Pepper Design Blog

Feathering the Nest for Christmas

Our Christmas tree is up and the theme is color, color, color from its tip top down to its toes. But despite my love of firetruck red and lime green around this time of the year, there has always been something pure and classic about white Christmas decor that I’m continuously drawn too.

When I found trees similar to these feathered friends for $25 each I decided that this is a DIY project I can tackle in an evening. That day I stopped by the craft store for feathers, a small container of Elmer’s glue and poster board – totaling in at less than $5 for the whole bunch.

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{Feathered Christmas Trees}

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Materials:
*White poster board
*Stapler
*White feathers (Two .25oz bags worked out to be the perfect amount for me)
*Elmer’s glue (or similar)

1. Cut the poster board into two cone shapes – one small and one large. The easiest way to do this is to roll the paper into your desired cone size and then cut the base and extra corners so that it sits flat. Staple edges together to hold the cone shape.

2. Begin at the base of the cone (to cover up the tops of the feathers as you go) and line paper with a small amount of glue. Lie feathers flat (facing down) against the cone so that just the furry sides absorb a small amount of glue. Work your way up the cone and continue layering until the entire cone is covered. I went back and forth between the small and large cone gluing a layer on each and letting one dry as I was working on the other.

3. Let dry and display. Easy peasy!

I love how simple and classic they look on our vintage sideboard next to Bodie’s black & white puppy picture and a cylinder vase filled with dried white beans and glittery turquoise ornaments.

And can you believe that Christmas is only 12 days away?

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Home Inspiration: House Doctor

I would very much like to find a store like House Doctor here in the States. These rich jewel tones bring a nice contrast to the usual warm fall colors and I love how they look against a white background and with colorful fabrics.

More often than not I shy away from blues and cool tones in favor of earthy, warm colors. But I’m inspired to mix in some contrast this fall in the form of tinted glass vases, saturated table centerpieces and Mediterranean-inspired fabrics after a quick browse through the collection.

Beautiful.

The little details in the above photo are some of my favorites – handmade box shelves in the background lined in beautiful papers, colorful dishware stacked along side pantry items in this open kitchen setting, a recovered black stool in a bright fabric that pops, hand grown herbs at the ready are both practical and pretty.

No, it’s not spring yet. In fact I’m embracing fall to the fullest over here but I couldn’t help but share a bit of inspiration to mix up your usual palette. Thanks, Decor8 for sharing this great find! While you’re over there, don’t miss House Doctor’s creative blog, too.

Before & After: Antique Sideboards

I love a good before & after… especially one that involves chic restyling of antique/vintage pieces that are usually lost in the bustle of an over-crowded thrift shop.

Anyone might dismiss these original sideboards as too dated, too much work, too time consuming… but a careful eye might spot the beautiful curves in those legs, the ornate detail of the carved doors or the solid wood core of a well-made vintage find.

I fell in love with antique-buffets-turned-new after we spotted this one in a local shop:

For photos sake, I wish I could say I knew her before that brilliant coat of turquoise! With the remodel well under way I borrowed these picture from a previous “Favorite Spot” guest post a while back – the dining room now resembles a bit of a stack and pile area.

We love our antique buffet and have slowly added restoration fixes ourselves – new handles, lined cabinets and next on the list is reinforcing those fragile legs.

Here’s a bit more inspiration for a weekend DIY project, each of these thrift finds have been beautifully restored to their former {or improved} life:

Sources: Country Living, House in Progress & Harpers Bazaar.

And a few DIY before & after photos that look incredible!

Navy blue sideboard by LivingEtc via CasaSugar and white dresser-turned-buffet by Holly of Life in the Fun Lane via Simply Elegance.

A bold coat of paint and new handles over at Live, Lush & Laugh:

And a white credenza makeover by Verity and a new yellow buffet by Michelle of Three Men & a Lady {both via design*sponge}.

Top amazing red sideboard before & after image by Jenny of Little Green Notebook.

Happy Goodwill hunting!