How to Make Your Own Canvas Float Frame

June 25, 2018

This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase after clicking one of my links, I will receive a small portion of the sale at no additional cost to you.

For my One Room Challenge Guest Room Project Reveal (check out all of my One Room Challenge Posts here), I showed off my 3 DIY paintings mounted in handmade oak frames. I completed my paintings to solve the challenge of filling one large bank wall and wanted my DIY abstract art to really shine so worked with my dad to build custom canvas float frames. Float frames are different from regular frames meant for canvas because they are made to be just a little bit bigger than the canvas itself. While a regular canvas frame would hug tight against the canvas, a float frame has an intentional gap all the way around to make the canvas look like it’s floating inside the frame.

Before I get into the how-to of it all, lemme show you what one of these frames looks like IRL.

How to Make a Wooden Canvas Float Frame

I’m going to walk you step by step through the process of making your own float frame for canvas art. Heads up – there are power tools involved. We don’t have a table saw or miter saw of our own yet, so I visited my dad who lives a couple hours away to help me hustle on this project for the Spring 2018 One Room Challenge.

What You’ll Need

Oak Project Board (.5in x 2.5in x 4ft) – 4 pieces per frame
Pine Craft Board (.5 in x 2in x 36in) – 4 pieces per frame
Elmer’s Probond Wood Filler in Golden Oak
Wood Glue
Nail Gun
D Ring Picture Wire Hanging Kit
Rubbing Alcohol
Framing Clamps – We used Dewalt 90 Corner Clamps but I’ve heard good things about band clamps
Table Saw
Miter Saw

The Plan

My first step, as with most projects, was to draw up a plan in SketchUp. I wanted to figure out the best way to assemble the frames so that the edges were a clean, solid plank and that the back was tidy. It also helps me to draw things out to check on proportions so I could be sure the wood frame wouldn’t look too thick against the canvas.

My frames are made to fit 24×30″ canvases – I picked mine up at Jo Ann’s. I decided I wanted a 1/4″ gap between the canvas and the frame and for the canvas to be recessed 1/8″ from the front edge of the frame.

If you want to make the same frame as I did for a 24×30″ canvas, here are the dimensions:

Frame Side

2 pieces cut to 2″ wide x 31 1/8″ long x 1/2″ deep
2 pieces cut to 2″ wide x 25 1/2″ long x 1/2″ deep

Frame Back

2 pieces cut to 2″ wide x 30 1/8″ long x 1/2″ deep
2 pieces cut to 2″ wide x 24 1/2″ long x 1/2″ deep

Picking the Wood

Up until my dad and I made it to Home Depot, I wasn’t sure if I’d be going with oak or pine for the frame. Poplar is a good, inexpensive option but has a lot of green in it so it’s a good choice if you’re planning on painting it. I knew I didn’t want to paint my frames and I didn’t really want to stain them either – once I set eyes on the oak, I knew it was the way to go.

When you pick your wood, try to find the truest wood planks you can. You want wood that won’t lie to you (does this count as a pun?) but more than that, you want the straightest wood you can buy. How do you tell if a plank is straight? Hold the plank up with one end close to your face and look straight down the wood – you’ll be able to spot curves in the wood pretty easily. See above for the proper form as demonstrated by my dad.

My dad and I looked at every board in the little cubby hole and sorted them into “these are good,” “these might work,” and “these are bad” stacks.

How to Remove Stickers from Wood

Once we got back to my parents’ house with all our supplies, I started removing the barcode stickers from the wood. They left behind a lot of sticky residue and I tried a few different methods to remove it. A hairdryer helped to loosen the main sticker from the wood but wasn’t super helpful for what was left behind. I tried pulling the sticker residue off with duct tape, but that wasn’t super effective either. Then I tried rubbing alcohol on a rag and it worked wonders without staining or discoloring the wood – if you try this, you should probably test the alcohol on a scrap piece of work first to double check that it won’t discolor your wood. In most cases, I could still sort of see where the sticker had been but was mostly concerned with removing the sticky bits.

Rip That Wood

My plans called for wood at a different width than what we found at the store so my dad trimmed both the length and width of the planks on his table saw.

Another piece of advice from my dad, Joe: trim wood at both ends to shorten it instead of just taking from one end. Wood sold in planks like this is often thinner at the ends because of how it’s planed.

Organize Your Wood

I noticed that the grain of the oak differed from plank to plank but I wanted all pieces on each frame to work together. I organized the wood by grain type (tighter, looser) and then gathered them in groups of 4 for each of the 3 frames.

I also used small pieces of painters tape to mark the best sides of each piece of the wood to be used as the outside and front edges of the frame.

Make Miter Cuts

Then it was time for those miter cuts. The pieces for the sides received cuts along their thing edge while the back pieces were cut along their wide edge. Miter cuts make for a really beautiful, profesh looking corner.

Glue the Frame Corners

Starting first with the oak pieces for the sides of the frame, we put glue on the ends and clamped them together using the corner clamps.

Secure Corners with a Nail Gun

We used a nail gun to secure the corners. The nails went in at the top and bottom of the frame rather than the sides so they’d be less visible. You can also use v nails and a joiner to join your corners at the back of the frame.

