Decorate Your Home Archives - Page 76 of 113

I have a fascination with interesting light fixtures. Perhaps it’s because most of the ones in my home are just standard builder’s grade uglies, but when I see a neat looking fixture, I begin obsessing over it.

Case in point: When Rhoda and I were “shopping” for accessories for the Shaw/HGTV Design Challenge, we decided that we needed a really fun chandelier to hang over the dining table. The in-house designer who was helping us said, “What about a cardboard chandelier?” The look on my face must have been really strange, because she said, “No, really. It’s super cool.”

Um, yeah it is! Once I had my hands on this chandy, I tried to figure out a way to fit it into my suitcase. I talked pretty much non-stop about it for a day and a half (and I’m sure everyone else who was within earshot was ready to shove it down my throat).

Made of plywood and layers upon layers of corrugated cardboard, this chandelier was like nothing I’d ever seen. I made the determination that I HAD to have this chandelier to hang in my own home. It is just too amazing to forget.

When I got home, I tracked down the designer. The genius behind this and many other modern, eco-friendly accessories is Joe Manus of Shiner International. Everything they use in their products were at one time destined for the landfill. An interesting light fixture AND its good for the environment? Yes, please!

Other than the Cardboard Clover Hanging Light (which retails for under $200), Shiner offers an array of products ranging from lighting to furniture. Here are some runner-ups to my one true love:

Revolver Chandelier

Mood Rocking Bed

Friend Chair and Ottoman

Drop Desk Lamp

I absolutely love stumbling upon fun products like this, and I just had to pass these along. Shiner sells their products direct or you can contact them to find a retailer. One day (hopefully soon), that chandelier will hang over MY dining table instead of in the fake room we designed in North Carolina.

Could you see any of the Shiner products fitting into your home or style?

P.S. Have you entered the Shaw Floors/HGTV Home Area Rug giveaway? Tomorrow is the last day to enter, so be sure to throw your name in the hat!

When we were given the challenge to design a room from the floor up (literally!) at the Shaw Floors/HGTV Home Blogger’s Challenge, I really didn’t know if we could do it. I was concerned that choosing a rug in under 30 minutes would be a recipe for disaster, since I knew that rug would be the basis for all of our design decisions. But, once Rhoda and I saw the Shaw area rugs in person, we knew that it would instead be quite easy.

If you recall from my first and second posts on the Challenge, we selected the Delilah rug in Teal. It has a beautiful combination of teal, apple green, chocolate and a very neutral beige. That one rug inspired all of this:

Given the size of our bay, Rhoda and I decided to have our room serve a dual purpose – a living room and dining room combo. We painted our walls Independent Gold from the Sherwin-Williams line of HGTV Home colors. We were unsure of the color when we selected it, but once we saw it on the walls and realized it wasn’t too gold, we were ‘golden.’

Let’s take a look at the living room area, shall we? Warning: there are a lot of photos below. They were like Lays potato chips – I couldn’t pick just one.

Aren’t the turquoise chairs adorable? Well, they were originally a boring, brown stain. We were bummed that we couldn’t find a great piece of painted furniture for a shock of color in the room (you know how I LOVE my painted furniture!), and our in-house designer, Laura, convinced the powers that be to paint them for us. I think they just make the room!

As the mother of an 11.75 month old (I refuse to say she’s a year until she really is!), I totally freaked out about this glass coffee table. However, as a rug lover, I was thrilled that it looked great in the room, served its purpose, and didn’t hide the rug.

We had the hardest time figuring out a throw pillow arrangement that coordinated well together. What a sigh of relief it was when that part finally came together.

This deer head is my 2nd favorite piece in the room. When we found him in the accessory room, he was silver. I loved him, and I think Rhoda was scared of me and my creepy deer/antelopey-guy. We had him painted white and then she fell in love with him, too.

What’s my first favorite piece? Take a guess! You can see it in this shot:

Heading over to the dining room area, you can see that we kept the same color scheme going.

We were given an entire truck of fresh flowers to choose from to add some life to our rooms, and Rhoda made several beautiful arrangements. This was a low one for the dining table.

Rhoda also spied this artwork, and I’m so glad that she did because it looks great in the room. I’m really not an artwork gal. The only thing other than photographs that I hang on my walls are architectural pieces. I don’t know why I discriminate against artwork, but I really do. Am I alone in that?

Beginning September 1st, Rhoda and I will be asking (aka begging) you for your daily vote for our room in the Shaw Floors/HGTV Home Bloggers Challenge contest on Facebook. Other than having the pleasure to vote for your two favorite bloggers (that would be Rhoda and me, in case you were wondering), you will have the chance to win brand new flooring for your home. Shaw will select one voter EACH DAY for an entire month to win, and I would be doing the world’s biggest happy dance if it were YOU! I might even video said dance, so I promise you are going to want to try to win. I’m not as graceful as I once was.

Don’t want to wait until September to win flooring? Okay, fine. Then, just come back here tomorrow. 🙂

P.S. Tomorrow is the last day to enter the fun Scentsy giveaway from Katie Maksimov. Click here to enter if you haven’t already done so.

Shining a Light on a New Obsession

Designing a Room from the Floor Up {The Reveal}