DIY Nordic Style Plant Wall

Happy new week! After a while it is time to share some DIY inspiration. I was going for a walk when I noticed something interesting in the middle of garbage. Broken shade made of wood or bamboo catch my eye. Instead of waste I thought it as great material. It is a way of thinking to see the material and it's potential. I am very picky and I don't take any crap from garbage. For example if the piece is made of something that is difficult to work with or too dirty to bring home I will leave. But quite often I see wonderful projects. For example last week there was this pretty wooden chair that would have made a pretty stool for flowerpot in the garden. I had no space so I had to leave it. But this shade was pretty simple to clean, pile and store for further use so I took it. I didn't have to store it long though because I had an idea or two how I could use it. When breaking the shade into pieces and cleaning it I thought about all the material in the world that goes to dump or burnt as energy waste. And I also thought all that new stuff produced every day. We have limited amount of resources, global warming and trash filling our (and flora and fauna's) living space at the same time when we feel we need new things.

I would somehow understand it if the stuff we put to garbage was actually trash, something we can't use in any form. But quite often we cast away things that are, in the current form (without manipulation out of our expertise or equipment) ready to be used again. Like this shade, after cutting off the strings and washing the pieces it could have gotten a price tag and put to a shelf in some hardware or craft supply store. Get what I try to say? For example plastic is something we can recycle and it is made new products in the factory. Same with newspapers, glass, cardboard, tin. Then again: An object with wooden pieces can be broken into particles, cleaned and used again at home. Same with for example broken dress that can't work in it's original use. It can be washed, cut into pieces and pieces used as fabric. Or broken coffee mugs can be turned into mosaic material using basic home equipment. I do buy new fabric and wood too. But I try not to waste good materials. Also if you don't make mosaic, sew or do makeovers you can give clean materials to your friend who does or ask in social media groups if someone is interested. My friends and relatives have given me broken mugs, plates, empty tins, fabric etc. for my projects and all those materials have been spared from ending to garbage. In my experience upcycling saves money and gives so much inspiration. When I saw this shade in the garbage my brain started humming, how could I use this, what fun project this could turn out? I would say 40% of my ideas come from an interesting material I have found from garbage or thrift store. And it is always a win to see polished trash as a part of interior decor.

This is in what shape how I found the shade. I took it to my balcony to be broken to pieces and cleaned. It had only some dust on the surface otherwise it was clean.

Beautiful material ready to be used. You see the difference how a trash becomes something with a price tag at store? This pile of great material would be more difficult to cast to garbage than the broken shade, don't you think?

I decided to make a web to a wall where I could twine climbers that are in pots on the table. I measured the middle of two pieces to get an even start. Then I just began to weave working every side evenly.

Sitting on the ground weaving. The material is so beautiful and my head was bursting with more ideas how to use it. One could decorate doors with woven webs or glue pieces side by side to cover boxes. If it would be sawed to small particles it would make good material for mobiles or wind chimes. 

When you weave the web tight enough it will keep it's from without a need to secure the pieces with screws or staples. I attached the ready web to a wall above a table so I could easily put flowers under the web.

I had one Tradescantia albiflora and I bough new Epipremnum pinnatum. Now the plats are still watching the web made for them to climb but I am already dreaming how those will cover the whole wall :)

Wishing you all the most inspiring and creative new week! Please share this post on social media if you liked <3 I am an indie blogger and it means a lot to me that you people visit my blog, get inspired, comment and share :) 

Sannu

Wall Plate Installation

Permanent markers. A pile of old plates that are originally from a thrift store. And few pictures from inspiring views. 

When I make my long walks I tend to stop and take pictures if something interesting catches my eye. Some weeks ago it was bright sunny day and I saw tracks on ice. Tracks looked like a graphic print to my eye. Back then I was making a quilting project and all that I saw connected to quilting. You know, I have quilting weeks (or months) when I quilt a lot and then I have a break and do other projects. So when I looked at the surface of the ice I thought it might work as a stitching pattern. I let this thought rest and went to plan next projects. 

