Tag Archives | Wall Decor

DIY Shadow Box Wall Decor

This was a simple project. After seeing the shadow boxes on Restoration Hardware with the sea fans, I was inspired. The first step was trying to find a square shadow box – enter the IKEA RIBBA frame. The only other major things I needed were some decorative organic pieces that I could spray paint, and some fabric for the background.

My collection after taking a walk around the neighborhood.

An IKEA shopping bag comes in handy when spray painting.

The plan was to create two shadow boxes. One with a dark fabric background with a light/white colored decor piece. The second box would have a light colored background with a black display piece. Here are the semi-finalist decor items.

After seeing how the pieces turned out after being spray painted (also considering the size and how decorative they are) here are the final two pieces.

Here is the fabric choice. There is the off white canvas style fabric which I had lying around. The grey one was hard to come by. A) I didn’t want to spend a whole bunch on it (men’s suit fabric comes at a high price), and B) I didn’t want there to be any pattern (which a lot of them have) or any shine. I ended up finding this piece in a luxury fabric shop in the scrap basket.

The next step was cutting a piece of cardboard to stick the fabric to.

The board and fabric cut and glued together.

The back of the organic pieces were a bit odd. I ended up gluing a strip of fabric into the crevices and glued the other end to the fabric board.

And that’s it. I stuck with basic colors black/white for the custom DIY shadow box designs, but am curious to know how colorful versions of this would look like. Here are some close ups.

Travel Photos Confetti Display – Plus DIY Printables Guide

May 24, 2013 in DIY, Made By HtA

Style Guide: Bathroom Wall Decor Ideas

When it comes to decorative ideas for the bathroom walls there are simple ideas like putting up a large painting, artwork, photographs or prints as seen in picture (1). Or if you are into the more vintage style, wall decor ideas include skeleton keys, subway art signs, bird cages, and letters (Vintage Wall Decor Ideas: From Bird Cages to Designing with Frames). But I believe that the best bathroom wall decor ideas are more structural, functional, and part of the bathroom itself. For example how you paint the walls adds to the decor of the room.

Wall Texture: When it comes to painting the walls you’ll have a ton of unique choices in creating textures. Using a dry brush can create a linen texture (2) while a sponge can be used for a more marble look (3). Check out my post here for more ideas and painting techniques. Another idea would be to the paint the wall a solid color, then hang up a framed piece of decorative wallpaper that really stands out.

Mirror Styling: The bathroom mirror itself can act as a wall decor piece. In most bathrooms this is a large wall fixture. You can easily restyle the look of the bathroom just by changing the frame of the mirror. Have a look here for pictures and ideas: Designer Bathroom Mirror Ideas: From Lighting to Framing. A designer touch would be to add back lighting behind the mirror. This will add a nice soft glow in the room, and elegantly frame the mirror.

Wainscoting: Then there is wainscoting or using beadboard. This is when a panel is fitted to the lower part, breaking up a flat wall – just like in pictures (4) and (5).

Storage: The things you need to store like extra towels and cotton swabs, can be arranged to be used as decorations. Keeping them in glass jars or wicker hampers creates a nice look. These can be put up on open shelves or wall storage and cabinets with glass doors. For pictures and ideas on this take a look at this post: Design Guide: Bathroom Shelving Ideas Mood Board.

Other Unique Ideas: A few other decorative wall ideas include your window treatment, plants, and even lighting. How you do up your windows will play a role in the style and design of the bathroom. Curtains are more traditional, while the barn style windows in picture (6) are more rustic. Bamboo blinds work well for a more tropical spa like feel. Having plants and flowers in the bathroom keeps the space feeling fresh. Most people will usually just use a vase and put them on the vanity. Picture (7) shows a more unique approach with plants hanging in wall planters in the bathroom. One last idea is to use mini chandelier lights just like in picture (8). The walls in that picture have an elegant pattern from the reflection of the chandelier’s glass. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

May 23, 2013 in Bathroom, Decor

Getting Creative: IKEA RUSCH DIY Wall Clock Hacks

This was an exercise in getting creative. The RUSCH clocks from IKEA here only cost US0.84 each. So I bought a few, and tried to come up with some ideas on how to hack them into better looking clocks. My first attempt was spray painting the clock frame. I soon realized that anyone who’s been to IKEA would know I just sprayed painted their clock black. So my focus shifted to taking the clock frame apart and using the black box that holds all the mechanical parts, and even reusing the round plastic cover.

Here are the clocks:

The Black Beast

For this one I ended up reusing the round plastic cover of the clock. Those little number points – they were made from cutting up the seconds hand.

About to drill the plastic cover. This was also done for the White on White and the Dressed Up clocks below. Wire cutters were used to cut of the plastic tabs that hold the cover into the RUSCH’s frame.

Cutting up the seconds hand to create the number placements.

Since I didn’t want the seconds hands on any of the clocks, I ended up cutting them off the round tabs. I still needed this part to cover up the hole. The tabs were then spray painted.

White on White

This was one of the other clocks that reused the RUSCH’s plastic cover. No number placements this time.

Dressed Up

The last clock to reuse the plastic cover. This time fabric was glued over the cover and little mohawks were created around the edges.

Double Dose

Double Dose makes use of the RUSCH clock and the MARIT place mat.

Glued cardboard to the back of the mat to make it stiff, then stabbed a hole through.

Horizon

This last clock was made out of a serving tray found at the dollar store. Drilled a hole through it then hit that bad boy with some white, then black spray paint.

Spray painting inside an IKEA shopping bag. Hitting the serving tray with the first coat of white.

The End

May 23, 2013 in DIY, Made By HtA

Vintage Wall Decor Ideas: From Bird Cages to Designing with Frames

Vintage style picture frames can be used for quite a few things. In picture (1) a frame is being used to display jewelry in a bedroom, in picture (2) another frame is being used to hang vintage postcards and letters from. In our sewing room posts there was a room that used a frame to display spools of thread. They can also be used to frame a mood board in a home office, a kitchen command center, or key hooks in a foyer.

Some print ideas that make for great wall art pieces include botanical prints (3), maps, and sheet music. Subway sign prints also look great (4). Some physical pieces to hang up include skeleton keys (5), a vintage clock (6), and wall letters (7). Though most bird cages hang down from the ceiling, there are some that can be attached to the wall (8). These can be used as key hooks, a bulletin board, or to house potted plants.

Vintage and antique door knobs can be used as curtain tie backs as seen in picture (9) or as jacket/towel hooks. Glass jars and wire baskets also make for great storage containers that can double as vintage wall decor pieces (10). 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10