CasaSugar

How-To: Installing a Flag Pole

CasaSugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:30:43 -0700

It may no longer be Independence Day, but flags add Summer style to your home year-round. So if you haven't already, consider hanging a flag on the exterior of your home to cheer up the neighborhood — be it an American flag, a state flag, or the flag of your favorite sports team! To learn how to install one, read more.

Position the bracket on an exterior wall of your home.
Mark the holes for the screws with a pencil.
Drill the holes that you marked. If your home is brick, drill with a masonry bit into the brick.
Screw the bracket into the wall, making sure you get the bracket on straight. Otherwise, the flag will not hang straight. Most brackets will require three screws.
Insert the flag into the pole, and unroll it.
Voilà! Instant curb appeal.

Source

Primer: Hang Wallpaper Like a Pro, Part II

CasaSugar — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:57:00 -0700

Wallpaper is back in a big way, but I'm still very intimidated by the idea of hanging it. But after reading some great tips in Blueprint and online at This Old House and Lowe's how-to section, I'm feeling up to the task. Earlier today, I gave you my pre-installation pointers, and now, we're ready to hang. Here's Part II of my wallpaper primer: installation. If you have more tips, please tell me in the comments!

The Installation

Cut strips of wallpaper about four inches longer than the height of your walls, then lay the pieces on the floor to make sure the patterns match up.
Flip the pieces over, so the back is facing up. Fill a paint tray with wallpaper glue. Using a paint roller, apply it quickly and comprehensively to the back of the paper, all the way to the edges.

For the rest of the pointers, read more

Using a stepladder, hold once piece of wallpaper at the top of the wall and have someone hold the bottom so it's straight.
Starting at the top and working outwards from the center, pull (don't push) an 8-inch plastic smoothing tool to press the paper against the wall.
Holding a razor knife nearly parallel to the wall, trim the excess paper off the bottom, and wipe any adhesive off of the paper with a wet sponge.
Hang each subsequent strip, making sure the pattern matches up and that the edges of the paper butt up against each other, rather than overlap. Corners are the only place where strips should overlap slightly.
Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each strip.

Source

Cool Idea: A Car Turned Planter

CasaSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:00:32 -0700

I stopped by Flora Grubb the other morning to grab some delicious Ritual coffee and to check out the amazing garden store for inspiration and ideas. Before picking up a gorgeous spear-like Sansaveria, I wandered around the gardens, taking in all of the beautiful plants. I was particularly taken with the way Flora Grubb had reimagined this classic car. I love the way it's been "reclaimed" by nature in a rather Land of the Lost fashion. While this project is definitely more art installation than practical idea for your backyard garden, I do love the idea of creatively reusing unexpected materials as planters. What's around your house that you could re-use as a planter? Could you use an old candelabra to display air plants? How about using cracked bowls as flower pots? Tell me, what have you used around your home as an unexpected garden or indoor-plant vessel?

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Cool Idea: Swords Into Ploughshares, Planting the Piece

CasaSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:00:57 -0700

Richmond, VA, artists Christopher Humes and Noah Scalin have taken the Bible literally in their art installation strong>Planting the Piece. The artists interpret the Book of Isaiah quote, "And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks" in a wholly 21^st century - and absolutely inspirational - manner.

The artists molded a 9mm 910 pistol, and then filled the mold with red clay powder, organic humus compost, water, and a seed mixture of annual and perennial flowers, including cornflower, daisies, blazing stars, lupines, poppies, and many other flowers. After these pieces of growable art have been exhibited, they are then planted, sometimes in garden boxes, and sometimes in abandoned city lots. As the "gun" decomposes into the landscape, flowers grow from it, echoing an iconic antiwar image from the '60s.

To find out how you can get your own seed gun or seed bomb, as well as to see a gallery of photos, read more.
In their artist's statement, they write:

Over time and with the appropriate amount of nurturing, the simple act of planting a seed can create life; sustenance and beauty. Applying a dedication to the act, or prayer, we can unite the audience and promote a discussion for change. With our literal sowing of these "swords into plowshares" we visually eliminate the violence from our community and pay respect to the lives lost and affected. . . . And in nurturing the "piece" to flower or fruition we are then committed to change and at the same time giving something back to the community.

To order your own seed gun, seed bomb, or donate to the project, go here.

Source

Midday Muse: Light in the Dark

CasaSugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:30:20 -0800

“Nest One” by Simon Husslein is a light installation in a tree in Burgundy, France. It's a nice tribute to the recent time change and a lovely symbol of hope and regeneration in this season of hibernation.