Then two weeks ago I came across two white wall plates that I had in my cabinet. I had all sorts of ideas to decorate the plates but then I remembered the pictures I had taken of the tracks. I actually first thought about making these plates black and white. But why if there are all these spring colors to use. Free hand I began to draw the tracks that snowmobiles, skiers and people by foot had made to the ice. Then I colored the drawing. Working with permanent markers was a good school about accepting mistakes. It was not that easy to go and correct and I just had to let go and draw. When I followed the circling paths people had made I came to think about how it is said in Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago that "Life is no stroll through the field" (I like this saying and I wrote about it before when I talked about Cheryl Strayed's Wild). Actually these colored patterns on ice look like pictures taken from fields. I still think I might draw black and white version on paper using very thin marker. It would look like graphic print. It would be also easier to work on paper compared to slippery plates and permanent markers. When you scroll down you can see the two pictures I used when drawing the plates.

Nordic Style Bedside Shelf DIY

Bedside table is a classic and there is a reason for that. It is easy to leave glasses, phone, clock and books to a surface near a bed so those can be found in the morning or next evening. Small furniture in every corner then is a challenge when you try to clean the floors. Pretty wall shelves answer to the problem. The most beautiful pieces are like sculptures on the wall. Random items on a shelf might ruin the look so I came up with this idea to hide the items on the shelf. Of course you can see through the rows of wooden beads but it tricks the eye so that the overall look is organized.

For over an year now I have liked bare wood. It looks so beautiful after years of thick paint and ornaments. It has also calming effect as the wood feels soft and it has so many details when you stop to look at it. It also matches with colorful textiles surprisingly well when the wood in question hasn't turned too yellow but has still the shimmering white hue. This small shelf would also be a stylish decoration in the kitchen with few glass objects or jars in it. The basic idea how to make this shelf is simple, you just drill even row of holes to the front of the shelf and thread beads through.

Nordic Style Bedside Shelf DIY

You will need:

150 cm* 20 cm plank

6 shelf holders and screws

Wooden beads: 

48 beads in 35 mm 

64 beads in 25 mm

16 small beads

Strong cotton yarn

Glue

Saw

Sandpaper

Drilling machine and 3 mm drill

Needle

Pencil

Ruler

Step 1. Saw three 50 cm pieces from the 20 cm wide plank. Sand the ends.

Step 2. Drill similar holes to every piece to one long side with 3 mm drill. Because the biggest bead is 3,5 cm I put the holes in the corners 1,75 cm from side edges.  Also the row of holes comes 1,75 from the edge. The space between corner holes is then divided to seven even (6,64 cm) parts to get the points where to drill.

Step 3. Attach the shelf holders with screws 6 cm from the sides.

Step 4. Put the shelves to a wall in even row 20 cm from each other. Thread the beads through the shelves with strong cotton yarn. I put double yarn with a small bead in the middle so the top shelf got an interesting detail from the bead row. I also put similar small bead under the last shelf and made double knots. Then I put some glue to the knot and let it dry before I cut the yarn ends off. 

Trendy Terracotta

We don't have to take every home decoration trend by heart. If colors currently on trend are not our favorites we don't have to go and paint a living room wall with the latest shade. Most of the trends I just let go. They might be difficult to modify to a small apartment, don't collaborate with my personal style or are just too pricey/ time consuming to produce compared to the time I estimate they will please the eye. Every now and then a trend seems perfect to my home and add's some interesting detail to the entity. For example last year I was hugely inspired by mirror trends and made a contemporary style mirror wall. Mirror wall completed the style I have in my living room and makes it look bigger.

Quite often it is possible to apply trends in small scale. I browse magazines, blogs and social media and think, now that thing looks great, how could I take part to this? Maybe I could use a trend as an inspiration for table setting, small arrangement on top of a drawer or in a new pillow pattern. Just few people have money to put away all decor and furniture and start from the beginning every season. It is not even something to go for in my opinion. Home is home and built little by little with things that please us and we think are pretty and worth having. It should be a place we can rest in comfortable and aesthetically pleasing environment. Plus it is not ecologically clever to get bored to home decor that often.

When I find a trend inspiring I evaluate on witch scale I will take a part. Will I paint my walls or one furniture? Or is it few small objects that communicate that I am aware of a current style? I go through my cabinets and collect objects that could fit the style. I love this year's terracotta trend because it is warm, earthy and inviting color. At least at the moment I don't feel I need to apply it to my home in large scale but small items fit quite nicely with my bohemian style and deep colors. I changed some winter survivor plants to terracotta pots I bought from thrift store two weeks ago. Then I examined my cupboards to collect everyday items that are in terracotta color or near that. I don't keep every set of plates, vases and candles on show. Most of the everyday stuff is in a cabinet and used when needed. It would be unpractical to have all on show even though every set of plates/ mugs/ vases would be pretty. Trends come handy in choosing what items to have on display at the moment and which ones to put inside a closet to wait for next season.

