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Shadow Boxes Get a Sophisticated Spin

I fondly recall my youth shadow box. It had been stuffed with small trinkets and tchotchkes I had collected from family beach trips or received as presents, and I valued every one. However, while I still adore the shadow box thought, I am searching for a more tasteful, cohesive approach nowadays. Here are 12 fresh shadow box remedies perfect for an adult area.

sarah & bendrix

A simple heart cut from the pages of this book produces a striking display that is even more poignant because of its simplicity.

Even something as modest as bottle caps can look artful and chic when massed together in a shadow box.

What a terrific way to preserve ticket stubs and other paper postcards — much better than my current method of pushing them into a box and hoping I’ll get around to organizing them one day.

Allen Patterson Residential

Exotic shadow boxes, each painted a bright color, give children a lot of room to display their favourite items and help to preserve floor space.

Mustard Seed Interiors

Here, an shadow box approach produces a beautiful screen for a garment. The lack of glass produces a rustic feel.

Maria Barros Design de Interiores

Framing a set of bracelets in twin-frame shadow boxes elevates them to art standing.

Robin Muto

Tiny cubes in an orderly grid give this shadow box graphic appeal. It is a new take on stacking them into a glass lamp base or tumbling them into a bowl.

Pour Toujours

Frame champagne and wine corks from special occasions in their own shadow boxes instead of piling them into a bowl.

It’s The Small Things…

Limiting a set could keep it from looking kitschy. This old crate–turnedshadow box stipulates a series of freshwater cubes.

My Sweet Savannah

Transcribing a classic recipe on the rear wall and organizing a couple of artful groupings of dishware and cosmetic finds have changed this shelf into an oversized shadow box.

Lola Nova

How smart is this? A bag lid makes for a display.

Liz Williams Interiors

Chunky box-style frames, minus their glass, become adorable, cottage-style screen spaces.

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Medication Carpets: How to Get Revenge on Nosy People

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The Way to Give Your Home

Summers are lovely, but aside from actual vacation time, they are not that different from the rest of the year. We still have to work and pay bills and change our oil.

Still, there is something in the air (it’s called sunshine) which makes everything a little more relaxed. Mealtimes get longer, clothes and evenings linger takes it down a few notches. Life just does not feel really frenetic in summer. Or it shouldn’t.

There’s not any reason you can not capture this atmosphere in your home. Lighten things up, relax a little, make room for kicking back. You might not have more actual hours to chill through the summer months, but your house can make you feel as though you do.

Hang a hammock. When it’s too hot and buggy outside, then hang it indoors. A novel and a glass of lemonade are equally as great in an indoor hammock as they are in an outdoor one.

Brown’s Interior Design

Have an outdoor pavilion for shade, breezes and all the conveniences of an outdoor living area.

Amazon

An outdoor pavilion is not in your cards? Produce a makeshift lounge. Consider it. A couple layered rugs, a few floor pillows and a low table will do the trick.

Thom Filicia Inc..

Adding an outdoor fireplace or a fire pit will help to create a focus for a second outdoor living room. And it keeps things going after the sun has gone down.

SchappacherWhite Architecture D.P.C.

Hang a mosquito net. There are few things as intimate as a absolute mosquito net over the bed.

Tracery Interiors

No location for a mosquito net? Hang gauzy curtains. They let in the light and flutter in the breeze.

Rough Linen

Sleep outside. Transferring a summer bed out into the yard or on the porch is a fantastic way to feel like you are on vacation even once you have to get up in the morning.

Dreamy Whites

Move casual. Canning jars become tea glasses, yard clippings are centerpieces and nothing actually must match. It’s summer. You should be eating on your swimsuit!

Tamar Schechner/Nest Pretty Things Inc

Go bright and white. White slipcovers are bright and summery, and they may be washed.

Philip Clayton-Thompson

White, white and more white.

Sandy Koepke

Move the dining area out. You do not need a lovely rose arbor and a raised gravel bed to temporarily go outdoors for your meals.

A Beach Cottage

Bring outdoor furniture indoors. This vintage beach chair just screams “summer lake home” to me.

Barbara Cannizzaro

All you will need is just one small area where you can get comfortable. Even should a balcony is the only outdoor area, you may produce a summer chill-out place.

