Most of you can't get enough of that Industrial Chic look, and if that describes you perfectly, then Factory 20 is a place to take a moment and browse. From Art to Curiosities and all the vintage furniture you can dream of, there is something for everyone who loves the look of these vintage industrial pieces.
It’s been a while since I have been to the State Fair and it was a bit of an eye opener. It was interesting to say the least. I especially enjoyed the Christian Led Zepplin cover band. Good times, good times…
It was Blake’s first time to the fair and it turned out to be pure torture for us parentals. Fairly certain it was triple digit temps that day and even though we chose to go late afternoon, it was truly too hot to enjoy anything for the first couple of hours. Even for Blakey…
We tried to stick with the indoor activities and things to see until the sun wasn’t so directly overhead and sweltering. With a toddler, the indoor stuff went over like a lead balloon…naturally… with the exception of the air force section and engine parts which of course he adored!
Can you tell from his dazed appearance that it was H-O-T?
Despite initial smiles and fun, we had tears on the Dumbo ride…
But the jeeps were a hit! Gotta love those cars…all cars all the time!
The best part of the entire fair, except for fried twinkie which I finally got to try (amazing!) was this crazy petting zoo.
The animals are always a big hit for my boy also..oh he loves those baby animals. Apparently so did everyone else! That was the best $4 I have ever spent. There were so many odd creatures in this little barnyard petting zoo. Most of the folks in there were adults and we all seemed to share the same questioning sentiments of “is it ok to touch this thing?”, “I have never even seen one of these things…what the heck is it?”, oh it was amazing.
This little tiny dear was so small I couldn’t bear to leave it behind, I thought about putting him in my purse! I suppose they might have noticed, but I was tempted! There were wallabies and donkeys, even alpacas, all together in this crazy barnyard zoo. It was absolutely wild!
Those animals were a crazy bunch, but that alpaca was such a noble soul.
I would love to say this was good clean fun, but there was really nothing clean about this little adventure and we all left thoroughly sticky and stuffed with cotton candy and frozen blackberry merlot slushies…well some of us…ok me. I have to say, whoever thought of the genius frozen wine slushies deserves a trophy, and it was pretty much the only thing that saved the hubs and I from a heat stroke (at least I’d like to think so…)!
This beauty is inspired by the Potterybarn Chelsea Collection (allegedly) and while this particular platform is technically a queen sized platform, if you plan to use the storage component with this (plans for that can be found here), this will then be sized for a Full Sized Mattress. I would like to build on this collection quite a bit I think, assuming you enjoy the pieces (please comment or Like this project or the subsequent pieces, if you would like me to build on it and adapt it for many uses).
I would like to mention that this project can be modified to taste, kind of like food… Choose bun feet, decorative legs like what I show in the image above, or perhaps a more spindly leg…opt for molding instead of 1×2 trim, decrease the width of the perimeter boards, add half or quarter round trim to the edge of the perimeter, this is entirely up to you! This is meant to be adaptable to fit your home's decor and furniture style. You will have these options all the way through this collection as far as trim style and the level of decorative features you choose to add.
Showcase: Built From These PlansI am so honored each and every time one of you fine friends builds from these very plans! If you have built this piece, please take a moment and showcase your build! We are dying to see your fabulous hard work!
$100-$150
Before beginning to build, always check in on my site to make sure you have the most up to date set of plans, I occasionally update and change the plans to make the building process easier or to allow for less expensive purchasing of materials! Read through the entire set of instructions and all comments before beginning this project. If you print out or save plans, be sure to check in on my site to be sure you have the most up to date set of plans, as I occasionally update things for ease of building or buying. If you are new to building, read through the GETTING STARTED section and other articles found under the BUILD tab in the menu on my site, it has valuable information about how to get started, tools and techniques. If you are unfamiliar with the finishing process, visit my Finishing school for some tips and tricks for painting like a pro and for special finishing practices. Use glue to secure your joints and Consider Painting or Staining individual sections prior to assembling. This makes the paint application virtually flawless. Coat with a spray on Poly or Wipe on Poly to protect your finish and your piece and it will last for ages. Adhere to all safety standards and guidelines, and be sure you follow safety protocol throughout your build. If you are unsure about whether you are building safely, run a quick online search for the tool or technique you are using, or contact me via email or post to the forum before you move ahead. My contact info can be found in the menu of my site.
The diagram below is the view from underneath and shows the attachment of the Bottom Boards (yellow) to the Frame. Use 1 1/4″ Screws or your Kreg Jig on a 3/4 setting to fasten boards together. The bottom boards are set 1/4″ down from the edge (technically the bottom edge though in this diagram it appears as if the top edge) of the frame.