Now terracotta trend is present in my small home in two arrangements. One on top of a writing cabinet where I have my green plants waiting for spring and light. The other arrangement is inside a turquoise cabinet that has glass windows. The inside of the cabinet is painted with okra and goes perfectly to the burnt and sunny terracotta palette. Items on show are all from my own cupboards, nothing new. I also took candles out from a drawer so I would remember to burn them before light summer days.

What trend would you like to bring in this season? Do you find terracotta inspiring color?

Happy and Inspiring Week My Dear Friends!

Sannu

Bohemian Style Curtain Makeover...

... and How To Develop Upcycling Skills

Curtains are a home decor element that bring warmth, softness and character to a room. Because I live in a top floor I am quite minimalist with curtains. I have no need to cover whole windows with shades. I use curtains to finish the overall style and to get more color. A curtain in my living room has pink flowers on grey base and it completes the theme of my living room space that is lead by grey walls & big grey carpets and pink cabinet & small pink details. I love bohemian style and in my opinion it is essential to have some color theme so that super colorful details and interesting objects stand out. Otherwise the result is a chaos and beautiful textiles, baskets, bowls and ornaments will be just part of the mass.

Today's curtain makeover is both minimalist and bohemian. Black and white combination allows to layer with flowers, plants, beautiful plates, books, chandeliers and textiles. Yet the curtain is interesting with it's tassel details and real eye catcher. You could also use this side curtain as a wall textile or make two curtains to both sides of the window.

Inspiration to this curtain came from the material and texture. I found natural white 80s curtain from a thrift store. I liked the look even though it was slightly too neutral to my taste. I noticed the curtain has a lots of potential to become amazing bohemian style home decor element. It gives through light and is perfect for spring. I had a ball of black mercerized cotton yarn at home and that was all I needed to update my thrift store find to fit 2018.

I think these kind of earthy, natural white and textured curtains are relatively easy to find. You might not find a curtain that is exactly the same, but eye options with care. You could also use simple and loosely woven white fabric to this project. If you want the curtain to be a colorful element in your home decor, you can choose to use different colors of cotton yarn.

Trends come and go but the best part is that thrift stores have items from the era the same trends were in fashion last time. Usually the latest interpretations to the trend have brought a new twist to the style and you have to modify your second hand finds a bit. It is ecological, fun and inspiring to use recycled materials. Not to mention how much money you can save. Study a trend properly and think through what is this trend about. Is it about natural hues, certain color combination, texture, pattern or ornaments that construct the style. This way you see the potential in items that need a little bit of remodeling. Maybe berry hues and interesting textures are in fashion and you find a perfectly textured fabric you can dye. Or maybe you just need to remove paint from a furniture that has perfect shape.

Bohemian Style Curtain Makeover

You will need:

Natural white curtain that has texture

Black mercerized cotton yarn

Piece of cardboard

Ruler

Scissors

Needle

Step 1. Fit the curtain to a window. You might need to cut and sew it shorter.

Step 2. Cut 6 cm * 8 cm piece from cardboard. Cut a piece of yarn and place it horizontally. Then round 26 layers of yarn around 6 cm. Knot the piece of yarn tightly and remove the bundle from cardboard. Take a second piece of yarn and wrap tightly around the bundle, from about 1 cm from the knot. Take a needle and thread the yarn ends through the bind. Open the tassel by cutting the loops and trim the tassel even. I made 77 tassels like this to my curtain and it took few evenings.

Step 3. Attach the tassels to even rows using the first knot's yarn ends. If you have a notable pattern in your curtain use it as a starting point to plan the rows. In my curtain I have wide and thin stripes and I attached 7 tassels to every thin stripe.

Do you use recycled or thrift store materials in you projects? Do you follow home decor trends? How do you apply trends to your home, do you prefer upcycled home decor and furniture or all new?

Have the most Inspiring and Relaxing Weekend My Friend! By the way, the lamp you see in the pictures is also a thrift store find, you can find Ikat Inspired Lamp Makeover with Paint from HERE!

Sannu