STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

ILoveChoo · Hermes

fun, colorful, decorations?

hotcocoa · Kate Spade

oooh! a blank canvas to work with!!! how about starting with a few colorful throw pillows for the couch and floor? they have stacks and stacks of them in the west elm catalog. anthropologie and urbn also have a ton of unique ones. if you find some you like, use the colors in them for inspiration for other accessories like pottery, colorful glass vases or a fun lamp/lampshade.

also a few diy ideas for artwork to hang on the walls:

i don't know your style, but you could modify these to fit your taste... this is a piece of art paper (you know the sheets that are hanging over the wood dowels at fancy paper or art supply stores... usually $2-$10/sheet) mounted to a pre-stretched canvas and then i applied a coat of shellac over the piece:

and this is actually a greeting card i found in my stash:

these are hanging solo in my house right now, but i also have a large wall in my entryway that i hung framed family candids in groups of about 7. if you don't want to spring for frames, sandwich the prints between two sheets of plexi and stretch a plate hanger behind the back piece.

i can take snaps of these ideas for you if you're interested.

also, what about a fabulous chandelier? they have some pretty dramatic ones for a fair price at greatchandeliers.com!

-- Edited by hotcocoa at 06:56, 2005-02-23

kenzie · Chanel

Another take on the art paper idea is simple wrapping paper. You could also get blank canvases and paint each one a different color and try grouping them on the wall. For example, you could get four canvases in the same size and pick a color theme (cool: blues, greens, cool purples; warm: reds, oranges, yellows, pinks; any other color combo you like: shades of brown and pink, shades of blue and orange, ect), paint them and then group them on the wall to create a mural effect.

Also, try colorful lampshades (Pottery Barn Teen has some good ones). Candles are another option. Group different colors and sizes of pillar candles together to form a 'fireplace.' Also, area rugs are a great way to add color and also separate different living spaces in an open floor plan. Add fun accessories (anything you love: beads, shells, books, pretty containers, ect) to create compositions on wall shelving and side tables.

HTH!!

-- Edited by NylaBelle at 09:51, 2005-02-23