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Choosing Art + Accessories to Compliment the Home

Balancing bold with quiet: Choosing artwork that compliments your aesthetic

It’s pretty incredible + awesome what a fresh coat of paint can do.  Whether on the wall or on a piece of furniture, a new hue can instantly change the look & style.

I love bright & bold colors, but I don’t enjoy color overload.  In small doses it works. A vomit of too much color – not so much.

Where a vibrant hue is introduced it should equally be balanced with quieter, softer, more neutral colors.  There needs to be the quiet with the crazy.  Let the bold ‘speak’ and the quiet ‘enhance’, to create an interesting + engaging composition.

When I chose to revamp my latest furniture makeover, I chose a dynamic hue of ‘kelly green’ but knew that it would be surrounded & layered with neutrals.  The cabinet is the statement piece and the layers are what makes it breathe.

Each element that surrounds the cabinet needed to be methodically chosen to magnify the cabinets beauty but allow the eye to rest.  It’s the balance of fun & calm…

Furniture Makeover: TUTORIAL ON HOW-TO PAINT FURNITURE; before & after cabinet transformation by www.jennaburger.com

When it came time to choosing ART + ACCESSORIES, I felt it had to be subtle.  Not understated, but quieter.  Whatever was chosen had to compliment, not compete.  As much as the cabinet is a statement, the artwork + layers of accessories needed to be strong but in a different way than the strong of the bright color green.

What to put on the walls with a bold color, like this green beauty, was tricky.   A quiet wall color for the backdrop was a must and artwork that enhanced the intense green would pull the entire composition together.

It’s truly all about balancing the bold and the quiet.

Finally these beauties came into my life…

Balancing bold with quiet: Choosing artwork that compliments your aesthetic

Thanks to the many creative talented artists at Minted, there is no shortage of options.

Bold & Bright.

Quiet & Neutral.

Everything at your finger tips.  The only difficult part is making a decision. 

Balancing bold with quiet: Choosing artwork that compliments your aesthetic

With custom art being unattainable for many due to budget & resources, Minted makes it easy by connecting artists with those looking to fill their walls with beautiful, meaningful custom creations.  A nice bonus is that many of the prints are limited edition art and only a certain number of prints are produced. To me that makes each piece of art more special and unique. You and 5000 don’t have the same artwork on the walls of your home…

And let’s not forget how wonderful it is to support these artists to build their business and gain exposure.  I just love it!

Balancing bold with quiet: Choosing artwork that compliments your aesthetic

The two prints above the cabinet are Tradewinds and Weathered.  They have a cohesive thread, but were created by differing artists.

This new vignette is in my master bedroom, which has a serene, soft aesthetic.  Another reason why the bold green works so well.  The other colors in the space are shades of white and hints of plum, so the selection of this artwork was perfect.

Balancing bold with quiet: Choosing artwork that compliments your aesthetic

The artist who created Tradewinds shared this thought,

“I find sometimes the simplest stroke, laden with just the right value of pigments can invoke a feeling, or memory, or inspiration. This color study invokes the imagination. The colors are inspired by the ripples of the ocean as the trade winds play, the reflective sparkle of the sun on the waters surface, and soft hints of pink coral and colorful fish swimming beneath!”

I couldn’t have put it any better.

About Weathered,

“This mixed media piece explores varying degrees of opaque and translucent color, amidst layers of overlapping brushstrokes that create a warm yet weathered texture. I was inspired by the the various and ever-changing textures and palettes around our small hobby farm, including a chicken coop made from aging weathered barnwood, rusted vintage metal license plates, and acres of trees and foliage.”

Such beautiful words.

Balancing bold with quiet: Choosing artwork that compliments your aesthetic

All my artwork from Minted are such treasures because you can truly feel the artists love + devotion for their work shine through in each of their creations.

I’m thrilled with how this cabinet has evolved as my style has changed over the years.  And I am equally happy with the elements that surround it to enhance it’s beauty!

Balancing bold with quiet: Choosing artwork that compliments your aesthetic

DISCLOSURE: THIS IS A SPONSORED POST WITH MINTED.  ALL WORDS + OPINIONS ARE 100% MY OWN.

Turquoise Table with Wood Top

Howdy there friends!  Happy Monday!!

I was brought many smiles last week from all the praises I received on my Fall front porch.  It’s fun to know that so many of you love color too.

Today’s post is going to be short, but good!

As I mentioned during the Fall front porch tour, I introduced a few new elements including the recently painted coral wicker chairs + the turquoise table, both of which were garage sale finds.

It’s amazing what paint can do.

For the wicker chairs, I used my new Homeright hand spray painter but for the table that I turned turquoise, I used good ole’ spray paint in a can.

Here it is on the Fall front porch…

Turquoise Table Before & After: table that was falling apart with no top got a makeover using turquoise spray paint & pallets.

It didn’t always look like that.

This is a quick pic I snapped and shared on Instagram of my finds a few weeks back…

Garage sale finds

3 items that were desperate for attention.

The table was rusted.

It’s paint was peeling + chipping off.

And it didn’t even have a top.

THE TRANSFORMATION.

I started off by scraping off the chipping paint and sanding some of the edges.  To be honest, I didn’t go crazy with that.  I knew it would never be perfectly smooth and I was okay with that.  After I cleaned it up a bit, I whipped out a new can of turquoise spray paint.

Turquoise Table Before & After: table that was falling apart with no top got a makeover using turquoise spray paint & pallets.

A few coats later, it was complete.

Turquoise Table Before & After: table that was falling apart with no top got a makeover using turquoise spray paint & pallets.

THE WOOD TOP.

A few days later when the paint was completely dry, it was time to add a top.