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Rooms Spring to Life With Unusual Patterns

It is tempting to write something about these daring floral designs “not being your grandmother’s chintz.” But it some cases they are your grandmother’s chintz. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

The blossom print has come a long way since Louis XIV, also there are lots of daring, contemporary floral designs on all manner of things, from carpeting to walls. But there’s no reason to take sides. Bold blossom designs are stunning whether traditional or contemporary, all around the place or sprinkled reasonably. They could fit in everywhere. As always, it is dependent on how you utilize them.

Ed Ritger Photography

This glowing yellow flowered wallpaper is cheerfulness on a roster.

Dewson Construction Company

I am a giant fan of mixing up things, and this room certainly does that. It’ll be just a moment before a daffy old Englishwoman brings you some tea.

Only a hint of chintz. The throw pillows on the seat add a feminine, welcoming touch to what looks like quite a comfy room.

Flea Market Sunday

An accent wall done in a superbold poppy wallpaper adds color, texture and also a lot of character to this room. It is nice to see an ocean-view room that is not all blue and beige.

Rachel Reider Interiors

The pattern with this Flower Quince wallpaper from Clarence House is so subjective and daring, it almost looks like splatter artwork.

Period Homes, Inc..

Completely buttoned up and totally wild at the same time. This giant, blown-up chinoiserie pattern is so stunning.

Ninainvorm

Even with this yummy wildflower paper, this room is contemporary eclectic all of the way. (It likely has something to do with the bombshell within the mattress.)

JMA INTERIOR DESIGN

Now this is devotion. Flowers, flowers everywhere and curtains that fit the walls. It is Grandma’s room on steroids.

Dufner Heighes Inc

Why don’t you add a wall of flowers to your midcentury modern living room? It can help to soften all of the angles.

The Lettered Cottage

There’s no need to go all out. Keep it easy, with just a little splash of flowers (covering the chair has much more effect than a few throw pillows).

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A Chilly Massachusetts Bathroom Understands the Hotel-Spa Remedy

She loves to soak and he enjoys to steam and one of these was getting what they really wanted out of the master bathroom with its drafty window, dated fixtures, whirlpool shower and bathtub too large to be functional. This husband and wife wanted a personal and private space that felt like a modern resort spa, but using traditional touches. The outcome is a luxe and comfortable room that functions both of these as a fantasy escape at the end of a long day.

Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two young daughters
Location: Beverly, Massachusetts
Size: Around 142 square feet

Megan Meyers Interiors

The 1990s structure was cold in temperature and style. Designer Megan Meyers took the room all the way down. “Unfortunately, in the 1990s a lot of building was not as concerned with tight envelopes such as we are today, so it was quite inefficient,” she says. Additionally, until she could get started on the fun things, the room had improved insulation, as it is situated above the garage.

The cold tile floors used to produce the homeowners dread going into the bathroom barefoot. Now the floors have radiant heat and also a new baseboard heating system. Meyers also substituted the drafty window using a new efficient one from Anderson Windows.

The floors look like marble but are ceramic tile. She chose quartz in Arabescato Verde to your shower brink to avoid tough-to-clean grout lines and because the green in the veining picks on the greens in the stained glass tiles.

Megan Meyers Interiors

A sizable vanity offers plenty of storage and also his-and-her sinks. The mirrors open to medicine cabinets and are mirrored on both sides. Crystal knobs add a little bling.

Vanity: Bertch; dressing table complete: Shale (the color is much lighter than it looks in this photograph); stained glass tiles: Vihara, Sonoma Tilemakers

Megan Meyers Interiors

Another large item on the spouse’s wish list was background, which is not a sensible idea in a room which has a steam shower (the newspaper starts to peel off from your stitches when exposed to too much steam). Meyers commissioned handsome artist Kasia Mirowska of Miro Art and Design to complete a unique stencil treatment which has a metallic background, glazing and a final coat of varnish. The owners may wipe condensation right from the beautifully stenciled walls.

Megan Meyers Interiors

Meyers additional picture-frame molding beneath the stenciled walls due to the 12-foot ceilings. “The molding attracts the room down to an individual level and is fitting with the toilet’s modernized traditional style,” she says.

