My fabric was already cut into strips (or ripped into strips, actually) when I made the mummy costume.  I’d say you’d want to cut/rip your fabric in 8-10 inch wide strips.  The strips then need to be cut to an equal length – long enough to wrap around the frame vertically once, then tied off into a knot.

You keep tying fabric strips all the way around the frame until all of the wire frame is covered.

First, let me say:  my lampshade turned out a little more frou-frou than I meant it to.  I will probably redo this with strips of muslin rather than the heavier cotton fabric I had on hand.  I will also cut the strips a bit longer so the end hang down more rather than puffing out (that probably has to do with the thickness of the fabric, too).

I think it kinda overpowers this small lamp in my daughter’s room.  And it kinda looks like I made it out of toilet paper in the above photo.  Here’s a shot with the light on:

Perhaps I should stick to shopping for fabulous lampshades, rather than attempting to make my own!   Here is a photo of the costume that spawned this frou-frou lampshade.

 I guess that’s what happens when mummies go shabby chic!

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Pickled wood had a slight pinky undertone that screams late 80′s/early 90′s to this day.  Limed wood is also reminiscent of the whitewashed look of shabby chic, made popular by Rachel Ashwell in the 1990′s.

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But here’s the twist:  pickled wood was pinky, whitewashed wood was white.  But limed wood has a distinct gray undertone (the undertone of the new decade), making it a nice change from all the expresso brown that’s been doused all over furniture for the last 10 years.

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Even paneling is back – but now in a pleasing limed tone that doesn’t make your space into a cave.  It’s much like the look of linen fabric, but in wood form.  Where whitewashed wood looks Swedish, limed wood looks Belgian.

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Now, don’t get all up in arms – I’m not encouraging you to get rid of the dark furniture and replace it with the limed.    I blogged about one popular store that has gone a wee bit overboard with it here.  But if you are tired with all the dark, consider bringing in a few small pieces of limed furniture or a few limed accessories (like the limed wood tray I recently bought from HomeGoods).

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I recently heard about Brimax liming wax.  Sounds like a promising product for lightening up wood on your own.  Have any of you experimented with that or something similar on your dark wood pieces?

“Family photographs, a dog, and a sofa you can vacuum.” – Kitty Hawks

“Evidence of life.  Anything from children’s art to dog-eared magazines to fresh-cut flowers that aren’t perfect.” – Rachel Ashwell of Shabby Chic

“Good old Oriental rugs give a beautiful soul to a room.”  – Mona Hajj

“Using a room gives it heart and soul.  People never use their living rooms.  You’ve got to take it back, give it another purpose rather than just entertaining.  Put your easel or drafting table in it like Jackie O did.  Put your computer in it.  Or put a big double-wide wicker chaise lounge next to the fireplace with a big mohair blanket at the end and make it your prime napping spot.”  – Tom Scheerer

“All those subliminal things you don’t really see but experience, like solid wood doors with solid brass hardware.  And there’s nothing like real hardwood floors – that lovely creak.”  – Maureen Footer

“Red rooms always have heart and soul.”  – Mary McDonald

“Objects imbued with memories.  In my parents’ vacation house, there are old rods and reels;  a propeller from a boat we used to own;  a beautiful model sailboat that my dad helped me build when I was ten;  and my mom’s collection of 1930′s green-and-white plates, which have been hanging on the same wall forever.”  – Jan Lee

What do you think gives a room Heart and Soul?

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She lives in the most amazing home I have ever seen.  Annie lives in Jacksonville, Illinois.   Doesn’t sound like a terribly exciting place, but check out this unbelievable Beau Arts home!!!  She lives here with her 3 perfect children, 2 perfect dogs, and presumably, her perfect husband.  She certainly has a perfect lawn care guy.

She is a huge inspiration for me in the way that she chooses to decorate and live.  Annie calls her style Euro Trash.  It’s kinda like European Shabby Chic, but with more color.  It’s fabulous, glamorous, and magical.

This is Annie’s dining room!  Soak it up.  Nothing else I can say.  European glam at it’s best.  Is she a princess, or what???

Check out Annie’s website to find out about all the fabulous antiques she ships over to sell from Belgium and the Netherlands.  http://www.euro-trash.us/

On her website, Annie Brahler shares the following decorating advice:

“Look To Nature for Embellishments -  When you want to add some interest to a room, just take a quick walk outside.  Candles are held in place with leaves picked fresh and left to dry to a beautiful color that only nature can offer.  A gnarled dried branch becomes a tactical sculpture in a winter kitchen along with artichokes left to dry and enjoy for the beautiful floral shape they have to offer”.

“Always Welcome the Unexpected – A bit of indulgent elegance in a strictly functional space can lift the spirits. I love fresh flowers on a shelf inside my closet, a dramatic chandelier in the bathroom and silk draperies that puddle on the floor in my daughter’s bedroom”.

“Open Up – Open shelving is a wonderful way to enjoy the things you love everyday…display things you need in close reach right along with the bits you enjoy just for the color, shape, or texture that they possess.   Books in the same tones as your display are a great way to elevate your special things to present them. The shelves themselves can be given interest by giving them soft curves, or arranging them in a series of vertical and horizontal lines rather than the traditional stacked shelving….we also like to paint, stain, or upholster the interior of cabinets to give them a bit of an unexpected touch of special attention…it is always a ittle uplifting to reach for a sweater inside an armoire with a softly padded silk interior…”

Annie says that her Dutch heritage is an inspiration in the way she raises her children and lives in her home.  Children (and dogs) are very much welcome and appreciated everywhere in the Netherlands and she feels that way, too.

