At The Gap

These jeans have been making the blog rounds recently, but I just need to throw in my own "Amen" to the greatness that is the Always Skinny Mid-Rise Jean. I am so happy with how they are getting me through the 'in between sizes/postpartum phase'.

Also, these are really comfortable (great support for flats) and the leather is nice for the price. Who can complain about a Repetto knock-off for less than $40? They do run large, so be sure to buy a full size down.

The Coat Closet/Armoire That Almost Was

Strangely, our house here in Delaware has zero closets on the first floor. No coat closet. Nothing.

I contemplated buying this armoire/hutch from Craigslist to use as a make-shift coat closet. I ended up passing on it because the bottom two decorative moulding panels were smaller than the top ones and the proportions were driving me crazy. Plus, the price was a little steep for me.

I had planned on painting it and replacing the glass with mirror, for some extra sparkle and so you wouldn't be able to see the coats/stored items.

Windsor Smith

Even though we're moving in a few months, I'm still contemplating the idea of an armoire turned into a coat closet. (I'm sure I'd have plenty of other things to store in the actual coat closet, if we have one. Paint and tools come to mind) It would be easy to find an inexpensive armoire on craigslist and just add two wooden cups and a closet rod dowel cut to size, if there wasn't a rod already.

I would take any of these...

Windsor Smith

Carrier and Co.

Elle Decor

Domino

Cottage Living

TV Components

So many of my clients want vintage credenzas to use as TV consoles. But we keep running into the same issue - they want to keep the component boxes hidden, but they also want to be able to use their remotes. And they don't want to spend more than the cost of the TV to get a hidden system installed.

Then today I saw this image again from the home of the owner of See Jane Work. Check out the doors to her armoire...

via

It looks like radiator grill! Wouldn't it be so easy to just add a pretty grate to the doors of a vintage armoire or credenza? And then just paint the grill the same color as the rest of the piece? The remote still works, but I don't have to look at my cable box! Win-win.

I also like this pierced MDF decorative screen, probably even better than the radiator grill idea. Have you seen any products like this?

Fresh From the Basement!

If you'd like to partake in my fabric liquidation, you really should be checking my sidebar more often, or follow me on twitter.

Many of these are already spoken for. But please feel free to email me if there's something you're looking for in particular. And don't forget to check out my sidebar for even more fabrics ----->

What are your favorite Apps?

Having an iPhone makes my crazy life a little more manageable. I'm photographing, emailing, buying, mapping, blogging and tweeting on the run.

It is fun to read articles about the best apps, and I liked this one from House Beautiful about the best apps for a decorator. Here are some of their picks:

Ben Color Capture is a free app that matches a color in an image or one of your own photos to a Benjamin Moore paint color. It can show you the whole paint strip or even give you some complimentary colors.

ColorChange uses your photo to "paint" the walls, floors, ceiling, or trim any color you can imagine. ($2.99)


House Plant 411 is an encyclopedia of plants with dozens of care instructions, tips, and remedies. You can even email a photo of your plant for a private response. I have the most serious black thumb, so this one is definitely on my list. ($4.99)

iHandy Carpenter is a level, a touch-sensitive protractor and a ruler. Perfect for plotting gallery walls or measuring a fabric repeat on the go. ($1.99)


You know about Pandora, I'm sure. It's awesome and makes a long day of running errands in the car fun for me and the girls. (Free)


Do you use mint.com for your financial tracking? We do and we love it. It is really helpful and seriously, an amazing tool for keeping tabs on all your accounts. The app is free.


RedLaser is like your own personal price checker. Don't you hate it when you find something at Target (where it almost always happens for me) and the price sign is no where in sight? You can use your phone to scan the bar code and get the price! It also tells you the price of the same item at other stores! So cool, right? ($1.99)
CraigsPro+ is really amazing. Easy to use and includes a picture previewer. LOVE this one - the eBay app? Not so much. ($0.99)
What are your favorite apps?

Easter

I really love Easter. Today I am making silk tie-dyed eggs with my kids.

image via this etsy seller

Tomorrow and Sunday, I'll be listening to my church's General Conference on the internet.

If you're interested in what I believe, here's a short and sweet video. I know I don't talk a lot about religion here, but, besides my family, it's the most important part of my life. It's what makes me happy.

I hope your Easter weekend is wonderful!

love,
jenny

Fabric as Wallpaper (in the Kitchen)

My dear friend and former college roommate, Emily, and her family recently moved to a new home in a new city. It has been so fun working with her a little (online) on her house projects and seeing the transformation of her beautiful home.

I'm sure there will be more pictures of Emily's home in future posts, but here are some photos of her kitchen.

Emily uses her blue milk glass collection to store all those little things that seem to pile up at the kitchen sink. Oddly, our sinks attract the exact same items: kids medicine syringes, water color brushes and jewelry.

Using magnetic containers from Bed, Bath and Beyond, Emily stores her herbs and spices on the side of her fridge. She likes that they are mostly hidden and off the counters, but still very accessible.

Adorable DIY message board...

Are you jealous, like I am, of Emily's coat hooks and bench? She made the coat rack with an old piece of black walnut and hooks from Anthropolgie.

When Emily and her husband, Todd, purchased the house, the kitchen was pretty boring and outdated:

Here's the 'after' shot. They have plans to put in french doors (not pictured) and to add hardwood to match the rest of the floors in the house. But it looks great now doesn't it?

I think it's cool that Emily has a computer on her counter. She wrote out all her recipes and has them stored here (the tower is hidden behind the moulding on top of the cabinets).

NOW! For the project that inspired the post title. Emily wanted a little punch of color and pattern in the sea of her newly painted white cabinets. Since wallpaper can be so expensive, and since Emily has the same fabric-collecting disease that I have, we decided to put some of her pretty fabric to good use in the kitchen.

One of my favorite things about using fabric as wallpaper is that it's completely removable and does not damage your walls. Even the fabric comes out unscathed! It just needs a good washing to get all the starch out.

There are lots of tutorials online for how to hang fabric like wallpaper. Emily kindly wrote out her step-by-step here:

Materials:

- Liquid starch (we were able to find some at Walmart)

- Fabric (While lightweight fabrics are traditionally recommended, we used a home decor weight material and just used more starch. It worked great.)

- Clean sponge

- Large pan (cookie sheet works perfectly)

- Push pins

Process:

1. Prime the backs of the cabinets with Zinsser water-based primer.

2. Cut your fabric to fit, with a few inches of allowance on all sides.

3. Pour the liquid starch into a clean pan. Using a clean sponge, apply starch to the top half of the cabinet wall and work your way down.

4. Again, starting at the top and working down, smooth the fabric into place on top of the starched wall. Apply starch with the sponge on top of the placed fabric. The goal is for the fabric to be pretty well soaked in starch.

5. Use a few push pins to hold the fabric in place as you smooth. Keep sponging and smoothing. A credit card works great for the sides and corners where you want everything to be tight and secure.

6. Let the starched fabric dry completely (overnight is usually long enough). The fabric will shrink as it dries, so be sure not to cut it when it's still wet. We recommend using a sewing rotary or a sharp razor/X-acto knife to cut the dried fabric, but be careful not to press too hard and score the cabinets!

Great job, Todd and Emily! I love what a little color and pattern can do to any space!

Have a fun project that you'd like to share with LGN readers? Send your photos and submission to pearlstreetinteriors@gmail.com.