Fold out photo album..

I had a school project where I was told I had to show case my work in a small package, thinking outside the box I came up with this cool portable photo album. It’s a great way to carry around family photos or design projects with you.

All you need:

·         Two pieces of cardboard

·         3 pieces of construction paper (thinker then plain paper)

·         Scissors & glue

·         Any decorations you want to add

1.      Cut your pieces of cardboard to the size you want

2.      Cover your cardboard with paper, glue down

3.      Cut out 3 square’s that are four times the size of your cardboard

4.      Fold your paper in half, and in half the other way

5.      Now glue one square to the back side of your cardboard, repeat for the bottom side

6.      Take the remaining piece of paper and glue the two corners to the other two pieces of paper

If done correctly the whole album should fold into itself and is ready to customize and add photos to create your very own photo album.





At home DIY..

Here are a few examples of DIY projects i have done and you can do too..

Few simple items to take a plain bar stool to a funky bar stool..

1.      1’ x 1’ piece of fabric

2.      Foam (cut to the size of the seat)

3.      Paint

4.      Old stool

5.      Primer

First step is to prime and paint the base of the stool, second step is it place the foam on the seat and wrap fabric around. You can either velcro the fabric to the chair or use a staple gun.

My younger sister had a basic pink heart shaped mirror she was going to throw out; I taped the mirror off and primed the melamine surface. As a base coat I took a basic white semi-gloss latex paint I had in my garage (for trim). I then went out to purchase a black gel stain and a natural bristle brush, now to start the fun. I dry brushed “swoosh” marks all over using a rag to wipe excess of the brush and continued till I was happy with the end result. To protect the surface from chipping I sprayed a few coats of clear polyurethane. I created a funky new mirror that reflects my personality while recycling old furniture pieces.

Wallpaper making a comeback..

Wallpaper is a controversial topic for most home owners. Luckily, wallpaper has come along way since your grandma’s kitchen. In the past after scoring and tearing away the vinyl layer of paper, you were left with the glue residue all over your walls. Then finally resorting to using product after product with elbow grease in attempt to scrap away what is left. Well put down that scrapper and get ready because now most wallpaper comes pre-pasted, making them very easy to remove.

 Now that that is taken care of here comes the hardest part, choosing a wallpaper that suites your style. Stripes, damask, retro, bold prints, velvet, textured, paintable etc… the choices are endless.   

 After picking the right wallpaper, you now have to choose a colour that compliments your beautiful paper. The most common mistake is that people match the back ground colour of the paper; however, what most people don’t realize is that unless you get the colour perfect it will look like you tried to match and failed. To avoid this you should pick a colour with similar undertones which is either a shade dark or lighter. This will create a colour harmony throughout the space.

 Happy wallpapering!

Feature wall: yay or nay..?

As a home owner the big question is: Should I do a feature wall in my living room, bedroom or dining room in order to add visual interest to the space? Unfortunately, it is not always just a yes or no answer.

 They’re some basic rules you need to follow:

1. Do you have a focal point
2. Can the space take one
3. Is the feature colour 2-3 shades darker
4. Is the feature on an inside corner

 To tell if you have a focal point in a room is quite simple, in the bedroom your focal is your bed; therefore, the wall behind your bed would be the appropriate feature wall. However, if your headboard is large and dark in colour I would suggest not doing a feature wall. For the Living room or dining room, you should only do a feature if the wall is the main focal of the room with no windows or bulky furniture.

 Stopping a colour on an inside corner is key; changing a colour on an outside corner is not appealing to the eye. See example below:

Curb appeal..

Summer is here, with the sun shining it is the perfect weather for sprucing up your curb appeal. Whether it be in your garden, fixing up the planters, painting the front door or adding outdoor accessories these are all simple fun ways to create a beautiful yard.

My favourite way to add colour to the exterior is painting the front door of your house. Something incredibly easy, cheap and extremely effective. Choosing a colour is usually the hardest part, first step is to look around at what your neighbours have done, and typically do the opposite. If you were to count how many people have either black or red doors it would be endless. You need to figure out a colour that both works with the colours of your house yet stands out from all your neighbours.

I recommend a beautiful eggplant it is bold yet timeless, Bm AF-690 Caponata is a good choice. Feeling risky, a soft yellow door will ensure you will be the only one in the block. Remember don’t be afraid to step out of the box to create something bold and beautiful.

Warm or cool..

What is a cool or warm colour? Cool colours are blues, violets and greens and warm colours are reds, oranges, yellows and greens. You may have notice green is in both sections, that is because green can be considered both warm and cool. Colours generate a feeling inside you without you even knowing. Have you ever walked into a room and felt something just isn’t right, that is the energy being created from your colour surrounds both positive or negative.



Blue, Violet & Green: Relaxing, calming, soothing

Red, orange, yellow & green: Warm, cozy, energizing

Example: the colour blue can be associated with the ocean creating a relaxing and calming feeling. The colours orange and red can be accotiated with warm and cozy like the feeling you get when your sitting next to a fire on a cool winter night.

Allthough colours are either warm or cool, a cool colour can still be warmer then another cool colour. Huh? For example, you have a red-violet colour next to a blue-violet colour, the blue violet is cooler then the red-violet. It is all about what you are comparing your colour to whether it technically warm or cool.

         vs

Red-Violet                                                                  Blue-Violet

Picking that perfect neutral..

Have you ever walked into a space and felt something wasn’t right?

Picking a wrong neutral for your space can create an off balance in the appearance of your room. First step is to establish your undertones. Undertones are the underlying colour, which can be red, green, blue or purple. Your typical “beige” mostly has red or green undertones. Gray tends to have a full range of the previously listed undertones. Taupe can be perceived differently to everyone but most commonly have a red or green undertone.

Second step is considering all aspects of your colour scheme incorporating all your materials. If you have a green undertone gray coach, your colour selection for your walls should reflect the same undertone. Consequently if you put a red undertone gray on the wall then you will create conflict between the two materials. Thus putting a green undertone gray on the wall you will have a better colour harmony.

Last step to unify your space is to pull everything together by accessorizing according to the colour scheme. Accessories are crucial to a neutral colour scheme by adding visual interest. This is the exception to the undertone rule, 10% of your colour scheme can be pulled from different undertones.

 Wanna know more about colour and undertones, here is a great site to refer to:

http://www.mariakillam.com/