Turn the entire frame over and attach the 1×3's (red) to the yellow bottom boards. By setting the bottom boards down 1/4″, this now allows the 1×3's to be flush on the top with the 1×4 perimeter. Also attach the remaining 1×4 boards (wood toned) to complete the frame.
Begin attaching the Top Boards. I have designed this using 1×6's for the perimeter though you could also use 1×4's and attach quarter round trim to the outside edge of that. The boards stop just on the inside edge of the 1×3's that form the boxes on the outside. This leaves most of them free for attaching other boards in the next steps. There will be a 2″ Overhang for the perimeter boards.
This next step involves some style and cost choices…you can elect to fill the entire space inside the perimeter boards with plywood, or scatter 1×4's throughout as I have done to minimize the amount of plywood necessary, or you can line the entire interior with boards of a size of your choosing (I would recommend 1×4's for cost benefit and no smaller than 1×3's or you will fastening them for days on end!).
Once you have covered your top, attach your trim just under the edge of the board overhang. I have used 1×2's in this example, but you can get as fancy as you like. Fasten with 1 1/2″ finish nails if possible. If you don't have a nail gun and the finish nail set is not working out for you please feel free to fasten using 1 1/4″ screws . Be sure to countersink if you are taking this route. Honestly this is the route I typically choose because I don't have a nail gun, and I can't seem to make a hammer do as it's told.
Once you trimmed out your piece, attach the feet in each corner and one in the center for added strength. You will attach them directly into the bottom yellow boards (yours will not actually be yellow, only mine in the diagrams are, unless of course you paint it yellow, in which case you will need to take note of which boards of mine are yellow in the diagram!).
Fill any Screw, Nail or Pocket Holes, Sand and Finish as Desired. For Finishing Tips and Tricks visit my Finishing School
This post brought to you by green deal – visit www.sustainablebuildingsolutions.co.uk
**Disclaimer: Some rights reserved. Private use only. Feel Free to link to any of my plans so long as you provide an adequate link back to the appropriate post! Plans from this page are not to be used for commercial purposes or republished without the express written consent of Rayan Turner, The Design Confidential I hope to provide accurate plans, however, I cannot guarantee each plan for accuracy. Not every plan that I post has been built and tested, so you are building at your own risk. It is recommended that you have a clear understanding of how the project works before beginning any project. Please contact me if you find an error or inaccuracy so that I might fix it.
Choosing Paint Colors:
I am a firm believer that paint for walls should be chosen after you choose your fabric and furniture color. Paint for the room has the widest variety of options and is the least expensive to execute and alter if need be. Your fabric choices will likely inspire a color choice or range of colors and may even spark a creative attempt at a tree silhouette mural or a few graphic could shapes.
By sticking to a few basic color rules and choosing any of the colors from the middle to the lightest hues on a fan deck card, you likely can’t go wrong. But, if you do…you will know fairly quickly. Paint is extremely affordable and is the fastest way to transform. Don’t stress about color, most lines offer sample sizes now. Test out a color (or 2 or 3) in a large space and watch how it changes throughout the day. Place fabric choices near the test run to see how they work together as the light in your room changes.
If you don’t consider design to be your forte, stay away from beige on the walls. Beige has a wide spectrum of base colors and underlying hues and it is difficult to match or compliment without running into trouble. Instead opt for light and neutral greens, light grays, pale yellows, and soft blues perhaps even with gray or green undertones. The truth of the matter is that even a pale orange will cause you less trouble than attempting to find the perfect beige. If you aren’t experienced with color…it’s elusive!
If you are daring using a dark color like Martha Stewart Zinc is quite beautiful, not too dark and just enough warmth. This color would also be beautiful on the furniture if your design calls for a medium toned neutral wall color and her paint is Low VOC.
The paint colors shown below will all work well with the fabric arrangements from Part 1 of the Eco-Chic Nursery for Less series and should work with any color story of your own creation that incorporates a one or more of the new neutral color palette as outlined in the previous article. Choose from any of the upper 3 colors on the deck cards to play it safe in your color pick, and perhaps stretch down to the 4th row on a few of these deck cards if you are bold with your color choices and confident in your design sensibilities.
If you have your heart set on beige or taupe color for your walls, here are a few beautiful shades. These all tend to have gray or green undertones and that will provide a much more pleasing and easy to work with option for beige. It will tend to interfere with your color palette far less than a warmer orange toned beige. A safe options would be to use colors from the Taupe family only if you are using a color palette that has gray or pink or brown included in it as taupe tends to have a mix of those colors as a base. A Taupe that leans toward the pinker side of life, might look strange with greens and blues and yellows, so be sure to purchase a sample size first and create a large test strip on your wall. Check throughout the day to see how the light affects your choice before committing to an entire room of the color.
