Welcome to Day 5 in our How to Decorate Series! If you’ve checked out the How to Decorate Series calendar, you’ll notice I’ve included DIY’ers, designers, and home crafters in the mix. This was a deliberate move on my part. I want you all to receive many different perspectives on all the ways creative peeps approach decorating. My hope is that each day you will gain practical ideas you can implement now and that by the end of our series we will have completely demystified decorating!
Today we’re going to hear from a home crafting and DIY goddess, Stephanie Lynn from Under the Table and Dreaming. Stephanie Lynn is an expert at creating inexpensive art and accessories for the home and she shares detailed tutorials on how you can too! Here are some of my favorite Stephanie Lynn projects:
See this lovely Sunburst mirror below? Any guesses on what the sunburst part is made of? Cereal boxes, that is what! Stephanie Lynn made this mirror almost exactly a year ago, before everyone was making DIY sunburst mirrors and cutting up toilet paper rolls and such. She’s such a trend setter :).
She transformed an outdated thrift store lamp into a Pottery Barn inspired mercury lamp with just a drum shade, burlap, and spray paint! (I highly recommend you check out her Project Gallery to find even more home crafting inspiration!)
And because you simply cannot miss this space, you MUST check out Stephanie Lynn’s craft room! You will die. It’s a DIY’ers dream come true.
Okay, let’s learn how she does it!
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Hello my friends! My name is Stephanie Lynn from Under the Table and Dreaming and I am delighted to be a part of Beth’s series. {Beth is one of the sweetest bloggers I know & I totally adore her so I am thrilled to be here!}
The wonderful thing I find intriguing about decor blogs is the inspiration that forces you to take a step out of your own comfort zone by seeing other decorating styles and incorporating them into your own; all while staying true to what you truly love. I think this is such a fantastic series so thanks so much Beth for putting this together!
When it comes to decorating I love frequently changing, rearranging and trying new things, along with mixing it up for each and every season – {like many of ‘us’ DIY decorators do} Sometimes though changing the decor in every single room is just not the practical thing to do, obviously for more than one reason.
So when I get this little decorating bug there is one room that I always turn to for instant makeover gratification
The one room that is most frequently made over around my way
{The Powder Room}
It’s tiny enough to change the complete look – taking just a small amount of time and effort – while costing very little, if anything to transform. With just four main components a new look can be created within a few hours satisfying the need for a makeover change of some sort.
I always start these mini transformations by finding a piece of fabric that becomes the inspiration for the space. Since my powder room is neutral {gray} I can bring in just about any combination of colors as accents. I like to experiment with patterns and different palettes in this space that I normally would not choose for other areas of my home. {it’s a safe spot to take a step out of my comfort zone because it can easily be changed}
One and a half yards of fabric was more than enough for three completed projects for this room.
{1} I used a little less than a yard to cover a cut square of plywood to create a layered piece of art work. {The fabric was just pulled taught and stapled to the back of the plain piece of wood}
{2} One half of yard was used to recover the top of an old footstool that my little guy uses to wash his hands and
{3} Strips were cut from the left over scraps and sewn to embellish the bands of the hand-towels.
Spray paint is a diy’ers best friend. One can has the power to transform a room full of accessories and leave you with enough left over to keep on hand for the next round of projects. You can’t beat the instant gratification for less than $4 a can.
Spray paint was used to revive the two pieces of old sculptural art and on a handful of other projects including the footstool, accessories on the sink and the towel stand and sunburst mirror {more on those pieces below}.
There is nothing I love more than a fabulous piece of DIY wall art. Large pieces of art can be pretty expensive and a lot of pieces can be re-created for a fraction of the cost. I like over-sized unique pieces that don’t really scream that I made them with hot glue during craft time {even when I totally did}.
Other than the spray painted sculptural pieces above, the other two pieces of wall art for this space were completely handmade all the way. The first piece, shown above, is Crepe Streamer Ruffles made from a roll of white party streamers from the dollar store. {you can find the full tutorial here}The flower embellishment is also made from the same streamers {tutorial found here}, then painted and hot glued on the original piece.
The second piece is this DIY Starbust Mirror, made from recycled cereal boxes {full tutorial found here}.
Lastly, in small spaces like the powder room you don’t need many accessories – so for this space you are sure to find some things in the stash you already have to give a little new life to the space. A new coat of paint, a new use then originally intended…don’t be afraid to think out side the box and re-purpose and reuse.
The towel stand that sits in the corner and holds extra hand towels for guests is actually two candle sticks stacked together, glued and topped with a wooden round platter. Once complete a good coat of gloss white spray paint conceals all the mix matched pieces and creates a new purpose for these otherwise forgotten pieces.
I am on a little succulent kick right now so a few cuttings right from my garden beds turn a mercury glass candle holder into a cute flower pot. I love adding a touch of live plants around the house {especially succulents that do not require a lot of care}.
The mini frame, partially shown, was re-purposed into a whimsical little sign using a left over piece of the fabric {shown here}.
And that is how I fix my redecorating craves ~ a complete room makeover to put the decorating tendencies at ease for just a bit. Since I had quite a bit of materials on hand and re-purposed a few pieces as well, the total room just cost me a yard and a half of fabric, a can of spray paint and a roll of party streamers {definitely less than $20}.
I’d love to hear how you cure your decorating bug…
Thanks so much Beth for inviting me ~ I hope you all have a fabulous week ~ Enjoy!
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Did you catch those tips? You can redecorate an entire room with just fabric, spray paint, DIY wall art, and by repurposing and reusing! Did you all catch that she redid her powder room for less than $20? Fabulous! Thank you Stephanie Lynn!
If you’ve missed any of the days in our series, you can find them all here. Come back tomorrow to hear from Chris from Just a Girl!
The Old Block House says
Great post! Repurpose and reuse – that’s my goal for most everything.
Amy says
I have been trying desperately to find the basket she’s using for her toilet paper rolls, where did you buy???
Melanie J says
Beth an awesome choice! I love StephanieLynn she was one of the 1st blogs I started to follow. She is Jill of all trades, she is thrifty, crafty and a fabulous party host. She is also the mother of an autistic child as am I so the fact that she do all of these things too inspires me to continue doing what I do.
Her ideas are amazing and she shares them whole heartedly.
MJ
Lucky 7 Design
Ashley @ DesignBuildLove.co says
LOVE the makeover! I am dying to dive into my guest bathroom to do some more work. BUT, that will have to wait while we work on outdoor projects!
Amy says
I am FREAKING out over this bathroom, it’s exactly my shape and size and layout. Makeover at my house coming soon, thanks!!
sharon says
Very Creative!
I just love your HOME plaque that was in a earlier post
about making drapes / window panels. Did you purchase or make the plaque? May I ask where you purchased the plaque?
Sharon
Heidi @ Show Some Decor says
Love to see all this gorgeousness broken down into “do-able.” The fabric sewn to the guest towels is inspired (and kind of a no-brainer when you think about it!). Such a simple touch with loads of impact. Thanks, Stephanie Lynn, for sharing and Beth for hosting this series!
Julianne @ Repurposed Life says
What a great post! I absolutely adore that fabric too. And of course, there are no words for that sunburst mirror! Amazing!
repurposedlifedesigns.blogspot.com
Jill says
Loved this entire post – so creative! Thanks for highlighting some easy tips for switching up a look on a budget. Drooling over that craft room too.