Chalkboard Favorites: 2012 Olympics Posters

The Olympics officially kicked off on Friday night and in celebration of this incredible athletic event, we thought we would share our favorite Olympics-inspired artwork. These are two of twelve official posters designed to promote the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.

If you look closely at Jillian's favorite, entitled Swimming, you can see the silhouette of a swimmer in the water. Isn't that so cool? You can view all of the selections here in this slideshow from Tate Britain, which will display the posters through September.

We wish all of this year's competitors the best of luck. Their determination and skill are an inspiration to us all!

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images via SQ Magazine
Jillian's Favorite: Swimming by Howard Hodgkin
Mindy's Favorite: LOndOn 2012 by Rachel Whiteread

Fresh Lavender

Nothing beats a bouquet of fresh lavender. So beautiful and fragrant, it's such a treat to have around the house. 

Believe it or not, I picked up this bundle of fresh lavender last night at Trader Joe's! I couldn't believe my luck, having never seen it there before. (They have a great floral section, by the way!) I have seen fresh lavender for sale at Pottery Barn and L'Occitane, but how can you pass it up at Trader Joe's for only $4.99? In fact, I may have to head over and buy some more. You can never have too much!


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image by The Pink Chalkboard

Gold Accents

So I guess it was only a matter of time before I posted again about Land of Nod. I write about them a lot like here, here, here...you get the idea.

Today it's about their metallic lamps. Metal accents in a kids room are certainly unexpected but why should they be? These pieces will add just the right amount of sparkle and sophistication to any room (kids or otherwise).

Looking for a way to get a little glitz but don't want a lamp? What about spray painting these?

Or gold-leafing some of these? 

Be sure to click on this link and look at the various photos for tons of other idea of ways to dress up these kraft paper letters. The possibilities are endless.

Happy weekend, friends!

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lamps from top
between a rock lamp base
modern clip lamp

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my most favorite stories of all time and I like to read the book and watch the movie each year. (I'm actually in the middle of the book now.) There have been many great designs for book covers and movie posters over the years, and I am loving this version of the film poster by Claudia Varosio on Etsy. It is so sweet in this trendy color palette (also a favorite of mine). 

This piece is sold as a 12"x18" print but I would love to see it even bigger. Wouldn't it make a lovely statement as a large scale piece? Maybe in my home...

You can check out more of Claudia Varosio's delightful work here.

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image via Claudia Varosio on Etsy

Mirror Mirror

Did you see this article in the July 2012 issue of Better Homes & Gardens? The home of blogger Emily Clark is featured.

A nice home and great photos (especially this one with the little girl under the table) but my favorite thing is this mirror.

It's a pretty basic mirror just dressed up with a decorative piece hung above it. Because of its close proximity and matching color, it reads as one big, decorative mirror as opposed to two separate things.

Such a simple and inexpensive way to turn a plain Jane mirror into something special and unique to you.

Typography + Fashion = Rebecca Minkoff

We don't often post about fashion here on The Pink Chalkboard but we do like to feature things that make us happy, and these little pouches by Rebecca Minkoff really make me smile. With playful typography and bright bold colors, these bags are so cute, I can imagine carrying a different one each day. Here is a collection of some of her best designs. 

Given my love of all things Beatles (like here and here), this little clutch below is my most favorite. 

And just for some extra flavor, I had to include this wallet. It just cracks me up. 

Who doesn't want a wallet full of "Benjamins"? I hope these make you smile, too. 

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1. Beach Babe

2. Good Things Come in Small Packages

3. Drinks on Me!

4. Summer of Love

5. I Heart Bags, Shoes, and Boys

6. Party Girl

Can't Buy Me Love

benjamins

A Rotating Gallery

Check out this cool use for an old frame:

Found on Goodwillionaire (via Atypical Type A), I'm all about this is a super clever idea. It's both good looking and a great way to corral lots of photos. After spray painting an old frame in a fresh, glossy color, thin wires were strung across the frame so photos could be hung by mini clips. The clips allow you to rotate your pictures (or invitations or holiday cards) often for an ever changing display.

And while this is a cute idea, I think you could do something even simpler and just tape the photos inside. Last week Mindy posted about Prinstagram. Her prints would be perfect for something like this.

And speaking of taping prints, have you seen this image from Rita Konig's (now former) NYC apartment? It was printed in Domino a while back (images via Urban Tastemakers). 