Some fabulous options from Land of Nod Mythic collection for the light, beige and taupe family: Stay light, and cool for your beiges and you will be in good standing.
Can it be true? Is it really happening? The word on the street is yes… pinch me! Missoni for Target, and I couldn't be more excited! I feel like we have finally made it to the big leagues… and by we… I mean me and my fellow Target shoppers! With what is said to be their largest collaboration yet, the limited edition release will include 400 pieces! Set to debut September 13 and run through October 22, the collection will include everything from Clothing to Bed Sheets, Luggage to Dinnerware, and even a bicycle with every bit of that zig zag goodness we have come to adore over the years!
While I personally can't handle Missoni in large doses, I adore a sprinkling of this fun and playful pattern mixing here and there. Some occasional dinnerware and an accessory or two would go along way in my desire to mix it up and create an eclectic, collected for it's special-ness, decor I aim for in my own home!
And by Vintage, I mean we truly run the gamut from old, to really really old, but each is completely fantastical and wonderous nonetheless! The bathroom is a place that tends to be very blah, and many of us have standard builder grade build outs. But why not go crazy here… This is an area of the house you aren't inclined to spend a lot of time, and so you can be as dramatic and interesting as you like without worry of overdoing it. Why not create a true retreat with fantastical elements all around so you enjoy this space to it's fullest and feel like you are someplace else, even if only for minutes of the day.
From Reclaimed Wood paneling and stone, to claw foot tubs, and vintage art and mirrors, these bathroom retreats definitely take me away to someplace fabulous.
I'm thinking I might need a disco ball to complete the space, regardless… And herringbone floors with vintage lighting… you definitely complete me!
All original sources and images can be found on my Bathe pinterest board along with a few other fun ideas, accessories, and inspirations as well!
This piece is so adorable, I'm pretty sure it would make for a fabulous 'human sized', little girl vanity too…what do you think? Maybe we should draw up some plans for a matching one for our own littles so they aren't left out! This piece is perfectly doll sized for hours of playtime fun!
Showcase: Built From These PlansI am so honored each and every time one of you fine friends builds from these very plans! If you have built this piece, please take a moment and showcase your build! We are dying to see your fabulous hard work!
Under $25
Before beginning to build, always check in on my site to make sure you have the most up to date set of plans, I occasionally update and change the plans to make the building process easier or to allow for less expensive purchasing of materials! Read through the entire set of instructions and all comments before beginning this project. If you print out or save plans, be sure to check in on my site to be sure you have the most up to date set of plans, as I occasionally update things for ease of building or buying. If you are new to building, read through the GETTING STARTED section and other articles found under the BUILD tab in the menu on my site, it has valuable information about how to get started, tools and techniques. If you are unfamiliar with the finishing process, visit my Finishing school for some tips and tricks for painting like a pro and for special finishing practices. Use glue to secure your joints and Consider Painting or Staining individual sections prior to assembling. This makes the paint application virtually flawless. Coat with a spray on Poly or Wipe on Poly to protect your finish and your piece and it will last for ages. Adhere to all safety standards and guidelines, and be sure you follow safety protocol throughout your build. If you are unsure about whether you are building safely, run a quick online search for the tool or technique you are using, or contact me via email or post to the forum before you move ahead. My contact info can be found in the menu of my site.
Build your Side Panels and attach the bottoms. Use your 1 1/4″ Screws to fasten the Side Panels to the legs and the bottoms to the legs and side panels, be sure to countersink and pre-drill. Leave 1/4″ on the Back Side to allow for the back later.
Fasten the Interior Panels and the Back in place. Use 1 1/4″ Screws to fasten the interior panels to the Bottom panels and the Back panels to the Legs, use 5/8″ screws to fasten the backs to the interior panels.
Fasten the Vanity Top in Place, use 1 1/4″ Screws from inside the interior panels.
Add your Tops, be sure to countersink and fasten with 1 1/4″ Screws and glue.
Construct your Mirror Frame. Begin by Constructing it using 5/8″ screws and then fasten the vertical pieces in place using 1 1/4″ Screws and fasten to the tops and interior panels. Then fasten the bottom to the vanity top using 5/8″ screws.
Fill any Screw, Nail or Pocket Holes, Sand and Finish as Desired. For Finishing Tips and Tricks visit my Finishing School
**Disclaimer: Some rights reserved. Private use only. Feel Free to link to any of my plans so long as you provide an adequate link back to the appropriate post! Plans from this page are not to be used for commercial purposes or republished without the express written consent of Rayan Turner, The Design Confidential I hope to provide accurate plans, however, I cannot guarantee each plan for accuracy. Not every plan that I post has been built and tested, so you are building at your own risk. It is recommended that you have a clear understanding of how the project works before beginning any project. Please contact me if you find an error or inaccuracy so that I might fix it.
