Kristan Cunningham» Do It Lovelier

Dig.Drop.Done …. and WIN!

Kristan — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:40:27 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done. for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’m not gonna lie, after 10 years of being a home owner, the idea of going back to renting (in a building!!! the horror!!!!) just plain made me want to cry. You can hear people doing things, smell what they’re cooking, AND there’s basically a guarantee you’ll run into them at some point when you have zit cream on your face. But when we walked into our loft, none of that mattered…

100 yr old floors with 100 years of character imprinted on them was all I needed to see. I sprinted over to the listing agent’s office to cut in front of the other couple who were looking at the space to secure first dibs. I’m not proud of this, but I DO live in a rad loft now, soooo….

Moving in and getting settled was like a wonderful courtship, and then- outta nowhere, smack in the middle of a Saturday morning- it hit me. The sun is out, it’s a beautiful day, and I would have to put on shoes and lipstick and brush my hair to actually enjoy it…I have no yard. No front porch. No balcony. Not even a doorstep! Which means no trips to the nursery, no hard earned dirt under my fingernails and no sexy slow motion water hose fights!!!! ( I tend to remember my life in movie scenes, and it’s better this way, y’all). All of a sudden, I realized, no garden

At first I thought I’d just take a sabbatical from caring for plants and flowers, because the garden and I have always had a bit of a love/hate relationship anyhow, if we’re being honest. I’ve forever found the entire process of gardening to be incredibly intimidating and time consuming and- if we’re being really honest- frustrating, because I’m just no good at it. But I quickly found that the loft was lacking the kind of spirit that only living things can bring to a space and began doing research on indoor gardens.

So you can imagine how serendipitous it was to hear from Dig,Drop,Done.com is the streamlined website I’d been begging for. You don’t need to have an understanding of your climate zone and you don’t need to know fancypants soil terms, info is delivered in bite size tips via The Ladies . There are three, and there’s one to represent all of us. Juliana is my people: lives in the city but the absence of a yard doesn’t mean a flowerless life! Blooms live large on her tiny terrace and she takes a high design approach to her ideas for incorporating them, like this nugget:

Flower bulbs make the most striking display if you plant them in large groups. A large clump of one color attracts more attention than if you plant just a few here and there.

I’m busy and cheap, first and foremost, so my goal in life has always been to find ways to live beautifully with minimal time and money invested. What I’ve learned via this site is that I can take an afternoon this fall, plant a few containers and get on with the rest of my to do list. And, like a gift I gave myself and forgot about, be rewarded with weeks of beautiful color next spring. And bulbs return year after year, often in greater numbers… talk about getting a great bang for your buck!

In addition to schooling us in all things bulbs,Dig,Drop,Done! has partnered with Curbside Chaos for an amazing contest where, wait for it….THE WINNER RECEIVES A $5,000 YARD MAKEOVER!!!! But slow your roll y’all… that’s not even the best part… the lovely and talented @TanyiaNayak will come to your house to consult on the whole shebang!! And all you have to do is submit a photo of your yard to Curbside Chaos… this should totally be illegal or something! It’s an amazing opportunity for someone, eh hem, who has a yard (luuuucky!) to finally see it become the crown jewel of the neighborhood. Plus, for every share on Twitter, “Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done.” will donate $1.00 to Rebuilding Together – the nation’s leading nonprofit, working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities. It’s a win win, my pretties

And while you’re over on the Curbside Chaos site, be sure to check out the Garden Guru Tool down in the left corner. I won’t tell your best friend, but this is gonna be your new best friend. It literally walks you through a few steps to get you from 0 to planting…

1. You choose the color that represents your location to determine your climate (I’m fleshy beige, FYI)

2. Choose the month that you want your bulbs to grow

3. Choose what type of bulbs you want to plant

4. Take in all of the free advice, custom tailored to you- including a checklist of supplies! – and pat yourself on the back for being so smart and proactive in making your life a little lovelier

Ok, I’m off to go bulb shopping. And for the first time in this designer’s life, it won’t be at the lighting store Make sure to visit www.digdropdone.com to learn more. Happy gardening everyone! xx, kc

Screw it? Nah, Just Push It

Kristan — Mon, 02 May 2011 21:31:21 +0000

Yet another way to dress up your boring old bulletin board. Maybe it is just the DIY-er in me, but I loooove the look of these Screw Push Pins from Kikkerland, a design studio that makes all sorts of clever and intriguing things for the home. Barely more expensive than the regular plastic yawn-inducing pins, you can get a set of 12 of these babies from Amazon for just $4.99.

Headline image courtesy of selectism.com

Pin-up Model

Kristan — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:09:13 +0000

Sometimes going back to the old way of doing things makes you realize that you really can’t improve on perfection. Hanging clothes to dry reduces shrinkage, gives them a fresh smell without perfumes, and slows you down in this world of go-go-go. This spring, if you have a quiet sunny Sunday, take some time to dry your clothes the old-fashioned way. And if you do, use the o-g style clothes pins. They have no metal that will eventually rust and age just makes them look better. Plus they’ll look beautiful in an old Ball jar in your laundry room.

