Pallet for Home

Interiors: Ticking Fabric

Whenever I happen upon scraps of vintage ticking fabric in my travels through flea markets and antique shops, I add them to my stash of goods. To me, striped ticking fabric is the home's equivalent to a great summer dress. Light and airy, it makes a great slipcover to hide away winter fabrics that no one wants to cozy up to when the temperature hits 90˚ and up. I've used it many times in combination with vintage feedbags to create accent pillows or to re-upholster chairs (like the one above that recently arrived at The West End Garage). Originally intended as mattress and pillow covering, ticking fabric is sturdy enough to be used in a variety of ways.

A thin hand-buttoned mattress is hung from

a curtain rod to create a soft headboard.

A ticking fabric chair is perfectly at home in a beach

cottage with bleached furniture and gray drapes.

These blinds add a hint of blue to

an elegant white bathroom.

A ticking fabric lampshade is an unusual,

but successful, mate to an alabaster lamp.

Not fabric at all, but these painted stones carry

the essence of ticking cloth outdoors.

This striped bra as wall-hanging is too cheeky not to include. The chair is casually slipcovered in a variety of blue and white fabrics that can easily be replaced when the temperature drops.

Images: Contemporary Country by Emily Chalmers, photography by Debi Treloar, published by Ryland Peters & Small, 2006. BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine, June 2010 issue. Flea Market Style: Decorating with a Creative Edge by Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead, published by Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1998. Marie Claire Idees Magazine, March 2010 issue.

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Filed Under: blue and white, cheeky, feedbags, grain sacks, interior design, interiors, summer decor, ticking cloth, ticking fabric

Sunset Big Book of Garden Designs ~ A GoodPlans Book Review

Every spring, library books full of flowers find their way to my reading table. I've enjoyed pouring over Sunset's Big Book of Garden Design this year, so much so that I have added it to my wishlist of books to own.

The pages of this book overflow with inspirational photos and drawings of all different sorts of gardens, including color and theme gardens, plantings for water conservation, and specific areas of the front and back yards. I've added a few new beds, renovated a couple of others, and purchased more than ten new species of perennials after studying the beautiful photos included in this publication.

Because I've enjoyed many Sunset books over the years, I was excited to find that they have a fantastic website. I know what I'll be doing this week during my computer time!

Photo creditst: Sunset

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Filed Under: the classroom bookshelf, the garden

Photography: Vacation Redux

Nothing clears the clutter from my brain like a vacation abroad. It's always a welcome pause from the tiny daily stresses that, like a cloud of humming gnats, gain momentum the closer they travel together. I begin to unwind the moment I settle into my airplane seat, despite the fact that the passenger in front of me has invariably settled into my lap the instant the "Keep seatbelts fastened" light goes out. The first day of my trip reminds me to be patient with myself as I acclimate to the local language/customs/vibe. But once I'm rested and have eased into the newness of a place, the rest is discovery and wonder.

The pictures I've taken on these trips are a reminder not only of the places I've visited, but also of the unburdened state of mind I was in at the time. But not every year is a vacation year. So bringing a few of the standouts out of the photo album, or off the hard drive, and arranging them on a wall is a visual reminder of the good times. I frame a few and attach others to transparent clipboards I found at Target so that I can switch them out periodically.

Some of my favorite photos are those that could not have been planned. A moment presented itself and somehow my camera was at the ready.

A Parisian roofer took a break from his work six stories high,

and untethered, to chat with his girlfriend over his cell phone.

These days you never know who is listening in on your conversation.

A statue at the Louvre takes precautions.

Jet Lag can strike anywhere--even on a hard museum bench.

A London flash mob spells out a warning and then disappears

into the crowd of shoppers in Harrods.

A little girl at her daycare in Cape Town's Khayelitsha Township.

I hope these South Africans didn't have a long trip ahead of

them--especially the one keeping the window steady.

I happened down an alley in Simon's Town,

South Africa, and met with this vision.

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Filed Under: cape town, paris, photography, travel photographs, unexpected moments, vacation

Why recycle pallets?

Today, over half a billion pallets are made each year and about two billion pallets are in use across the United States alone.
Approximately 40% of all hardwood harvested in the U.S. is for making shipping pallets
While the sturdier hardwood pallets are built to be reused, the cheaper softwood pallets are meant to be discarded with other packing materials.
About two-thirds of pallets are used only once before being thrown out
25% of all wood in landfills is from used pallets
Pallets are made to be strong: Most pallets can carry a load of 1,000kg (2,205lb). Breaking down a pallet provides a source of sturdy free lumber.
Warehouses, supermarkets, or any businesses that receive large shipments are are often happy to give away old pallets.
Common items that typically get built with recycled pallets include furniture, fencing, sheds (and sometimes entire homes), compost bins/planters, and artistic sculpture.