Among the spouse’s leading wish list things was a chandelier with some bling. The James Moder Florale Chandelier adds traditional crystal in a whimsical floral style.

Megan Meyers Interiors

“The homeowners like to sail and also are attracted to decadent colors; I sourced this stained glass tile, and they fell in love with it,” Meyers says. She used 1- from 3-inch tiles on the backsplash and floor, then chose the 1/2- by-1-inch size in the exact same tile to the shower.

The counter is Italian Okite quartz, which looks like marble.

Faucets: Sigma; mirrors: Robern

Megan Meyers Interiors

BEFORE: The husband dreamed of a steam shower with lots of room instead of this standard shower.

Megan Meyers Interiors

BEFORE: The old tub was over 7 ft long and jetted. The couple used it in the 2 decades since they moved in. Well, that is not exactly true; they did fill it with balls to produce a ball pit to get both daughters — the bathtub was that large.

Megan Meyers Interiors

AFTER: Meyers borrowed space from the oversize tub surround to expand the shower stall, making it a 5- by 5-foot space.

Megan Meyers Interiors

Rather than a full wall between the bathtub and shower as seen in the earlier pictures, there are two large panes of glass. The center piece provides room for the plumbing and fittings. “Creating these two large ‘windows’ opened the shower to the light along with the views,” Meyers says.

The husband got the steam shower he’d needed so much.

Fixtures: Sigma

Megan Meyers Interiors

Meanwhile, the spouse’s fantasy of a large soaking tub, no jets required, came true on the other side. While initially she had pictured a cast iron claw-foot bathtub, Meyers steered her from Victoria and Albert’s Volcanic Limestone Collection because it holds heat better.

There’s also a European heated towel bar between the bathtub and the shower (not pictured). Window treatments in a quatrefoil pattern up the comfy factor and supply privacy.

Padding barefoot round the heated floors for a luxurious soak or a steam is a fantasy come true to the couple.

Baseboard heater (beneath window): Runtal; curtain fabric: Corralillo in Seaspray, Fabricut; side table: Worlds Away

More: Steam Showers Bring a Beloved Spa Feature Home

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What's in a Frame?

Deciding on the proper artwork for your house can be difficult, but for many of us, framing it’s the true puzzler. What color? What dimensions? Mat or no mat? And if you are anything like me, those choices can be so overpowering that beautiful paintings and photographs languish for months or even years in a cupboard, unframed and hidden. But here’s the good news: Once you break it down, the process really isn’t that hard. Follow these tips to choose the guesswork out of framing your art to its best advantage.

John Lum Architecture, Inc.. AIA

Consider the style of this art. The framework you choose should complement the piece inside. An impressionist-style painting may appear ill at ease in a contemporary stainless steel framework, even though a spare, modern work will not jibe with a detailed gilt one. Select materials and a profile that sense appropriate to what you are framing.

Sroka Design, Inc..

Consider the style of this space. The framing you select does not need to coordinate with your decor just, but it must at least feel as though the piece hangs in the right property. The conventional frames utilized for this set of paintings complement the area’s classic, understated style.

Pelletier + Schaar

Match the dimensions of this framework to the dimensions of this image. A thick, chunky framework can overpower a diminutive piece of art, and a skimpy one can fade away next to a solid, overscale painting or photograph. Pick one that will balance the job it surrounds.

Tobi Fairley Interior Design

Decide whether to use mats. Not all pieces require them, and it is largely a matter of personal taste. Hold mats and frame moldings against the job in question to ascertain the way you’d like it best. Art with a clean background, such as the shell prints in this bedroom, works especially well without a mat.

Allison Cosmos

Select a mat which contrasts with the color of this art. Generally, you can’t go wrong with classic white or cream (cool colors are a huge no-no, unless you do not mind swapping them out several years). But black and white photographs, line drawings and pen sketches are able to appear striking with a surround of black. Just be sure there’s a powerful contrast between the art and the mat a murky piece will disappear in a field of darkness.

