Little Green Notebook

Copy Cat Design: Domino Guest Room

Heather contacted me about doing a copy cat design post on everyone's favorite Domino guest room:

from Domino's Mini Guide: Twin Beds (June/July 2008 issue), photo by Justin Bernhaut

I also love this room and was excited to accept her challenge!

Let's start with the wall color. The inspiration room color is "Lost Oasis" (#21-4) by Pratt & Lambert.

It is a very pretty color indeed, but unless your room has an abundance of natural light, like the room in the photo, I would recommend going a shade lighter, like Benjamin Moore's "Irish Spring" (#2038-70).

And here's a little money-saving tip on paint, from me to you. I'm a big fan of the colors available through Benjamin Moore and Martha Stewart for Valspar (which I heard has been discontinued?! sad), but I really like Behr paints (for the cost and quality), available at Home Depot. Fortunately for me, Home Depot has many competitor formulas (like Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams and Valspar) in their paint computers. They don't have Pratt & Lambert, but you can bring in a chip from P&L and Home Depot can easily color match for you.

Next up, the rug. The 9x12 cotton dhurrie featured in the Domino image is available at Odegard for a cool $3240. Luckily, many black and white cotton flatweaves have hit the market in the past few years. Here are my favorite budget options:

IKEA ($179 for approx. 8'x6'). I sort of like that the stripes aren't perfectly horizontal in this rug. It helps to break things up a little.

image via Elle Decor

Ballard Outdoor Rug ($299 for 5'x8'). Outdoor rugs hold up really well to rowdy kids and pets.

IKEA Runner on eBay (3'x8'). If the room is smaller, this little rug might be just the right size for between the two twin beds.

Image via Apartment Therapy

Overstock rug ($157 for 5'x8'). This rug is not a flatweave, but a plush wool pile might be a welcome addition in a bedroom.

Nate Berkus for HSN ($160 for 8'x10'). It's not a true black, more of a charcoal, which I think is nice and a little more subtle than the stark black and white.

Loving this black and white WS Home Dhurrie ($179 for 8'x10')

Part of the reason the Domino room caused such a stir was because the red headboards were from Target. They are still available here for $249 each, though if you're penny-pinching, this could be a place to DIY with a little plywood, batting, red linen and nail head trim.

The beautiful bedding is from one of my favorite luxury lines, Matouk. The "Bel Tempo" shams are $100 each and the Barcelona bedskirt is $205 each.

Pottery Barn's black Morgan shams are a great substitute for the Matouk beauties and are only $40 each on eBay.

Or if you're feeling crafty, you can sew 1/2" black bias tape on standard white shams, like I did for my girl's duvet covers.

This bed skirt ($19.99 on Overstock) looks like it has a nice weight/drape and I like the tailored kick pleat.

The featured black quilted coverlet is by Looolo Textiles and is $495 each.

You can purchase a look-alike here for $89.99.

This version on Amazon is even less expensive, at $34.

The 12"x26" turquoise ikat throw pillows are by Dransfield and Ross and cost a $240 each. Yikes!

The best way to get these pillows on a budget is just to purchase the fabric, which is Laura Ashley for Kravet's Tilbury in Lapis, and take it to your local dry cleaning/alterations shop where they usually make pillow covers for cheap. Or bust out your sewing machine and make the covers yourself.

There are lots of remnants of the ikat available here on eBay.

The side table seems like the trickiest item to match in the room. The original gold-leafed iron table in the inspiration spread is called the "Loren G" and is $1250 at Worlds Away.

This table set is available for $299 at Target. The side tables look very similar to the inspiration table's shape and would work well in a smaller room. You could sell the other two pieces on Craigslist to help cover the cost of the set.

When I was in Pier 1 the other day, I spotted this $129 table. It's better looking in person. I thought the feet were really cool looking.

Walmart is selling a great lookalike for $159.

For something a little more streamlined, I like this Crate and Barrel table for $199.

All of these tables have a dark oxidized iron patina, but to make them look more like the inspiration table, just use a little bit of Rub 'N Buff in Gold Leaf (the most yellow gold finish).

For a less subtle gold look, spray paint the metal base with Krylon's Metallic spray paint first, and then layer on the Rub 'N Buff.

For styling the night stand, pick up some interesting reads with colorful covers at your local thrift shop or used books store. And don't forget a vintage alarm clock. Ebay has some great options.

And so does etsy:

The featured table lamp is by Larry Laslo, available for $650 at frederickcooper.com. I think this lamp is pretty awesome. Too bad it's so pricey.

The obvious cheap alternative here is to spray paint an inexpensive lamp gold. Home Goods always has cool and cheap lamps. You can see some of their past inventory here.

Check out this eBay beauty. I love vintage lamps!

Great tole lamp

Love this awesome lotus lamp

I know it's not like the inspiration lamp, but I am DYING over this yellow ginger jar lamp. Someone please buy it!!

And finally (!), the artwork. The Domino feature included artwork by E.A. Seguy - "Butterfly Pocheoir" archival prints. They cost $625 each! Vintage prints are available here. New prints are available at Decorati and Art.com.

For a mere $31.50, you can purchase this gorgeous book on Amazon, chock full of beautiful and very VERY similar images. And don't forget that $16.99 at Target buys you my favorite 8x10 frame and mat.

For a FREE alternative, check out all the butterfly images available at Vintage Printables:

And that's it from me. Good luck with your guest room makeover, Heather! Please share the before and after pictures with us!

If you're interested in requesting a Copy Cat Design, please email me for rates.