It's just taped up polaroids but I think it's stunning. There are a lot of photos here but the grid-like pattern keeps them all organized and eye-catching.

Two great options of what to do with your photos and Prinstagrams. Which do you prefer?

A Wall Garden in White

Oooooh, isn't this so pretty?

This is a great take on the vertical garden idea. Pink and green florals create big impact when planted in white pots and hung against a pale, white-washed wall.

You can easily create the same look with cyclamen and calla lilies potted in this hanging planter from Ikea. I adore the lace detail here!  

And while I'm on the subject of Ikea, I found the little greenhouse (on the table in the photo above), there too.

Completely charming! And at $19.99, it would make the perfect summer accessory in your home. (Just add some pink blooms)!

P.S. Jillian posted about another variation on the vertical garden concept here. Check it out!

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first image via Home and Garden magazine
next two images via IKEA

A Colorful Collection

What is it about a collection of colorful chairs that gets me every time? These images recently popped up in my inbox and I just love them.

I'm realizing that I post about colorful things quite a lot (like here and here). You must think that my home is one giant rainbow. It's not -- but this is the kind of stuff that catches my eye every time. Wouldn't those Kartell chairs look great around a long, rectangular glossy white table? And those Wegner Wishbone chairs with a big, wooden table?

And while I like a full rainbow assortment of chairs, I also can't stop thinking about that Wishbone chair in orange. A collection of those around a round, natural wood table in an eat-in kitchen would give such a sunny (and yummy) burst of color to the room.

Paintings and Poufs

Jillian introduced me to the work of abstract painter Mark Rothko in this post last year. Since then I've admired his work and was excited to learn that framed lithographs (including the two pictured below) can be found for a steal at MYHABIT. If you aren't already familiar with MYHABIT, it's a flash-sale website created by Amazon. The site offers great fashion and home accessories, including these metallic poufs that I have been coveting for years...and they are only $126! Free shipping, too. The pouf sale ends tomorrow at noon, so hurry to catch these deals before it's too late!

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images via MYHABIT

1. No. 3, 1967

2. Hand-Stitched Leather Moroccan Pouf in Gold
3. Hand-Stitched Leather Moroccan Pouf in Silver

4. Blue Yellow Green on Red, 1954

Big Drama

Are you kidding me with this? It's definitely one of the coolest things I've seen on Pinterest. Of course this would be amazing in the home but I'm guessing it's not the easiest thing to do (or even to get). It is, though, a good reminder that things can be used in unorthodox ways. Old drawers, for example, would be another way to achieve a similar (although not quite as dramatic) look.

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found on Pinterest via Josh Young

Look Twice

I was browsing through the latest Flor catalog when I saw this image. 

Look familiar? I had posted about this home's interior here back in March. Once again, I am completely captivated. It's gorgeous! Here are some different shots of this same space from the designer's website, Buckingham Interiors.

I love noticing the subtle design details and changes for the catalog styling—modified table setting, the addition of that orange chair and child's seat, and of course Flor carpet tiles. But really this space is so stunning, they did not have to change much to make it the perfect backdrop. 

Want to know something pretty cute? The Flor product on this page is called Made You Look™. Kind of perfect, right?

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first image via Flor
next three images via Buckingham Interiors

Bleached Whale

Last week we showed this print by Zach Terrell and today I can't resist showing another one. It's called Bleached Whale and while I like the print as is, it's the name that totally sold me on it. Cute and clever with both a Nantucket and edgy vibe.

Have a happy Friday!

I Heart Prinstagram

I have really fallen in love with Instagram. All of the photos we took on vacation were just simple iPhone photos with fun effects. Instagram makes everything better! 

We took a ton of photos and I wanted to have some prints made, so I uploaded a bunch to Shutterfly and then realized it wouldn't work. Unfortunately the square Instagram images get cropped in the standard 4x6 and 5x7 photo formats and look awful. I really didn't feel like cropping and resizing them in Photoshop since I love their square shape, and I also wasn't in the mood to print them out and trim them myself. There must be an easier way...

That's when I discovered Prinstagram! This lovely little website prints your Instagram photos in a few formats: prints, stickers, photo books, posters, and t-shirts. I gave the square prints a try and ordered a set of 24, 4x4 square prints from our trip to Paris. Just take a look at how cute they are!

