DIY Home Decor and Project Ideas
Elisha of Pneumatic Addict Furniture has admired Ballard’s Terra Cotta Pears for years, but it wasn’t until a recent craft store trip that she was inspired to make her own. Elisha combined a Styrofoam ball and cone to make her 13 inch pear form and then added texture and depth with tissue paper and paint. I think she did a great job giving it a realistic look!
The original inspiration came from Ballard Designs’ Terra Cotta Pears.
Find the tutorial at Pneumatic Addict Furniture.
It’s about the time of year that Angie of The Country Chic Cottage starts thinking about sand, sun, and waves. What better way to bring the fun home than with a beautiful weathered sign that’s reminiscent of family trips to the beach?!? Angie shares at Crafts Unleashed all the steps she took to paint her canvas and even give it a rusted appearance. You’ll have to check out her tutorial to find out what the secret ingredient is {wink}!
Angie was inspired by the Beach Sign Outdoor Art from Ballard Designs.
Go to Crafts Unleashed for the full tutorial.
While looking through the Ballard catalog, Jen from Life, Crafts, & Whatever couldn’t help but notice the rope spool side table. However, the price and nautical vibe just weren’t agreeing with her budget and style. Jen instead created a Mini Me version using wood plaques and a paper mache cylinder. At seven inches tall, it looks super cute sitting outside Jen’s bedroom door!
Jen was inspired by the Spool Side Table from Ballard Designs.
See how Jen made it at Life, Crafts, & Whatever.
Like Heather from Southern State of Mind you have probably found yourself wondering why outdoor furniture and accessories are so crazy expensive. Who wants to spend a ton on things that are going to sit outside and be exposed to the elements? Certainly not Heather! Instead, she spray painted a thrifted rug and got exactly the same look for a grand total of twenty bucks!
Heather was inspired by the Suzanne Kasler Wide Stripe Indoor/Outdoor Rug from Ballard Designs.
See how Heather did it at Southern State of Mind.
Marie, a KOD reader without a blog, wanted to create a display shelf on a wrought iron aquarium stand she purchase online.
A bookcase from Ballard offered just the look Marie was after, and she sought out the help of her husband to revamp the aquarium stand by adding two plywood shelves.
I’ll let Marie take it away with the details…
“The aquarium stand came disassembled. The top shelf and the bottom shelf were each intact.
I used these to trace on the plywood the size needed for each shelf. My husband then used a table saw to cut the shelves out.
With a jigsaw, I notched out the 4 corners of the bottom shelf where the legs would be. I then sanded both shelves and stained them. I did not leave the stain on very long before wiping it off because I wanted the grain of the plywood to show through.
Once I assembled the aquarium stand, the shelves fit right in. My husband then put screws though the bottom of the wrought iron and into the plywood in 4 areas of each shelf to keep the shelves from slipping.”
I love the combination of the wood and metal and how it adds to the style of the aquarium stand.
Plus, Marie utilized the otherwise wasted space under the aquarium by adding a bottom shelf and created more room for decorating and storage!
For large aquariums, this space is usually dedicated to sump or canister filters but surely Marie doesn’t need that.
So she improvised! Nicely done, Marie!
Marie was inspired by the Durham Short Bookcase from Ballard Designs.
Thank you, Marie, for sharing your tutorial with us!