Designer Ideas To Take Outdoors

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Summer is nearly here, and it's time to get serious about fixing up your deck or patio or balcony.

Pier 1 is the go-to destination for pieces that have a high end designer look at affordable prices. Here's a round up of some designer spaces, along with some Pier 1 pieces that you could use to get the designer look.

I went into my clipping file to show you some images. The first one is a terrific bed on a patio. This is the epitome of the indoor/outdoor concept. You might try a modification of this with a bench or a platform, and fill it with colorful pillows.

Pier 1 has a very cool bench with a canopy over it that would look amazing. They have an incredible pillow and cushion collection. Just pile them on for the high end designer look.

This bench with a canopy from Pier 1 echos the idea of the bed


Designer cushions on a platform

Start with this large Pier 1 cushion

Add a few of these orange pillows from Pier 1

Add another blue pillow or two from Pier 1 - love the button detail

This cute print would add another layer - get it at Pier 1

Designers love to use woven furniture, and it looks fabulous outside and inside. While you are on a Pier 1 shopping spree for your patio, why not pick up a couple of woven chairs to refresh your living room, or den.

The woven arm chair looks great outdoors and indoors


This Pier 1 chair is woven from banana leaves

Dining "alfresco". It sounds so romantic. We love to eat outdoors as much as we can once Summer rolls around. Think about getting a table and chairs that you can use outdoors and indoors.

These cheery yellow chairs just scream "dining alfresco"

This rustic dining table from Pier 1 would work outdoors



This is the best yellow chair from Pier 1

This outdoor table from Pier 1 would work inside as well

The high end designer look of modular furniture for outdoor use can now be ours!
Pier 1 has a great line of sleek pieces that you can put together to get that magazine worthy look.

High end designer look

Party-O on the Patio!
This is the sleek modular outdoor furniture at Pier 1!

Rocking chairs on the porch! Is there any other image that says Summer more than a rocking chair on the porch, or on the patio? Pier 1 has the cutest wicker rocking chair in three colors. This is another piece I would bring inside. It would be precious in a nursery.

These darling wicker rocking chairs are from Pier 1

Who doesn't want or need a cute bar cart? Pier 1 has a rolling cart that would rock the patio, and I would definitely use it inside of the house too.

LOVE this bar cart from Pier 1

Hope you enjoyed this round up of Summer decorating ideas, and the arm chair shopping trip to Pier 1. Get on out to your local Pier 1 and grab a few of these pieces.

Go to Pier 1
And check out the Pier 1 Tweetups

Google The Hacker

The Fickle Finger of Fate! Up yours Google!

What would you do if you got an email from an address you never saw, you didn't recognize, and it told you to click on a link, and if you didn't respond your user name would be automatically changed?

I have been schooled to delete things I don't know, because opening the unknown email or link can infect your computer with a hideous virus.

Or what would happen if this email arrived in your Spam box? Do you open Spam if you don't see that it's from someone you know and landed there by mistake? I think not.

Well I'm with you, and what happened to me was that since April 29 I have not been able to sign into my blog.

All kinds of conspiracy theories floated around. Alberto thought Google was behind it. And he was right. Of course customer service for Google blogspot users sucks, so no answer or help was readily available.

Why is Google changing the user name and email to sign into my blog? Has this happened to any of you using blogspot?

Finally after days of sending countless reports to the robots at Google, I got one today instructing me to sign in with this weird email address they assigned me. I did, and had to reset my password, and now I have access again. I tried to change the email address back to my own, and of course they want to send all communication to the weird email they hacked into my blog to give me. Since that is not my email, it is useless, and I certainly am not sending any password info to some random email.

So Google is a stinking hacker. And I give them the huge finger. They caused alot of us some grief this week. I thank Jenny, Erica, Carollynn, and Nicole for all the support, tech and otherwise, and I thank Alberto for always keeping a logical cool head.

We already started migrating my blog to Word Press.

In the meantime, I'll keep posting here and hope that Google is done fucking with me.

Decorate Around A Found Object

This is a post by a guest blogger that I know you will enjoy....VV

Let's admit it, decorating a home is expensive business and can be both emotionally and financially challenging. At the end of the day, no one likes to spend their hard-earned money on design decisions that they will come to regret later. So if you want to avoid being plagued by buyer's remorse, then show a little bit of creativity and be ready to get your hands dirty (speaking literally and not metaphorically). One economical way to enhance the visual appeal of your home is by decorating it with found objects, which can be being anything and everything. For example, objects you pick from the flea market, stuff lying in your attic or even making use of Mother Nature.

Decorate Around Natural Objects

Stones in Vases (via)

Hit the beach and scrounge for some pretty pebbles, unique shells, and so on. Don't live near the ocean? Well then dried flowers, twigs, and even driftwood will do the trick. Once you have zeroed in your material of choice, put it in a glass jar, a wicker basket, or just scatter them around casually.

Don't Discard The Wine Bottles

Wine Bottles (via)

Table lamps can be so pedestrian at times. Why spend big bucks on lighting fixtures when you can turn your old wine bottles into candle holders?