We added more nails than is necessary if you allow for proper dry time on your wood glue. I needed to get my frames finished in one day before loading them into my car and driving home. If you can allow for at least 24 hours of dry time, you won’t have to rely on nails as much.

Fit in the Frame Backing

Once the outside frame was complete, we removed it from the clamps and started fitting in the back pieces. As you can see in this picture, we needed to cut a little bit more off to get a perfect fit. Make sure to work on a flat surface so you can push the back pieces the whole way down into the frame to create a level back for your frame.

Glue the Corners of the Frame Backing

Once the pieces were fine-tuned to fit together tightly, we ran a bead of wood glue along the miter cut and the long edge that fits inside the frame.

Here’s a look at the freshly glued back of the frame.

Fill Nail Holes and Sand

If you use a nail gun, you’ll want to fill those nail holes. I picked up golden oak wood filler that matched my frame perfectly. For small holes, you can just squeeze wood filler out into the hole or onto your finger and smooth it out. Let it dry, see if it shrinks (it probably will) then refill if needed and let dry fully. Once the wood filler is dry, use a fine grit sandpaper to sand down high spots.

Stain and Seal the Frame

If you want to stain your frame, now’s the time to do it. If you like the natural look of the wood you use, you should seal the wood with a water-based varnish. You can use the brush-on type or spray, sanding with fine grit sandpaper between coats. Adding a non-yellowing, acrylic coating will protect your frame from moisture and make it easier to clean.

How to Mount a Canvas into a Canvas Float Frame

Andy picked up 1/4″ thick pieces of wood to use as shims to make sure the canvas was 1/4″ away from the edge all the way around.

Use flat head screws to secure the canvas to the frame so that you don’t have a screw head sticking out and scratching your wall. We ended up using 6 screws to secure the canvas to the frame because while the frames were squared up and flat, the canvases weren’t. Securing the canvas at multiple points to the frame straightened out the canvas.

Adding Picture Wire to the Wooden Canvas Float Frame

We hung the picture wire on the inside edge of the frame backing pieces. This way, nothing is sticking out on the back of the frame to scratch the walls or add a weird gap between the frame and wall.

Wowowow. My paintings look so good in their new frames. This can be a great weekend project if you have access to a table saw, miter saw, and nail gun. There are no special order materials here – I picked everything up at Home Depot. I love the effect the float mount gives and I’m so proud that I could design and build these with my dad. I’ll take any excuse to spend a whole day with him. Is this a project you think you could tackle?

16 Comments

Food + Beverage Shopping

Weekends are for Coffee with Breville’s Precision Brewer Glass

June 8, 2018

This post is in partnership with Breville who gifted me the Precision Brewer Glass. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase after clicking one of my links, I will be compensated.

There’s something special about the ritual of making coffee. Even before I actually LIKED coffee, I loved the sound of it brewing away and the smell of the beans. Every morning when I hear Andy grind fresh beans for our coffee, I get a good feeling about the day head. And on weekends, it means we sit together in front of our tv, watching The Office and sipping on our coffee and smoothies. To me, that is everything.

I was so excited to partner with Breville for their release of their new Precision Brewer Glass because I love coffee but also because the Breville brand has been a staple in our kitchen – we use our compact Breville Smart Oven all the time and gifted my parents the fancy Smart Oven Pro Convection model. Andy typically makes coffee via Aeropress, but that is an intense practice which I have not attempted. This clever little brewer pays attention to temperature (something I’ve learned is important to making a good cup of coffee) and has special modes to make exactly the coffee you’re craving. You can even program in your own temperature, bloom time, and flow rate.

This new brewer has 6 modes: Fast, Gold, Strong, Over Ice, My Brew, and Cold Brew. The Fast mode makes up to 12 cups in less than 7 minutes which is perfect for when we’ve got and the Gold mode is certified by the Specialty Coffee Association. Strong mode will automatically brew you a strong cup of coffee. Over Ice (my favorite!) brews up to 4 cups of a more highly concentrated coffee to be chilled and poured over ice. The stronger concentration takes into account how ice cubes melt into your brew and dilute it. And if you like a cold cup of coffee, you’ll be into the Cold Brew mode steeps coffee for 10-16 hours.

Set up of the machine was pretty painless and just required washing all the non-electronic components, setting the water hardness (test strip included) and running the brewer to flush through water for a full clean.

Spring and Summer are prime iced coffee time for me so I couldn’t wait to try the Over Ice mode first. It brewed 4 cups of concentrated coffee which I let rest to room temperature and then popped in the fridge for a few hours. I recommend brewing up a pot of Over Ice coffee after your morning coffee so that it’ll be chilled by the time you’re ready for that afternoon boost.

I don’t take sugar in my iced coffee but I loooove some coconut or almond milk in there. My favorite addition is So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk.

Andy likes his iced coffee plain, pure, and no fun. 8 scoops of freshly ground beans (we use this Bodem burr grinder because freshly ground beans are super important) made 4 normal sized cups of coffee or 2 large glasses.

I’ve had quite a week and am delighted to be rolling into the weekend ready for 2 days of Netflix binging fueled by bottomless iced coffee. Are you in for iced coffee season? How do you take your iced coffee?

