Sky Planter

A couple of weeks ago I was in Corning, NY, for a one-night stopover en-route to Washington D.C. There is a really pretty, artsy downtown there, and I bought a lot of nice things. One store that got me particularly excited was Pure Design (www.puredesignonline.com). It was filled with the kind of mid-century modern home decor and furniture you see in Dwell magazine (Herman Miller, Marimekko, etc.). Right by the door, they had a display of these Boskke Sky Planters and, of course, I had to get one. It would necessitate me buying another houseplant, but what is one more when I already have 51 to water? Plus, I would be watering it upside down!

I picked up a spider plant yesterday for a buck and a quarter and planted it as per the instructions. There is a reservoir at the top of the container where your add the water. When you look at it from the inside, the bottom looks solid and it's hard to understand how the water can reach the soil, but as it turns out...AHA!...the reservoir base is made of clay, which is porous, allowing for a "Slo-Flo" release. I haven't had to water mine yet, so it will be interesting to see how messy it is (it did come with a warning not to hang over carpet or furniture or your husband's slippers), but I love how it looks like an octopus. The bottom line here is, don't tempt me with new reasons to buy another plant. I am incapable of resisting.

The Ottoman Empire That Never Was

A couple of years ago, I had a brainwave: I was going to get rich making furniture out of old suitcases! It came after leafing through a library book on recycled crafts, and seeing a photo of a very cute bench made out of a vintage suitcase.  I thought, "I can do this!" and started imagining filling my house with all versions of suitcase furnishings (Ottomans! Side tables! Cat beds!) and selling them on Etsy and at craft shows.

Well, to this day, I have only made one piece of suitcase furniture. As it turns out, vintage suitcases are not as cheap or as easy to come by as I thought they'd be, so I can't imagine what I'd have to sell my upcycled creations for in order to make this brainwave worthwhile. But, that being said, I like my lone suitcase ottoman. You can make one, too. All you need is:

• a vintage suitcase
• a piece of foam cut to fit snuggly inside the suitcase and extend over the top by several inches
• fabric to cover the foam with
• four screw-in sofa "feet" and associated fittings depending on the kind of feet you choose 
• screws
• a piece of plywood cut to fit inside the bottom of the suitcase
• a screwdriver or power tool
• a hammer

The first thing you'll have to do is break off the top of the suitcase. This took a little more work than I was expecting, but a few good blows with the hammer did the trick. Next, put your plywood inside and screw/drill your feet into the bottom. (I ended up painting my vintage feet found at my local Bibles for Missions store to match the colour of the suitcase.) Wrap your foam with fabric (mine is a vintage bark cloth I ordered from Etsy) and just pin it at the bottom, then insert into suitcase and you are done! Now you have a lovely, bespoke conversation piece to adorn your handcrafted home. 

Simple, No-Sew Fabric Art

So, a while ago, I was looking for something to put on the wall behind the master bed. Since we don't have a head board, there was a lot of blank wall. The reclaimed wood mirror from the living room would have looked nice, but I liked how it looked above the fireplace, so I came up with this idea, having seen it done at my favourite fabric store in downtown Hamilton, Needlework (iloveneedlework.com).

It's so simple, and people always comment on how cool it looks. All you need are a variety of different sized embroidery hoops (I bought mine in bulk at Value Village), and some great-looking fabric. I instantly fell in love with this "Architextures" fabric by Carolyn Friedlander when I saw it on Needlework's Facebook page, and since it is all from the same collection, I knew it would look good when grouped together. Easy-peasy, instant art!

The Kitchen

Our kitchen lets in a lot of light, which makes it a very pleasant room to work in. Seeing as I work from home as a freelance editor/writer, we decided to build a desk in front of one of the windows for my "home office." I really wanted a nice old slab of barn wood for the top, but we haven't been able to find one the right size and type yet, so for now my husband made me this one with some pine from Home Depot. Does the trick!

Eventually, this 1990s kitchen will need an overhaul, but I'm pretty content with it as is. My one big wish list item would be a candy-colored Smeg fridge (even before redoing the counters or the cabinets). I like happy, colorful kitchens like people used to have before it became the thing to go all white or dark and stainless. I even like the old avocado-colored appliances that everyone got rid of. Anyone have one they feel like unloading? :)

The Living Room

Our main floor living room is the most used room in the house. I have two kids, aged 4 and 6, and they basically rule the house. There are toys in every room, and I'm OK with that. I like kids' toys (except the big plastic ones), art, everything associated with childhood. Even if I didn't have kids, I would still have toys and some random kid's art in my house, I'm sure :)

The fireplace in the living room was the thorn in my side for the longest time. I hated the outdated (vintage, but not cool) stone/brick facade. It also had a brass insert, which I really couldn't stand. After debating on and off for a while whether or not to paint the fireplace white, I opted for just painting the insert black with some heavy-duty BBQ spray paint. (FYI, if you're going to attempt this, make sure to turn the pilot light off first...don't make the same rookie mistake I did!) I was very satisfied with the result, and then I just placed a bunch of plants around the mantle and the hearth, and...voila...you can barely even see the fireplace anymore! The lovely barn wood mirror also helps tie things together and works nicely with the black board in the adjoining dining room, methinks. What about you?

Wally

I am a sucker for houseplants. At last count I owned a total of 51. Some of them are planted inside this "Wally" wall-mounted planter by the company Woolly Pocket. Living walls are getting a little more popular now, but when I got mine in 2010, I had to order it on-line. If I was filthy rich, I would cover a whole interior wall in plants. It's nice to see a houseplant renaissance in decorating magazines lately! I think they had their heyday in the 70s, but people are starting to see how plants can add warmth and life to their homes again...in addition to purifying the air. And what kind of chump doesn't want cleaner air?

My House

When we moved into this house in 2010, I was so excited. The house is a 1960s sidesplit and instantly brought to my mind the Brady Bunch family home...perfect for this retro-loving child of the 70s! The house was in good shape but needed to be repainted. There is still lots of work that could be done, but I am not one of those people who needs everything to be new and renovated to be happy. I love character in a home and am happy to just work with what I have without investing a lot of money. One day we will surely refinish our scuffed wood floors and get an all-new kitchen and bathrooms, but I can wait. As long as my house feels homey and has lots of cool stuff to look at, I am feeling good!

The following are photos of my latest project...wallpapering a "focal" wall in the bedroom! I've always loved the cozy look of wallpaper but was determined to find just  the right design. I think I found it in this design by Graham & Brown on-line (www.grahambrown.com). Called "Feathers Multi," I loved how it was on trend, but on the subtle side and totally unique! It's also a cheeky nod to my love for birds, as well as First Nations art and handicrafts :)