Domestic Stories with Ivy

Select the kind of glass you want. If your piece is especially fine or sentimental, you might opt to put money into museum glass, treated to block UV rays that can fade colors over time. It’s costly, but it can pay off in the long term. Normal glass is a lower-cost choice, but it can be too heavy for quite a large part. In these instances, lightweight acrylic is often the best bet.

Kati Curtis Design

Make sure mats are broad enough. A mat that’s too skinny will not set off the piece it surrounds. Here’s a handy rule of thumb: To the best effect, create the mat two times as wide as the framework. You are able to go wider, but you should be sure the art doesn’t get lost.

Lauren Gries

Don’t be concerned about matching eyeglasses. Take your cue from art galleries and fit frames to the art, not to every other. Grouped on a wall, correctly framed pieces will complement each other beautifully.

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Guest Picks: 20 Ways With Agate

Adding agate in your home’s decor allows you to bring a wide variety of colour, and may have healing properties as well. Many customs imbue this gorgeous stone with magic protective attributes, including the capability to cure the stings of scorpions and the bites of snakes, soothe the brain, stop contagion, still thunder and lightning, promote eloquence and secure the favor of the powerful. I mostly love the organic beauty these slices of stone bring to the home. — Jami from Imagine Design Blog

Emporium

Eclipse Agate Chandelier

This chandelier combines a sleek, modern look with a raw, earthy vibe. I love the delicate lines of the piece. It would look great in many different dining settings.

Matthew Studios

Quinn

Oh, hello lover! This is one good looking table. It’s unique, the perfect size to get just a small side table and that colour is stunning!

STUDIO BIJOUX

Agate Rug, Amethyst

Can you like this flooring jewel? It’s really a stunning carpet from Studio Bijoux. This is bold and beautiful rather than for the person who is afraid of colour.

Vivre

Agate Napkin Rings – $65

I really like these agate napkin rings add a touch of natural elegance into the tabletop. I enjoy the blue agate paired with the freezing glass ring. You can design a chic tablescape using these as inspiration.

Vivre

Agate Coasters – $60

Supposedly, these agate coasters possess supernatural powers that protect and bring pleasant dreams. Sign me up! I will try them, not just for protection, but to bring some stunning sparks of colour throughout my home.

Anthropologie

Agate Slice Knob – $14

How pretty is that this agate piece knob? This would be the perfect addition to any dainty dresser or nightstand. It also comes in a cream colour, but I really like this bright blue.

Jayson Home

Agate Cheese Plates – $60

These aren’t the most colorful agates, but they are entirely sophisticated. They’d work well for serving a tasty cheese plate. I totally love the raw, earthiness of those.

UncommonGoods

Agate Cheese Spreaders – $60

Here is a few more agate that will help you serve your cheese up. Not only are they naturally amazing, they’re virtually indestructible!

Paper Mojo

Agate Marbled Paper, Pink And Black

This agate decorative paper is handmade in Bangladesh and will be perfect to add to an acrylic tray onto your coffee table or as a pad in a frame. Pink + gray + black = perfection.

West Elm

Agate Silk Pillow Cover – $34

Who says all agates are rock hard? This silk pillow cover is something I would really like to see in my guest bedroom. It’s modern and I really like the complementary colour scheme.

Eduardo Garza

Fuschia Lucite Box – $595

Whoa! If color is what you enjoy, then colour is exactly what you get here within this ideabook. Consider this brilliant fuchsia. Store your treasures inside this oil box or only keep it on display by itself. This really is that accessory that will make your guests say, “Ooooh!”

Craig Van Den Brulle

Willy Daro Bronze And Agate Lamp

This is one stunning lamp. This would really look just right in my living room along with all the chocolates, creams and caramels happening. I would really like to see it lit with a warm, soft glow.

A+R

Agate Candle Holders – $110

This set of candleholders is one polished agate split in half. Each set from this shop is exceptional, because they’re made from stones found in character.

A+R

Tigela Agate Bowl – $60

These beauties are carved from character and oozing with colour. They are perfect for serving snacks or putting in your dresser to maintain earrings or rings.