Go Vintage

Typewriter (via)

Imbue an old school vibe to your decor by decorating around a vintage object, say your grandfather's old typewriter or an old antique desk lamp.

Don't Underestimate the Glass Jar

Glass Jar (via)

Glass jars can be extremely versatile since they can be transformed into standalone pieces, light fixtures or even vases. Check out the chandelier created by old milk bottles above. An uber-chic light fixture like this can be the focal point of your room.


Create An Eclectic Display

Sports Display (via)

Postcards on Wall (via)

Don't be afraid to experiment and create an interesting arrangement of found objects like vintage books, long-forgotten postcards, or even sports memorabilia.

So next time you are planning to hold a yard sale or cleaning out your attic, remember, you may just be giving away objects that have the potential to resolve all your design dilemmas!

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If You Liked My Old Counter Tops You Might Like These

Let's go down memory lane in my kitchen.
We did our first clean-up and decoration when we bought the house in 2005.
I posted my first photos on the internet of it on Rate My Space in 2007. I was so proud of my funky New Orleans kitchen, decorated with a budget of under $200., and so proud to show people New Orleans after Katrina.
With that budget, we painted, did a faux concrete surface recover on the laminate counter tops, removed laminate upper cabinet doors, and wallpapered the lower doors.
Some people loved it, others didn't understand it. After I looked at the other suburban slick kitchens on Rate My Space, I knew the site wasn't for me ha ha. Shortly after I started the Visual Vamp blog.

Fast forward to 2011. The kitchen is finally "done". Alberto and I started what I call a soft renovation in 2009. We did all the DIY stuff we could: First new light fixtures, then in 2010 we painted, built new cabinet doors, and walled in a door behind the refrigerator. Now in 2011 we had marble counter tops put in and got new appliances. You all have shared the experience with me, reading my many blog posts.

For this last soft renovation, we did not rip out anything but the old laminate counter tops, and a sink base cabinet that was falling apart. We kept the existing floor plan, floor tiles, and plumbing. Decorative accessories got edited, and I reupholstered the antique dining chairs, got a Louis Phillipe mirror and some new art work. We also changed the appliances.

Visual Vamp kitchen 2011

Visual Vamp wallpaper on kitchen cabinets 2007

Visual Vamp kitchen furniture 2007

It's all very French farmhouse

Visual Vamp kitchen 2007 - chintz curtains & French pot rack

Visual Vamp kitchen 2007 faux concrete covered back splash and hood

Visual Vamp kitchen 2007 breakfast area

The chairs are yellow

Visual Vamp kitchen 2007
Old black glass door stove that came with the house

Visual Vamp kitchen 2009
The chairs are white, and aqua accent wall was painted
photo by Melanie Acevedo from Undecorate

Visual Vamp kitchen 2010
New lantern light fixtures

Visual Vamp kitchen 2010
"New" all white used stove

Visual Vamp kitchen 2011
New greige paint and cabinet doors (that still need knobs)
A mirror was added behind the sink

Why didn't we gut the kitchen and start all over? For one thing: Budget. For another thing, some of the things were in good shape. That's why I call it a soft renovation.

The marble I chose is the marble I got. Initially we were going to do a black laminate that mimics soapstone, and keep our old faux concrete back splash. Enter a friend who owns a kitchen and bath company who offered me a couple of slabs of his "garbage" marble that no one wanted. I was ecstatic, until I saw it. Holy 1980's, Hello 1990's, it was dark green, like all that Ubatuba granite from India that had its heyday.

What me panic? I looked at the reverse side of the slabs, and it in my mind's eye a beautiful honed surface was revealed that read more gray than green. I asked if I could have it installed on the "wrong" side. After a couple of double takes and thought bubbles ("this chick is crazy"), everyone said why not. Then I asked for a chunky edge. I consulted Holly and Joni, and the stone fabricator said he never did a 2.5 inch edge before, but he would try.

I also needed a new sink base cabinet and asked for one with drawers, and ended up with two cabinets, one 36 inch wide one for the sink, and one 12 inch wide one with three wonderful drawers.

I ordered the cheapest, nicest faucet on eBay for $94., and asked for a new stainless sink. I would have used our old sink, but it was over mount, not the under mount used with stone counter tops.

There were alot of delays, but finally installation day was upon us!

The cabinet guy (Duane) arrives!

And here's my marble -
it's called Empress Green
The honed side I used looks more gray

Of course I was taking a huge chance using, gasp, green marble. Actually according to Stephanie Southwick who has the excellent blog The Granite Gurus, said this about my marble: "It's called Empress Green. Okay, well if you want me to get all nerdy about it, it is technically a serpentinite. Which is a good thing! Serpentinite's don't etch in reaction to acids. They also are a bit harder than real marble, so they won't scratch and stain as easily.

I have seen some serpentinites etch, but I think there was probably a little calcium mixed in those slabs. I highly doubt you will have that problem with your Empress Green.

Here in the USA we label stones under more generic labels, so Empress Green gets put in the marble category. It helps keep things nice and confusing."