I have made this pizza a few times now and thought I would share how fabulous it is with you guys! This recipe is modified a tad from one that Poppytalk shared a while back and is every bit as incredible as suggested on that post! I use the crust recipe from Everybody Likes Sandwiches, recommended by Poppytalk and yes, it's the easiest crust ever… it's just so fast! I add a few twists that make it a bit more healthy yet still super tasty and very quick to complete.
Total time for this pizza is 30 minutes including prep time and cook time! If you have ever had the pleasure of making pizza with homemade dough, you know this is super duper fast!
Note: This pizza is so fabulous because it's fast, easy and tastes amazing, but I use a mod of this recipe with cheese and basil or tomatoes and basil with equally amazing results…so just know this can be adapted as you like and it's really just the crust and prep you need to pay attention to here unless you want to try this as you see it here.
To begin: preheat oven to 425 degrees
Prepare your crust…
Crust Ingredients:
2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast
1 c warm water
2 1/2 c flour (I use whole wheat flour)
1 t honey
1 t salt
2 T olive oil
In a large bowl, add in the yeast and warm water and stir until the yeast dissolves. Add the flour, salt, honey, and olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon vigorously until combined. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
While your dough is resting, grease a walled cookie sheet with a bit of olive oil.
Prepare your ingredients for the pizza…
Pizza Ingredients:
1/4 head of escarole, torn
1 large handful of basil, torn
1 large peach, sliced
flakey salt, freshly ground pepper
1 1/2-2 cups shredded mozzarella (feel free to use fresh, you will need considerably less if you do, but shredded is easier for me since we keep on hand)
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Press your dough into the walled cookie sheet until it's relatively flat and thin and press it up a tad around the edges. You can see I use a round cookie sheet for my pizzas and this is simply preference and you can easily use a rectangular sheet as well.
Drizzle or rub a tiny bit of olive oil over the top of your dough and around the edges. This will help it brown properly. Layer on your escarole so that it's evenly spread. Since I have a toddler I use this sparingly since he is frightfully offended by anything green on a pizza…
Add your peach slices… these give the pizza a wonderful salty sweet taste that is hard to describe but oh so amazing. It tastes nothing like peaches on a pizza might sound.
Give your entire pizza a good sprinkle of flakey salt and freshly ground pepper. Don't go overboard because the mozzarella will naturally salty this pizza up.
Add your cheese and cover your previous ingredients. This is another reason why shredded is easier, it sprinkles well…
I like to add the basil at the end, but you can easily add it in along with the escarole or before the cheese at some point if you prefer. I adore basil so I love it heavy, but again…the green offends the Monster Mash so we leave it on the light side!
If you are making this pizza with these ingredients or with fresh tomatoes or something of the sort, you are going to bake for around 18-20 minutes on the center rack. If you chose a cheesy creation without water retaining fruit or veg, then you may need to reduce your cook time to closer to 15-18 minutes max.
When she's finished cooking, slice it on up, this will make it easier. Let it cool before you dive in, this baby will be hot!
The tissue poms and clusters are everywhere in blogland…and every time Monster Mash sees a picture he tells me how pretty they are. But frankly I am a bit tired of the tissue poms and given the allergies we suffer in this house, I thought something washable would be a better way to go. In the process of streamlining and reducing the amount of stuff we have and don't use, we are donating those things we simply don't have room for and extra mattresses were the victim of this process. Given the number of times we have moved we have an excess of those gorgeous green plastic mattress covers… enter washable recycled non-tissue poms!
For the most part I used Martha Stewart's directions for the tissue poms to make these. Her instructions call for 8 – 20×30 inch rectangles (I think) so I got out my measure and scissors and away we went!
Since the mattress cover is double sided (it's like a giant zip lock bag for your mattress) each time I cut out a square I had two… This material tends to be much heavier than tissue paper so I thought using twine would be better than a twisty tie. I measured one rectangle, cut it out and used those as the templates for the remaining rectangles. I wasn't exact and didn't care if my cuts weren't straight, I figured it would add to the pom effect!
Once my pieces were all cut and grouped together, I accordion folded them in a back and forth manner.
I tied them off with my twine and was sure to leave quite a bit of length on either end so that I could use the twine to hang them later.
After they were tied and tight, I rounded the ends of the folded plastic. Nothing exact, just enough so that they look more organic when you puff them up.
