It’s been a while since I featured a textile, so it’s time for a spotlight, especially since there is one textile that is everywhere in home design: bouclé. From the French word boucler which meands “to curl”, bouclé (or boucle) is a dimensional yarn fabric with small puffs or tufts that give it a soft and bumpy textured surface. Its texture is unique and created with a specific weaving process. Two strands are combined, one is kept tense while the other is loose and when pulled, forms loops. It can be created with wool, cotton, silk, or linen threads. Boucle has been trending all year, but it’s especially hot right now, and it’s popping up everywhere in fall collections. Truth be told, it’s not a textile I would personally choose for furniture in a light color because it is a higher maintenance fabric. I question its practicality on large pieces of furniture, especially in white. For me, boucle is yummy in darker hues. The fabric was popular in fashion in the 1950s, Coco Chanel used it often to construct her famous posh suits and structured soft jackets inspired by menswear. We all remember the pink boucle jacket Jackie wore the day JFK was killed. vogue 1952 I do love boucle fabrics for accessories like pillows and blankets and it’s a perfect texture for warming up beds and sofas in cold weather seasons. throw blanket / pillow / storage ottoman mustard blanket / green pillow mocha pillow / brass stool / pillows Your thoughts on boucle? Would you choose it for furniture, accessories, or nah? Textile Spotlight: Boucle published first on https://fanseeaus.blogspot.com/ via Tumblr Textile Spotlight: Boucle
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High school starts next week for us in our state. I always get a little restless and melancholy the week before, remembering that summer is ending soon and we will be back to fall routines. Summer is that season where we rest, play, and rejuvenate and I’m not ready to say goodbye to it. Seasons are fleeting and life moves fast. Before we know it, autumn will arrive with its obligations and activities. August has a special kind of magic to it, and the only way to enjoy the best of it is to live in the moment until it is gone. I came up with a list of outdoor activities to choose from. Call them childlike or whimsical, I prefer to think of them as spontaneous, playful, and good for the soul. Consider these outdoor activities to take advantage of before the summer ends. 1. Bring pillows & blankets outside to close your eyes and listen to nature as day turns to night. 2. Gather wildflowers and weave them into a wreath or crown. 3. Bring a lantern or flashlight on a twilight walk, choose dirt paths instead of city streets. 4. Dry clothing outside on a line so they are crisp and smell like sunshine. 5. Go berry picking or to a farmer’s market for fruit and make a dessert that night. 6. Set up a tent in the backyard for reading books or napping. 7. Remove shoes on grass, sand, or dirt to feel the earth beneath your feet. 8. Visit a local botanical garden in full bloom. 9. Go on a nature scavenger hunt with friends or family. Award prizes! 10. Meet friends at a local park on a weekday for a potluck or picnic lunch. 11. Let your kids be the boss for a day and do whatever they want to do in town. 12. Go on a last second road trip and stay overnight in a place you’ve never explored. 13. Host an end of summer cocktail party on your porch or patio for your favorite people. 14. Try a local restaurant you’ve never been to and people watch while sitting outdoors. 15. Drive away from city lights to stargaze on a clear night. 16. In stillness, count the sounds you hear in nature and keep score: birds, breezes, anything natural. 17. Set the dinner table outside every night for a week. 18. Invite a friend on an evening walk where you each share your summer highlights. 19. Find a local lake or river to float in the water and look up at the clouds. 20. Watch a sunset from the highest point you can find nearby. ____ How do you plan to enjoy these last weeks of summer before it fades away? 20 Outdoor Activities (Before Summer Ends) published first on https://fanseeaus.blogspot.com/ via Tumblr 20 Outdoor Activities (Before Summer Ends) I returned from a week long road trip to Oregon, I’ll write up my experience soon, it definitely had its ups and downs! I came home to discover more delays on our flip house project, mostly due to materials that haven’t arrived and subcontractors moving dates for their availability. We’re pushing into September for completion but I’m trying to just relax and go with the flow of what’s happening. It seems everything is so up in the air right now. It’s likely I’ll need to postpone my trip to Spain scheduled for next month and stay home for fall. Wildfires are happening again in the west, and the drought isn’t helping the situation. The world is a strange place these days. I’m just happy my teens are going back to their campus after a year spent doing school online. Gratitude for the little things is what keeps me going. :) Favorite links found this week: Cozy and filled with natural wood tones: this Southern California bungalow. What a pretty lake house tour, especially love the cubbies in the kitchen! A great idea for a large charcuterie board. A home decor money saving hack using Google image search. Travel back in time with these vintage ads from the good ol’ days. Ten European style experiences right here in the U.S.A. We saw this coming: the pandemic made many people want to work remotely. Yes to having just enough.
