Shop of the Month – Rejuvenation

08 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Shop of the Month

Tags

antique, Art Deco, Arts & Crafts, Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, decor, doors, exterior, exterior home, hardware, home, Industrial, lighting, lights, mailboxes, Mid-Century Modern, old world, Period Basics, rejuvenation, victorian, vintage

Rejuvenation is a lighting shop I came across a couple of months ago. Once I saw their products I was in love. They had tons of options from many different time periods which is right my alley. Now that Dan and I own an older home, dated around 1916, looking for vintage and antique items to fill it up is a must. Plus, we adore the vintage style and love to be surrounded by pastime goodies.

The shop carries lighting and hardware within nine collections: Period Basics, Mid-Century Modern, Classical Revival, Industrial, Art Deco, Victorian, Arts & Crafts, Colonial Revival and Old World. I am sure you will find something you love!

I also appreciate the clean and modern design of their website as well as their beautiful photographs of their products. It’s also organized and easy to navigate which is very helpful when you offer so much to your customers.

Besides their inventory, Rejuvenation also offers restored antiques. They also have a blog that showcases the many things that surround their products such as architecture, artists and real spaces that use their lighting. And for any advice or inspiration you may need on the subject, the shop has that too. All of this makes your shopping experience fun and exciting while learning a thing or two in the process.

Check out some of these inspiration photos from their gallery.

Now for some of my favorites! I hope this post inspires the Thomas Edison in all of you and gets you thinking more about lighting and how important it is in a space. Maybe it will remind you to make the exterior of your home just as nice as the inside. With all its hardware and door sets its certainly easy to! Shop around and look at what Rejuvenation offers. I can guarantee you will find something that will look beautiful in your home.

Crafty Switch Plates

10 Thursday May 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Crafty Ideas

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

art, crafts, decor, design, home decor, lighting, switch plates

Everyone has switch plates in their home and most of the time they are simple, white and plastic. When I moved into my apartment back a few years ago it came with just that. Boring! To make it worse, a lot of them had paint on them. I said to myself, there has to got to be a way to create a designer look without spending tons of money. Well, the idea bulb burst and today I am sharing it with you.

This project is so easy and it comes out gorgeous. It costs under $10 to make enough to cover most of your home. You may even have all the materials needed to do it so that will save you time and money as well. You really can’t go wrong with this one. Lets get started!

{Materials}

plastic switch plate
contact paper or clear label paper
X-acto knife
double sided tape or craft glue
image of your choice

First, you want to decide on the image or design you want to use. Depending on the room it goes in, try to have it blend in with the decor. The one below was for our dining room which had rich browns and light blues so I chose a design that is a modern but classic pattern that includes those colors.

The best place to find images and inspiration are magazines. They also have a nice quality that will be noticed so keep that in mind. I recommend design magazines, like Elle Decor, because there is so much to choose from. You will find something for each room in just one magazine. However, there are tons of cool choices out there so whatever you have lying around the house will work too.

Now that you have your image, take some double sided tape or craft glue if you have it and adhere it to the front of the plate. Next, place the plate front side down on the paper. To make sure you cover the whole plate you will have to place it in the middle of the image to give it some extra room. You can draw a line or just use a ruler and cut around it. If you are a perfectionist like me than do the math and measure. It doesn’t have to be perfect though.

You can use any kind of cutter for this but I recommend an X-acto. You will want to cover the paper so its protected. Contact paper is great for this. All you have to do is cover the plate with it and cut around it like you did with the image. Don’t forget to cut where the switch comes through. Puncturing a small hole for the screws should be fine. You don’t have to cut a whole circle.

If you are good at decoupage this would be a good project to show your skills. Just get some Mod Podge and get creative.

Put it up and bask in sweet design bliss! I promise if you choose a really cool image this switch plate will look fabulous. This is a great idea for a kids room too. You can really have fun with it. So good luck, even though you won’t need it, and happy decorating!