0 Comments

Interiors Inspiration One Room Challenge

My One Room Challenge Spring 2018 Reveal Favorites

May 25, 2018

[Image from my One Room Challenge Spring 2018 Guest Bedroom Reveal]

Two weeks ago, the Spring 2018 One Room Challenge featured designers and guest participants (including me!) revealed their room transformations. I was so floored by everyone’s reveals – they are so gorgeous – and am so happy to be part of such a talented design community. The guest participants who will participate as featured designers next season were just announced, (congratulations to Nicole of Vestige Home and Erin Kestenbaum!) but I wanted to share with you some of my favorite reveals in case you missed them!

Guest Participant Reveals

Nicole of Vestige Home made the most serene nursery I’ve ever seen complete with a custom daybed. The two-tone walls are so subtly sweet and I am in love with the handmade ship mobile. Photographed by Rebecca McAlpin. Nicole was selected from the guest participants to be a featured designer next season!

Allison of Deuce Cities Hen House built a custom blue velvet tufted bed, brass trellis, AND her own sconces to transform her guest bedroom. She restored her windows and doors and gave them a fresh coat of black paint. She cleverly problem solved her way around a 10×10′ room with a radiator and large windows to make a tailored and bright space.

Erin Kestenbaum put together the most stunning marble tile master bathroom. That shower is so incredible – that pencil tile! And I’ve never seen such a handsome toilet, it works so beautifully with the trim work and looks plain regal! Congrats also to Erin for being selected to be a featured designer next season! So well earned!

Mila of Jest Cafe’s kitchen and dining room transformation is a colorful, bold oasis. She paired an unconventional cabinet color with a stunning hand-painted mural and boho-inspired accents to make a coral and pink dream.

Another colorful transformation comes from Jewel of Jeweled Interiors who did a rental-friendly (!) living room makeover. This woman cannot be stopped. She reupholstered a sofa in terrazzo-print velvet and added fringe. She painted those armchairs. Just such incredible, bold work.

Sarah Gunn made over her master bedroom with a coastal vibe and majorly upgraded IKEA PAX wardrobes with light blue paint. Such a beautifully finished space with thoughtful details! And you know I love all IKEA hacks/upgrades.

I am extremely into this modern and playful makeover from Goldalamode. I have never been a fan of purple in decor, or fashion, or anything but DANG. I love those light purple walls and blush/dusty pink accents. And those vintage burl + brass nightstands! This room takes the best trends from the 80s and makes them current and fresh.

Cathy and Garrett of The Grit and Polish created a space for their youngest daughter to grow into in their historic farmhouse. They found this charming canned bed on Craigslist for $0 and did their whole room for less than $500. It is feminine, charming, and cozy and you have to see the wallpapered crib nook!

My traditional heart looooves this breakfast nook from Jess at Domicle37. She replaced the tile backsplash with clay subway tile that looks completely classic and totally made me think her house was way older than the 1950s! She also covered the countertops in concrete, adding warmth and texture. The vintage dining set is the perfect touch against the painted cabinets.

Carrie of Dream Green DIY added a DIY faux wood paneling accent wall, vintage furniture, and neutral accents to her master bedroom. The result is a cozy space that feels collected and suits her brick ranch home so well.

Featured Designer Reveals

Ashley K Goldman of The Gold Hive pulled off not just a One Room Challenge, but a one and a half room challenge. She redid her master bedroom, DIYing her board and batten to make a traditional and calming space. She also added a new door leading to her backyard and added new patio furniture.

Natasha Habermann made over her living room and foyer for the Spring challenge. Her reveal photos and home look straight out of a profesh magazine and my traditional-home loving heard ate them up. There’s so much to talk about in her space but I am so into the molding she added to her walls from Metrie. It looks totally original to her gorgeous home.

So much inspiration! See all of the One Room Challenge Spring 2018 guest participants’ reveals here.

2 Comments

DIY One Room Challenge The Scenery House

One Room Challenge Week 6: Guest Bedroom Reveal!

May 9, 2018

It’s finally here! Today I’m sharing the reveal of our guest bedroom which got a fantastic makeover for the Spring 2018 One Room Challenge. This was my time first participating in the challenge and it was crazy but so satisfying. If you’re not familiar, the One Room Challenge is hosted by Calling it Home in partnership with House Beautiful and Home Love Network and is a 6 week challenge to makeover one room in your home. The challenge takes place twice a year in the spring and fall and is led by 20 featured designers. In addition to the 20 featured designers, the challenge is open to anyone with a blog who wants to challenge-along as a participant. That’s me! And over 200 other guest participants.

If you’ve hopped over to this post from the ORC website – welcome! I’m Emily, this is my blog, and I’m working on undecorating the 1929 tudor-ish home I share with my husband, Andy, and our corgi, Penelope. This is where I should describe my style so I guess I’d say it’s something along the lines of traditional-modern which doesn’t sound like a real thing. I am glad you’re here.

For my first challenge, I decided to tackle our guest bedroom. Though I’m very used to taking on big projects to transform rooms in my house (check out my blush bathroom, my board and batten powder room, or my kitchen facelift) this was my first time sticking to a firm timeline and sharing my progress week by week. If you’re just joining in and want to see my posts for each week, check out week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, and week 5!)

