Does your patio rest in the doldrums?  Is it a place to store the garden hose or have you found a quiet corner to call your own?  Consider the patio another space in your home and make it a destination.

Over the past couple of years, home improvement centers have begun offering lots of home products traditionally thought of as ‘inside items’ to be used outdoors including table lamps.  These products have been designed specifically for outdoor use and are weather resistant.

Don’t let taking the inside out stop with furniture though.  Exterior walls could certainly be used for art work or accessories to complement your patio ‘room’.  What you place on these walls will need to be somewhat weather resistant based on exposure to moisture.  It should not be precious.

Today we offer up one solution meant for summer.  It is stylish and sweet and adds just the right amount of color to our patio space.  The best part of this project is that it is incredibly inexpensive.  The trays all came from a thrift store and the entire project was less than $25.

savour… quiet corners

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This week we are bringing you a few summer patio projects.  The first was inspired by a trip to our local big box discount store.  We spotted metal drink buckets painted summer colors.  The buckets were not as sturdy as we would like and the handles were poorly made.  They had no drainage and the price was $20.

Armed with the idea, we headed home to get busy.  We had a bucket already which cost less than $10.  We picked up some spray paint for the inside, but everything else we had on hand.  We made a few minor improvements and ended up with something very useful.

savour... cracking a cold one

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Every year we have one yard sale.  Our annual spring cleaning for this year yielded more stuff than ever before.  It seems impossible, but there is never a shortage of stuff we have outgrown or that has outlived its usefulness in our home.  I guess part of that is the result of growing chilldren.  Our yard sale is just around the corner.  If you have one on the horizon, be sure to check out our yard sale tips from last summer.  This is an invaluable resource to get you on the right track.

As usual, before I could let anything go, I had to sift through it to determine if any of the goods could be repurposed for other upcycling projects.  I love getting extra uses out of discards.  What I found, among other things, was a pile of kids jeans.  I have been meaning to do a project like this one for some time.  This hidden treasure proved to be just the inspiration I needed.

The pockets of the kids jeans are smaller than those of adult jeans and just the right size to hold a napkin and cutlery.  Because they are already finished, they give a hint of authenticity to the project without me having to recreate a pocket.  The overall result is fun, cheap, and very stylish.

savour... remixed remnants

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It's been a long week.  I planned several posts for this week, but circumstances beyond my control prevented me from presenting quality material.  The good news is that I have a new computer and internet solution, so I am ready to go.  To make up for the delay, I brought you something shiny.  I hope you like it.

Several years ago I bought a sack full of chandelier crystals for a ridiculously low price at the Rose Bowl flea market.  They have been waiting out their chance to shine while sitting in a bin in the studio.  Many will still have to wait for another project (maybe a lighting project), but I shined a few up for this beaded curtain project to bring a little sparkle to a drab corner of a room.

savour... your chance to shine

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Do you ever feel like your to do list is far too long for ordinary paper?  Here is a relatively easy project with fantastic results.  I like to think of it as somewhere between modern art and organization.  I must say that I like art that evolves.  Part of this may have to do with my desire to keep creating things.  Part of it may be because I have the attention span of a gnat and like things to be fresh and exciting.

This piece hung over a simple writing desk can be used as your dry erase board, filled with doodles, or a lovely hand-written poem.  The materials are very easy to find and the hardest part is working out the math for even lines.

savour… doodle space

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I hate to discard useful things. 

I don’t keep things for the sake of keeping, but I admit that I do have an alarming collection of things that I am saving for the “perfect” project.  Sometimes they are items that have outlived their usefulness in our home.  Sometimes they are donated by friends to feed my obsession.  There is, of course, a wide assortment of thrift store/yard sale items waiting for their day to shine.  You might even spot a curbside find or two.

The materials used in today’s project have been kicking around the studio for months.  I do not recall how we came to own the bad green foam footstool, but I knew I wanted it for the foam.  Foam is expensive and if you are lucky enough to have a resource for different shapes you are certain to pay even more for it than the sheets available at most fabric stores.

The fabric itself was leftover from a chair we reupholstered long ago.  Apart from that, just a few other materials are required… many of them are likely to be in your craft area.

The casters were picked for this project strictly for their bright color.  I found them at a home improvement store.  This footstool will ultimately be used in the SK8R Boyz Room Redux.  The wheels lend to the overall style very well.

savour… salvaged goods

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Roman shades are a great way to dress up a window.  They are perfect for modern contemporary spaces as they are minimal in design with very clean lines.  They are well-suited for many other design styles, too.

If you wish to dress them up you can do so through your choice of décor fabric.  You might also consider adorning the top with a swag or cornice.  Sometimes they are used in conjunction with panels for a layered effect.

Additionally, roman shades can be purchased or made to address different issues.  Depending on your choice of fabrics you can have insulating, room darkening, light filtering, or sheer.

You can purchase them pre-made but you will likely be relegated to putting them on the outside of your window.  For a really clean look, you will need to put them on the inside of the window casing.  That will require custom fitting.  This can be very costly. 

Fortunately, we have the solution for you.  If you have access to a sewing machine and can sew straight lines, you can make these Roman shades.  Ours is a simple construction with manual pull, but you can purchase them with motorized controls.

savour... well-dressed windows

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