miss the real thing! But this helps ease the pain (a little).

I came across this tip on updating a staircase. I've seen it done many times, but I'm starting to fall in love with the idea of a painted staircase. It's such a "Quick Fix" for a bland, ordinary staircase. 

It's also a LOT cheaper than an actual stair runner (goods cut to size + labor to install = super pricey).