Making it Lovely » Library

La La La La Lovely Library

Making it Lovely — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:35:43 +0000

Sometimes I can’t come up with a snappy title. Sing it to this.

Hey, I can finally share more pictures of the library! I took these photos last month, shortly after adding the new coffee/play table to the space. Then my computer died and the little laptop I bought to work on while traveling (since I was doing so much of that last year) wasn’t powerful enough to edit RAW photo files. Luckily, my old computer was still under warranty, and I’m now working on a brand new replacement. It took a while to get it, but it’s here and it’s zippy!

Anyway, wide angle shots.

Got your bearings? Good. Let’s get closer.

Eleanor and August each have toys in their rooms, but we also keep a fabric bin full of stuffed animals for both of them in the library. It eliminates some of the “mine!” dibs to have them on neutral ground. That’s why it’s so good to have the castle out there too.

Clearly I put the cutest toys on top.

The fiddle leaf fig is still doing well. We had a rough first couple of weeks, but now it’s thriving.

I’d wanted a Michelle Armas painting forever, and when the one I really wanted sold out before I could commit to buying it, I was disappointed. When I spotted that smaller pink and orange one, I bought it right away, even though I wasn’t sure where I’d put it. Turns out it was just what I needed for the library. I also picked up one of those cube sculpture things I featured here.

And look! Decorating with books, in a library! What will I think of next?

The New Coffee/Play Table

Making it Lovely — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:55:52 +0000

We’ll have space for a play table in August’s room once he transitions from a crib to a bed and we’re able to take the glider and ottoman out. I was thinking about using our old coffee table, but Brandon pointed out that the whole reason we replaced it was because we were worried about its stability. Putting it in his room started to seem like a pretty bad idea, even though it would have looked cute.

I spotted a wood and sandstone coffee table that I liked at the Crate & Barrel outlet when I was there with my friend Kathryn (we met when I redesigned her bedroom), so I bought it. It’s similar to my old table, but slightly larger and a whole lot sturdier.

You like how I ‘styled’ it? It’s officially a play table now. (Funny thing about that Playmobile castle — I saw it last year at Berwyn’s Toys & Trains, and I joked to the kids that “daddy would really like that toy.” Guess who bought it?)

Actually, keeping the table in the library may turn out to be a better plan than moving it to August’s room. It fits the space well and looks fine, but has the added bonus of being neutral territory. If the castle was in either kid’s room, there would be more fighting over it because it’s seen as theirs, but out in the library they share it pretty well. I had to take the nesting side tables away that were next to the chair though, which I’d painted specifically for that space and liked. Too many tables, you know? Now I’m not sure if they’re coming back.

Christmas Decorations (Part 1: Upstairs)

Making it Lovely — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:40:44 +0000

I know — it’s a little late in the game to finally be sharing our Christmas decorations! The house was photographed this year for the Christmas issue of a magazine (to come out next year, obviously), so I was focused on getting the little details right. Today I’ll share the upstairs decorations, and tomorrow the living and dining rooms.

First, here’s Eleanor’s room.

She picked out her little white tree last year, and she was happy to see its return. She decorated it herself (she really likes those spiky glitter ornaments), and was adamant about there being a star on top. We didn’t have one, so I bought a glittery star-shaped ornament to use and all was well. I probably wouldn’t have draped her bed with garland, but we had the magazine shoot and I was feeling a little extra pressure to really Christmas it up. E likes it, because “now her bed looks like a sleigh.”

(And I stand by my love for all the weird deer in my house.)

August’s room was decorated too. The little Christmas tree is usually on top of his dresser, but his room is so small and hard to photograph that I moved it over to the table (temporarily) to fit it all in one shot with the wreath and reindeer in the window. It looks really nice there — it just wouldn’t survive very long!

The library has had the silver tree for the last few years — mostly because we already own it and I figure we might as well use it. We already had the birds, and the red yarn balls are new (from IKEA). I was slightly freaking out (oh, just slightly) about there needing to be something else up there, so I invited Kathryn over for a second opinion. She suggested the white feather wreaths from west elm, and I like how they tie in to the white feather birds on the tree.

The other side of the library has had those brass deer up all year. I guess that’s strange? I added some garland and ornaments, white Christmas lights, and my giant sequin disco ball ornament things.