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Pallet Construction Tips

Wooden pallets can be used whole or broken into pieces
When using old recycled pallets, it is advisable to test the wood to make sure it has not been treated by pesticides or other harmful chemicals.
Pallets should be thoroughly sanded (electrical power sanders work best) so they are clean and splinter-free.
Pallet nails were engineered to never pull out; thus removing them can be difficult. You can use a drill with bits designed for metal to drill through the head of the nail. Crowbars are also helpful for breaking pallets apart.
Pallets can be joined together with common bolts, brackets, or cable ties.
Pallet wood can break and splint easily if struck directly with a hammer; use scrap wood blocks instead.
Cheap blades and tools should be used when working with pallets. The wood is rough and can be embedded with objects hard enough to break tools.

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What is a shipping pallet?

The purpose of a shipping pallet (sometimes called a “skid”) is to greatly facilitate the stable movement of goods with transport devices like forklifts, pallet jacks, or front loaders.
In 1931, it took three days to unload a boxcar containing 13,000 cases of unpalletized canned goods. When the same amount of goods was loaded into the railway trucks on pallets, this took only four hours.
The common shipping pallet was first patented by Howard T. Hallowell in 1924 as a "Lift Truck Platform.” Its invention was precipitated by the development of the modern fork lift truck around the same time.
There is currently no international uniform measurement for a shipping pallet, because of variations in things like factory door size, but the standard North American size is 40” X 48”.

Source: www.wikipedia.org

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Amazing Recycled Bikes

I've been collecting some of the most amazing inspirational pictures of recycled bike parts. Whenever I feel like I've hit a slump these images just inspire me to create and hopefully will do the same for you:

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Filed Under: artist, bike recycled furniture bicycle rubber tube cycle upcycle repurposed eco reclaimed wreckage

Interiors: Garden Furniture Invited Indoors

My blog got its name partly from the fact that I am a habitual re-arranger of furniture. In college, I moved my bed to a new wall of my room with each of the season changes. A different apartment for each year of study made for plenty of heavy lifting. When I bought a house five years ago, I experimented with every design configuration possible. My dining room and living room switched places and never lamented their former addresses. My loft master bedroom became an office/studio while the smallest bedroom in the house became my cozy sleeping quarters. Placing a daybed in the kitchen turned a cooking space into a year-round haven thanks to the constant sunshine that poured through a wall of windows. Moving the furniture is a way of rediscovering a space--the equivalent of shopping in your own closet. It's a way of reinventing pieces and broadening their purpose. I'm a big supporter of using pieces in unexpected ways. A pair of aqua French doors that now stands in my shop at The Milkhouse has functioned as a headboard and a desk at one time or another.

In this vein, I see no distinction between indoor and outdoor furniture. I love seeing rusty chairs in a dining room or a concrete bird bath being used as a coffee table. A graying cedar potting bench could easily be made into a bathroom vanity and a wooden ladder can be used to hang towels, magazines or shoes. The dining room table in my house of experimentation (now someone else's cherished abode) was flanked by aqua plastic chairs from Ikea and a pair of vintage metal chairs that had probably done time in an outdoor bistro. The following are a few examples of garden furniture and outdoor elements given the indoor treatment to great effect.

A chippy picnic bench and folding chair

make friends with a giant industrial spool table.

Folding chairs join a farmhouse table in a modern kitchen.

Galvanized metal chairs are paired with

a simple workbench in a home office. A good

view isn't necessary in a space this inspiring.

This living room is full of outdoor elements: wire furniture,

a vintage metal chair painted aqua, birdcages and a porcelain pedestal.

Bamboo chairs and a wicker table. All that's needed

is a pitcher of iced tea and good company.

A porch swing and duvet.

Images: Old & New by Katherine Sorrell, Ryland Peters & Small 2007. Apartment: Stylish Solutions for Apartment Living by Alan Powers, photography by Chris Everard, Ryland Peters & Small 2001. The Comforts of Home by Caroline Clifton-Mogg, Ryland Peters & Small 2010. Fresh Home Magazine, Spring 2010 issue. Inside Out Magazine, May/June 2008 issue. Country Living Magazine, photography by David Butler.

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Filed Under: garden furniture indoors, interior design, interiors, outdoor elements, outdoors in, repurposed furniture, vintage furniture

What Can I Say?

Life has interrupted my blogging! We've been doing alot of this:

And some celebrating of this:

And after a week's worth of work, there's a whole lot of these empties on the back porch:

I do have some projects in the works, and am taking pictures as I go. In the meantime, please be patient with me, and I'll start posting on a more regular basis, I promise!