I believe that if your house works well it really contributes to your well-being.  Signature style isn’t based on trends that may come and go.  It’s more like putting a name on your basic personal style type.  Identifying a person’s style type can help act as a filter when out shopping for the home.  It’s not like this is something that locks you into one “look,” but more of a guiding principle so that you don’t make so many mistakes.  If you decide what you want your style to be, everything you bring into your home either contributes to that or moves you away from that.  Having that guiding principle can help you make better decisions for your home.

I’m not going to ask you a bunch of questions about your idyllic vacation, what kind of tree you are, or what environmental sound most appeals to you, then tell you what your Signature Style is (we shall capitalize it from now on).  Instead, I’m going to let YOU decide what you want your home to be.  Let’s see if we can define your Signature Style for FREE.

Below are a list of words to consider.  Pull out all the words that sound like you or appeal to you (or add your own).  Consider these questions:  Does this describe what my style is now?  What comes naturally to me?  Does this describe what I like?  Does this describe the style that I want?  That I wish I had?  That I strive to be?

Vibrant Edgy Glamorous Eccentric Urban Playful Fresh Dramatic Serene

Sassy Dynamic Eclectic French Romantic Feminine Cheeky Regal Nostalgic

Whimsical Strong Enchanting Country Modern Seductive European Lavish

Comfortable Charming Contemporary Witty Offbeat City Atomic Rustic

Timeless Elegant Tranquil Sexy Mid-Century Organic Inviting Refined

Warm Balanced Fun Exotic Southern Asian Tropical Retro Vintage Calming

Oddball Shabby Antique Regency Scandinavian Chic Sophisticated Sleek

Mediterranean Arty Woodsy Loft Mission Hollywood Suburban  

Bright Funky ArtNouveau ArtDeco Gustavian International Bollywood

Ethnic NewYork Soft Laidback Formal Informal Easy Traditional Downtown

Kitschy Victorian Cottage Natural Mellow Uptown Charmed Noncomformist

Classic Neoclassical French Bohemian Beachy Restless Simple Frenetic

Metropolitan Polished AvantGarde Basic

Make your list, choosing from the above list (or add a few of your own I didn’t think of).  Think carefully, then starting pairing them down until you have 3 or 4 words.  Now start combining.  Is your Signature Decorating Style:   Rustic Modern?  Vintage Chic?  Warm Organic?  Tranquil Urban?  Playful Traditional?  Bohemian Funk?  Lunatic Fringe?

I’ve scattered some pics of my home throughout this post so that you can help me figure out my Signature Style.  I would say my words are:

Glamour, Nostalgic, Retro, Enchanting, Gustavian, Vintage, Kitschy, Elegant, Charmed

Can you think of any others?

Now let’s start trying combinations of those words to really describe my Signature Style.  Although all the words apply to different things about my home and my style, what two words really sum it up for me?

Here are a few I came up with:

Glamorous Nostalgia 

Charmed Vintage

Enchanted Rewind

Enchanted Nostalgia

Vintage Enchantment

Please tell me what YOU think fits best.  And I’m officially daring you to define your own Signature Style in the comment section below!  Make a statement – it’ll be good for you

Photo Credits:  The Decorologist (formerly StoneBrook Staging).

THIS is the kind of thing I get excited about!  Rachel Ashwell has a new book coming out September 1st: Rachel Ashwell’s Shabby Chic Interiors – My Rooms, Treasures, and Trinkets.  Rachel Ashwell is a self-made businesswoman who founded the iconic brand known as Shabby Chic in 1989 when, as a single mother of two young children, she looked to open a small shop where she could sell “pretty things” without spending much time or distance from her children. Rachel opened her first store on trendy Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, California and now has a brand that is known worldwide.

For those of you who are not familiar (!), Shabby Chic is a laid-back take on traditional decorating.  Rachel Ashwell’s signature style is known for its faded color palette, generous doses of white and creams, heavy use fabrics such as cotton, linen, and muslin, feminine details such as ruffles, and  loosely-slipcovered sofas and chairs.   Now, I don’t go “all in” for her design style, but she has had a major influence on my design choices over the last 2 decades.  She really brought together a new look and philosophy about decorating that is amazing.  Her previous books are beautiful and inspirational – I’ve read them all dozens of times.

Her new book, Shabby Chic Interiors–My Rooms, Treasures, and Trinkets, is said to be an eclectic book of quirky decorating inspiration.   It falls into chapters according to location, beginning with Rachel’s breathtaking Los Angeles residence and continuing with a photographer’s minimalist mountain-top home in the Hollywood hills, a beautiful Malibu beach cottage, a bohemian hideout in southern California, and a peek at a number of celebrity homes.  With rooms combining flea-market finds and objects of pure functionality–an elegant French mirror reflecting a painting, a bejeweled metallic candle holder sitting by a cluster of willow-patterned china, a single faded velvet pillow lounging under the twinkle of a vintage chandelier–this book celebrates all that is wonderfully Shabby Chic.

Here’s the good news!  If you click on the Amazon link here, you can pre-order Rachel Ashwell’s Shabby Chic Interiors for 34% off the list price.  I’ve already heavily suggested to my husband that he would be wise to order it for my birthday .

Rachel Ashwell also has a few DVDs on Amazon that I have not seen, but am very interested in.  Apparently, Rachel had a short-lived series on the Style channel.  It appears that while the production values were lacking, the content is very good.  I am officially putting the Festive Details and Entertaining DVD on my Christmas wishlist!

If you are interested in any of Rachel Ashwell’s books and DVDs, I have links to all the good ones on the left side of the screen.

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