I think of these as the ancillary decorations. The pink tree is the real star of the house, and no doubt why we were chosen for the magazine. I’ll share the downstairs photos tomorrow!

Photo Skillz

Making it Lovely — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 19:35:27 +0000

I often see my old photos pop up on Pinterest, and I’m amazed at how much my photography has improved. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m pretty comfortable with my camera now — manual settings and all.

Here’s a shot of my library from 2007, about six months after I started this blog, and then a recent shot of the same space.

I remember having trouble with that first photo way back then, but I did my best and I thought it looked all right. I still see some problems with the newer one, but it’s clearly an improvement. The first one needed a lot of help from Photoshop to even get it to an acceptable level, and the second had just a little tweak for brightness and contrast.

I’d love to learn more about lighting. There was a professional photographer here yesterday (shooting my house for a magazine’s Christmas issue to come out next year), and the contrast between myself and him was stark. He took his time, perfecting every shot and getting the lighting just right. I usually come in, set up my tripod, take a few shots, and move on. I was easily five times faster than him, but I’m sure his photos will be five times better than mine.

This was a quick snap — one that isn’t very good — but look at all that gear. I wouldn’t know how to use a lighting umbrella, or where to shine a spotlight at the ceiling to better illuminate the area behind it.

Having a blog for the last five years has pushed me to better my photography, and the constant practice has paid off, but I’m curious about what my photos will look like in another five years.

Ombré Nesting Tables (With a How-to Video)

Making it Lovely — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:47:54 +0000

I found these vintage wooden nesting tables at the Renegade Craft Fair, here in Chicago, a couple of months ago. I loved the shape of them, and that they nested together, but they looked a little plain in my library.

I decided to paint them in an ever-trendy ombré/gradient effect, figuring that when the trend moves on I can always repaint them again later. As I was preparing to paint, I look more closely at the tables and realized that someone had already painted them at some point, in a faux-bois effect. At least I didn’t have to feel guilty about being the first one to take a paintbrush to them!

I gathered everything I needed to get started: a lead test, sandpaper (150 and 180 grit), a mask, painter’s tape, paint and primer, a drop cloth, paint stirring sticks, and a good 2″ angled paintbrush. Below is a video showing the whole process.

I didn’t know how old that painted surface was, so I used a simple lead test to be sure that the tables were safe to work with. Then I sanded the tops with the rougher sandpaper, wiped them down, and taped off the edges. It would have been ideal to disassemble the tables and just work on the tops, but they were held together with a combination of dowels, glue, and magic. Prying them apart would have been difficult — possibly disastrous — so tape it was. Next I primed them, painted, sanded again with fine sandpaper, and applied a final coat of paint.

The three colors are Benjamin Moore’s Coral Gables and Petal Rose, and the third was a 50/50 combination of the two. I was careful to do a thorough job of sanding, and I made sure to abide by the recommended paint drying times (16 hours between coats because it was oil-based). I think that’s going to make all the difference when it comes to durability.

I love the way the tables play off of the new red pot of the fiddle-leaf fig tree, and the whole area feels a whole lot happier. Bringing that pillow up from the living room certainly helped too! It feels right to add a little more color to the area, since the kids play there a lot. August has already taken to using the nesting tables as stairs for his little animal figures.

This post is a collaboration with 3M DIY.
To learn more about safety and preparation, visit 3MDIY.com.

The Fiddle-Leaf Fig Tree

Making it Lovely — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:36:36 +0000

My friend Michelle was in town, so I met up with her yesterday we went to Sprout Home. I bought a couple of air plants (that don’t look as cute as I thought they would in their intended home), some beautiful flowers (out of season peonies!) that you’ll see in tomorrow’s post, and this guy. A fiddle-leaf fig tree (ficus lyrata).

I had to take pictures right away, while it still looks lush and full. I don’t consider myself to have a black thumb anymore because I’ve been successful with plants as of late, but I’ve heard that these are fickle. Right now, it’s beautiful, healthy, and green.

It’s a nice balance to all of the hard and straight lines in the room too. Books cozy up the space, but a plant gives it life.