My neighbor had recently finished a pallet project (per my recommendation – wink, wink) and had a bunch of pallet boards left over.  They were already disassembled, cleaned, AND sanded, so all I had to do was cut them to size.

I measured the length of the table and using the powered miter saw (see my recommendation + favorite tools), I cut them to the correct length so the boards would set in to the existing lip around the edge of the table top.

Turquoise Table Before & After: table that was falling apart with no top got a makeover using turquoise spray paint & pallets.

Once cut, I set them into place.

Turquoise Table Before & After: table that was falling apart with no top got a makeover using turquoise spray paint & pallets.

Turquoise Table Before & After: table that was falling apart with no top got a makeover using turquoise spray paint & pallets.

The boards took no time at all to cut and place in the lip – maybe 10 minutes.

And transformed table that was once garbage-bound now sits beautifully on my front porch.

Turquoise Table Before & After: table that was falling apart with no top got a makeover using turquoise spray paint & pallets.

Turquoise Table Before & After: table that was falling apart with no top got a makeover using turquoise spray paint & pallets.

Turquoise Table Before & After: table that was falling apart with no top got a makeover using turquoise spray paint & pallets.

The turquoise hue gives the front porch such a vibrant pop of color, especially along with the coral chairs + the green door.

It’s amazing what spray paint + a bit of TLC can do!

>>> If you haven’t seen it, don’t miss out on taking a tour of this years Fall Front Porch

 

Monogrammed Chevron Pallet Tray

As a Blogger, finding support throughout the blogging community is important for blog growth, friendship, and creative inspiration. For the past several weeks, I’ve joined forces with a few fabulous DIY bloggers and we’ve been helping each other with various aspects of blogging.  Along with our helpful “chats”, we were given a Blogging Challenge by Beckie of Infarrantly Creative to create a DIY project using specific materials – additional items could be added, but it was a must to use the required five.

What did I create you ask?

Well take a look… (and then keep on reading for the details)

Included in our Blogging 2 Better group was Monica & Jess of East Coast Creative, Allison of House of Hepworths, Brook of Being Brook, and Kim of Sand & Sisalall incredibly talented and inspiring women and friends!

To begin, this is the list of items that we were required to use, and actually I pretty much just stuck to the list and didn’t use many additional items.

Fun, but definitely challenging!  I was quite nervous at first trying to think about what to create with these 5 items and then it came to me…  A tray that would be perfect to bring items in and out while BBQing (or even just to display on the coffee table – you know I love trays).

Once I had the idea, my project was quickly underway, especially since I already had a stash of pallets in my garage for a few other projects.

Item #1 – Pallet

To start off, I determined the size of the tray that I wanted to make (17″ x 17″), so the Mister and I measured (4) 17″ long pallet pieces.

Using the reciprocating saw, we buzzed right through that wood :-/

I’m always leary about using the BIG TOOLS (even though my friend Brittany has empowered me with the right skills), but I helped out and made a boo-boo when cutting. No problemo – the Mister came to the rescue with his Band Saw and cleaned the edges right up.  In no time the (4) pieces of pallet were ready to make into a box.

Lining up the corners of the pallet planks, we hammered 2 nails into each corner.

Onto the bottom of the tray…

The only material used that wasn’t on the list was a piece of 1/8″ thick plywood that I used for the bottom of the tray.  Once the pallet “frame” was made, we measured the distance to the outer edges and cut it using the Band Saw.

Once the plywood was cut to the right dimensions, we nailed it onto the bottom of the pallet “frame”.

I gave the overall tray a quick sanding, and within 20 minutes it was done!

Now onto the fun part…  Using my second and third required items, fabric and Mod Podge, I lined the bottom of the tray with a brown and white chevron fabric.

To start off, I spread a nice coat of Mod Podge along the entire bottom of the tray.

Item #2 Mod Podge

Then I added the fabric onto the glue-y surface and made sure to get it nicely in the corners as well.  Make sure the fabric size is larger than the surface because in the next step, I’ll show you how I trimmed it.

Item #3 – Fabric

Once the fabric was well stuck to the Mod Podge, it was time to trim the fabric (this can be done before the glue underneath is dry).  Using a very sharp blade, I dragged it along the edge of the tray to trim the excess fabric.

Once the fabric was cut, I add a layer of Mod Podge OVER the fabric – no worries, it will dry clear!

Once the Mod Podge was dry (fully about 1 day later), it was time to add my last 2 items – the stencil and the color coral.

Using a new Word Doc, I found a font I liked (credit valley) and printed a large letter ‘B’ in lowercase for Burger (my last name).  Then I cut it out with a scissor and traced the outline on the fabric.

Item #4 – Stencil

Then filled in the stencil with a beautiful color coral (it needed about 4 coats, but it didn’t take long).

Item #5 – Coral

And here it is all complete!  My Blogging 2 Better Challenge was done and I was quite happy with the result.  What do you think?  Perfect for the indoors or out!

And you of course have to check out the other B2B Challenge Projects using the same materials.  It’s truly amazing how they’re all SO DIFFERENT!

Rustic Industrial Storage Bins by Monica & Jess of East Coast Creative Blog

Dangle Earring Frame by Allison of House of Hepworths

Fabric Wall Art by Brook of Being Brook

Pallet Art Surfboard by Kim of Sand & Sisal

I’m sure you know all these ladies, but if not, you are REALLY missing out!  Be sure to visit each of their great Challenge projects, as well as their daily DIY creations.

I link my projects to some of these parties: Skip to My Lou, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps on the Porch, Today’s Creative Blog, Stories of A to Z, All Things Heart & Home, Savvy Southern Style, House of Hepworths, Finding Fabulous, Creation Corner, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots and Jello, Thrifty Decor Chick, Tip Junkie