Category: Filing Cabinet

Working With Digital Paint Swatches

Here’s a question from my recent FAQ post. Nicole wrote:

Maybe this is a silly question, but how did you get the paint colors off the brand’s websites? […] I wanted to email a “true” swatch [to my family] with my photos but couldn’t save a swatch from the Valspar website. Did you get permission from the companies or am I missing something??

Thanks for asking (and nice name, by the way). All of the big paint companies use flash for their websites, which means you can’t right click to save swatches. You can get around that though by taking a screenshot and grabbing your color from the image created.

So how do I make the brush strokes and paint blobs for my mood boards? I made my own custom set of Photoshop brushes, but you can use a font like Blobs, Brushstrokes & Balloons or this free ink splat font instead. Just pick your color and then use the brushstroke or blob of your choice. If you’re feeling fancy, you can play around with the layer effects in Photoshop.

July 23, 2009
The New Light in the Library

We finally got our hands on the Chase Ceiling Mount I had wanted for the library, and we’ve already installed it! Brandon did most of the work while I held Eleanor and read the instructions to him.

It’s so much better than the light that was there before.

It’s understated, but it’s a perfect compliment to the room.

June 25, 2009
Time for a New FLOR

The sisal rug in our dining room is about five years old, and it has a big threadbare spot on it that was just made much worse this weekend by vacuuming. Luckily, FLOR just opened a store in Chicago, so Brandon and I headed out to see what we could find.

image from Apartment Therapy

We went through, grabbing a sample of each carpet style and color that interested us. Then we started narrowing down the choices (too dark, too light, can’t withstand heavy foot traffic, and so on), until we ended up with our final selection: Feelin Groovy in Pewter.

Brandon and I also really liked the Be My Neighbor Rug.

Where could we use something so awesome? In Brandon’s office, of course. He’s going to feel like a giant.

June 23, 2009
Dreaming of Orla Kiely Curtains

I’ve been having a lot home design dreams lately. Usually they make no sense, like the one I had recently where Kim from Myles of Style and the Dugger family gave my living room a makeover (it resulted in forced smiles followed by tears from me). Last night was different though…

I had been looking online at curtains for the library. I know everyone always says that they love the ones that are up there now, but I don’t. I’m looking for a bold, graphic print that has brown and mustard yellow in it to work with the wall colors, but I didn’t find anything I really loved (these came closest). I had given up for the night and figured I’d look again in a few months when there might be some new options on the market. Then, I had a dream in which the perfect solution presented itself to me: I want curtains made out of Orla Kiely stem print fabric!

Too bad it doesn’t seem to be available. Wah-wah.

June 19, 2009
The Porch Rug (Revisited)

I thought I’d talk about painting the porch rug in a bit more detail today. So many of you loved the project (thanks!), and it really is something that can be easily done in your own home if you’re so inclined.

I started by sketching the pattern on paper first. As I had mentioned before, I was inspired by a rug from Urban Outfitters (no longer available) and the flower petal patterns my Grandma Rose used to draw with me.

Once we were ready to begin, Brandon and I cleaned the porch and marked off the area for the rug with painter’s tape. We didn’t sand the floor first, though I’d recommend it if you have the time. Two coats of the base color (green) came next, and then it was time to figure out how to get the pattern drawn out on a large scale.

I ended up putting in some rough guidelines with white chalk. I focused on placing the flower centers where I wanted them and then sketching out the general movement of the petals from there. I then painted everything freehand, stepping back every so often to make sure that the petal shapes and sizes were remaining consistent.

If you’re considering a similar project, I’d say just go for it! It’s just paint — you’ll get a huge impact for very little money. And painting the rug while nine months pregnant was difficult (to say the least), but if I was able to handle it then the more able-bodied among you should have no problem!

If you liked my porch redo (all done in 48 hours with just $500), please take a moment to vote for it. There are two and a half weeks left, and I’d really appreciate your support during this time. And remember, you can vote once each day!

May 25, 2009
Next: An Excellent Way to Read Blog Posts

I don’t know if this is a new feature, or just a new-to-me thing, but it’s pretty fantastic. If you use Google Reader but miss reading blog posts in their original context, prepare to be very excited… You can install a little “Next” bookmark in your browser bar and click through your unread posts on each individual blog instead of in the reader!

You can find the bookmarklet by going to “Settings” in Google Reader, then “Goodies”. Happy browsing!

May 15, 2009