DIY sconces

We are really on a roll with lighting lately. We found these beautiful cast iron sconces that date back to 1915 (the year our house was built!) We bought two of these and used the parts to wire the sconces... and one hour later they were done, and bolted to the wall.

Before:

(The rectangular section cut out of the stone walls really bugged me.)

After:

I looove the details on the backplate and it covers the cut out area perfectly. Isn't the aged, patina finish fantastic? We are still might change the glass shade...maybe seeded glass? I need to paint those bolts someday too.

The Living Room was so dark with the other sconces. Now the corners are a perfect little place to read a book design magazine.

 

Color palettes and Ikea Hacking

One of my favorite sources for color inspiration is Design Seeds. Jessica loves color and dreams up and creates these amazing color schemes from photographs... and every single one is striking. You can read more about how she got started here.
Wouldn't you love to design a room (or a whole house!) with one of these color palettes?

Another site I love is Ikea Hackers.  It's exactly what you are thinking: one of a kind designs made by modifying Ikea products. Some of the projects seem a little far fetched, but a lot of the designs are wonderful and created on a *tiny* budget.

1 These upholstered chairs are stenciled by hand. So cute and way easier to keep clean than solid white upholstery. 2 The next project is a dresser that has been inset into plaster walls. What a simple idea, and much cheaper than a custom built-in bank of drawers. This might have caught my eye because my  daughter had two of these dressers in her room. 3 These lights are so fun, right? The first one is a simple pendant light covered with little strips of charcoal colored felt. 4 I'm loving these glowing pair of pendants wrapped in fibers. 5 I know you have all seen this floral metal bowl at Ikea before, but probably not as a light. It would be so cute in a kids room instead of a plug in night light.