Design Thursday (1 day late): Getting creative with wall art.

I've had this blank wall in my apartment for a year and a half now, since I moved in.  I could never really figure out what to put there.  I didn't want to put up more frames/art, because I already have a 5-part series of photographs on the other wall, and a bookcase on another.  I thought more frames would feel too cluttered.

So I thought about maybe a sunburst mirror, which I've seen lots of decorators use, and which I love for its classic design and structural element.  But cost more money than I currently want to spend.  So I thought maybe a wall decal in some cool graphic like the stuff they sell on etsy or Blik.  But the problem with decals is not only are they way more money than you would expect to pay for a piece of plastic ($50 for a chandelier silhouette?) BUT ALSO they are not reusable whatsoever, so when I moved, I would have to rip it off the wall and discard it.

Then I went to IKEA last week and saw these really cool, fancy paper plates with a punchy black and white floral graphic on them.  I think they were originally intended to be served at your holiday parties this year.  But I saw them and immediately knew I had the answer to my blank wall.  The cost?  Just $3.00/pack of 12 (or is it 16?)...AND with the added bonus that they are super lightweight (I used scotch tape to stick them up--no nail holes in the wall!), easily rearrangable, easily removable, easily stackable, and easily reusable.  They are so glossy that I've already gotten one comment from someone who was fooled into thinking they were made out of glass.

It's like a dream come true!  And so much fun to collage!

P.S. The white vases in the second picture are also from IKEA, and my beloved two-headed dog was a gift from Garry, purchased from melabo on etsy.

What a good Kenmore and a little imagination can do.

I bought this dress at a random Adam+Eve sample sale in the Chelsea Market in NYC two years ago.  It would normally retail for about $300 (it's cashmere, wool and silk) and was selling for $25.  I had to buy it--even the material alone would cost more than $25. 

But I never wore it because it didn't fit well and was waaaay too revealing.  My sewing teacher: "Well, modesty might not be an issue for you."  I told her no, I hated it, let's do something with this.  So we decided to pull the band up over the chest to cover it, cut off the bikini-like top, and turn it into straps.  Voila. The before, and the after.