via Tumblr Weekend Reading 8.8.21 If you search “travel poster” or “retro travel poster” or “vintage travel poster”, what will pop up are colorful prints with fonts layered over the top of illustrations of famous places around the world. Most of these prints or posters are made by graphic artists using Adobe Illustrator or other vector based drawing software and you find them just by doing a basic search on Etsy or with a search engine. Travel posters are a fantastic way to remember and display your travels, whether it’s a family summer vacation or one of your favorite trips abroad. There’s a way to create your own using a few filters and basic tools in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Using just a few filters from the Filter Gallery in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, you can recreate the look of an illustrated travel poster inspired by the retro versions of the past. One caveat, you’re limited by the functions of the programs filters and it’s my experience that some photos make better candidates than others. But this method is fun to play with and it can result in some cool travel poster art. I created three using my own iPhone travel images. I took this photograph in Islamorada on my trip to the Florida Keys last year, imported it into Photoshop, and played with two filters and some basic tools. The first filter to experiment with is the Cutout Filter in the Filter Gallery. This changes a photograph so it looks more like an illustration. Play with the Number of Levels, the Edge Simplicity, and Edge Fidelity (selections in the upper right) to achieve the look you want. The next step is to eliminate harsh lines in the sky and create a gradient sky. Use the polygonal lasso tool and gradient tool to eliminate harsh lines and create a gradient effect. Create a gradient with the sky above or with the land portion below is useful for adding font later. The final tool that helps to give your photo a retro effect is the Film Grain filter. Find it under Filter Gallery > Film Grain. Play with the Grain, Highlight, and Intensity levels to achieve the look you want. You’ll need some white space below or above for font, so I used the Brush tool to paint the lower half of the sand. Using the Text tool, you can add any style font you choose. Serif and sans serif fonts (not script) look best in my opinion for this style of art. I used the Matsuko font in upper case (two layers in two colors) on top, and the same font in lower case on the bottom. Two more examples using photographs taken on my phone: Here’s how I made the next version of a travel poster using an image of the Golden Gate Bridge. Again, using the Filter Gallery > Cutout filter, then the Filter Gallery > Film Grain filter on top. I then made a few corrections with the Lasso tool and Brush tool. I added a basic rectangle to the bottom, then Code Light + lower case Disco fonts on the bottom. I took this picture of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park on a family vacation to the park last summer. I used the Filter Gallery > Cutout first then used the Gradient tool to ensure a smooth sky, then added on top of that Filter Gallery > Film Grain. I used Engravers MT font (an older Microsoft serif font) for the location. By playing around with these filters from the Filter Gallery and adding interesting fonts, whether old or modern, you can create your own travel poster as mementos from your past vacations! You might also like these articles: 15 ways to use your travel photos and large scale art for under $50. DIY: Travel Posters published first on https://fanseeaus.blogspot.com/ via Tumblr DIY: Travel Posters I’m driving the Oregon coast home today and seeing so many beautiful vistas as I make my way back to California. I’m stopping in several little beach towns on my road trip. I’ve always loved living near the coast of California, like most people I find the sound of ocean waves therapeutic. One of my favorite things to do is to drive to the beach thirty minutes form my house and just sit and watch the sun set over the horizon. I installed an ocean waves wallpaper in my powder room four years ago and I still love it, it cheers me up every time I’m in this space. Get the look and bring blue beachy vibes indoors with these fabulous ocean inspired wallpapers! linear waves / carribean coral
ocean waves slate / watercolor waves watercolor whales / bass school calm seas wallpaper / seabrook abstract faded waves / watercolor waves Ocean Inspired Wallpapers published first on https://fanseeaus.blogspot.com/ via Tumblr Ocean Inspired Wallpapers I’m in Portland today sitting in the midcentury modern decorated lobby of The Huxton Hotel typing up this very post. My road trip has been interesting so far, I’ll write up a full post of my experience here soon. Today I’m headed up the Columbia River Gorge to Hood River, which is supposed to be really beautiful. I’ll be rafting on the river this afternoon! Seems the perfect way to finish off this summer before back to school responsibilities. :) Favorite links spied this week: A Moroccan inspired new build with pretty landscaping and pool. A light and bright kitchen that used to be a sunroom. So warm and cozy, this renovated Tudor. A dramatic kitchen