For a refresher, let’s look at where it all started.

The Guest Bedroom Before

This is what our guest bedroom looked like in the listing photos. The walls were bright green and the ceiling was a pale blue. There was even a glow-in-the-dark space light on the ceiling.

And here is the room after we moved in.

In June of last year, we decided it was time to get rid of that bright green and bring in something much moodier.

Here it is all painted and ready for its first One Room Challenge transformation. That deep moody green – Behr’s Black Evergreen – provides a great canvas and so much potential. You’ll recognize those scallop hem roller shades from the listing photo and I really can’t believe we held onto them for as long as we did. The room was definitely functioning fine as a guest room, but it could be so much better.

We decided to keep the bed frame and headboard (IKEA’s discontinued REDALEN) and the microdot rug we bought a few years ago from West Elm.

The Reveal

DIY Art

I struggled with what to do with the long wall in the guest bedroom that serves as the main path through the room. I didn’t want to narrow that path by adding bookshelves but I was hesitant to add a gallery wall. And then I saw the Hovey sisters home tour and knew I needed to paint something myself for this space. I used my beloved iPad to sketch up some abstract art ideas, playing with colorways and moving shapes around for the right composition. I picked up 3 24×30” canvases and some budget paint at Jo Anns and got to work. If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories (and if you aren’t, c’mon, look at what you’re missing out on) I struggled with painting things that didn’t somehow look like faces. My first painting looked very much like a face and in a very confident move to make the face go away, I totally made it look like a clown face. I still see faces in all of these. And a pickle enjoying the ocean. But I think that’s just how abstract art is. I love the paintings, I really enjoyed making them, and am so proud to have some of my own original art hanging in our home.

I priced out canvas float frames and realized they weren’t in my budget and also weren’t going to ship in time for the reveal, so DIY it was. I sketched up plans in SketchUp, planning out the depth of the frames, the amount of space for the float, and how they’d be assembled and sent everything over to my dad. We spent a whole day together picking out materials – oak boards for the outside and pine for the backing – and raced to get them all done that same day. Many people requested a full tutorial for this so don’t worry, I’ll be sharing one soon once I’ve recovered from this sprint!

At the last minute (as of the night before and morning of my reveal photoshoot) I decided to whip up this brass kinetic sculpture (aka mobile) from a The Crafters Box I’ve been hoarding. It’s perfect. I was so unsure about what to do with this corner and I’m so glad this idea came to me just in time.

The Window Treatments

I wanted to solve for two different filtering and blocking situations in this room. I like to have a simple sheer roller blind to diffuse light and add privacy, the SKOGKSLOVER shades from IKEA fit our windows perfectly and we have them on nearly every window in our home. We added these but also wanted something with more opacity to block our exterior house lights that might bother guests. Picking the right blackout shades was something I struggled with (and mumbled endlessly about on my insta stories and polled everyone endlessly about) but it wasn’t until I had all the options in the room that I could make a choice. These pom pom curtains from PB Teen were a longstanding favorite of everyone following along but they were too much of an off white to go with the rug and white bedding. I went with the light green SANELA curtains from IKEA and they’re perfect. I didn’t like the grommet top they came with and they needed a good hem to be the right length for our windows, so I hemmed them and gave them a pinch pleat top using IKEA’s pleating tape and curtain hooks.

Because we’re dealing with baseboard heaters (my nemesis) I wanted to be mindful of the proper clearance between the heater and the long curtain. This meant I had to find a curtain rod and bracket set that stuck out from my wall far enough. I ended up with the 1.25” brass set from CB2. I wish the pole were thinner, the deeper brackets only come with this size. For what it’s worth, if you’re shopping for gorgeous brass curtain rods and don’t have the same constraints as me, this set from Crate and Barrel is really lovely – I have a set in my house that I still need to return.

Furniture

Originally, I hoped to come across the perfect vintage dresser for this room as I typically don’t think a room is really finished without at least one vintage, antique, or heirloom item. But when I saw this dresser I couldn’t get over it. I continued to search for the right vintage piece but when one didn’t turn up, I wasn’t sad to head to IKEA to pick up the BJÖRKSNÄS dresser. The light wood and leather pulls add modern contrast against the dark walls.

I added a bench – another gem from IKEA, the STOCKHOLM coffee table – which will be great for guests to put luggage on. Definitely an upgrade from traditional luggage racks. Can there be too much rattan?

And that mirror. So perfect. It bounces light and makes the dresser a great get-ready station for guests.

The blanket ladder is a great solution for storing extra blankets out in the open so your guests don’t have to tell you they’re cold in your freezing house. Or they can hang bath towels on it to dry if they aren’t keen on hanging them in a shared bathroom. I guess I just assume all guests are as fussy as me.

If you’ve ever tried shopping for wooden nightstands of a particular size and look, you know they come dear. I was excited to spot this set (available at Allmodern and Amazon) which was just about the look I wanted and had USB charging tastefully built in AND came in at around $100 each. Previously, we had extension cords run up behind our vintage end tables acting as nightstands so guests could charge their devices. NOT THE LOOK.

Overall I’m happy with these nightstands but needed to upgrade the pulls with a set of 3″ hex handles with backplates from CB2 to make them look classier. The quality of the wood isn’t bad for the price point but they are a redder hue than I had hoped.

