If you love colour and craft and reclaiming vintage furniture, you will enjoy the rooms created by interior stylist Selina Lake. In her new book, Homespun Style, she celebrates the power of hand-made furnishings to create homes that are personal and distinctive as well as welcoming.

She takes “a modern approach to craft” favouring simple creations over tricky techniques. The contemporary shape of a swivel chair is transformed by a funky, over-sized granny square afghan that is casually wrapped around it. Colourful textiles are made into easy cushion covers or simply draped.

The look is light-hearted and casual. In a cheerful dining area, candy-hued finishes are painted onto mismatched chairs. The walls are decorated with pop art trimmed with swags of pin lights and coloured beads. Above the arrangement hangs a bunting of pretty handkerchiefs knotted together at the corners.

Old light fixtures are redeemed with a splash of flowers painted on a lampshade or ribbon streamers fluttering from a chandelier. A modern chest of drawers was customized by refinishing the drawer fronts with pastel paint and vintage wallpaper.

She also demonstrates how to make eye-catching, still-life arrangements from favourite objects.

Lake insists that applying your passion for handiwork to your home does not mean that you need to be handy. She advocates support of your local artist and craftsperson. And good on her.

I’m thinking that if you admire their artistic ablility or tricky techniques mastered, you should be happy to pay for them.

- Jane

Today's blog comes from Candace Weir, Central Library staff:

There are people who can use a paint roller and not end up with more paint on them than whatever it is that they are painting. For those of us afflicted with the “covered in paint” handicap, a book on faux finishing could turn a behavioral quirk into something constructive. All it takes is a little creativity and some paint.

Designer Faux Finishing: Ideas and Inspiration for Sophisticated Surfaces by Victor DeMasi lives up to its title. The examples provided may not be for the faint hearted; but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Some of the finished examples remind me of Roman trompe l’oeil. The Met in New York has great examples of this type of wall art.

On a more practical side, It’s Faux Easy by Gary Lord starts out with a number of finishes that catch the light in intriguing ways. He demonstrates techniques starting with the simple layering of colour that is finished using cheesecloth, as well as more complicated techniques such as embossed stenciling. In each case, in this well-laid-out book, the materials list is followed by photos of the colour palettes and then step-by-step instructions. Watch the following video for a quick glimpse of Gary Lord in action.

Decorative Painting Techniques for Walls, Floors, Ceilings and Furniture by Elise C. Kinkead and Gail E. McCauley is another great source. There are loads of examples of what can be done using paints and stains to transform just about anything in the house.

Now, when you are covered ear to ear with multicoloured flecks, you will have something to show for it.

-Candace

Shabby Chic is the well-known brand of Rachel Ashwell who opened her first shop in Santa Monica in 1989. Now, two decades on, there are stores in Los Angeles, New York, Texas, and London.

This well-known label describes a “look” that incorporates vintage and battered furnishings with lots of white paint and pastel colours. There are floral fabrics, frills and a touch of glitz in crystal and silver. Romantic rooms are styled like stage sets where it looks like the wistfully lovely heroine has left a trail of petals or a book of poetry.

Ashwell’s latest book in the franchise, called Shabby Chic Inspirations and Beautiful Spaces, shows her homes in Texas, Malibu and Knotting Hill, as well as the homes of friends and business associates.

The most bizarre (but fascinating) arrangement is the “shabby shack” created from a hunter’s cabin in the Catskill Mountains. Entirely white, it is draped with volumes of lace and accessorized with white china, books and elaborate chandeliers.

This girlish confection is the retreat of a young woman who lives with a burly husband in a trailer on the other side of the stream. The trailer is not bohemian edgy. We’re talking 70’s-style avocado and gold, plaid sofa, dark wood paneling with an American flag draped between the propane tanks.

Don’t believe me? Check it out.

Romantic cottage style is a perennial favourite that is most often featured in the shelter magazines in the spring and summer. If you like it, have a look at several other new titles in the collection.