transformation showing the power of paint. Improve well being at home with these six simple tips. Perspective: is the greatness of college a myth? The best spots to see fall foliage in the U.S. Weekend Reading 8.1.21 published first on https://fanseeaus.blogspot.com/ via Tumblr Weekend Reading 8.1.21 I’ve lived in Sonoma County, California all my life except for my time away at college and law school. I grew up in an area known for its small towns and rolling hills filled with vineyards and oak trees. Sonoma is next door to Napa County and both are major travel destinations. I’m biased, but I think Sonoma County has a slight edge with its fifty miles of Pacific coastline, redwood forests, and variety of things to do. I get this question a lot from readers, “What are the best things to do and see when visiting the Northern California wine country?” Today I’ll stick to just Sonoma County, the place I call home. Here are my recommended places to visit, they offer the best experiences and vistas. These are the spots where I take out-of-town family or friends when they visit. 1. Highway 121 Wineries – Viansa, Jacuzzi, Cline & Cornerstone GardensI’ve written about my five favorite wineries in Sonoma, they are located along the Highway 121 corridor and easy to visit in a day. Highly recommended for that wine tasting experience! I recommend Viansa, Jacuzzi Vineyards, Cline Cellers, and Cornerstone Gardens. 2. Armstrong WoodsA giant redwood forest with trails among 1,000 year old trees! Armstrong Woods state park is a pleasant place to walk, however it’s currently closed due to fire damage. Hopefully it reopens soon, but as an alternative there is Muir Woods national park to the south in Marin County, an equally impressive redwood forest. 3. Healdsburg PlazaIf you like shops, cafes, wine tasting rooms, and a small town vibe, visit the Healdsburg Plaza for an afternoon. It’s close to the Dry Creek Valley (below) so you can do both in one day. 4. Dry Creek ValleyMiles and miles of rolling hills and vineyard views await a trip to the Dry Creek Valley where you’ll taste world class wines. Visit in spring for Barrel Tasting Weekend or anytime in summer or fall for warm weather and views of vineyards. Two of the more famous wineries are Ferrari Carano for its gardens and tasting room and Coppola for the movie memorabilia, grounds, and pool. 5. Kenwood & the Sonoma ValleyHighway 12 wraps its way through the Sonoma Valley, there you’ll wind through the little towns of Agua Calientes and Glen Ellen and you can stop for a bite to eat, but don’t miss the Kenwood valley, it’s like a movie scene and incredibly beautiful. Famous wineries along this route include “the castle” Ledson, French style Chateau St. Jean, St. Francis winery, Landmark, and Kunde. 6. Sonoma PlazaThe Sonoma Plaza welcomes visitors with shops, bars, and wine tasting rooms. I featured a stroll around the Plaza a few years ago, this is a very cool place to hang out for an afternoon and spend the evening at any number of excellent restaurants. 7. Safari WestAnother unique experience is Safari West or the “Serengeti in Sonoma”. Giraffes, cheetahs, flamingos, zebras, the list goes on and you can see them all up close as you ride in a Jeep like vehicle around the huge property. You can spend the night here or just visit for a day. 8. Bodega – Beaches & CoastlineNorthern California beaches are much different than in the south. They’re colder but offer incredible coastline views with dramatic waves crashing up against rocks. Bodega Head is a great place to catch an incredible view, but there are nice sandy beaches too, my favorite is Salmon Creek or check out Sonoma Coast State Park. Bodega Bay is a really cute town, I recommend clam chowder from the Inn at the Tides, and there are a few stops in town for salt water taffy. Honorable Mentions:1) Downtown Sebastopol and the Barlow for a quirky small town vibe. 2) Kayaking/canoeing down the Russian River. 3) Craft beer enthusiasts love Lagunitas taproom in Petaluma and Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa & Windsor. 4) Glamping at Wildhaven. 5) Sears Point Raceway events for sports car driving and racing school. 6) Sea Ranch getaways (beautiful coastal drive and vacation rentals). If you’re looking for places to stay, check out these wine country vacation rentals. Have you visited Sonoma County? What were your favorite experiences? Best of Sonoma County published first on https://fanseeaus.blogspot.com/ via Tumblr Best of Sonoma County In the past I’ve had mixed feelings about shadow boxes, they’re used to display memorabilia, sports jerseys or shell collections, that sort of thing. I’ve come around on this style of frame for wall displays now that I see them in a new light. If the subject matter of the shadow box is simple, I’m in. I wanted to change up the mantel scene with a creative new art project. I decided on palm leaf shadow box art after spying this black and linen version at Pottery Barn. I gathered some faux palm leaves and an artificial monstera leaf, painted them shiny black, mounted them on linen and displayed them in shadow box format to create high contrast dimensional art. I found a smaller shadow box at Michaels (art on the right) but couldn’t find an affordable large size