I LOVE the nightstand lamps. I’ve never had a set of matching nightstands let alone matching lamps and I feel like I have really made it now. The lamps have a modern/midcentury shape and a fantastic texture.

The Linens

I knew I wanted to add the casual look and soft touch of a linen duvet cover going into this but wasn’t at all sure which to pick. I heard great things about the linen duvet set from H&M Home, as well as IKEA’s option. I ended up going with the Belgian Flax Linen Duvet from West Elm and it is lovely. The color is a brighter white and totally works with the other linens in the space.

At the end of the bed I added a grid print throw from Target. It did make me ask myself how many grid patterns are too many grid patterns (we’ve got the leaded glass windows, the rug, the rattan headboard, the rattan bench…) and I’ve concluded that THE LIMIT DOES NOT EXIST.

I’m something of a minimalist when it comes to throw pillows (my husband will tell you this is a false statement) so I like the look of stacked bed pillows with a big lumbar body pillow in front. When I lost my sense of time, I thought I might sew one myself and even went shopping for the right fabric. When I came to my senses and realized time is something that was no longer on my side, I ended decided to order a giant pillow cover from Jenny Komeda’s Juniper Studio. The blush color linen is soft and there’s nothing like pink with the deep green of the walls. The cream corner tassels are such a nice touch. I used this body pillow insert which fit the pillow cover perfectly.

I have to say that this giant pillow was even more giant than I thought and I decided to break it up a little by adding a rust velvet throw pillow from West Elm. I also layered a pom pom throw on there as a tribute to the pom pom curtains that weren’t meant to be. <3

The sheets on the bed are some of my beloved Target sheets that I’ve had forever. They wash so well and don’t wrinkle AND they have little tags on the fitted sheet that tells you which end is the bottom and which is the side!

The wallhanging is one of my favorite Etsy finds from RUGbyGUR.

Gimme those side by sides

What a whirlwind. But like, the good kind. It was so much fun to do this challenge along with all the other guest participants – I made so many new friends! I am thankful for this whole project because it encouraged me to problem solve, stretch my brain, and bring out some of my old skills – I PAINTED again! I found my sewing machine in the attic and classed up those curtains. I crafted that mobile! And I have a new guest room that makes me smile and is now the nicest room in the whole house.

Sources

Paint – Behr’s Black Evergreen
Bed – IKEA REDALEN (discontinued)
Curtains – IKEA SANELA with DIY pinch pleat
Roller Shades – IKEA SKOGKSLOVER
CB2 Brass Curtain Rod
Dresser – IKEA BJÖRKSNÄS
Mirror
Blanket Ladder
Nightstand + Brass Pull
Black Lamps
Duvet – West Elm Belgian Linen Flax Duvet
Grid Print Throw
Blush Lumbar Pillow Cover by Juniper Studio + Insert
Rust Pillows – West Elm Rust Velvet Throw Pillow
Pom Pom Throw
Woven Wall Hanging
DIY Abstract Art + DIY Canvas Float Frames

Be sure to check out the STUNNING reveals from the featured participants and I can’t wait to see all the guest reveals!

Hey heads up: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

67 Comments

Interior Styling One Room Challenge

One Room Challenge Week 5: How to Style Textiles Like a Pro

May 2, 2018

OMG IT’S WEEK 5. This week is all about wrapping up the last details for next week’s One Room Challenge reveal. One of my big last tasks (of many other last tasks) is settling on bedding for our guest bedroom.

If you’ve hopped over to this post from the ORC website – welcome! I’m Emily, this is my blog, and I’m working on undecorating the 1929 tudor-ish home I share with my husband, Andy, and our corgi, Penelope. This is where I should describe my style so I guess I’d say it’s something along the lines of traditional-modern which doesn’t sound like a real thing. I am glad you’re here.

Last week I asked for recommendations on a linen duvet – you were all so helpful! I heard great things about the linen duvets from H&M and also got a tip that IKEA has one that’s reasonably priced. I ended up going with the West Elm Belgian Flax Linen duvet cover. I was worried it would be too bright white until I realized that’s exactly what I needed to go with the lampshades.

Pictured above is a pile of linens and pillows n’ things I bought to see what would work best. Spoiler alert: I’m returning most of it! Both the patterned throw and blue stripe pom pom throw are so tiny and too small to properly drape along the sides of a bed.

Are you in need of a recap? Catch up on the previous weeks’ progress here:

I’ve got some advice for you, are you ready?

As I scramble to complete my list of tasks for the ORC reveal, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’ll shoot my reveal and how I can help others show off their hard work. And one thing I’ve accepted about myself is that I can’t stop myself from giving unsolicited advice. I think this makes me fit right in on the internet but maybe not so much in real life and thus, as most things are, I am better on the internet.

I consider myself a professional dabbler and one of the things I’ve professionally dabbled in is being a bedding stylist for product and lifestyle photography. I’ve learned a few tricks for styling textiles as well as photographing interiors and I’m going to share them with you right now. This isn’t a guide on how to dress your bed (Studio McGee has a great foolproof bed dressing guide) to but how to make your well-dressed bed look its best.

