Lanterns

The Lights of My Life

I stumbled over these lanterns in Rhode Island years and years ago. They, like some of my other nik-naks, traveled along with me until I finally found THE spot for them both; one in the living room and one the front porch.
These lanterns were originally hanging in an old, large sail boat in New England. I removed the wick as well as the oil, because it smelled awful! Now I put regular tea candles inside and light them up for some ambiance.
Lighting is extremely important in not only defining a space but also creating the atmosphere of the room. Lights can emphasize your art, create a quiet reading corner, or lead you down a hall way. Lighting can make the room feel loud and awake or soft and hushed. How do you decorate using lighting in your home? Are you a bare-minimum-over-head-light kind of designer or are you a fear-my-electric-bill illuminator?

Driftwood Boats

A'hoy!

These little boats are so cute they are sure to be plundered by all local pirates! 

I made these with drift wood found on the beach in Ulsteinvik, Norway and assembled with tree branches and twine. You don't have to be in Europe to replicate this easy project though, it's easily done with any scrap/drift wood from your local area. I recommend letting drift wood air dry for about 2 days before using it. The boats are complete kid magnets, (an adult's inner-kid included), they all want to pick them up and pretend. It was a fun project to do with my daughter, Sofie. She got such a kick out of making the sail! We had all kinds of silly conversations and I had her guess which ones would sail and float the best.

The boats ended up sailing in the windowsills in our summer home. The end result is a quirky, amateurish, and whimsical conversation piece! 

What summer projects did you do with your children?

Door Gallery

Knock, Knock...

This little number is an old original door that used to be in our summer house. It was creaky and drafty! When we renovated I just didn't have the heart to throw it away. I ended up stripping it down to the original wood and hanging on to it for a while before I figured out what to do with it. The idea of hanging pictures on it as gallery came out of necessity. The wainscoting we have up on our walls is very difficult to nail/drill through to hang anything up and when you do... you've sealed the deal and there's going to be a giant hole if you change your mind and take something down. This door was the perfect solution! It's charming and it tells a story. I just love it!

How do you display family photos in your home?

Firewood

 Burn Baby, Burn

This is another quick, cheap, and easy decoration for your home. I have a white palate at our summer home and it really lets me choose which items I choose to make "pop." I gathered some chopped  wood that we typically use for burning in our fireplace and painted a few blue and white to contrast the ugly brown and put them in this white box. A box of brown wood just doesn't look appealing! Of course the painted wood isn't actually used for the fire but I always keep these three pieces of wood on top of the pile.

What do you think? Would you ever decorate firewood?

Party Bags

Party Time!

The nautical theme continues! Living in Florida makes it really easy to be inspired by the beach and sea life around me. I starting making these custom party bags recently with my woodblock prints and I love them! I am working on making some more for the holidays, I can't wait.

I think it is nice to add a personal touch to the gift bag. This way your present stands out among the pile!

Do you use special wrapping paper or gift bags to add a personal touch? What do you use?

Herb Garden

Basil Bubble Bath

This old iron bath tub was another find on "junk day" in my neighborhood. Can you believe someone put this out on the side of the road? I snatched up this tub quicker than Chuck Norris can kick you in the head.

(I often wonder... when I'm picking up treasures from the side of the road... do I look like a lunatic or a genius trying to shove items like these into my little Fiat?)

All this needed was a little polishing and I set it up on my back patio. I filled it up with some basic staple herbs that I used frequently. I think it looks absolutely charming and unexpected.

What quirky pots do you use in your container garden?

Woodblock Dishclothes

 Dish out some style

To be honest, I hate doing dishes. But the only thing I hate more than doing dishes is having dirty dishes! I'm totally bored by the process and I'm bored with all the dish cloths out there right now. I searched and searched from some original decorative nautical dish clothes to put in my kitchen for ages (It wouldn't hurt to be distracted, right?). I finally gave up and made my own! I usually make my woodblock art to be printed on paper but last summer I started printing on fabric and I'm really loving the look! Before my husband knew it, I was woodblock printing on pillows, dish clothes, towels and all vulnerable looking fabric all over our house.


I received so much good feedback from my family and friends that I decided to fill orders. They are listed for $20.00. Check out My Etsy Shop for more details!

What is your least favorite chore and how do you perk it up?

Picture Frame

Pretty as a Picture

Believe it or not, this is a cabinet that I reused from an outdoor planters table (See post about the table here). I wish I had a picture of the table in it's original glory because to be honest, it was hideous!! This cabinet door was originally dark green. I repainted it blue first and then white. I almost removed the chicken wire from the frame and I'm so glad I didn't because it looks really pretty as a background to the little trinkets I tied on. After toying with where to place it inside the house, it's final resting place became the outdoor shed this summer. I painted the upper shed door (it's a dutch door, aka stable door) blue for contrast. I'm so much happier with this shed now that I have jazzed it up a little with a few decorations. It matches the feel of the summer house now; breezy, cottage-y, and pretty.
Do you have something in your house that you moved around 100 times before finding it's perfect spot?

