paint brush collection

i am not entirely sure where you might hang these in your own home but this was a clever presentation of a collection of paintbrushes as seen at an antique store.

living wall

as seen at the 2012 san francisco decorators showcase home, a fantastic living wall using a planter pocket system. not sure if this is the brand used here but it is similar to the woolly pocket.  so often you see these used within a garden area--i like that it is used at the entrance and creates a great visual barrier from the neighbors.

no parking!

oh my gosh! how awesome is this?!?! i saw this customized "no parking or you will be towed" sign on a garage in russian hill in san francisco. a picture is worth a thousand words. LOVE!

baskets!

as seen at my local antiques store, this is a lot of baskets on a big wall. they look great gathered together in one spot. this could easily be done on a smaller scale in a kitchen or family room (albeit a great collector of cobwebs and not so fun to clean...)

strength in numbers

at my local antique store, they know the power of presenting things in multiples. all of these items looked great gathered and displayed en masse.

just in time for the diamond jubilee

god save the queen and her coordinated desks and chairs.

funky cactus

i saw this at the flower market. it is petrified cactus (i forget what kind of cactus). but, i thought it was cool. it looks like wood. very funky looking.

great grate

saw this near my friend's house. i like the simple graphic-ness of it. kind of current...kind of retro.



"upholstered" box spring

i got tired of the sad looking dust ruffle on my bed so decided to dress it up a bit by "upholstering" my box spring. why the quotes around "upholster"? well,  it has the look of being upholstered but really isn't. the project was pretty easy and only took about two hours or so. and, the end result looks pretty darn good--a much more finished look. see how i did it after the jump.

victorian cow hide

i love the juxtaposition of the cow hide upholstery on this victorian-style chair. rugged sass.

my ottoman empire

i found a pair of these fun little ottomans at the flea market: $50 bucks for the pair. but, i was not too psyched about their purple and tan stripe fabric with the maroon painted frame.  so, i took them to my local upholsterer (upholstery is beyond my DIY scope)...

and this is the end result.
i love how they came out! what do you think?

with the cost of the ottomans, fabric, upholstery labor and repainting, the final cost worked out to be about $180 per ottoman.  not a bargain but i am super pleased with the end result!