How to make your bed look dang good in photos

If it’s a textile you need to steam it!

Out of the package and even out of the dryer, textiles often have folds and creases that can ruin a good photo. This goes for bed linens, throw pillows, curtains, towels, all the things! A clothes steamer or iron will be your best friend in lifting out those sharp lines. Look at that big, beautiful lumbar pillow. Out of the bag, it has sharp creases and wrinkles. Linen, of course, is meant to have a lovely crinkle – but that doesn’t mean it should look creased.

With just a little steam magic you can see the harsh wrinkles falling out of the pillow cover.

It’s also totally fine to steam the pillowcase by itself, hanging clipped to a pant hanger rather than on a pillow insert while reaching the whole way across a bed.

Much better! The steamer pictured above is one from Rowenta, who I’ve always trusted for irons as well. I must say I don’t love the attached hanger on this one, as the clips underneath can be hard to get to. I prefer standing steamers to handheld ones because their tanks have a higher water capacity, you don’t have to hold the weight of a tank of water while you steam, and they double as a place to hang the thing you’re steaming.

Stuff your sad pillow corners.

Pillowcase corners, especially the ones that go on standard pillows (the kind you actually put your head on to sleep at night) are often under-stuffed, sad and empty. Pillow inserts often don’t fill those corners (but you should buy pillow inserts that are larger than your pillow cases, btw) and you can make them look better by filling them with fiber fill stuffing.

Yeah, it’s the stuff used to fill stuffed animals. I’ve even used paper towels in a pinch.

Be careful not to overstuff, you want the corners to look like an extension of the pillow, not a party hat. Stuff all four corners.

Perky pillow on the left (also steamed) and sad droopy pillow on the right.

[photo source]

Support your pillow ruffles and flanges.

If your shams have a ruffle border or flange (flat, unfilled border beyond the pillow case’s seam) they aren’t going to stand up on their own. The answer is tape. If you want to get intense, you can use metal tape that you can bend to sculpt ruffles. For something less fussy, I’ve always used regular old masking tape. The picture above shows some very expertly styled pillow flange and there’s definitely tape back there.

To wrap up: My Top 3 Bedding Styling Tips

No folds, no wrinkles – If it’s a textile, you need to steam it.
No sad pillow corners – Use stuffing to perk them up.
No droopy ruffles – Use masking tape to get those ruffles to stand up straight.

And while I’m at it:

5 Tips for Better Interior Photos

Don’t go too high – it shouldn’t look like you took your photos while hovering in the corner of your room.
Something needs to be straight – Even in old houses, there is a nearly straight line somewhere. If you’re shooting into a corner, make sure that line is straight up and down. If you’re photographing a bed straight on, make sure the headboard is straight. You can rotate your pictures in photoshop to fix anything askew or if you’re using your phone, turn on the grid option in your photo app.
Watch your rooms to know when the light is best – Avoid bright, harsh light. You may love the look of light streaming in through your windows and falling dramatically onto your floors and walls, but it doesn’t make for great interior photos. Wait for a time when your room glows with even light throughout. On that subject, an overcast day is actually better for photography than a cloudless, sunny day.

If you made it this far, and I do mean both to week 5 and to the end of this post, I have a corgi reward for you.

“I didn’t see you there. Welcome to elegance.”

This is the most expensive bedding in the whole house and you bet it’s not for me and Andy and you bet I put a corgi on it.

SHE LOVES IT.

Remember to follow along and see what the Featured Designers and Guest Participants are up to! I could not be more excited to see Allison‘s brass trellis and tufted bed (her new black doors are stunning) and I am in love with how Jewel and Mila are using bright, bold colors this season. Nicole is making an incredible day bed for a friend’s nursery and Erin is killing it DIYing the most luxurious bathroom ever.

Hey heads up: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

14 Comments

One Room Challenge The Scenery House

One Room Challenge Week 4: Guest Bedroom Progress

April 25, 2018

Wow. Week 4 feels much different than the previous two weeks because it’s just now dawning on me that THERE’S NOT MUCH TIME LEFT. I need to make like the great Orlando Soria and GET IT TOGETHER <– PS if you haven’t purchased this book yet, get on that.

If you’ve hopped over to this post from the ORC website – welcome! I’m Emily, this is my blog, and I’m working on undecorating the 1929 tudor-ish home I share with my husband, Andy, and our corgi, Penelope. This is where I should describe my style so I guess I’d say it’s something along the lines of traditional-modern which doesn’t sound like a real thing. I am glad you’re here.

I don’t have any fun diagrams for you this week, I just have a lot of lists and thoughts and hopefully moments of clarity while I type this at you.

Here’s what’s been done so far:

Week 1 – Planning!
Week 2 – Thinking about curtains!
Week 3 – Making my own art!
Week 4
- Layout – This week Andy and his brother, Chris, moved all the furniture around to match my dream layout. The room is so much more inviting now and just feels perfect.
- Rug Pad – We added an extra cushy new rug pad under the rug so stepping out of bed will feel extra luxurious for guests. The 9×12′ pad was cheaper than the 8×10′ so we got the bigger one and trimmed it. We always save the trimmings to patch together new rug pads for smaller rugs.
- Nightstand + Lamp – Andy built one nightstand and one lamp, pictured at the top of this post. I wasn’t sure if the wooden pull that came with the nightstands would look good in person and it definitely doesn’t so I ordered something fancier to dress them up.
- Blanket Ladder – This has been ordered, it arrived, it has been built, and is hanging out in the room ready for duty.
- Curtains – I took all of the curtains out of their bags and draped them on all the things in the room. I looked at them in the daylight and I looked at them in the dusk light and I took pictures to see how they’d photograph. I think I’ve made my decision. I promise I won’t ask you to pick for me again.