Honey Can Do Clothes Pins from Kmart, $2.49 for 24 pack

Vintage Jars from OddzanEndz on Etsy, $12

Headline image courtesy of MommyCoddle

Furniture Placement Without the PAIN

Kristan — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:22:23 +0000

It’s a fact. No matter how much planning you do on paper, something always seems to change when your actual furniture gets into your space. You over estimated the width of a wall between two doorways, so now, that rad console-the one that was gonna look so good there- has to live somewhere else. Or you guessed incorrectly, and that bay window is made up of 38 degree angles- not 45, because that would make your life too easy.

That’s why I think this product my friend just turned me on to is so genius. It’s called Lay It Out , and they’re life-size furniture templates. Just pieces of paper really, but in the size and shape of sofas, rugs, chairs, tables, beds… you get the gist.

I think this is a great idea if you’re moving into a new home and have limited access or time to properly document measurements and draw the whole shebang out. So, whether it’s on your one walk through, or the morning of your actual move in, you can move furniture around to see where it should live without ACTUALLY moving furniture around. And you can do all of this before the moving truck arrives, so that the movers don’t talk about you behind your back after they move your sofa for the third time…

You can buy different packages like living room, dining room bedroom, or go for the whole kit and caboodle with the Total Home Package. Package rates vary from $19.99 to $99.99. Y’all are gonna thank me for this one : )

Tile Tattoo-la-la

Kristan — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:02:38 +0000

Oh the amazing things you can do with a spare Sunday afternoon! Check out these ingenious Tile Tattoos made by British design company Mibo! You can give your kitchen or bathroom an instantaneous makeover with these water -resistant beauties. Just peel and stick, and if you tire of them, take ‘em off! They come in a bevy of styles and colors, can go on plain 4×4 ceramic tiles, or they have 3x subway options too, and they really dress up a plain room. Absolutely perfect for renters or if you are on a budget. Available in the states through 2jane for $18 for a set of 6.

Inspiration & Ideas from Iacoli & McAlister

Kristan — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:34:34 +0000

The Seattle-based design studio Iacoli & McAlister make indisputably beautiful objects. Lighting, furniture, jewelry, all approached with the same careful attention to proportion and negative space. They also have a unique way of recycling existing objects and giving them new life, something you know I’ve got nothing but love for. Like this 7 lb. wrench they simply powder coated pink and hung on the wall.

Or these one of a kind pedestals, using vintage candlesticks as the base and a solid surfacing top.

These guys are filled with great ideas. I also love their simple stripped down approach to furniture and lighting. It really gets the creative juices flowing. These feel like things you can emulate, create your own version. Think industrial items + reclaimed wood + spray paint! Of course, you can always save yourself the trouble, everything you see here is for sale on their site!!

Towel Ring… What a Bore. Here’s The Key!

Kristan — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:42:35 +0000

A cute idea, and sure to inspire more inventive solutions, Cake Vintage’s Vintage Key Plates turned wall hooks are a great, simple way to add character to your bathroom, entryway, kitchen- you name it! Just $25 from The Inspired Room. If you have the time and inclination, you can make a project of finding and making similar ones, or, just scrounge around in your garage and see what else could be turned into a unique, utilitarian conversation piece.

But at $25, why bother! Just order this lovely and hang it already!!!!!

The Last Measuring Cup You’ll Ever Need

Kristan — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:33:57 +0000

I was recently turned on to the wonders of the Tala measuring cup. I love it’s semi-industrial old school look, not to mention it’s sturdy, lightweight and petite. This guy allows you to do away with the drawer full of mismatched cups- come on, you know you have this drawer, and it’s full of random funnels as well as skewers and chopsticks that you just won’t throw away because you swear you need them for parties, but you’ve thrown, like, a hundred parties and still never used them…is this just me? Also, it measures in metric, imperial and cups, AND converts to weights, so no matter what country your internet recipe is coming from, it’ll do just fine, and you’ll feel super smart!

Tala Measuring Cup, $18 from Conran Shop

Colored Caulk

Kristan — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:50:37 +0000

There’s nothing worse than spending a ton of money on a new kitchen or bath; lovingly picking out your tiles, countertops, appliances, flooring; dealing with months of living in a construction zone; only to put the finishing touches on and find that the gleaming white line of caulk the plumber added on the last day of work is the only thing your eye goes to when you walk in the room. That’s why I love the geniuses at Red Devil. Their “Create-a-Color” caulk can be easily mixed with any color latex paint to camouflage what you don’t want to see, and let the things you do want to see shine! Available for purchase separately, the system requires a specially formulated Red Devil Create A Color Caulk Cartridge (for $6.06 on Amazon), a syringe for the latex paint (25 Syringesfor $22.18 but you can likely find cheaper options if needed) and the Red Devil 4070 Create A Color Caulk Mixer($26.20). Just think how much you spent on the shower curtain, and you know it is worth every penny.

(BTW, the t-shirt in the picture is available from zazzle.)

Letterpress Drawers Re-Imagined

Kristan — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:20:39 +0000

Headline image: Artwork by Cemile Kaptan:

I love the look of old wooden letterpress drawers. All of those teenie tiny compartments are great for organizing small stuff and displaying little collections- and even newer items take on character thanks to the patina and beauty of aged wood…

From Finchley Paper Arts:

From milomade:

From Panopoly:

From Strumpets Crumpets:

From Ismoyo’s Vintage Playground:

From Design Sponge:

From Lemoncholy’s Flight of Fancy: