Not so bad Trad

I don't usually repost pics from recent issues of obiquitous digital home design magazines

But slipcover queen Melanie Turner's whitey tidy work in the new Trad Home had so many elements I like - slipcovers of course, lots of white, bit of color, a dearth of knick knacks, beachy blue and some big weird light.

Purty stuff also by Tammy Conner.

And bloggie acquaintance Nick Olsen does cobalt blue curtains.

I didn't swoon. But I did get a little dizzy.

White sofa du jour

Via Little Blue Deer

More baby

It's like more cow bell. But cuter.

Deals

Parson's desk for $125, Swing arm wall lights for $34, ikat pillows for $7.50 and big baskets for $30.

I bought the lights. They rock.

Hey baby

The littlest cousin came to visit today. Lots of elegant hand gestures and constant movement of the feet.

DIY Octopus triptych, faded chevron rug and brass lighting

A bunch of bloggers have used this free clip art to knock off this otherwise $3,550 triptych.

Idea via True Blue Me & You with clip art found by Splendid Minta and executed to various degrees by 1922 House and Revamp Home Goods.

If you like nautical art spread out over several frames, also check out my hi-res nautical map of Brooklyn and Long Island.

In other news, you can paint a DIY chevron rug (not exciting) without a lot of supplies or fuss and with a soft hand-dyed look (exciting) with this tutorial by Kristen at Gypsy Soul Interiors. Her project, which she pulled off with an IKEA rug, frog tape and paint sample while extremely pregnant would also look cool on fabric, I'm thinking.

And the home dec DIY ladies of Sadie and Stella wanted a brass dome lamp a la Kelly Wearstler.

So Lindsay (I don't know which one. There are two. The blog is named after dogs not the decorators.) sprayed an IKEA Brasa lamp to mimic the look.

My DIY Jensen Conroy bracelet and guest post

Above and below is the inspiration bracelet from Jensen Conroy.

I love its chunky simplicity.

You can learn how to make one like it at my guest post at Chic Steals.

Prerequisites are knowing how to tie a square knot. Tutorial here.

My DIY No. 2 pencil skirt

As my discerning audience well knows, the pencil skirt is it right now.

J.Crew jumped on this trend with both ballet-flat covered feet. The No. 2 Pencil Skirt is synonymous with pencil skirt coolness, comes in every color of the rainbow and costs a whopping $130.

Mine has a real zipper, wasn't hard to do and cost less than $3.

The secret is thrift-store shopping with a very wide net when it comes to size.

Here's what I started off with - a size 16 skirt in a pleasing color.

I took in the sides and faked out the waistband.

And ended up with this.

And, just as J.Crew advertises, it's incredibly versatile.

Get the complete steps on how I altered my pencil skirt at examiner.com.

See 10 ways to wear a J.Crew pencil skirt via A J.Crew Aficionada.

The peacock mirror is back

This time the knock-off retailer is ZGallerie for $299.

The Marrakesh Oval Mirror is "molded of a surprisingly lightweight material" (aka plastic).

You may recall the frenzy over Pier 1's Honeycomb Mirror, which offered mirrored goodness for $250, eventually marked down to $199 (and, reportedly, even down to $90 or so in places far from here).

Here's the real deal at Wisteria for $2,400. (And about $900 at Restoration Hardware.)

See how $299 starts to sound good?

DIY scribble upholstery and lots of lighting

InStyle magazine, that icon of not-so-thrifty shopping, featured this scribble sofa in its April issue.

Intrigued, I found out via Scraphacker that it belongs to Pamela Bell, a Kate Spade exec, and was featured some time ago in The New York Times and that she also DIY'd the chandelier.

I recommend this only for funky old sofas and people with arty kids.

Meg Allan Cole at Craft shows you how to make a DIY Tord Boontje papercut lamp.

Design Sponge gives a useful DIY for covering bare light cords using rope.

Jessamie at Bird and Branch shows you how to cover an old lampshade with fabric, not a new idea. But she has good photos, honest instructions and a lot of ikat.

Spring

I feel like spring is getting past me without appropriate attention.