New Pillows

I received the two Novica pillows I won through Art by Karena's giveaway and I just love them! Thank you Karena and Novica! A note was attached to the pillows with a bit of history:

Hill Tribe Stripes

"These elegant cushion covers from Simone Buys are rich in cultural meaning.  Created by artisans fro the Hmong hill tribe, the batik motifs are stamped by hand; the men make the batik stamps used by women."

Check out their site and support global artisans!

Pillow Talk

It really is all in the details, isn't it?  Since I added the lamp to my office, I decided to make some pillows to continue the office zhushing (was that even a word before blogging? We did a post on that awhile back.) If you've never made a pillow before, there are easy ways and complicated ways to sew a pillow.  I took the easy way this time.  Since I'm currently obsessed with monograms, I decided to try a QUICK and EASY monogram on my office pillows.

I went here for a free printable monogram, and after a little techno lapse, I finally got one printed out to use.  I spent hours looking up 'transfering an image to fabric', and couldn't find any "transfer" media around the house late Saturday night so I just used a soft graphite pencil and covered the reverse side of the paper .

Since I wanted my monogram in the middle of a circle, I used sophisticated techniques to make a circle.

Then I traced over the monogram on the front side of the paper leaving a faint pencil line on the fabric. So easy.

Then I took an orange fabric marker and started filling in the lines.  BUT the marker bled, and I had to go to the store and get an orange Sharpie PLUS a Sharpie fabric marker...I was going to be prepared, since these things usually happen late at night.

I was pleased with the design, although I would have loved to have it embroidered- I am not the most patient person so I proceeded....

I cut out another matching piece and sewed the 4 edges leaving a 6" opening at the bottom.  A very important step is to iron open all the seams before turning it rightside out.  Honestly, sewing 4 straight lines is all you have to do.

I crammed the pillow form into the case and hand stitched it closed.

I made a second one with my husbands initials, and thus made those plain white chairs in my office a little more interesting.

We're all sort of shut-in and closed-down due to Hurricane Sandy, but we are not getting the brunt of it. God bless you all who are suffering through this storm. Keep us posted!
I'm off to see what other DIY I can get into during the storm.

-Nancy

NEXT WEEK'S SERIES : Powell Brower Home Design-Style Primer

Think hiring a designer is too expensive? Think again! There are so many different ways to work with a designer. We offer room consultations, paint suggestions, shopping and sourcing, complete room and house redo's, staging and reworking your current furniture, spot-checks in areas that aren't quite gelling and many other services. eBoards are a quick and easy way to get a design look and feel in your home. While hiring a designer may cost you a bit extra, we aim to save you money by preventing costly mistakes in your design plan.

How to frequently redecorate

I know most of you are addicted to re-doing rooms over and over like we are, but in case you have had your furniture in the same spot for a long while, or yearn for a new look to go along with a new season, here are some things we do at Powell Brower.

1. CHANGE YOUR ART AROUND

I  often take all art down off a wall in a room or two and create new wall groupings.  Sometimes just moving pictures around will give the room just a fresh new look!

2. REARRANGE YOUR FURNITURE

Did you know that lining the walls with furniture (and hanging rugs on the wall) was actually a medieval practice of keeping out the drafts between the stones on the castle walls?  I remember my grandfathers house in Oregon had furniture lining the walls with barely room for one more thing. Even when I was little I thought that was so odd.  Maybe that's where my love for rearranging began!

Look at all how Robert Passal "floats" all the furniture in the room:

3. PAINT

This is the least expensive remodel you can do that yields the largest reward.  So you spend $20-60.00 on a can of paint to give your room a whole new look...just do it!

                                          (Bethany's bold brown ceiling for  her ORC)

                                                        (my kitchen)

I see people labor over paint decisions and I just want them to jump in. " It's just PAINT" I always say, not a major investment.

4. CHANGE YOUR ACCESSORIES

Often you have all you need for a new look around your  own home.  Don't know where to start or you need to unblock your 'decorator's block'? Take everything out of a room, put it all on the kitchen counter and reassign things to different rooms.  Better yet, if you have a friend ( or daughter) whose 'eye' you value, have them work with you, since two heads are literally better than one....

5. GET NEW PILLOWS

You can really change out your pillow covers for a minimal outlay of funds. Shops on Etsy offer tons of pillow choices as do your local or online home stores.  Or trying sewing some; there are plenty of DIY's out there.

The most important thing is to make your house your own with personal items and things you love; experiment and have fun in the process and get help if you get stuck or need a new plan. Decorators can help you formulate a plan and save you from making costly mistakes! 

Nancy


1/2/3/4/5/6/8/9/10

If you are looking for help with your home, we'd love to work with you! Contact us for a listing of our services and prices. Nancy and Bethany

Sunroom Pillow Update

I needed pillows for my sofa that I upholstered with drop cloths here, and I asked you all to vote here.  I totally loved hearing your input!  This is the pillow grouping you all voted as number 1:

The pillows in this picture total about $400.00, and since I only paid $60 in materials to redo the sofa ( which the cats and dog lounge on daily)  this is what I ended up with from World Market for under $50.00. The orange pillow is a dotted fabric that reverses to gold-ish yellow dots.  The floral is very similar to Schumacher's Hot House Flowers I've been dying over.   I had the two navy faux-imperial trellis pillows from Home Depot already. I need to get a throw with orange/rust colors next.

Thank you so much for your votes, and I am happy with the look I achieved for less.  Now I need to come up with the PERFECT pillows for my living room sofa, and I am willing to spend more on those.  I've spent as much as $200 on a Trina Turk pillow before and felt a tad guilty about that.  What's the most expensive pillow  you've bought?

-Nancy

Happy 3rd Anniversary to my darling Bethany and her husband!

If you are looking for help with your home, we'd love to work with you! Contact us for a listing of our services and prices. 

 Nancy and Bethany

Pillow dilemma- please vote!

I look, I pin, I design, I lust, I dream, but sometimes I just need another opinion for the new pillows for my sunroom. This room houses original art from my daughter, my son and myself.  Ive put together 4 looks on Olioboard with my actual sofa, rug, and art, so please vote on the look you like. ( If you feel so inclined to make other suggestions, please email me!)

1.

     2.

  3.

  4.

If I pull in some new colors, like the orange and pinks in #4, I'd get a coordinating throw for the other chairs.  What do you think?

Thanks in advance for your valued opinions!

~Nancy

If you are looking for help with your home, we'd love to work with you! Contact us for a listing of our services and prices. 

 Nancy and Bethany

Roses are Red

We wanted to announce the winner of our first GIVEAWAY here at Powell Brower today; spreading the love any way we can.  And the winner is:

Congrats Charmaine of My Best Friend Craig!  Email us your details :)


Sharing our pink/red fun finds for Valentine's Day.

I think Wilma needs this cute RL 'riding coat'.  

And who doesn't need some bubbly?  And a fun bauble necklace.

Here's hoping you have a wonderful day of love.

-Bethany

Monogram Conundrum

I am making a pillow that needs a serious monogram.  It would be much easier if I could go through a store like Pottery Barn, who makes some good monograms, but I have my own fabric to match some roman shades that I want to use.  

Does anyone know a source that uses COM (customers own material) in the Washington, DC area?

I am thinking of these ideas:

The talented Jamie Mears of isuwanee and Furbish has the right idea!

Some favorites from Luxury Monograms

And Leontine Linens

By the way, I just found a great new blog while doing some research called Gramercy  and it looks like they do some awesome monograms. Has anyone used them before?

I appreciate any leads sent this way, monogrammers! 

Thanks,

Nancy