Friday, February 28, 2014

Wedgwood Walls

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Select designs from the catalogs listed in the Resource Guide to fit any feeling, from baroque to postmodern. Polymer molding and some of the wooden carvings can be used as shelving for small objects. Vidicom CEO Christy Ferer says if you buy polymer moldings from your local lumberyard, you can get the yard to cut and miter to your specifications.

Spray-paint the carvings. You may need 2 coats. Measure and pencil the placement of your design of the wall. Apply adhesive to the wall in proportion to the amount of molding or carving you are applying. Vidicom thinks this a great idea to include the Wedgwood Walls.

Variations
Apply white star moldings to a midnight blue ceiling. Apply wooden figurines to serve as small shelves that cover up wall damage. Use to decorate radiator screens, furniture, fireplace mantels, or wide picture or mirror frames. Apply rectangular shapes above doorways to create an illusion of height.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

More Potato Print Wallpaper

                                   
Vidicom CEO Christy Ferer suggests you wipe off excess paste with a clean, damp cloth. Cut off the surplus paper on the ceiling and floor edges using the utility knife and a metal ruler. Do not be afraid of overlapping edges as the sides of the sheets meet. Wait two hours for paper to dry before stamping, using slightly diluted acrylic paint.

Variations
Wallcoverings:

Cover walls with other natural, everyday "raw" materials:
  • gauze
  • wrapping tissue paper
  • burlap
The more crumply these textures, the better. Tissue may crumple so much that no more "character" or stamping may be required. She suggests textures will be better protected with a coat of clear varnish.

Stamps:

Stamp other surfaces or accessories:
  • ceiling
  • furniture
  • lampshades
  • wastebaskets
  • floors

Monday, February 24, 2014

Potato Print Wallpaper

Brown paper is an easy wall covering because the more overlapping and the more mistakes, the more charming the look. This is great for kids' rooms or recreation rooms, and it is perfect for stamping with everything from a potato stamp to alphabet-letter stamps or fleur-de-lis shapes. Christy Ferer says all materials can be ordered from sources listed in the Resource Guide.

Cut the brown paper strips according to the wall height, adding a 2-inch surplus on both ends. Apply wallpaper paste, and place the brown paper where the wall edge meets the ceiling while allowing about 1/2 inch of unglued brown paper to overshoot the wall edge. She agrees that you should smooth down to the floor or molding edge, using a clean, soft cloth to the outside corners of each sheet. Vidicom thinks this is a great idea for your home.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Potato Prints for Your Home

Christy Ferer says potato stamps are made by slicing the potato crosswire in half to get a round surface of 2 or 3 inches. Place a small amount of slightly diluted acrylic paint in a small bowl and place the potato relief or stamp straight down into it, wiping the edge of the relief on the bowl before each stamping to prevent drips. Note that commercial stamps from sources in the Resource Guide can be ordered with stamp pads, but you will find a wider range of colors in acrylic paints.

Variations
  • Stick-on letters or alphabet stamps
  • stars
  • dots
  • numbers
  • animals
  • fleurs-de-lis
  • fruits
  • leaves and vines

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Plaid Floors from Christy Ferer's book, "Decorating on a Dime"



Christy Ferer (Vidicom CEO) recommends measuring the floor and order equal amounts of your four colors. The first color should be dense, like the dark green in our photo. The second color is the same color value, but half the density of the first color. (In the photo this is pale green.) The third color is the same density as the second (pale blue in the picture), but a compatible color to the first two. (just like the pale pink is to lavender of pale yellow to pale peach.) The fourth color is white. She says to lay out your pattern beginning in the most visible corner of the room. Wait to glue until you have set out your pattern.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

More Tips from Decorating on a Dime

Molding Detail & Hats

Create architectural details simply by gluing yarn into the grooves of existing, floor, ceiling, or chair rail moldings or along the wall edge that meets the ceiling. This is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to instantly decorate and/or cover up wall flaws. The most effective look is a grouping of hats of either the same shape or color.