Source

Home Away From Home: Maison Moschino

CasaSugar — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0800

Italian fashion house Moschino is testing out its style skills in the wonderful world of interiors with its brand new Maison Moschino hotel in Milan. Set in an 1840 neoclassical building and former train station, the hotel was designed by the label's creative director, Rossella Jardini, along with its art director Jo Ann Tan, and fully restored with respect to its original façade.

Much like Moschino's apparel, the interiors have a fanciful, surrealistic quality that just toes the line at fantastical. Each room has a fairy-tale-inspired name - including "Alice's Room," "Red Riding Hood," and "Gold" - which coincides with its equally dreamy design. My favorite parts are the tart pillows and cookie chandelier! Meanwhile, the lobby is marked with fluffy origami cloud lamps and Moschino dresses and accessories turned into floor and table lamps. To see photos of the hotel and hear what Jardini had to say about the hotel, read more.

Here's what Jardini had to say about the boutique hotel:

When I enter, I feel as if I’m at home. Like all familiar places, its warm, welcoming atmosphere makes you feel protected. I’d love to preserve it just as it is, as if it were an installation, but I know that, by nature, it is destined to change. And yet I believe it will never betray its origins. It is completely unlike other hotels, and it also has the courage to reveal the high-quality workmanship that built it. It’s a special place, which is why it’s called Maison Moschino.

You can book your room through DesignHotels.com, and if you book today, you'll score an opening rate special!

Check out photos of the hotel rooms below.

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Can't get enough of designer hotels? The world's first Armani Hotel is opening later this month, and Christian Lacroix's Hôtel du Petit Moulin in Paris is another sight for sore eyes!

Assisted Living: A Light Fixture Made From Colanders

CasaSugar — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:00:00 -0800

CasaSugar Community member Zyada posted this query in our new group Assisted Living:

I'm looking for ideas for lighting my kitchen. My kitchen is long and narrow. The style is Medieval-ish; this site shows what I'd like my kitchen to look like. I aready have the brickwork and dark wood going on. I was thinking of using copper colanders in some way, but I'd like some examples to get a feel for how I want to place: lights, colanders, etc.

Zyada, I love your idea of using light fixtures made from colanders! It's perfect for a kitchen. Copperware would also work really well with your Medieval theme. If you want to make your own hanging colander light fixture, like the one shown at left, here is a tutorial to make one. You can also make a table lamp with a colander shade - here are instructions. You could also try hanging light spheres using two colanders enclosing the bulb - learn how here. Or, you could make a sconce, installing the colander directly to the wall.

Another way to integrate copper colanders is to use them as vases, or even simply as bowls for your fruits and veggies.

Does anyone else have ideas for Zyada as to how she can use copper colanders in her kitchen, be it a light fixture or something else? Please comment below!

Love It or Hate It? "The Bed" Art Installation

CasaSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:00:43 -0800

Artist Will Ryman's installation "The Bed," which is displayed at the Saatchi Gallery in London, is the type of super-sized bachelor pad scene I'd never want to see in real life. Still, as an art installation, it's compelling. Are you a fan? Source

How-To: Install a Peephole

CasaSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:00:21 -0700

This month, I've been home schooling you in all sorts of household tasks. And, now I'd like to teach you how to be a Peeping Tom without landing yourself in the slammer. It's okay to do some espionage from the comfort of your own home, if you're trying to figure out whose on the other side of your door. And, in fact, to be safe, you should always use a peephole to ensure you're not opening the door to strangers. To install a peephole in your door, you'll need a drill, a 10- or 25-foot tape measure, a peephole, a slotted screwdriver, safety goggles, and a dust mask. To learn the steps, read more.

Here are the steps, from Barbara K!:

First, put on your safety goggles and mask.
Mark where you want the peephole to go.
Make a pilot hole all the way through the door using a small drill bit.
Read the instructions on the peephole packaging, and switch to the drill bit size recommended.
Drill halfway through the door.
Switch to the other side of the door, and repeat so there's a hole all the way through.
Make sure the right side is facing out, and put the two sides of the peephole in the door. Then, tighten.
Finish tightening the peephole by putting your screwdriver in the slots of the interior bezel.
Fini! Peep away.

Source

Before and After: Bedroom Do Over

Casa Community — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:00:38 -0800

Here's a post from CasaSugar Community member DezignerWannabe from the Su Casa group:

I always wanted a poster-style bed . . . so we finally got one! Luckily, we got it on sale (January is a great time for furniture-buys). Of course we couldn't keep the old carpeting so we installed wood floors and wood molding, and we repurposed an old wool rug. I found the retro-style gold glass lamps at Target for just $39 . . . .It's heavenly now!

See more photos of the updated room and shots from beforehand when you read more.

Before:

Have you been doing any redecorating in your own home? Be sure to share photos and tales in our Su Casa group!