I did discover a great blog for furniture rehab, and the pictures will inspire you to get to work. The blog is Miss Mustard Seed, and I just L.O.V.E. the pictures, links and how-to's. Be sure to check them out!

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Project Description

Once a mere industrial by-product, the shipping pallet has in recent years been gaining recognition as an exciting building material. Artists, architects, and environmentalists alike are fascinated with the re-purposing of pallets, as evidenced by myriad blogs and web posts dedicated to pallet houses, furniture, and sculpture. Could building with recycled pallets play a key role in conserving natural resources, providing affordable/relief housing, reducing waste, or, simply, pushing the boundaries of contemporary design?

Pallet City explores the burgeoning role of the pallet by juxtaposing different types of popular pallet re-uses. It invites participation and feedback, simultaneously raising questions about both the practicality and aesthetics of pallet use.

The city’s continuous linear structure is entirely built from recycled pallets, whose forms and signage imply different actions that take place within the urban environment. People are also encouraged to discover their own creative uses for the city. Thus the city is described in terms of active, democratic use rather than passive viewing or restricted access. Its fluid, morphing linear “path” also serves as a metaphor for movement, progress, and interconnectedness in a city of the future. The project also aims to spark public dialogue on the notion of city itself and the creation of more democratic, sustainable cities.

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Film Interiors Unwrapped: Penelope

When I'm watching a movie, I pay as much attention to what is taking place behind the actors as what they are saying to each other. I'll watch a mediocre film over and over if the set design has captured my imagination. This is the first in what I hope will be many posts on inspiring film sets. Not satisfied to appreciate the handiwork of talented designers and cinematographers, I will focus on specific elements of the eye candy on screen and suggest places to buy similar items or pieces that invoke the general aesthetic of a space.

The first film on my agenda is Penelope. This is a modern day fable about an affluent girl living with a family curse that has saddled her with a pig snout (played as beautifully as possible by Christina Ricci). Penelope spends her childhood hidden away in her room, but prejudice and heartache find her there nonetheless. So she ventures out into the world in hopes of making peace with her fate. Along the way she discovers her own worth and the love of a man named Johnny (James McAvoy). There are two spaces that beg to be given the microscope treatment: Penelope's bedroom--which operates more like an apartment because she spends so much of her time in it--and Johnny's loft.

Given her overwhelming solitude, Penelope has created a small wonderland of her own that reflects her passions. She dreams of becoming a horticulturist, which is evident from this army of terrariums on porcelain pedestals and the black paper butterflies on the wall. Because she never leaves the house, she must handcraft all of her artifacts of nature.

Her room is her backyard and playground. Saturated greens and reds accompany her throughout the film--a nod both to her longing for the outdoors and to the overall mood of the film that location manager Pat Karam calls "Victorian Gothic".

A framed chalkboard captures Penelope's thoughts and sketches. It is one of the elements of her childhood room that remains. What doesn't seem to make the cut into her adult room is an extraordinary industrial desk that is propped on vintage wallpaper printer rolls. Covered as it is in art supplies, I imagine the young Penelope spread out on her hardwood floors with the creative project of the moment and its accompanying supplies camouflaging the floor around her.

Here are a few items from Etsy and beyond that channel some of the fun and whimsy of Penelope's living space.

The Masses Guest Book Butterfly Pack from Jaime Mancilla.

Lovebirds Made-to-Order Birdcage Chandelier from Meggancolleen.

Bell Jar Dome from The Wallflower Company.

Vintage Chalkboard Long White Frame from Revived Vintage.

Tree Swing made of Reclaimed Wood from Peg and Awl.

Vintage Wood and Brass Wallpaper Roll Lamps from Shandell's as seen on Rural Intelligence (left). I made and sold one myself last August at The West End Garage in Cape May (right).

When Penelope leaves the stifling comfort of home and makes her place in the world, she carries her own unique aesthetic with her into her new life as a horticulturist and school teacher.

Terrariums and black cutout paper garlands are perfectly suited to Penelope's classroom. Her school books are color coordinated just as her own books are at home.

A Vintage Pedestal Steel Tanker Desk and Chair from Daily Memorandum would be right at home at her school.

Johnny's loft is a stark contrast to the warmth of Penelope's digs. As a formerly successful musician who has gambled away much of his earnings, his apartment suggests a once thriving creative space that has been slowly stripped of its furnishings so that only a few choice pieces remain.

A few of the standouts: Tripod spotlight lamps, a vintage leather car seat sofa, a simple wood folding tray table and vintage metal lockers with old suitcases stored on top.