Quick Fix: Get Ahead (board)

Don't have money to invest in a new bed but feel like your bedroom (or guest room) could use a change?  Don your crafty pants and make your own.  We get immense satisfaction -- not to mention killer bragging rights -- with DIY projects like these.

You can go dumpster diving or yard sale cruising and transform your score with some paint or varnish.  Or if other people's trash just isn't your treasure, consider one of these brilliant (and space-saving) ideas:

Stencils: You can go literal (below) or fanciful (below below) -- both make a statement.

Fabric:  A tried-and true trick that never goes out of style.  Advanced craftsmen can try challenging shapes (below) while the rest of us will do our best to make rectangles look good (below below).  Fabric doesn't have to cost a fortune.  Ikea has some great fabrics that will leave a few extra bills in your wallet.

Wallpaper:  Yet again wallpaper comes to the rescue.  For a more defined look, use trim to frame out wallpaper squares above your bed.

Art:  No better crown for your bed than art.  Canvas pieces are featured below, but we've even seen framed watercolor and oil paintings used as headboards. Tres chic.

And, drum roll please -- the most brilliant DIY headboard idea ever (and the inspiration for this post), courtesy of Australia's Inside Out Magazine:

Kick the Habit: Chalk Talk

Enough with the chalkboard paint, people.


We applaud the first person who came up with this idea and agree that painting a wall with chalkboard paint sounds brilliant...in theory.  The perfect spot for a grocery list, a sweet note to your honey, a place for the kids to unleash their inner artists.... It doesn't get any more "form meets function". 


And we're sure the first time you write something on your freshly painted wall, it looks great.  


But how does it look after you've erased it and written the second thing?  Or the 5th or 16th thing?  Probably not as clean and magazine spread-worthy, huh?


And don't even get us started on all that chalkboard dust.  ew.

Addicted: Extraordi-noir-e!

People who are scared of dark paint really bug us. It's not the boogeyman; it's paint.  Paint that can be painted over if you really really hate it. Are you the people who always get the same thing off the menu? Always shop at the same stores?  Always watch the same TV shows?  Yeah, we thought so.

It's time for all you nyctophobiacs to break out of your white cells and discover the lushness of ebony, charcoal, midnight and aubergine.  So call your therapist, pop a Xanax and check out some gorgeous noir gems below.

Citrus-y neons popping against raven walls get our juices flowing

(btw, genius trick for making a kitchen disappear):

Rustic rooms... 

Modern rooms...

Stylish kids rooms

Disclaimer: If you're into themes (circus, princess, jungle) and/or only consider lilac, baby pink and powder blue suitable kids room colors, you may want to skip this part.  No wait -- you should keep reading -- your child could benefit from having a room that a) doesn't look like a clown threw up, b) doesn't look like every other kids room out there, and c) will transition with them as they grow up.

The most photographed kid's room in modern history -- Jenna Lyons's son Beckett:

Proof that dark rooms can be girlie:

Yummy baby room:

Sultry bedrooms

Dapper kitchens

If these haven't changed your mind, go live in your institutional white-walled house and have a boring nice life!

Addicted: What lurks beneath

Truly creative people make something out of nothing.  So when we see the genius ways people have utilized the space under their stairs, it gets us a little giddy...and jealous.  Well, 70% giddy; 30% jealous.

Here are some of our faves:

A chic powder room that doesn't feel like an airplane lavatory (no easy feat, btw)...

...or a full bathtub!

Well-curated open storage...

...or streamlined, closed storage

Discrete family lockers (we'd put doors on ours)

A smart-looking place to work...

...or a cozy spot to nap

An ideal place for your booze (In lieu of a wine rack, we also think you could create a fab little bar in this space.)

Regardless of what you choose to do, don't leave that space empty!

Craving: The Ball Poster Bed

Oh. My. God.  We can die now.  We have seen the most gorgeous thing ever created (not counting George Clooney and R-Patz, of course.)  The Ball Poster bed, found at The Conran Shop, is bed nirvana.  If we had $17,000 just laying around (who doesn't?!) this would be how we spend it.  Screw the rest of the house -- we would just sit on our bed and daydream about all the gorgeous ways we would dress it up if we had a penny left to our name.

10 Steps: Art for Beginners

Ready to move on from the movie posters and pre-framed Ikea jobbies of your early 20's?  But, scared that "real art" doesn't fit in your budget?  Fear not.  Good-looking art doesn't have to eat into your Louboutin budget!

Here are 10 ideas for gussying up your walls in 2010:

1. Arts and Crafts:  For a quick and effortless solution, you can: 1) frame wrapping paper in solid simple frames, 2) stretch interesting fabric over a wooden frame or 3) buy cool stencils off the internet and paint art directly onto your walls.  For maximum impact, make 3 or 6 or 10 and hang together.

2. Flea Market Finds:  One man's trash is another man's art. Get up early, grab a coffee and head to your local flea market before the masses descend.  We guarantee you'll leave with some quality and quirky pieces for your walls.  If the thought of big crowds gives you hives, try ebay.  Here's one reader's fabulous flea market find:

3. DIY:  Not a budding Picasso?  All you need is canvas, paint and paint tape to make something nice for your walls. Depending on your style, you can go the clean geometric route or unleash your inner Jackson Pollock.

While this is an original piece of art, it wouldn't be hard to recreate this look on your own.

4. Your Photography: This is a tricky one if you're not a professional because there's a big margin for error.  Your cat peeking out from a staged still life of daisies doesn't qualify as art.  And we've seen enough "artistic" honeymoon shots of beaches framed on friends' walls to make us gag.  That being said, there are a lot of beautiful photographs out there that we'd die to hang on our walls.


5. Post-Art:  Framing posters and post cards is cheap and easy-peasy -- and therefore ranks as one of our fave ways to decorate your walls.  A few of our go-to poster spots are www.boldandnoble.com and www.etsy.com.

6. Wallpaper and Tapestries: You get a lot of bang for your buck if you cover an entire wall in a stunning wallpaper or tapestry.  Throw up a good chinoiserie up and let it be the star of the show.  Anything that requires less thinking can sometimes be a good thing in our book.

7. Think Outside the Frame:  Art doesn't have to be two-dimensional and framed.

8. Collections: Displaying your hobby can double as art.

9. One-of-a-Kind: Is there anything more coveted than a true "one of a kind"??  Some fun ideas for bonafide unique pieces on the cheap. 1) Have your fingerprint printed on canvas at www.dna11.com.

2) Frame personal letters (or homework assignments!)

3) While this one's a bit extreme and may only appeal to you NRA-ers, framing your shooting gallery bulls-eye -- with bullet holes you made of course! -- is a chic and cheeky addition to any space.

10. How's it Hangin':  Sometimes you can even take any/all of the above and hang it all together.  We love nothing better than a lovely mismatched melange on the wall.  They key is to ensure there's one unifying factor.  (In this case, black and white.)