I am kind of obsessed with them. The print quality is excellent and the paper stock is a heavier weight than typical photo paper, with a nice matte finish. 

The thin white border around each image displays the Instagram filters and borders really nicely, like in the image below.

Prinstagram takes anywhere from 2 to 5 weeks to process your order. This may seem like a long time (I got my prints in 3 weeks) but they are well worth the wait! I can't tell you how happy I am with this product. You can bet that I'll be ordering many more prints in the next few days. I am especially interested in their mini prints that look like little polaroid pictures. Too cute!

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Instagram images via The Pink Chalkboard

Chalkboard Project: How to Reupholster a Chair

A few months ago, I wrote a post on how to paint furniture. The gray dresser featured there was part of a set that belonged to my Aunt Rose. There were 2 dressers, a desk and a desk chair. I wish I had a before photo of the desk chair. It was dark wood with a faded and beat-up orange seat. It definitely needed some love so I painted the frame gray to match the desk and dressers and decided to reupholster the seat myself.

These instructions from This Old House magazine made it look pretty simple, and you know what? It was.

First, I gathered all of my materials.

I unscrewed the seat and flipped it over. Looking at the way that the material was stapled was helpful so I knew how many staples I would need when I reupholstered. Using an awl, I pulled out all of the old staples.

Using the seat board as a guide, I cut out the shape from seat foam and batting. Next, I adhered the seat foam to the seat board with spray adhesive. On top of that went the batting and then on top of that went my selected fabric.

I chose this Marimekko fabric.

I had been drawn to it for quite a while and thought the section of white, black and yellow would work well in my bedroom. My original idea was to center the yellow flower on the seat but with the seat's tapered shape, I found that it looked much better (and more interesting and graphic) to crop the flower.

Next came the stapling. My first staple was along one of the sides in the middle. The next one was on the side opposite of that staple. Then I did the same thing on the other two sides and kept going, adding more staples and moving outwards towards the corners of the seat. Stapling on opposite sides as you go and pulling the fabric gently before each staple really helps the fabric stay taut and makes for a smooth surface.

After the patterned fabric was on, I worked on the bottom of the seat. It's not a necessary step but I wanted that part to look clean and finished, too. Using a thin black fabric, I cut out the shape of the seat and stapled that to the back of the seat, covering all of the folded/stapled fabric messiness.

The seat was screwed back on to the base and then it was done! A finished chair that is useful, sentimental and now pretty, too.

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top and bottom photos by Sarah DiCicco

styling by Lily My Love and The Pink Chalkboard

all other images by The Pink Chalkboard

Jennifer Goldberger

I spotted this artwork by Jennifer Goldberger in a recent Crate and Barrel catalog and it reminded me of  Jillian's abstract art post. So pretty. 

Here are some more pieces by Jennifer Goldberger. I love their dreamy and ethereal quality.

 

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Atmosphere Print via Crate and Barrel
Cloud Striations II, Rain II, Topography II, and Abstracted Skyline I via Art.com

Fabric Backsplash

Yes, you read that right. A Josef Frank fabric backsplash...sandwiched between two pieces of glass. Kelly Black's apartment was featured recently in the Design Happens section of New York Magazine online. Her whole home is described as a fun house, but I think her backsplash is the star of the show.

I was delighted to see this because I actually had the idea to do something like this a few years ago when we bought our house. I ended up doing white subway tiles instead but I do still think this is a great idea. It's easy to clean and definitely different. What a great way to add a graphic punch to an otherwise white kitchen.

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image by Annie Schlechter via New York Magazine

Happy 4th!

This pretty print reminds us of America the Beautiful. Fitting, we think, for a post on July 4th.

Wishing you a beautiful, enjoyable and relaxing holiday. See you back here on Monday!

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The Beauty by Zach Terrell

Art Cafe

While in Dubrovnik we visited this little restaurant, Art Cafe, each morning for an espresso. Located just outside the Old Town, and adorned with fancy black glass chandeliers, bright colored walls, and outrageous murals, this little cafe and bar is funky and full of personality. 

The most unconventional decor feature, though, was how they turned old bathtubs into seating! As you can see in the photos below, they removed one side of vintage clawfoot bathtubs, painted the exteriors in bright colors, and added cushions and throw pillows to make some very unexpected seating arrangements. 

I just love quirky details like this and was delighted to discover this fun bit of design-goodness in Dubrovnik.

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images by The Pink Chalkboard