All the cool kids seem to have a fiddle-leaf fig these days, and I had bemoaned my inability to find one to Jules before. I would have probably walked right this one had it not been for Michelle (she spotted it, and noted that it was only $50).

I have high hopes for it — literally. I want to see it grow to the ceiling.

How to Make a DIY Terrarium

Making it Lovely — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:14:54 +0000

I had been meaning to make a terrarium for a while now, but I finally got to it last week. I put together a post about the process for west elm, using their tall glass jar.

The full instructions and list of materials needed can be found at west elm’s blog, Front & Main. I also talked about how to care for your terrarium, and what I would have done differently.

You could simplify the process by choosing a smaller container and just placing moss inside (like this one) with a few interesting rocks or objects. Of course, you could make it more complex too, by choosing an extra wide vessel and combining more plants of different sizes and textures.

I’d love to try a succulent terrarium next time, switching out the rich potting soil for a sandier blend, and using an open-air container. I think it would be fun to gather some HO scale model items to make a little scene, too. I do have a special fondness for miniatures, after all.

Five Important Tips for Photographing Your Home

Making it Lovely — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:10:44 +0000

This post on photography tips is brought to you by your fellow photo lovers at Shutterfly. They encourage you to capture your memories and share your amazing pictures the way you want with their new Custom Path photo books.

I’ve learned a lot about photographing my home over the last several years. I look back at some of my early shots of the house (like the photos in this post featuring my library), and I cringe at how bad they are. Today I’m going to share all of my tips and tricks with you so that you don’t make the same mistakes I did! You can make just one of these adjustments to improve your shots, or you can combine several changes to really make a difference.

Tripod vs. Handheld

Use a tripod. Always. That’s rule number one, because it’s that important. Rule number two should be to turn off your flash.

Don’t Just Stand There

A lot of people make the mistake of taking pictures from a standing position. It looks amateurish. It’s far better to crouch down just a bit and lower your tripod. (You are using a tripod, right? Rule number one!) Photographing a room from a lower angle makes the ceilings look higher and eliminates weird perspectives from above.

Depth of Field

Want that pretty effect where the subject is in focus and the background is nice and soft? You want shallow depth of field. You use a wide aperture (small F-stop number) to get it. Want everything in focus and sharp? Use a higher number F-stop for deeper depth of field.

Lights On, Lights Off

This comes down to personal preference. My library has been photographed a couple of times by professionals (here and here), and one photographer turned off every light while the other turned them all on (and brought in a few more). I like the look of the photo above with the lights on, but the one with the lights off has truer colors. (Yes, the ceiling is a soft green.)

Proper Exposure

I was focusing on the same spot (the pillow), but that window was making the whole room look backlit. When I first photographed the library in 2007, all of my pictures had this exposure problem, but I had no idea how to fix it (other than trying like mad with Photoshop, to so-so results). I got a better shot here by keeping the aperture the same (to maintain the same depth of field), and decreasing the shutter speed to keep the shutter open longer and let more light in.

Practice Makes Perfect

I’ve been blogging about my home since 2007, so I’ve had a lot of practice and a lot of time to improve. Hopefully these tips will help you get a jump on your own photos and you can avoid some of my early mistakes!

Eventually I want to reshoot some of my older pictures. I would love to make a photo book of my house, maybe featuring a bunch of before and after shots (now that I can take better “after” shots!). Or wouldn’t it be great to make a book for you or your kids to remember their home by if you were moving to a new house? I would have loved a memento like that of my childhood home.

Are any of these tips new to you? Or do you have any you’d like to add?

Planning August’s Monthly Photos

Making it Lovely — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:04:26 +0000

I took a photo of August in Eleanor’s usual spot yesterday.

I’m going to start photographing him monthly too, but I’m considering a change of location. I think that the library would make a good backdrop, yes?

I don’t know if I should prop him up in the white chair that’s already up there, or if I should bring the Eames rocker up for each photo. I think it could be cool to have him in the same chair to connect his photos to his sister’s, but I also think it’s going to be a total pain to have to set it up every month. Sigh.

C’est la vie de l’overachiever.

These Are THE Curtains

Making it Lovely — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:58:35 +0000

They look better than my mockup (as I had a feeling they would). I haven’t been this pleased with a purchase in a long time! It took two and a half years, but I finally have curtains for the library that I love.