My back yard as a cabinet maker's shop

I felt the Empress Green on the reverse honed side had a gray cast and was actually quite beautiful. That is my story and I am sticking to it. I also compiled a quickie clipping file of inspiration images of green kitchens ha ha. I also reminded myself that I am the empress of make-do, and free marble is free marble ha ha.

Dakota polishing my Empress Green counter top to a beautiful gray

I had to choose a sink

The old kitchen stripped down and ready

One last look before it goes

The new sink base cabinets are installed!

Duane is taking out the old counter top

Randy the genius marble man with a template

There were so many bittersweet feelings about seeing the kitchen counter tops getting replaced. We loved the old ones. In fact everyone loved them. A $15. bag of Ardex concrete mix spread over that crappy laminate was a real crowd please-er. But after seven years, the counters were showing wear and tear that was shabby and not chic. They were meant to be a temporary place holder for a year or so.

I learned so much watching this installation, like if you guys do this, insist that the installer use a template, and not just go off measurements to cut your counter tops. Randy the genius marble man fitted the new counters and back splash impressively tight, because he used a template of the exact size and shape of the space the counter was installed on.

Template for the back splash

Randy installs the marble

I had two counter tops cut, both without any seams

The under mount sink

The counter tops and sink are done

Detail of the 2.5 edge I had fabricated to make it look like a thick slab

The counter tops looked so beautiful when they were installed. It reminded me of soapstone or slate. I asked about sealing them, and a regular marble sealer could not be used because it would restore the shiny granite look like the side I did not want to install. Duane suggested grout sealer because it would keep the honed matte finish.

The back splash goes up!

The next thing to get installed was the back splash. Like so many of you, I love the look of tile, subway tile or glass tile, and bead board, but I also loved the stone look of our old back splash. And ding ding ding the marble was, like a gift. So the marble back splash was da winner!

The stone look of the old back splash

Da winner!

The marble back splash is almost done

Since I took what I could get marble wise, I didn't have the luxury or agony of having to match slabs.The pattern is random, left up to nature, and Randy chose pieces that looked good side by side.

Marble back splash over the stove is done

A seam in the back splash was filled to look invisible

Once the counter tops and back splash were done, I sealed them with four coats of grout seal. It darkened the marble a bit, but not alarmingly so, and the counter tops could not be left unsealed.

Randy does the finishing touches

I sat in the kitchen and just sort of watched my marble. Sometimes it looked gray. Sometime blue. Sometimes green. You always wonder if you have done the right thing, and a change always takes some breaking in time. After about ten minutes of watching the marble, I decided I love it and I made the right choice. If money were no object, and the marble was not a gift, would I have chosen this? Maybe not, but I would have chosen something very much the same - black soapstone or slate. I was never one of the white marble girls, though it is very beautiful.

The counters and back splash are done!

The dark kitchen is trending right now. Chiarascuro. Moody grays, blacks, and white. Who knew that after all the years it took to finally get update the kitchen, that a trend would catch up with me.

When the new marble came in, we decided to get stainless appliances right away. Ever since last October, we kind of do things (within reason) sooner than later. We found a cheapo package deal and got all four pieces (Frigidare builder's grade). Nothing fancy, but a thrill for us to have new appliances, something Alberto and I never had in our long lives. We were city dwellers and renters for most of our lives, or living with what came with a house we bought, so we always had used appliances. We kind of felt romantic, like newlyweds setting up house for the first time.

Visual Vamp kitchen 2011 with stainless appliances

The whole feeling of the kitchen is so adult. Do I miss all the arty farty make-do stuff? The wallpaper cabinet doors? The sink skirt? The Union Jack decal on the dishwasher? The faux concrete I applied with my own hands? The edited and re-edited clutter? Well, yes and no.

One thing has happened to so many of us that have discovered the internet as a source for inspiration. We have earned our higher education via Blog Google University. I for one have evolved and learned so many things from reading your blogs, and by doing online research for my own blog. My kitchen is a product of this education, combined with a talent I have possessed all my life.

Visual Vamp kitchen 2011
My PhD Thesis from Blog Google University ha ha

The other side of the kitchen
A left over piece of marble is on the island

The old microwave was here - we have a new over the stove one now
So now there's a place for Kitty Kitty Bang Bang

Cholo loves the new runner

The love note behind the microwave

The last time the kitchen was renovated was 1983. We know this because the carpenter found a 1983 penny under the old counter top he took out. He told us carpenters often leave a coin or a note to perhaps be discovered by someone in the future. We left a 2011 penny under our counter top, and we wrote a love note on the wall before the over the stove microwave was installed. We hope whoever lives in our house long after we are gone, will perhaps renovate again, and find our note from the past. We hope it inspires them to know that this is a happy house where happy lives were lived.

Visual Vamp kitchen 2011

Thanks:
Smart Buy Kitchen and Bath - (504) 455-4700
Randy expert marble and stone man - (228) 224-1403
Duane the excellent carpenter - (228) 332-1440
Bon Marche Furniture (appliances) - (504) 362-8877
Bloggers and readers
Alberto, the love of my life