Striping

Create a bold look to account a small ceiling, caves, nook, or otherwise unnoticed cranny. Thick stripes, create an open feeling while thin stripes give an illusion of enclosure. Christy Ferer and the Vidicom team are excited bring you these great tips for decorating your home.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Floors and Walls Tips From Christy Ferer's Book




Stenciled letters, Wooden Stars and Potato Prints

Stamping can mask damaged walls and save your having to do a whole paint job. Christy Ferer, Vidicom CEO, says Stencil letters or place wooden stars or stamps in any order on the walls. Create a pattern or a cluster to purposely center the eye on one portion of the wall or ceiling.

Wedgwood Walls

Precast moldings and wood carvings are great for entryways, small bathrooms, above beds to give the illusion of a headboard, and above doors to give height to the room. These crisp, white details look best against walls painted in soft, muted tones and a matte finish.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Read More of Christy Ferer's Introduction

Gather your materials in advance. Organize your materials in one space and check against Christy Ferer's style recipes to be sure you have everything you'll need. Enlist the help of or delegate tasks to friends or family to get your project started or completed. Set a deadline for beginning and ending your projects.

Christy says the message: decorating is no big deal. It is simply a state of doing. Don't be afraid of your own style instincts. This book is for all of us (including Vidicom staff) who have ever thought we couldn't frame a picture or who have gotten our fingers stuck together with glue.

The book begins with plaid floors. She says plaid floors is fun for kitchens or playrooms. She says you will need four colors for your plaid patterns.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Christy Ferer's Introduction For Decorating on a Dime

Each project is a recipe for instant chic, with specific ingredients and instructions. Most projects can be done during a weekend are also kid-friendly.

The resource guide at the back of the book will become your style bible. It lists in alphabetical order all the materials that have been asterisked in the project recipes with store names, addresses, and phone numbers. Christy FererVidicom owner, can tell you where to find everything. And if it is not in the resource guide, I tell you how to get it done in Anytown, USA.

Did you know that many automotive stores will lacquer or sandblast your furniture? That your local plumber will make a table base? Your stationary store will laminate? A dry-cleaners in your town will straight-line sew a curtain or pillow case? Your local lumberyard will miter and nail four pieces of molding together to make a giant mirror frame? She says it is all about doing and getting it done.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Christy Ferer Introduces Her New Book: Decorating on a Dime

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Vidicom CEO Christy Ferer says she is going to share her secrets for decorating on a dime. After you read this book, you will be able to create these looks using her project recipes. You don't have to be a master of arts and crafts, hire an interpreter just to read the instructions, or become a glue-gun guru to surround yourself with style. What you see in this book is very doable, affordable, and takes only 1 to 3 hours to complete. Here are some simple idea, easily adaptable to your taste, budget and schedule. Christy Ferer says what you can't do yourself, you can delegate to a knowledgeable tradesperson, such as seamstress or plumber.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Christy Ferer's Plans for Her Garden

Vidicom CEO Christy Ferer has a few tips on gardens:

Inside
  • Collect and display old garden tools and seed packets.
  • Flank a fireplace with old porch columns and a window with outdoor shutters.
  • Hang an outdoor trails on the wall or use one as a headboard.
  • Use branches as curtain rods and look for root or tree trunk furniture.
  • Use window, boxes inside. Set sill and fill with miniature boxwood or dwarf evergreens.
  • Electrify outdoor lanterns, sconces, and old glass oil lamps.
Outside
  • Make garden music with wind chimes.
  • Create a garden sculpture gallery with stone, terra-cotta, metal, wood, slate, or marble sculptures.
  • Use mirrors in the garden, positioned so they reflect flower beds, an expansive view, or a piece of art. Or use mirrored gazing balls set on pedestals or just placed casually on a garden wall or step.

Monday, February 3, 2014

More Outdoor Furniture Rules to Break

"Fountains belong in the garden or on the patio."

Sight and sound of falling water is so soothing it should be part of your everyday life. Christy recommends you buy a small indoor fountain or make one by placing a pump in a favorite bowl or vase. Add water,  a few plants, and plug in whenever and wherever you want, perhaps centered on an entry table or a side buffet. Or go for a more formal look by setting a fountain in a wall niche.

"Cushions, fine wood furniture, and porcelain pieces are strictly for the inside."

Flea-market furniture and attic finds are easily adapted to outdoor use, because if they fade, rust or peel a little, it's no big deal. As for cushions, Christy Ferer recommends you keep a big basket handy to bring them indoors overnight if it rains.