Duct Tape Accent Wall

I was so excited to move into my new office. It is a huge step towards world domination furthering my business goals. I found a great building with a great staff. I decide to forgo the window and save $150 extra a month. No window meant that I had to get creative with the white walls. My office is on the small side so I decided to go with big impact decor that would not overwhelm the place. I scoured decorated website looking for a way to do this. I knew that I did not want to paint. I love the impact changing a wall color can make, but lets face it, painting is a time suck. I had to get settled in. move legal files, do a marketing blitz and be ready to attend to clients. Painting was just out of the question. while browsing the interwebs I came across this...

That wall was painted grey years prior and the homeowners decided it was time for something new. They used white duct tape to create the diamond shapes and created a unique backdrop for there bedroom. I was blown away, here was the wonderfulness I wanted and I didn't have to paint anything. While I loved the diamonds the homeowner remarked at how labor intensive  measuring and lining up the tape just so was, that I decided simple was best. I envisioned pared down horizontal lines in black. 

I set off to my local Target to get the goods.

Here's What You Gotta Have:

• Measuring Tape

• Pencil or crayon to make measurements

• Duct Tape

• Box Cutter or Sharp craft Knife 

This is a "Before" photo of the Wall a decided to jazz up. Pretty boring huh?

Here's What You Gotta Do:

Starting at the ceiling, measure the distance you want your lines to be. I choose ten inches. I planned to hang my diplomas and certificates in this wall and wanted to make sure that the frames would overlap the lines. But experiment ans see what works for you

I used plain black duck tape. But apparently Duck Tape makes a wide variety of decorative and colorful tapes now.

I started taping in the middle to see if I liked the spacing before I got to deep into the project.

Start at the edge of the wall and pull the tape taunt. Be sure to line the top of the tape up with the marks you have made. You can always lift the tape and reposition it if it goes wayward.

At the edge of the wall or where you want the tape to stop, use your box cutter or craft knife to cut the unwanted tape off.
( I used sharp scissors because I lost my box cutter, it definitely would have been easier with a box cutter. 

Here is the wall after all the tape was applied. 

It took less than one roll of duct tape and just under and hour and a half to finish. 

Angle of the wall with the frames hung.

This is likely the first thing you see when you walk into the office space.

Close up angle of my degrees hung on the wall. 

I am really amazed at how simple this project turned out to be.

I was able to do it quickly and it created a bit of dazzle in my office without being overbearing. And if I decide to upgrade to the office with the view the tape will be a lot easier to peel off then having to repaint the wall. 

Life is Delicious...Go Taste It!

Going Home: DIY Chandelier Makeover

One of the first things I noticed when I walked into my sister's new home was the chandelier that is the topic of this post. It was a classic piece, grand, detailed and oozing with potential. My sister saw it as dusty, old fashioned and trash worthy. Like I said before, the amount of trust my sister put in my offbeat vision was awesome! We hashed out a plan to give the dingy chandelier a new life. I was inspired by a recent trip to New Orleans. That city has got a good handle on bringing modern sensibilities to traditional pieces. Cafes and shops were filled with vintage pieces that were traditionally crafted and ornately carved but covered with a modern print fabric or a coat of paint in an unexpected color. There was a marked nod to the classics and an ushering in of "fresh". We would bring in a little but N'awlins  by updating the chandelier with a coat of glossy black paint. Pairing the classic profile with a unexpected color saved the chandelier from the trash heap. 

First things first. This bad boy had to be cleaned. Years of dust and grime had settled

 on the fixture. I used Windex and a soft microfiber cloth to get it cleaned. A lot of the crystal pieces were barely hanging on, so I had to rewire quite a bit of them. 

Next, I used a primer. Seen here on the right. The glossy black paint  that I used as the final color is seen here on the left. 

I  stuffed the light bulb sockets with cotton balls to keep the paint from getting inside and interfering with the electrical elements of the chandelier

This is the chandelier after the first coat of primer. 

 It took two coats of primer to cover the clear spots. It looked cool white, but I couldn't even imagine the amount of dusting required to keep it that way. 

It took three coats of the glossy black spray paint to cover the entire chandelier. If I had to do this project again, I would have looked for a primer made specifically for darker colors. 

 The amount of detail in this chandelier was amazing. 
It was a challenge to paint everything, but so worth it!

This was my painting studio backdrop for the afternoon, I couldn't complain too much really. 

I ended up taking off the larger hanging pieces because two were missing. 

Removing the bulky crystals gave the piece a more balanced  look. 

The black really stands out against the rich mandarin color of the dining room walls. 

The final product, wired and hung, in the formal dining area.  

Seriously it's smashing!

Life is Delicious...Go Taste It!

Abstract St. Patricks Day Nails

I celebrated my first St. Patricks Day as an adult in South Korea four years ago.  I wore green, drank my first "Irish Car Bomb" and spent the evening enjoying whiskey and darts with my fellow expats. I've celebrated the holiday ever year since. Last year, in New Orleans, we celebrated with the locals for three days straight. I have a feeling that the folks in New Orleans have extended celebrations for every holiday, but that's just a guess. This year, I'm getting a jump on some work so that I can revel in the celebration without guilt, hence the homicide chart in the back ground. I like to call this manicure "Luck of the Irish"... or if I try it again after the holiday "M is for Murder". 

For the soft gold color I used from Moonstone from Urban Outfitters and  the vivd green is Jungle Me from H&M and a clear topcoat. 

I painted 2 coats of the gold color. 

When it was completely dry, I used masking tape to create the V shape and painted the exposed area with green. 

When the green was dry to the touch, I applied the top coat. 

Life Is Delicious... Go Taste It!

Grey and Stripes Valentine's Day Mani

Since my freshman year of college, Valentine's Day has proven to be a complete disaster. And I mean "sobbing into a purple body pillow, eating day old popcorn, listening to Sade" kinda disasters. With that being said, somehow I manage to still always look forward to the holiday. I've started a tradition-of-sorts where I buy myself a bouquet of flowers and chill a bottle of bubbly, so no matter what the day brings, I've shown myself some love. One of these days I'll figure out the formula to the making the Valentine's Day in my head match the Valentine's Day I end up with. In the mean time, I did figure out this cute non-traditional manicure to celebrate the day.

The base grey color is NYC's In A NewYork Minute nail polish in "Side Walkers"

The "White", "Intense Pink" and "Black" are Art Deco Nail Art lacquers

It ain't perfect... but neither is Love!

Life is Delicious...Go Taste It!