Fan it out, then pull, puff, and separate! Grab each piece and pull up toward the center until you have something of a ball shape.
Arrange, scrunch, and fluff until you like the way it looks.
There you have it… So far I have managed to destroy one out of several mattress covers and you can see them hung in MM's room here.. they create the most fabulous play of light when the sun shines in. He adores them and so do I, and I can take them right down and wipe them clean from dust! Everyone's happy…
The love of chalkboard paint hasn’t slowed one bit. It’s everywhere you turn, with new and exciting uses, some of which seriously get my creative wheels a turning!
I am no stranger to chalkboard projects here at TDC (here, here, and here) and I will have you know I have a few more in the works…
From painted walls, to photo props, and gift tags, with just about everything in between, there is a little slice of chalkboard paradise for everyone!
For links to all original sources and a few additional chalkboard paint ideas and inspirations, visit my Chalkboard Paint Pinterest Board!
It’s a true story that every bathroom in my house is currently in a bit of a meh state of affairs. We have lived here for a year and half now and I am only now able to begin decorating to my current tastes… unless I want to dress this nest in the same styles and colors I have had for the last 10 years mixed in with quite a few hand me downs that have lived even longer in my presence. Frankly I am tired of my surroundings and seeking major inspiration for the direction my own home design should take. I am still unclear as to the path I will choose. Being surrounded by beautiful images and design everyday gives me a bit of the old analysis paralysis…too many options, and I love them all!
One new tactic I have decided to embrace is a bit of a come what may haphazard approach to choosing those things I like, and hoping to find that they will naturally take on an eclectic sentiment. Of course there are things that should never exist in the same design plane, but for the most part I have found a pattern in the images I am drawn as having a high contrast, mixed bag, collected over time feel. This is the only common thread so far, and not a lot to go on if I attempt to plan something out.
I decided that I needed to dive in head first and tackle the kids bath upstairs, since it didn’t have a window covering and had become a holding cell for all of the bath related decor and linens that I have amassed over the years. It was spiraling out of control and it was time to get down to business.
So I bought myself a new shower curtain from West Elm, and a faux wooden blind from Lowe’s and decided to give the installation a good old DIY try!
I just adore this shower curtain! Bold stripes but a neutral gray color, so I should be able to mold my design plans as I wish along the way without restraint from color. While I like the bath in the image above, it is a tad too modern and not eclectic enough for what I think I am looking for…but then again, that is just a bit of a guess since I don’t actually know what I’m looking for!
Below you can see the before picture and just how awkward this bath is without a window covering! You can actually see right into the neighbors bath 2 houses over…eek!
It was easier than I thought it would be to install the blinds, but I did require help from the hubs when it came time to bang that sucker in there… it was a bit of a tight fit. So tight in fact that I am fairly certain we could have skipped the hardware all together and it would have stayed quite nicely on it’s own! It does however look like the blinds in the rest of the house, which were of course more custom in size and so I’m a happy camper!
The price of the blind was also a bit fabulous at only $16 and some change! I was just plain lucky in fact since I wanted to match the blinds in the rest of the house and that didn’t exactly give me much wiggle room if it turned out to be one zillion dollars instead! I will say that because this blind is ‘faux wood’ which I think actually means vinyl that there is a strong off gassing and smell that has lingered for a couple of weeks now. It’s not pleasant, but the price and the matching sort of trump that a tad.
Still, even with the fabulous blinds installed and a shower curtain and rug in place, this room has a serious case of the blahs.. I need to figure things out quickly or it might sit in this blank state for another year and half!
I wasn’t planning on switching out the rug right away but figured the new curtain should still work along side it until I decide on a more definitive direction in here.
I happen to have a ‘thing’ about that noise that shower curtain rings make, so I tend to use jute for my shower curtain ties. Jute being a natural element, it has no problem withstanding moisture or wetness and it also happens to look super cool! I use just enough to tie twice and leave loose so the curtain will still slide properly.
Clearly I still have quite a ways to go…but it’s still such an improvement from where we were a few weeks ago with no blinds, and a blah smear of not so decorative decor!
This Parisian Loft was transformed into a summer house by Designer Paola Navone and featured on Style Files a while back and is definitely worth more than a gander when you have a second. One aspect of this design really captured my attention aside from it's incredible creativity… this fabulous contrast of grays and weathered neutrals accented by mint and celadon! It's unique and stunning and it makes me want to rush out and find every single thing in the that minty pastel color that I can…
The images below are only a small portion of this home and the designer incorporated other fabulous colors throughout, but there was something about this minty palette that simply blew my mind!
Designer: Paola Navone , Via: Style Files