Rug pad trimming professionals in action.

Here’s the bed frame being very precisely put into place. Seeing the new layout made me SO HAPPY. So did seeing the light from the window shine through the headboard.

Here’s a list of things that still need to happen:

Curtain rods – Ok. I am going to save you from the ramble I have about curtain rods (I hope you don’t run into me in person because I will corner you and talk at you about this for a full hour) and just tell you I have a lot of curtain rods in my house right now and I love none of them. I have forgotten how to return things and I need an assistant.
Sewing – No matter which curtains I chose (I am so mysterious) they need to be hemmed or altered to the correct length so I’m going to bring out (find) my sewing machine and get to it. I also contemplated making my own blush pink lumbar pillow but now that I understand how time works, I have ordered this beautiful rose lumbar pillow from Jenny Komeda’s Juniper Studio Home.
Painting – I started the first piece of art I am making for the room but have not finished it. I did buy more paint and an additional paint brush so things are headed in the right direction.
Floating Frames – When my paintings are done, they’ll need lovely frames to make them look extra lovely. Hollister Hovey recommended floating canvas frames from pictureframes.com to me (we talked via Insta comments and I feel like I met a famous person, like the time I met Alexis Bledel and talked to her like I didn’t know who she was and like I’m not a huge Gilmore Girls fan.) It is still my goal to make my own frames with my dad though to save cash and because I know what time is now and there is none of it. I sent him some SketchUp plans for the frames and my plan is to build those with him this weekend.
Bedding – I’d like to have a nice white linen duvet cover for the guest bed because I love the way linen wrinkles and adds texture. Do you have a linen duvet cover you recommend? Is the West Elm Belgian Flax Linen one great in person? I dreeaammm of the Blair from Pom Pom at Home.
Dresser – I am having some anxiety about the dresser because the room is missing a vintage piece and I’d love for that to be the dresser. I picked out an IKEA dresser that will work well in the room if I can’t find the right vintage piece, but a room never feels finished without the age and wear of something old.
Additional Art – My plan is to hang some stacked art near the corners of the room. I haven’t picked it yet though and need to get on that.
Mirror – I’m kind of waiting to see what dresser I go with before I order a mirror, I picked this one, which kind of looks vintage itself, so it may be a good choice no matter what.
Accessories – Adding accessories really finishes a room, and I can already tell this will be done in a mad rush as I style the room for the reveal.

Does this list soothe you or give you anxiety? Are you reading this and saying “EMILY. E M I L Y. What have you DONE to yourself?” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My fellow ORCers, this may be my first One Room Challenge but I have some advice for you. Week 4 is a rough one as it sinks in that there are only 2 weeks (1.5 really if you plan to shoot your reveal next weekend like me) and you may feel like a total mess. I know you’ve got some good things together, so arrange a little vignette that makes you feel good, style it up, make it cute, use stuff that won’t even be in your finished room and take a nice photo. It will make you feel like you’ve got this. You can do it, and it’s going to be cute.

Remember to follow along and see what the Featured Designers and Guest Participants are up to!

Hey heads up: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

19 Comments

Interiors Inspiration One Room Challenge The Scenery House

One Room Challenge Week 3: DIY Abstract Art

April 18, 2018

Welcome to week 3 of the One Room Challenge!

If you’ve hopped over to this post from the ORC website – welcome! I’m Emily, this is my blog, and I’m working on undecorating the 1929 tudor-ish home I share with my husband, Andy, and our corgi, Penelope. This is where I should describe my style so I guess I’d say it’s something along the lines of traditional-modern which doesn’t sound like a real thing. I am glad you’re here.

Be sure to check out week 1 and week 2 to see the plans and progress on my first One Room Challenge. I’m making over our moody green guest bedroom.

ORC Week 3 – All About DIY Art

While I wait for backordered curtain rods and watch boxes and boxes of things arrive at our front door (and grow a pile of items to return), I’m focusing this week on the things I can control – like art. Our guest room has a long, blank wall that I haven’t been sure what to do with. A gallery wall seemed like a good choice but I kept thinking I wanted something tidier. And then the internet blessed me, as it so often does, with just the inspiration I needed.

DIY Art Inspiration

[Hovey Design Home Tour on Cup of Jo | Photo by Julia Robbs]

The term “DIY art” seems weird because all art is a DIY right, BUT in this world, it applies to art done by non-professional artists. Sometimes I come across things on the internet that just speak to my soul and inspire me. This home tour did that. If you haven’t seen it, you need to. Sisters Hollister and Porter Hovey run Hovey Designs, an apartment staging and styling service in New York. Their taste in vintage (and IKEA, and everything) is impeccable. I’ve never considered myself a maximalist, but if this is maximalism, I’ve got to reassess.

