Guest Post: Design Shuffle

Today I’d like to introduce you to Joanna from Design Shuffle. Since we just recently finished painting our hallways, I’m happy to have her here at Withywindle today talking about decorating hallways!

Hi, I’m Joanna, a writer for Design Shuffle, an online resource for interior design ideas, designer portfolios and design trends and news. I’m passionate about gorgeous interiors. Luckily, I get to spend my days collecting the most beautiful images of interior designs and writing about them on blogs such as Withywindle. Thanks for letting me share!

Hallways take you between spaces, welcome you from an entrance, and provide a space to comfortably go from outdoors to indoors. Whether you choose to make a hallway like a whole other room or just a passageway, there are many ways to make it fit your needs. Below are some of my favorite hallways, hopefully they will give you some home decorating ideas of your own.

Don’t you just love the stone floor that meanders through this entry? Warm wood accents brighten the space while global artwork enlivens it.

This is one hallway I have adored for awhile. The striped walls draw you into the space and into the rooms beyond. Soft white furnishings keep the palette calm so as not to compete with the busy stripes.

A modern version of the traditional mudroom, this welcoming space is relaxed with its rustic palette of green and wood finishes.

While this hallway’s got a busy vibe, the fretwork wallpaper is toned down a bit by a rustic wood floor. The bicycle gives a fun touch.

Filled with lovely decorating ideas, this Asian inspired hall offers a wide walkthrough and a wall of storage to love. The warm buttery-hued runner leads the eye to the room beyond.

I’m in love with this hallway. It invites you to grab a seat and read a book for a bit, doesn’t it? It’s a creative way to add a library to a home without requiring a whole room.

Artful and dramatic, the chair says it all in this little hallway corner. The old world finish on the walls creates a warm, aged feel.

Brilliant turquoise is the star of this stunning hallway. This space definitely inspires some interior design ideas. Doesn’t it just make you wonder what is beyond the door?

Sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

 

Thanks for joining us on Withywindle today Joanna!

What do you decorate with in your hallways?

I posted about the hallway in our old apartment here, but I can’t seem to figure out what to do with our narrow galley hallways in this house. That will have to be another thought for another day!

Be sure to visit Design Shuffle.

Nearly No-Sew Autumn Bunting

This project begins like many others in my house. With two little words: Trash. Picking.

There is an interior designer who lives down the street from my parents. Every once in a while she weeds through her stash and puts lots of lovely items she doesn’t need anymore on the curb. In the case of this project, she was getting rid of a swatch book of designer fabrics. I’ve been saving them for eons and the right project finally came long.

I thumbed through it and cut out all the swatches that looks warm, cozy and all-things-autumn.

First, I folded them in half an cut them into rough triangles. Then I ironed them flat.

Then I folded over one “hem” by about 1/4 inch and ironed it down. Then I used dabs of hot glue to “hem” the first side of the triangle.

I let them dry for a few minutes and then I ironed the opposite sides of the triangles. You will want to take care not to press the iron on the hot-glued-hem, as the heat will cause the hot-glue to liquefy again.

When ironing the second side, be sure to create a nice point at the bottom of the triangle. You may need to trim the fabrics slightly to allow for this.

After I ironed down my hems of the second side, I dabbed them with hot glue to make them stay.

After they all had time to harden, I trimmed the corners of the topside. Since I would be hemming this side as well, I didn’t want the corners to peek out the sides. After I cut the corners off, I ironed and hot glued just like before.

Then I ironed each flag flat.

IMPORTANT: Be sure to iron in-between two pieces of fabrics. Otherwise you will get hot glue all over your iron face. Also don’t iron for too long or the hot glue will seep through the front of the flag.

Next I took all my flags and arranged them in the order I wanted them to hang – alternating the plaids, golds, reds and blues. I piled them in order and started to “sew”.

This could hardly be called sewing. If you can thread a needle you can do this part. I overlapped the corners and made a quick loop (by hand) and tied the knot in the back.

Once they were all connected I taped them up with painter’s tape (as to not ruin our freshly painted walls!).

I think it’s sweet. : )

Total Cost: FREE
Total Time: About 2 hours

Now I just need to pretend we have cabinet doors back on the cabinet bases (yep! my living room cabinet doors are also in the abyss of my basement) and get some window treatments up in here.

I already have my swatches picked out for my Christmas one! I can’t wait to make it. Perhaps next time I shall try sewing it.

Gallery Wall

If renovating was a race, our dining room would be in the lead. Not that that’s saying much!

So far we’ve stripped the wallpaper, painted the walls, trim and ceiling and added the beadboard wallpaper. I’ve also painted all the cabinet bases.

We still need to refinish and hang the cabinets, install the drawer pulls and change out the swirly chandelier for a drum shade chandelier we bought, oh, in June. I just bought fabric to make our curtains (yay!).

Our dining room walls are nearly all doorways, windows and cabinets except for the one long wall along the stairwells going up and downstairs. We plan to put in a gallery wall of frames – and there are so many options!

Today I’m pondering a few directions we could go.

1. Black and White Asymmetrical

http://www.bellemaison23.com/2010/02/idea-gallery-wall-decor-above-sofa.html

I’m not sure how I feel about black frames in this room. It’s already to airy with the pear walls and white trim. I do like the jumbled look of this layout. You can see where they started with the center line and started “growing” out from it.

2. Mirrored Surroundings

http://scrapmebaby.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/craft-roomoffice-reveal/

There is also the possibility that we could buy a large mirror, to reflect all the light coming into the room, to anchor all of the smaller frames.

3. Lean-To

http://kristendukephotography.com/?p=5767

I think this is my favorite so far. It’s the most non-committal. It’s always nice to avoid hanging frames in the wrong place and filling the wall with holes. For this option we could install two narrow ledges and leave frames against it. On second thought, would I be concerned about frames falling over and the glass breaking? Hmmm…

4. Grid Lock

http://www.aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com/2011/08/gallery-walls-gone-wild.html

This is the most simply and straightforward gallery wall option. I do like the symmetry of it, but I think I would dislike having all the photographs the same size.

Do you have a wall of photos? Which one do you like best?

Sewing Project: Grocery Bag Holder

My quest to become my sewing machine’s friend continues!

I saw this tutorial on Make it and Love it and my eye instantly wandered to that horrid corner in the pantry where I stuff all my plastic bags into.

I had some extra fabric leftover from our bathroom curtains, so I thought I should give it a go for round #2 of Kat vs. Sewing Machine

And I have to say… I did alright. I followed the tutorial fairly closely except for a few small things. Instead of a large handle I added a small little ribbon hook. I also made my elastic pieces much smaller to get a smaller opening.

I think I’m getting ready to try something more complicated. 😀