Leopard LOVE!!!

If you've been a follower of mine for any length of time, you know that I LOVE any and all Animal Prints.  It all started with my mother, who always had an animal print of some sort in our home.  My most vivid memory is our leopard print pillows on our long white silk sofa in our living room when I was a little girl.  Those pillows still adorn her living room sofa and I still LOVE them!!!

So today I had to share with you an AMAZING makeover by Jenny of her fabulous Craigslist find, Eames Management Chairs in Scalamandre Leopardo Velvet.

Little Green Notebook

Now, this story is not so much about a fabulous DIY but about her great deal on a pair of Eames Soft Pad chairs from the Management line, the deal she scored on 4 yards of Scalamandre Leopardo Silk Velvet on Ebay and the difficult but fabulous upholstery job completed by a professional.  

I've also found a new favorite quote, "good animal print is a neutral".  Thank you, Jenny of Little Green Notebook!!!

Let me know what you think....

Heather

Pull Up An 'Animal Print' Stool

Recently, House Beautiful Makeovers featured an article entitled, "10 Ways Accessories Can Transform a Room" dedicated to perking up your color palette or personality of your home without redecorating completely.  Well, guess what caught my eye????

"Stools are the perfect spot to perch or place a tray with drinks. Designer Nancy Boszhardt chose one upholstered in a zebra print for the fireplace of this New York home because it offers a lot of flexibility." LOVE IT!!!!

Here are just a few animal print ottomans and stools via Larissa Hill Pinterest that have definitely upped the 'personality' factor in these rooms.   

An artful mix of vintage benches with Clarence Houlse fabric via Elle Decor.

Fabulous Zebra bench via Houzz 

Designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard introduced these spectacular
zebra ottomans into this traditional Beverly Hills living room.

Sophisticated living room via Decorpad



Blue and White and Zebra too!!!

Larissa Hill Designs

[ fur + leopard + brass + a blown-up photo* ]

Small Shop Studio

Google

Head on over to Larissa Hill Pinterest Wild Things Home to see more animal print touches that yield big design results. 

Let me know what you think....

Pinning Too - Leopard Print

My first post based on Pinterest featured my Wild Things Home board and of course, it was all about Animal Prints in the home, specifically Zebra Print decor. From the floor to the ceiling and everything in between, animal prints are a must in your home.

Here are a few of my Leopard favorites....

Relax by the fire with this cozy leopard pillow.

Trey Laird via Elle Decor

I just love how Heidi Claire incorporates the leopard rug and pillow with the orange and white pillows, orange lamp, throw and garden stool....genius.

Heidi Claire

Instagram brings us this gorgeous leopard pillow + purple velvet chair = perfection

Sandie and Stella shows us how to mix classic leopard design in a contemporary setting.

Delightful accent leopard stool ready to bring into your room when needed.

Paloma81

The Yellow Cape Cod  bravely combines two of my favorites in this wing chair vignette.



And finally, there is nothing like a statement wall of leopard. 

Decorista.com

You can see more Wild Things  in Leopard on Larissa Hill Pinterest boards.

SO, where do you have animal prints in your home????

Painting for Charity - Wild Things

I just discovered that a chair that I painted for "The 25 Club" event "Please Take A Seat" in Pittsburgh was featured on "The Brambleberry Cottage".  This was one of my earliest posts in August and thought I'd share it again for my new followers..

http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2011/09/time-travel-thursday-61-talented-time.html

Let me know what you think....



Wild Things Chair

One of my favorite things to do is to donate my work to fundraisers and this normally entails painting something that either a non-profit has given me or something that I found and repurposed.

Well, one of my favorite items was a chair I painted for a non-profit called "The 25 Club".  The club consists of 25 wonderful women who raise money for neo-natal research and care in Pittsburgh.  This particular fundraiser was called, "Please Take A Seat" and each designer was given a chair to paint, recover or do whatever they wanted to do with it.  I chose to paint the chair I was given.  I first spray painted the base after giving it a really good sanding and then used acrylic paints to complete the design.  A top coat of polyurethane and it was complete.