The sisters create their own art to use in their homes and for their clients. They have a relaxed approach and offer this advice to anyone scared to try:

Hollister: Truly, don’t be afraid to try it out. You can do squares, circles on a canvas… I’m not a painter, never was, but you can mess around.

Porter: People can get so nervous about art. But look at what’s in museums! I love abstract expressionism, and I know those artists were the first to do it, etc., but it’s random! You’re not trying to sell a museum piece anyway, you just need something nice for your house. You could frame linen and it will look pretty.

[Source: Hovey Design Home Tour on Cup of Jo | Photo by Juia Robbs ]

I mean, come on. SO good.

Those deep green walls, that pink, everything.

Color Palette Inspiration

[Source: Hawkins New York]

I was tempted to go with the same color palette as the Hovey sisters but I decided I needed to lighten things up. The color palette in this photo from Hawkins New York is so perfect for bringing some brightness into the moody guest bedroom. Actually, if I could just hang a giant version of this photo in the guest bedroom, I’d just do that and call it a day.

I am creating this art myself not because I don’t want to support artists or because I think original art is overpriced or not worth it but because I want to get back to making art. I grew up drawing and painting and I thought I would go to art school. I ended up pursuing studio arts and then art history and arts management at a university and got away from actually making art. One of my personal goals for this year is to art more, so I saw this as the perfect opportunity to get back at it.

Art Planning in Procreate

I treated myself to an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil for Christmas and I am in love with it. I used the iPad App called Procreate to mess around with blobs and lines. It’s so easy to sketch things out, move them around for balance, and adjust scale as you go. The app also makes it easy to try different colorways for indecisive people like me. Once I was happy enough with my sketches, I airdropped them to my laptop (you can export them as PSDs, JPEGs, PDFs whatever you need).

I’m not sure about the first and last drawings so I’d like to spend more time reworking those. I feel most confident about the middle drawing so I decided to start working on that one first.

Painting in Progress

I’ve tasked myself with creating 3 original paintings over the next few weeks. I mean, I could have just had my digital drawings printed, framed (I love Framebridge), and called it a day but that wouldn’t be the Emily way. My sweet Andy said to me just this morning in the middle of my first ORC meltdown “I’m trying not to add any stress to the stress you’ve already created for yourself.”

My process so far is this: I sketch out shapes in pencil on my 24″ x 30″ canvas (I got mine at Jo Ann’s on sale for 60% off) and then start mixing paint. I picked up some Liquitex tubes and am also using some super cheap craft paint from my craft stash. I got richer tones out of the inexpensive paints by mixing a number of colors, adding white, adding gray, adding green, until I liked what I saw.

My very professional paint mixing palette is a cute Cheeky paper plate from Target.

I’m having trouble getting the right color for the big bottom blob. I started with a more teal blue, then a bright blue, and for now, it’s green. But not the right shade of green.

I’m adding texture with small brush strokes using a 1″ brush rather than a big big brush for the large areas. I’ve got some clean up to do, some extra coats, and I’ve gotta pick a color for that dot. But I’m pleased with my progress so far. It feels so good to paint again.

I’ll be making some wooden floating frames for these canvases to they’ll look extra polished up on the wall.

So where is all this art going to go?

Art Placement

This week’s dilemma is all about art placement. When the bedroom door is open, part of the wall is covered and depending on where the art is placed, some of the art would be partially hidden. We leave the bedroom door open all the time unless we have guests. I was thinking I could hang the art so that the left piece of art would be completely hidden by the open door, and then revealed as a fun surprise, but once I measured it out, the canvases would have to be hilariously far apart. So the options are:

Option 1:

Center the middle piece of art and cozily place the other two canvases on either side. When the door is closed, about half of the left art is covered.

Option 2:

Hang all the art in the space that is never obstructed by an open door but make guests live with the empty space behind the door.

HELP! Which would you do?

Remember to follow along and see what the Featured Designers and Guest Participants are up to for week 3!

Hey heads up: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

21 Comments

Older Posts

Newer Posts

How to Make a Wooden Canvas Float Frame

What You’ll Need

The Plan

Picking the Wood

How to Remove Stickers from Wood

Rip That Wood

Organize Your Wood

Make Miter Cuts

Glue the Frame Corners

Secure Corners with a Nail Gun

Fit in the Frame Backing

Glue the Corners of the Frame Backing

Fill Nail Holes and Sand

Stain and Seal the Frame

How to Mount a Canvas into a Canvas Float Frame

Adding Picture Wire to the Wooden Canvas Float Frame

Guest Participant Reveals

Featured Designer Reveals

The Guest Bedroom Before

The Reveal

DIY Art

The Window Treatments

Furniture

The Linens

Gimme those side by sides

I’ve got some advice for you, are you ready?

How to make your bed look dang good in photos

To wrap up: My Top 3 Bedding Styling Tips

5 Tips for Better Interior Photos

Here’s what’s been done so far:

Here’s a list of things that still need to happen:

ORC Week 3 – All About DIY Art

DIY Art Inspiration

Color Palette Inspiration

Art Planning in Procreate

Painting in Progress

Art Placement

Option 1:

Option 2:

The Sweet Beast on Instagram