Get Book Smart: How To Display Books – III of III

We all have them.  They’re heavy, all different sizes, colors, even shapes.  For the avid reader, we want to be sure and display them as a part of our home.  They are our friends who remind us who we have met in stories, who we want to be and what we know.  They are in a sense, who we are, so they should be a part of our space, too.  They are our books.

While the digital age is only getting more sophisticated, there is solace in our reading the original copy…holding the pages in our hands on a comfortable sofa with good lighting, enjoying, even noticing the faint essence of the pages.  How do we organize our paper friends in a way that allows us to enjoy their lines?  Look on…

• Don’t overlook the importance of use.  A benefit of stacking horizontally then placing the books on their end is they are easier to retrieve when the mood arises.

• Recover with generously decorated paper, wallpaper or wrapping paper.  Fur?  Leather?

• Dare I suggest spray painting?

• For books you are less fond of, remove the outer cover for texture and uniformity.

• Mix them amongst clever and inviting objects for even more interest and sophistication

• Wrap the with twine

• Bind them with buckles

• Create a color theme

• Lay them on a table

• Open them

***SEE MORE GREAT BOOK IDEAS IN PART I OF III

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Make it fab!

-Jill

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Photos:  Jill Tran Interior Design and Co.

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

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Get Book Smart: How To Display Books – II of III

We all have them.  They’re heavy, all different sizes, colors, even shapes.  For the avid reader, we want to be sure and display them as a part of our home.  They are our friends who remind us who we have met in stories, who we want to be and what we know.  They are in a sense, who we are, so they should be a part of our space, too.  They are our books.

While the digital age is only getting more sophisticated, there is solace in our reading the original copy…holding the pages in our hands on a comfortable sofa with good lighting, enjoying, even noticing the faint essence of the pages.  How do we organize our paper friends in a way that allows us to enjoy their lines?  Look on…

• Don’t overlook the importance of use.  A benefit of stacking horizontally then placing the books on their end is they are easier to retrieve when the mood arises.

• Recover with generously decorated paper, wallpaper or wrapping paper.  Fur?  Leather?

• Dare I suggest spray painting?

• For books you are less fond of, remove the outer cover for texture and uniformity.

• Mix them amongst clever and inviting objects for even more interest and sophistication

• Wrap the with twine

• Bind them with buckles

• Create a color theme

• Lay them on a table

• Open them

***SEE MORE GREAT BOOK IDEAS IN PART III OF III

“Like” us on facebook, won’t you!?

Make it fab!

-Jill

Click here to DISCOVER ALL OF JILL’S LATEST BLOGS FULL OF GREAT DESIGN, TIPS AND INSPIRATION

Got a comment?  Reaction?  Question? 
Tell me what’s on your mind.  I love hearing from you!

Photos:  Jill Tran Interior Design and Co.

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

Contact Jill

Get Book Smart: How To Display Books – I of III

We all have them.  They’re heavy, all different sizes, colors, even shapes.  For the avid reader, we want to be sure and display them as a part of our home.  They are our friends who remind us who we have met in stories, who we want to be and what we know.  They are in a sense, who we are, so they should be a part of our space, too.  They are our books.

While the digital age is only getting more sophisticated, there is solace in our reading the original copy…holding the pages in our hands on a comfortable sofa with good lighting, enjoying, even noticing the faint essence of the pages.  How do we organize our paper friends in a way that allows us to enjoy their lines?  Look on…

• Don’t overlook the importance of use.  A benefit of stacking horizontally then placing the books on their end is they are easier to retrieve when the mood arises.

• Recover with generously decorated paper, wallpaper or wrapping paper.  Fur?  Leather?

• Dare I suggest spray painting?

• For books you are less fond of, remove the outer cover for texture and uniformity.

• Mix them amongst clever and inviting objects for even more interest and sophistication

• Wrap the with twine

• Bind them with buckles

• Create a color theme

• Lay them on a table

• Open them

\

***MORE BOOK IDEAS, SEE PART II

“Like” us on facebook, won’t you!?

Make it fab!

-Jill

Click here to DISCOVER ALL OF JILL’S LATEST BLOGS FULL OF GREAT DESIGN, TIPS AND INSPIRATION

Got a comment?  Reaction?  Question?  Interior Design question…WWJD?
Tell me what’s on your mind.  I love hearing from you!