Concetto

Concetto Semi Precious Blue Agate Stone Surfaces

This really is a blue agate slab from Caesarstone. They advocate it for conference or meeting rooms where people gather to emphasise as seemingly it “can lead to intensely original thinking” I’m loving this! Natural cut stone to improve creativity — I need a desk made from the stuff.

tuell + reynolds

Santiago Sconce

This set of agate sconces is the perfect addition to light up any space. I imagine them at an entryway (to ward off bad spirits) or maybe in an office or library setting (to stir the creative juices). I’m sure these have a gorgeous soft glow when lit.

Etsy

Lee Jofa Groundworks Kelly Wearstler Agate, Grey With Blue By houseofpemberley – $109

This really is a 20-inch throw pillow out of Etsy. It’s made from Kelly Wearstler’s Agate fabric. They also have a few different colors to choose from. I really like this as it is a picture interpretation of an agate — a bit more bold and modern.

Taylor Llorente

Unusual Hand Sculptured Bronze And Agate Cocktail Tables – $42,832.13

Examine this set! These small stunners are hand-sculpted and very pricey. They are one of a kind, although they’ve a high price tag. The sculptural base is bronze.

Vivre

Agate Clocks – $85

Sprinkle some color around your home with a potpourri of brightly colored agate clocks. Be sure to place one in your nightstand to keep those good dreams coming!

High Street Market

Agate Bookends – $49.50

These silver foliage agate bookends would dress up any shelf. I really like this colour combination; silver and peacock blue perform nicely together and make any space instantly glamorous.

Next: Alternatives to Granite Countertops

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Handmade Home: How to Sew a Table Runner

Can you love the handmade appearance? Would you want to produce something amazing for your property? You are in luck. Creating a burlap table runner is simple, low price, fast and flexible. Runners are a staple when I am decorating. They enable the beauty of the furniture to be viewed while adding a layer of softness, unlike a conventional tablecloth. Burlap is a superb way to add an organic element to any table or piece of furniture.

See more table runners in house photos | More DIY jobs

Susan Duane

My finished runner provides the finishing touch to a dresser I refurbished to our property. The rustic quality of natural burlap plays beautifully against the creamy blue-green painted wood.

Among the things I adore about burlap is its low price. It is just a couple of dollars a yard that makes it ideal if you’re making on a budget.

With this project you’ll need:
A yard or two of burlap, determined by the length of your runnerA lawn of cotton or other accent fabric for your ruffle — I used a bit from a vintage sheet I had on handScissorsPinsSewing machine, needle and thread or fabric glueLiquid seam sealer, such as Fray CheckOptional: cutting mat and rotary cutter

First, decide the width and length of your runner. Create a cut in the burlap and pull apart slightly showing among the threads.

Gently pull this particular thread, working it from the fabric all the way across the piece.

You are going to be left with an ideal line to cut along.

I utilized the long finished edge on one side. The burlap will fray so you’ll need to use a lineup of liquid seam sealer or stitch down the side. If you don’t obey the frayed look it’s possible to make it raw.

Determine the width of your ruffle. I made mine about 8 inches. As a guideline you need about twice the width to the ruffle. For example, if the width of your runner is 18 inches, you should cut on your prized material 36 inches . I cut on my ruffle 8″ x 36″.

Sew a very long running stitch down one side of your ruffle. Do this on your sewing machine using the longest stitch length. I did so down the unfinished side. The other side of my sheet includes a nice finished edge so there’s no demand for hemming.

If you don’t have a sewing machine, then use a needle and thread and create a very long running down one advantage of this cotton.

If your cotton does not have a finished edge you’ll be able to make it raw or create a little hem by folding up two roughly 1/4 inch and stitching or cutting edge down.

As soon as you’ve sewn your running stitch along the duration of the ruffle, pull on the bottom thread lightly and work your way across the fabric to make a ruffle.

You can move the gathers around until you are pleased with how the ruffle looks. Do this until the ruffle is exactly the exact same width as your own runner.

Pin the ruffles on the right side (the good side) facing the front of the runner.

Stitch the ruffle to the runner. If you aren’t using a sewing machine you may hand-sew this or carefully glue the ruffle to the burlap. If you are using fabric glue, allow it to dry completely.

Susan Duane

Twist your ruffle to the right side and iron it to flatten the seam.

The runner makes a great backdrop for my Grandmother’s tea collection, vintage artwork and a chalkboard I generated from an old framework.

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