decor accents

Can’t find pillows in colors that you need or want in your price range? In the words of Tim Gunn – “Make It Work!”  You don’t have to make the pillows from scratch, simply upgrade solid pillows and make them fabulous.

I was in the need of accent pillows for a brown and red room, to be used in an upcoming home staging project. But I was having zero luck finding pillows at local stores.  So when I stumbled upon a window panel at a local retailer, the wheels started turning.

I filled my favorite shopping bag with a pair of red pillows and this great window panel (in the discount section of course) with my project in my head . My idea was to sew a panel of fabric onto each pillow. Fortunately, I inherited a metal Singer machine from my aunt some years ago, and I was not afraid to use it! Away we go!

My vintage sewing machine – still works great!

The fabric is bright and colorful but needed to be ironed.   After I ironed out the folds, I decided to cut the pieces in 4” by 7” strips to lay on the red pillows. Since I couldn’t sew fabric directly on the pillow covers with the machine, I used the machine to neatly hem the sides of the patterned fabric. The last picture is of the two patterned pieces, after the edges were sewn.

My chosen fabric, prepping it for sewing, then the finished panels.

After the fabric was sewn, I took a needle and thread and hand tacked the fabric to each pillow cover.  I didn’t realize it at the time of purchase, but having pillows with a zipper closure made things much easier.  It would have been harder to affix the patterned fabric to the pillows without removing the inserts.  Not impossible, but harder.

Voila,  a pair of brightly colored pillows, perfect for the staging project.  I think my grandmother and late Aunt Gloria would be proud.

The final pair!

And here are the pillows as we used them in the space!

I often visit thrift stores often to find items to use in upcoming home staging projects to add character and life to my projects.  I am a big proponent of supporting local small businesses and stumbled on some wonderful gift items for men. Of course, these are items that could be easily displayed in a home or office, since that is my ‘industry’.   Check out a fewfindings from my recent trip to one of my favorite shops in NW Washington DC.

Barware – this pictured collection of bar ware, from glass brandy decanter, glass ice bucket  (with gold tongs) to the old school martini shaker are all great gifts for the man who appreciates fine brandy and a good cigar every now and then.  And tends to entertain from time to time.  Add some personalized low ball glasses and bar napkins and you’ve got yourself a gift!

Bust or statue  – Perfect for the classical music, jazz music  or history buff.   You never know whos statue you will find (Thomas jefferson? Paul Revere? Bach?) but as long as it is in good condition (no missing pieces or large scratches) you should be good to go! And it is the perfect gift that represents DC museums too!  Add in albums or CDs with the same genre of music (lots of thrift stores carry albums too) and another gift is completed. For the history buffs, a coffee table book to accompany the bust would be a great add as well.

Professional gifts – If you have a hard time purchasing gifts for the varied professionals on your list, you just may stumble on a great gift from the thrift store!  When I spied this marble scale, I thought it make a great gift for an attorney, judge or recent law school graduate on your list.   Keep your eyes open for all sorts of professional items, like judges gavels,  morter and pestle sets for doctors and nurses, and old school bells for teachers.

Some other items that I did not see on this visit but would make great gifts include  vintage maps, old black and white photographs, vintage alarm clocks, and valet stands in good condition.

Although I don’t recommend giving furniture as a gift, I just couldn’t resist taking a photo of this iron end table frame. Can’t you just see this with marble or granite top, sitting next to a leather recliner, or wing chair! It also has casters to make the piece functional as well as attractive. Perfect!

Don’t be a afraid to shop your local thrift store for holiday gifts!  You might not think of it as a place to shop but your local shop may have some  true gems just waiting to be discovered! And you will be supporting a small local business too!

(all pictures were taken at Ruff and Ready Furnishings in NW Washington DC).

As some of you may know, we welcomed Stephan Jones, a newly ASP-trained home stager to our team earlier this year.  Recently, we were was asked to stage a small playroom space of a basement in a single family home in Silver Spring.  The rest of the house was already furnished but the realtor didn’t want the basement ignored.  Here is our focus area…

basement playroom before

Sort of a dismal cold space, in a nice family friendly house. The goal was to make this room feel like the rest of the house and become a plus rather than a minus. We reviewed the room together, discussed a few ideas and how we might make this space work.

Then as fate would have it, we were asked to stage another home on the same day, only a  mile away. So Stephan was in charge of this room, selecting furniture, art accents, and accessories, meeting the delivery guys and manage the room without my input. Here is the after – how do you think he did?

Playroom comes to life!

I personally think he did a WONDERFUL job! So glad he is on the team!