Richloom's Invigodk in Confetti

I received all kinds of emails about the fabric that reader Banks used on her pelmet box:

Banks also used the Invigodk pattern to line her freshly painted china hutch.

She also had some of the fabric laminated and upholstered her now kid-proof dining chairs!

Banks was kind enough to hunt down the maker and name of the fabric. It's milled by Richloom, called Invigodk in Confetti. She bought her yardage at Forsyth Fabrics in Atlanta. For those of us not local, the fabric is available online at Orien Textiles.

And in related news, I found myself in Pier 1 a few days ago and remembered that Banks had mentioned that there was a chair there in the Invigodk pattern.

I think it's pretty. Even though I think you lose a bit of the pattern with the tufting, I still like the details.

It's a pretty small slipper chair and would be perfect for an apartment or dorm room. Or a nursery. It's on sale for $199.

Thanks for all the investigative work, Banks!

pve design

Patricia van Essche hardly needs an introduction in the world of design blogs, but I'm thrilled to welcome her as the latest LGN sponsor!

It has been a joy getting to know Patricia a little better as we've emailed each other over the past few weeks. She seems like such a lovely person, inside and out!

Here's a little about pve, her work and what inspires her, in Patricia's own words...

Some favorite images of mine are actually from when I first began to draw...which my Mom has. I never stopped drawing, painting, illustrating - I have always been passionate about art and other creative types. One thing I wished I had learned early on is that style is not in copying, it is finding what works, what is unique and what comes easy. If things are forced and they do not come naturally, then it usually leads to disaster.

That said, it all takes tremendous courage to be different, to stand out, to be unique. I was always drawn to "lifestyle" - be it a farmer, or a prince, deep down we are all people with hearts. I love those that live a life full of passion, making a house a home....on and on.

Having worked for Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and other top designers really helped me to see how they took their vision and made it a brand.

I see lifestyles in my "pictures" - I love fine lines, a bit of wit, color and to laugh at life.

My three kids and husband keep me motivated and are great critics when I am knee deep in artwork. I am juggling my work and my family and some days are wonderful and then there are the occasional blips which keep me firmly grounded. I think "faith" and "hope" always guides me to stay the course with my work. I work from home and there always seems to be something to handle, a broken dishwasher today, a pile of laundry the next and a pile of artwork too! I feel totally blessed with a full life and the gift to do my art every day.

(To those of you who are waiting for work, please know how I value each of you.)

I can just see me like Lucille Ball, eating the chocolates on the conveyor belt....well I cannot eat my artwork, but I can draw pretty fast. :)

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Patricia's beautiful work has a very loyal following, and rightly so! Wouldn't you love to own an original pve design? I think a custom illustration of a home or interior with special meaning would be an amazing gift for a loved one!

Please contact Patricia here for rates. And don't forget to check out her blog, if it's not already a daily read.

Thank you, Patricia!!

Rethinking My Bookshelves

As much as I like the look of books arranged by color, this images has me seriously rethinking my approach to bookshelves...

I would love to have a colorful library just like this.

Image via See Saw Designs.

Dining Room Projects, Part II

Next up in the dining room project tutorials...

I had a very old (and not particularly special) oil painting that I got for half a Euro at a flea market in Brussels. I thought it would look nice in my dining room because it's mostly neutral, but has a little pop of orange-red. It really needed a frame though, and since European canvases are not the same size as American standard sizes (and it's old, I think before there were standard sizes), I knew I would have to get a custom frame.

These two options from Michael's were along the lines of what I wanted - small and somewhat understated. Guess how much though, even with a 60% off sale? $175 each. For just a little bit of moulding! Custom framing is crazy expensive.

I saved myself all that cash by picking up a set of these framing slats on that same trip to Michael's. There are several finishes to choose from and then it's just a matter of buying the correct length and width slats for the painting. With my coupon, the frame was $10 total.

I stopped by Home Depot on the way home and picked up an 8-foot length of decorative moulding for $5. I liked the rope moulding (below) a lot and it worked well for this project because it was the exact width as my Michael's frame.

When I got home I assembled the frame according to the package directions, with a little bit of wood glue. While that dried, I laid out my moulding on top of the frame and marked the corners off. {Note: I probably could have used a miter box here, but I'm lazy and knew I was going to fill the corners}

Then I just used my very favorite $7 coping saw and easily made the corner cuts. I used wood glue to attach the pieces to the frame front and then filled in the gaps in the corners with wood filler.

Once everything was dry, I spray painted the new frame with Krylon's Grecian Stone spray paint. I was going to gold leaf the frame, but I ended up really liking the gray in the room. The frame is not museum-quality, but it was only $15.

Next project! Who doesn't love a good gourd lamp? I found this one at TJ Maxx on major clearance for $4.50. I think it was so cheap because the brand is Amy Coe, which I'm pretty sure is a nursery line? Yeah, so were not talking about a Christopher Spitzmiller lamp here, but I thought the shape was pretty.

First, after taping off the cord, I spray painted only the base gold.

After letting that completely dry, I taped off the gold and spray painted the body of the lamp a nice peacock blue color from Sherwin Williams' clearance aisle. Unfortunately the color is much less teal in actuality, and more of a true blue, but I think it's fine in the dining room.

I finished off the lamp with a few coats of Wipe On Poly in the gloss finish, to really shine the lamp up.

The last project to share today was really simple. I reupholstered the drop seat of this little side chair with some leaf green linen that was pretty, but a little boring as it was.