shadow box for the palm leaf trio, so I made a shadow box using an IKEA RIBBA frame and trim from Lowe’s. Details on how below. There are several shadow box art displays you can buy, many of them at a high price. My inspiration was the black palm leaf from Pottery Barn, but it costs $399. Those other versions are expensive too, so I decided to recreate the look (and add my own spin) for a lot less. My cost was $50 for each piece. Supplies to recreate: faux palm stems; spray paint; shadow box or IKEA RIBBA frame + ¾” trim from home improvement store; linen fabric; spray adhesive; masking tape; hot glue + hot glue gun; garden shears to trim faux stems. I found some larger scale artificial palm stems. I had the palm leaf trio already, I estimate the same size similar to these costs between $5-8. The monstera leaf was $13 with a coupon from Michaels. I spray painted all of them gloss black and let them dry overnight. The shadow boxes are backed in linen fabric (find it at any fabric store) and secured with spray adhesive. Spray the adhesive to the thick board backing that comes with the shadow box or frame and smooth the fabric so it’s flat. Secure the edges of the linen to the back of the board with masking tape. Arrange the painted stems on the linen board at the angle you prefer then glue the painted stems to the board. I bought at 16×20 shadow box at Michaels for the monstera leaf so I just reassembled it. For the larger piece, I made the frame with an IKEA picture frame. The RIBBA frame has a wide edge so if you add lattice trim to the interior you can create a shadow box with either ¾” or 1” with wood strips from a home improvement store. I bought 8 ft. of both the 1” lattice and the ¾” pine bead because I wasn’t sure which would work better. Turns out, both work. Using the 1” lattice will give you more space for your dimensional artwork inside the frame but you’ll need more masking tape on the back to secure the linen covered back to the frame. I chose the ¾” pine bead so I could set the linen covered back inside the frame. I painted it black to match the interior of the frame and glued it to the inside of the RIBBA frame. The trim allows you to set the linen backed board on top of it to create a shadow box for dimensional art. The RIBBA frame size I used was 19×27”, but you could make a shadow box with any size RIBBA frame. Once I set the linen backed board inside, I secured the back with masking tape. That’s the process to create a shadow box with an IKEA frame. Paired with the shadow box I bought at Michaels, the two make an interesting dimensional art display! This project would look equally as beautiful in white too! Palm Print Shadow Box Art published first on https://fanseeaus.blogspot.com/ via Tumblr Palm Print Shadow Box Art Sunday hellos everyone! I spent extra time this week at our flip property with the electrician and receiving the kitchen cabinets. The property is in Sonoma which gives me an opportunity to sneak away to cool lunch spots or stop on my way home for a quick wine tasting. No complaints from me! I’m flying to Portland on Thursday, so I’d appreciate any recommendations for good eats, cool spots, or nice views. I’m driving the Oregon coast home so if you’ve visited any beach towns on the Oregon coast, send me your recommendations for those spots too! Favorite links found this week: This transformed Brisbane family home with beach vibes. Take a peek inside this renovated holiday home in England. This light and bright home renovation in Miami Beach. Cool DIY: from slatted to cane closet doors. Turning a thrift store art print into modern wall art. Joint compound + limewash = old world plaster walls. This is sweet and cheerful wall mural. Instagram on how their algorithm works. Jupiter’s largest moon looks like an abstract painting.
via Tumblr Weekend Reading 7.25.21 ![]() Note: This post was born from an updated Before & After page that we heard people were having trouble finding (since it wasn’t at the top of our blog feed). So here it is, forever immortalized as a chronological post. And now, since we’ll continue to update our Before & After page over time, we have this post frozen in time, which is nice to look back on. Wish we had done it around 6 months in and at the year mark too. We downsized to this 1,400 square foot house in Northwest Florida on May of 2020 after a fast, furious, and long-distance three-month renovation. You can read more about how we found ourselves craving a pared-down lifestyle for our family here and here (that last one is a really good synopsis of what led us to this exact spot). Continue reading Before & After Photos: 14 Months In! at Young House Love. Before & After Photos: 14 Months In! published first on https://fanseeaus.blogspot.com/ via Tumblr Before & After Photos: 14 Months In! |
About UsMy name is Marisela Ferrell and I'm a native of Round Rock, Texas. I work as a content writer, at a large organisation which includes staircase manufacturer Pear Stairs, multiple builders' merchant branches and several online stores selling DIY, home improvement and gardening products under the brand name Wonkee Donkee. I hope you guys enjoy reading my articles as much I enjoy writing them.
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