I was unable to attend the event but was thrilled to be able to paint this special chair to help raise money for a "Chair" at Magee Women's Hospital.  Little did my good friend Peggy know that the chair she "won" in the Silent Auction was the one I painted.  I love the animal print details and the touch of green and the pink pansy just add a special touch.

Here it sits in Peggy's kitchen...Voila!

Let me know what you think...

Slipcover Stools

I often find myself perusing the clearance aisles of TJMax and Marshals and every now and then, I score a great find.

Well, one day last summer, I stumbled upon two stools that were priced just right ($20/stool) so I put them into my cart and took them home.

They sat in my basement for some time until I found an amazing P Kaufmann wheat, tan and taupe animal print ribbed cotton. 

So, I tackled my first slipcover project and with some help from Miss Mustard Seed's custom piping and cutting fabric tutorials.  http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2011/03/video-slipcover-tutorial-series-part-3.html  With her assistance, I was able to complete my first slipcover project and voila...

Let me know what your think!

Auction Floor to Bedroom

I love attending auctions and always manage to find some great buys.  Recently, I was lucky to score a fabulous little cane chair for my daugther's bedroom.  Unfortunately, I did not take a "before" picture but you can imagine a pecan colored chair with chipped finish, torn cushions and arm rests and you get the picture!

Well, as you all know animal prints are a must and my daughter's room is no exception.  I was fortunate to have a large remnant of a pink ocelot fabric that was perfect for her newly decorated room. 

I spray painted the frame and cane back, black and then recovered the cushion and arm rests. It just didn't look complete so out came the glue gun and a bit of leftover fringe and decorator trim.

Complete with monogram pillow and mohair throw...Voila!

PS. Notice the picture above the chair...yes, it's a calendar print!
http://larissahill.blogspot.com/2011/08/calendar-girl.html

Come see me at....

http://www.domestically-speaking.com/
http://altard.com/altard/makeover-monday-furniture-linky-party-2/

Let me know what you think....

Calendar Girl

I love collecting art calendars and some of my favorites are museum quality calendars like those sold by Cavallini & Co. at various retailers across the country and other as displayed below.

I have used them to decoupage plates, armoire, tables etc.

One of my favorite uses is as artwork around my house. It is an inexpensive way to create attractive affordable pieces of art. Using stock frames from Michaels and custom matting,
I have managed to fill some of my walls with very economical art alternatives.

I love my animal calendar prints in my living room that I had custom framed and are featured in my living room along with an original 1895 Georges Fays Theater poster, an original oil painting, an original pastel and hand painted photography.  You would never know they weren't limited edition prints!

My bird nests from another calendar were cut an placed on cardstock and

then matted on leftover grasscloth from my powder room.

And, lastly a number of architectural calendar prints that I framed.

Wallpaper can also be used as art as displayed  on Isabella & Max...

http://isabellaandmaxrooms.blogspot.com/2011/08/wallpaper-samples-as-art.html

Let me know what you think!

Animal Prints

Growing up my mother had stunning leopard print pillows on a white silk sofa.  Yes, I did say a white silk sofa!  I always loved those pillows and they still sit on that same sofa although it has been recovered many times. 

I took a page from her book on decorating and insist on having an animal print of some sort in every room of my home.  Some, of course are very bold, others subtle.  The one place that I did not have an animal print was my dining room. I had planned on recovering my dining chair seats with a gorgeous grospoint animal print but just haven't gotten around to it. 

So, the single tall candlestick lamp that sat on my small Baker side table was given the treatment.  With a little bit of black, umber and gold paint, the lamp is totally updated with animal magnetism. Voila!

This photo shows a close up of the painting technique I used.  You can use a piece of wrapping paper or fabric as inspiration.

I also like to use animal prints on lamp shades as shown on this Monkey Lamp in my family room.

Are you seeing a pattern here!!!

Now, given this is only my second postings, I attempted to use some of the photography hints provided in a recent posting by http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2011/08/blogging-photography.html

I have followed Miss Mustard Seed for some time now so I was thrilled to receive her blog posting on photography and blogging and I tried my best.

Dear Miss Mustard Seed I hope I did you proud!

I'd love to hear your thoughts....