Bicycle Resurrection

Re-cycle this ride

I am super proud of this find! This is a bicycle I randomly found in a junk yard sale in Oslo, Norway. I paid only $8 for it! I dragged it up to our summer home in Ulsteinvik, Norway for our outdoor space (Quite the trek!). I get really excited when I can design a space for extremely cheap. Your home doesn't have to be full of expensive retail items.. there are so many treasures to be found that you can put together yourself with a little creativity. 

After I tied on a simple wicker basket and popped some hydrangea flowers in, I leaned it against our outdoor shed for display. It was so cheap and so easy to put this together buts looks vintage and expensive! I think the final look achieves the whimsical, cottage feel I was looking for. Have you ever gotten something for a steal but made it look expensive?

-Linn

Outdoor Summer Buffet

 Come sit and stay a while....

A carpenter orginially made this to be an outdoors planters table with shelves and cabinets. The top of the original eventually broke. I saved the old broken shelves and cabinets (of course) and recycled them (stay tuned!). I now use the table as an outdoor buffet to serve up some refreshing drinks and finger-foods.

I still keep the original planters table feel with lots of flowers and miniature garden tools.

This is a ceramic egg holder that is typically used to store eggs in the refrigerator ... It was originally given to me from a friend full of duck eggs as a gift! (See my duck post here) I like to use it as a fresh vase on the table, sometimes as a simple centerpiece. 

Do you use non-traditional vases in your home?

Delicate Window

  Roses are red, violets are blue, I made a garden for my window, and so can you!

Here is another super cheap design idea you can brag to your husband about; "See honey? Look how pretty I can make our house if you let me spend just a little money decorating!" (Don't tell him there is no definition of "just a little" and is totally relative on how much you absolutely love an item) After decorating the house beautifully and inexpensively, it feels a lot easier for me to splurge on that higher priced piece that you simple must have.

I got a few miniature glass milk bottles at Home Goods (craft store), strung them up with some thread, poured in some water and popped in some snippings from a bouquet of silk flowers. I also tried this with fresh flowers from the garden but they wilted quickly and required more upkeep that I was willing to do. I think silk flowers achieve the same look for less hassle. This looks the best with valences, roman shades, or other horizontal window treatments such as these roll-up sheer curtains.
Would you hang flowers in your window? Would you use fresh or silk flowers?

-Linn

Girl's Day

Excuse us. We are having a spa day.

I got such joy out of this little play date with Barbie dolls. Today I was feeling very girly and silly with my daughter, Sofie, and set up the house accordingly. Letting her help me design a little area helps her to feel a sense of ownership and importance. Now, we walk by this corner and smile. It likely won't stay this way for long but that's really the point. I like to change certain spaces constantly. This keeps our home fluid and current. I can be often caught changing things on a whim based on my mood that day. I enjoy acting on sudden spontaneous inspiration. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. 

Silly additions, personal pictures, inside jokes, and children's art make this house a home. 

My little Sofie. She's 7 years old, imaginative, addicted to chocolate milk, and a giggle factory.

Tea Cups

Pinky up, please!

This dainty mismatched tea cup collection adds a touch of interest and color to our dining room. Over the years I have bought various sets of cups, plates, and mugs ... and over the years and among multiple moves I find myself left with incomplete sets. Instead of cluttering up a cabinet I decided to display them on a shelf! Turns out, mismatched looks very pretty! These cups are a little conversation piece in my house... telling a story of where I was when I bought them or who I inherited them from.

I added a little wire with clothespins to the simple white shelf for some texture and dimension. Those are old family pictures clipped on. It's fun to display these pictures in a nontraditional way.

I think the end result draws you in for a closer look, what do you think? Do you display special dishware in your home?

-Linn

Kitchen Sink

 Gone Dishing!

The family and I were vacationing in the archipelago of Southern Sweden when my husband dragged me into a bait shop for a little "man shopping." He should know by now that I can improvise! I found this over-sized fishing bobber and was totally inspired. I have always found kitchen sink plugs necessary but..... unsightly. I simply strung this bobber up the standard drain plug chain and screwed it to our wooden counter top. I think it adds something unexpected to my country kitchen.

Would you add bait shop goodies to your home?  

-Linn

Fence Art

Another man's trash is this woman's treasure!

Every second Thursday of the month in my neighborhood is bulk trash day. Everyone puts their "junk" on the side of the road and it's like Christmas morning every month! I found this piece of fence and shamelessly snatched it up. Combine it with a recent obsession with Octopus and we have art!

I wanted to add a little functionality to the fence so I added a few coat hanging knobs to dangle some decorations. Little design tip: asymmetric features are key! Odd numbers are beautiful.

This little number resides on the front porch of our house. The black and white paint creates a nice contrast to our blue wood siding. Lots of different textures are at work here (the brick flooring, wood fence, rope, metal, starfish) and I think that it really makes this piece interesting in context. Have you ever snatched other peoples' trash and reused it?

-Linn

Duck Wagon Project

Quack!

I was asked by a friend to design a duck wagon/coop for her waddling friends on their family farm. It was such a fun project! I used simple bright colors for the paint to make the wagon lively and friendly.
Have you ever seen their eggs? They are giant! The last time I saw duck eggs were as a child and I had forgotten how impressive they were. I couldn't resist sneaking a couple eggs for breakfast....

 I found them to be much richer in taste than chicken eggs. Have you ever tried them?


-Linn