Steal This Look: Flirty Femme

I hope you’ll enjoy this new series called “Steal This Look!”  With each installment of the Steal This Look series, a fabulous designer room will be recreated (by yours truly) using a combination of DIY techniques and decor available online so that you can easily recreate these designer looks in your own home . . . and for a lot less!

For the first installment, I’m focusing on this flirty, feminine room that was first published in Ideal Home in July of 2008.  I was instantly drawn to the sassy pops of fuschia throughout the space that keep the design looking fresh and modern (instead of potentially prissy and country).

Steal This Look: Flirty Femme

Here’s how you can recreate this look in your own living room in a jiffy (and without breaking the bank!) with a few DIY projects and lovely store-bought pieces:

Steal This Look: Flirty Femme

1. white sofa: $799

2. floral rug: $113.99

3. white end table: $139;

4. DIY upholstered coffee table: less than $20 (MDF), less than $5 each (legs), $3.49/yard (hot pink fabric).  Have the MDF cut to size at the store, then use spray adhesive to attach a layer of foam to the top of the MDF.  Next, wrap batting and the hot pink fabric over the top of the batting/MDF and staple the layers underneath to secure.  Finally, use screws to attach the four legs to the underside of the MDF (after spraypainting them a glossy white).

5. DIY quatrefoil stencil: $25.  While the original design uses wallpaper, this quatrefoil stencil is a beautiful and budget-friendly alternative to wallpapering that will achieve a similar look.  I chose the quatrefoil pattern just because I love it and think it will be a chic update to the space, but you could alternatively use this stencil to stay a bit closer to the original design.  Use kelly green paint to stencil the pattern on the walls.

6. DIY drop cloth drapes: $19.97 (+ lining with hot pink fabric).  Talk about bang for your buck!  Just line these drop cloths with the hot pink fabric (also used on the ottoman) for a touch of understated sass.

7. pillows: $24.99 for 2 (green), $18.99 (hot pink), $29.49 for 2 (striped), $20 for 2 (floral).

8. white bookcase: $59.99 (white bookcase), $25 each (glass door, in white, in 15.75 x 38.62 size), $25 each (solid door, white).  To keep this bookcase affordable, I decided to go with a mix-and-match option from Ikea.

Total: less than $1,500

Have a designer room in mind that you’d like me to recreate?  Just shoot me an email or link to it in the Comments section (it must be in quotes to be visible) and I’ll add it to the list!

PinterestEmailPrintGoogle+Google BookmarksBookmark/FavoritesDeliciousDiggGoogle ReaderStumbleUponShare

Affordable Alternative: Moravian Star Lamps

I was perusing the November issue of the Pottery Barn catalogue the other night when I paused to admire these gorgeous Moravian star lamps:

Affordable Alternative: Moravian Star Lamps

I’m a huge sucker for all the visual interest that these lamps provide, from the leaded details to that awesome geometric shape.  But at $79 for the small version (8.5 x 8.5 x 8.5″ h) and $99 for the larger size (13 x 13 x 13″ h), I wasn’t exactly jumping out of my seat at the price.  Bummer.

And then I remembered a beautiful lamp that I recommended in a design consult a few months back:

Affordable Alternative: Moravian Star Lamps

Bingo!!  This beauty from Lamps Plus is a dead ringer for the fancy Pottery Barn version, and at only $49.99 for a lamp that’s 11.5 x 11.5 x 11.5″ h it’s a total bargain!

Affordable Alternative: Moravian Star Lamps

Gotta love when you can get that look that you covet for a lot less.  Have you guys run across any great finds recently that you’d like to share?  Spill the beans!

P.S.  It looks like the PB version can also be hung, which is a plus over the Lamps Plus version which can only sit on a table.  Still, I think I’d rather save a little dough, and I’m willing to bet that a crafty DIY-er could fashion a hang-able version out of the Lamps Plus star!

PinterestEmailPrintGoogle+Google BookmarksBookmark/FavoritesDeliciousDiggGoogle ReaderStumbleUponShare

Blog Party: Inspiration Tuesday!

Welcome to Inspiration Tuesday, a weekly blog party hosted by IGTBH to provide you guys with a little extra dose of inspiration!  This week I’m feeling inspired by quick, easy and affordable switcheroos that can take a room from bland to bodacious (I know, no one says bodacious, but I needed another “b” word).

Take the room below, for example.  While the understated palette may appeal to some, for me it could use a little (or a lot) more personality.

Blog Party: Inspiration Tuesday!

And here’s where designing a room starts to get fun!  You’ll notice that all of the big, expensive pieces in the room have remained the same, from the seating to the cottage-inspired armoire – but by picking two accent colors in pumpkin and red, the entire room is suddenly filled with life and personality.  For the price of 4 PB pillows, a throw, a sassy rug (which must be this one), an even sassier orange side table and some DIY painted canvases, this room is no longer boring and sad – and it’s not even that cottage-y anymore thanks to the clean lines of the side table and the modern accent colors.

Red & Orange Living Room

But here’s where things get kicked up another notch, right into design heaven.  It would have been fine if the room existed forever as that second picture above, but this third option just rocks.  I love the cutouts on the white Euro pillows, and switching out the whitewashed end tables for some muted red ones was definitely the way to go.  The orange floor lamp adds some needed height to that side of the room, and the colorful accent vases are a really inexpensive way to inject a little more color into the room.

Blog Party: Inspiration Tuesday!

All in all, this room leaves me feeling totally inspired.  Maybe it’ll even give me the kick in the pants I need to whip my den into shape!!

Okay, now it’s your turn!  Got a post that you think will inspire us?  We’d love to see it, so if you’d like to join in on the fun just add your link below.  Here are a few pointers:

(1) Make sure that you add the permalink to your specific blog post (like www.itsgreattobehome.net/inspiration-tuesday-bold-accessories), instead of your general blog address.

(2) Give everybody an idea of what you’re inspired by in parentheses after your blog name – like Liz @ IGTBH (Bold Accessories).

(3) Make sure that your link works – otherwise, it might get deleted (no fun!!).

(4) Include a link back to this party somewhere in your post so that your readers can get in on the fun.

(5) Click on the other participants’ links and let them know if they’ve inspired you!

And remember, if we have enough participants this week I’ll feature my faves from the blog party on Wednesday – and it could be your post!  Now grab your post and this button and let’s get down to business!!

Blog Party: Inspiration Tuesday

Images courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens.

Related Posts with Thumbnails
PinterestEmailPrintGoogle+Google BookmarksBookmark/FavoritesDeliciousDiggGoogle ReaderStumbleUponShare