Wall inspiration

When I'm flicking through a magazine the last thing I normally spend time on is looking at the ads. Ads, especially in house magazines are particularly bland and dull, I think. Nothing to inspire or get excited about.

But this advertisement made me stop. It is from furniture and electrical store Harvey Norman (big in Australia, but not usually my style). What really caught my eye in this image (below) is the wall art. If you click on the picture you can see a much larger image.

Ok, so the picture I've scanned in isn't great quality, but I love the wall art they have created with natural cast offs. It appears to me that they've taken what looks like an off cut from a palm tree - correct me if I'm wrong - that you can often buy these days from florists specialising in modern designs.

It looks like they've hammered in a couple of nails in to the wall and balanced the palm frond/leaf thing on them.

I've looked closely at what is in the palm leaves and decided they are some sort of sculptures made from cuttlefish bones. They seem to be wired together. Obviously I pored over this picture for ages!

Do you think I'm right? Have you ever seen anything like this before? I wonder if it would get stinky...

I tried googling cuttlefish bone art and cuttlefish bone scultpure and nothing came up that looked remotely like this.

Anyway, it took my fancy and I think it is a fabulous and innovative way to decorate your wall. Go Harvey Norman!

Best wishes,

decorating your walls

Hanging your art and photos in clusters may be on the verge of "out," but I don't consider it a trend at all, but a classic that's going to stick (and one that started way before last season's decorators were doing it). I've drawn up a quick diagram with a few no fail layouts.


Starting at the top left, this "above and below" layout starts with a horizontal line. Use photos that will end up taking up about the same amount of space above the line and below the line, that way the arrangement is neither top heavy or bottom-heavy.
Moving below to the bottom left, this "inside the lines" arrangement is probably the layout you've seen the most. In an imaginary rectangle, fill the area by loosely arranging the art within it. This layout works pretty much anywhere, and is a good solution for odd spaces. Lastly, to the right is a vertical line up, which work well with high ceilings or columns.


image from www.chicagohomemag.com



Two above images from Domino



image from Bluelines

Funny enough, Pottery Barn announced a free shipping promotion on select frames!


Please send me your results if you try this and I'll post them!

What color should I paint my bedroom?

So, sadly I have to move out of my adorable brownstone parlor floor studio. I'm moving in with my friend and her fiance, and they were kind enough to give me the big bedroom. I'm already trying to figure out how I want to decorate! I've already begun saving for a lovely white upholstered headboard, as I've just been sleeping on a plain old mattress for a bed the last two years. I also plan on getting a charming white secretary style desk. The only thing I'm undecided on is what needs to come first--what color should I paint the walls? I only have one window, and we're on the ground floor, so I don't get the best light. I'm also going to be doing my work in the bedroom from time to time-- so I need to keep that in mind. Do you guys have a favorite bedroom color? Should I go for cool or warm? I'm leaning towards a light greyish-blue...

calming grey-blue





bright happy blues...




cozy neutral

the palest pink...

green and blue


or a gorgeous white bedroom...