Romantic prairie style: homes inspired by traditional Country Life by Fifi O’Neill prospects the same vein. No sod huts on this prairie; but it’s all quite charming.

New Cottage Style: a Sunset design guide is another one that features rehabbed vintage furnishings set in pale and pretty rooms.

When I bought my condo, I acquired a kitchen that was built almost 30 years ago – 70s-style cupboards and all original appliances. Within the first year the stove began to act up. The timing buzzer would go off randomly, any time, day or night. If you overlooked this very annoying glitch, the stove worked quite well. I investigated repair, but ultimately concluded that it was not money well spent.

A shiny new stove arrived, all slick stainless steel and black glass, and moved into this very 70s kitchen. It positively glows in contrast; hence I call it The Shrine. Above The Shrine hangs a builder’s grade hood fan which had an almond finish with a brown plastic trim strip. Although pulling off the trim strip improved it a bit, I decided to paint the hood with stripes.

Here is what I did:

• Cleaned the hood thoroughly to remove grease spatters and sanded the almond finish.
• Blocked off stripes with masking tape.
• Painted several background coats with my favourite milk paint, colour brick red.
• Painted stripes with colours mixed from tubes of acrylic paint.
• Painted 3 topcoats (recommended by the manufacturer) of urethane finish.

Here is what I learned along the way:

• I f I were doing it again, I would paint the red background colour over the entire surface before masking out the stripes.
• When you paint stripes with acrylic paints, you need to pull off the masking tape while the paint is still wet. If you wait for it to dry, you will pull off part of the stripe with the masking tape.

I am happy with the result. The effect is a colourful awning with a finish which I hope will last until I update the rest of the kitchen. And it makes me think twice about renovating the kitchen. I'm still having fun with the old one and feel a lot less inhibited about experimenting with old surfaces.

If you want to see what an expert can do, check out Annie Sloan's Painted Kitchen. She tackles walls, cupboards and furniture.

No hood fans.

I have a bedside table that I bought from a co-worker more than 25 years ago. It was part of an undistinguished set that included a mattress and bed frame. When I got the set, the finish was tired and worn.

Initially, I painted it a pretty violet shade, a colour chosen from my quilt. Then I moved to another house and bedroom and repainted the set a soft green to complement the floral print of a new duvet cover.

Somewhere along the line, I parted company with the bed. Perhaps it left home with one of my children – I can’t remember. But I still have the night table, which is one of those small flexible pieces that can be tucked into any room. It’s a keeper.

About ten years ago, I repainted it again with a finish that I will probably keep for as long as I own the piece. The finish looks perennially fresh and fits as an accent with any style of décor.

The source of my inspiration was (and is) a lovely old book in our collection at Central: The tiger rugs of Tibet by Mimi Lipton (Thames and Hudson, c1988).

According to Lipton, the origin of Tiger rugs is speculative and their history may date back more than 1000 years. Tigers enjoy a prominent place in Tibetan art and culture.

Tiger rugs have distinct types. Some depict one or two tigers; others are abstracted designs from the markings on the pelts. The finish on my night stand is based on the latter type.

Although tiger rugs are still being made and sold, I have not often seen them in Calgary. I recently spotted a small one at Tibetan Trom in the Eau Claire market. The shop had a copy of Lipton's book on hand as a resource for shoppers. You can also find tiger rugs online.

To create the finish for my night stand, I used water-base enamel paint. After painting the background colour, I drew the pattern on lightly with a marker and wrapped it around the edges of the drawers onto the sides – a pleasing effect. Then, I painted the stripes with black enamel. The casters were added many years ago to improve height and mobility. Recently, I replaced the handles with spiffy new ones from Lee Valley.

The powerful tiger continues to inspire contemporary artists. Check out the enchanting table in cast bronze by Judy Kensley McKie. I saw it first in American Craft magazine at the Central Library (November/December issue, p 30) and followed the trail online.