Photos:  Jill Tran Interior Design

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

Contact Jill

Fab Fabrics For Fantastic Rooms

I found these amazing fabrics at the High Point Furniture and Accessory Market and wanted to show you.  The embroidery, beading, layering and details on these are quite handsome and, well, fab!

In the right spaces with the right applications, these fabrics could be really incredible and be such a great detail.

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Make it fab…fabrics!

-Jill

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Photos:  Jill Tran Interior Design and Co.

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

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Birds Of A Feather Flock Together On Fabrics, Lamps, Artwork…..

A final look at the BIRD motifs of the High Point Furniture and Accessory Market for Spring 2010.  It really was amazing to me how they were everywhere…on everything!  Hurry, flock to them….  (oh, just one last pun!).

Chickens hiding in the archway and eggs on the shade!

My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather. -- Loire Hartwould

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. --Chinese Proverb

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Click here to DISCOVER ALL OF JILL’S LATEST BLOGS FULL OF GREAT DESIGN, TIPS AND INSPIRATION

Make it fab!

-Jill

Click here to view Jill’s newest tips, advice and inspiration

Got a comment?  Reaction?  Question?  Interior Design question…WWJD? (What Would Jill Do)

Tell me what’s on your mind.  I love hearing from you!

Photos:  Jill Tran Interior Design and Co.

Jill Tran is a Kansas City Interior Designer and creates beautiful, custom interiors for her interior design clients in Kansas City and clients around the country.

Contact Jill

Wallpaper How-To’s…How To Make It Gorgeous!

While the thought of wallpaper makes some people scream, for you, I hope it will bring squeals of delight!  It is back in full force and with so many gorgeous papers out there to choose from, they are just starting to make just paint look, well, not as exciting.  Why not have the best?

After hearing what my readers think about wallpaper, most of us hear “wallpaper” and our minds automatically go back to some very dated looks.  Think TV.  You all mentioned All In The Family, Dallas, Everybody Loves Raymond, Eight is Enough, Family Ties and Growing Pains?  Sooooo yesterday with those set looks, right?!  Today papers are showing up in grand spaces on shows of all kinds.  They are now in young hip shows.  The Apprentice and America’s Next Top Model.  Ant those are just a few.  Of course, paper never left some of the grandest homes I have had the pleasure of seeing in person.  Papers make spaces so amazing.

Another fear I am finding from my readers is not putting the paper up, but taking it down.  To remove it right, the walls must be sized first.  Sizing is similar to applying paint.  It rolls on.  It holds the paper tight to the walls, yet releases it the day you want to change the wall’s surface again.

As far as resale for a home, telling the buyer the walls were properly sized before the paper was hung could make them happy.  Keep in mind though that a fashionable and up-to-date home will attract buyers sometimes more than the “neutral” and/or “safe” home’s design.  When they think back to a home, they will remember the home that was the most beautiful…not the most neutral.

See the paper I added to this little babe's room...it is white with little glass beads for a sheer, gorgeous and light sparkly look.

For thoughts on how to hang wallpaper, check out this link for Seabrook Wallpaper’s directions.  I think they are good instructions and cover most everything.  How To Hang Wallpaper

As far as choosing paper, be aware of the scale of the print.  Smaller rooms should usually have smaller prints, larger prints for larger rooms.  Unless you want a more fun and funky look….like we wanted in the hip bath we redesigned above.  Watch for flocked papers and foils in bathrooms or areas with moisture.  While a lot of papers are tough, some can take a little less cleaning such as with surface added details like the flocking or beads, ete..  Take a chance and make a fun, gorgeous choice. If you aren’t so sure at first, try a smaller space first like a bathroom.  Get a great paper hanger, too that has done this a million times.  They know all about plumb lines, prepasted -vs- non-pasted papers, tricky areas, etc. It is money well spent.

Wallpaper question?  Let me know and shoot me a comment.  Think bigger than paint…think paper!  Send me your pics…I want to see!

Make it fab!

Jill

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pics by Jill Tran Interior Design and Co. and Schumacher

Hiding The View, From View, My Article In KC Home Design

It was fun to write a short article for Kansas City Home Design (see page 43 on this link’s digital version) on hiding wide-screen sets.  There are some amazing solutions such as those from Inca Lifts, that will surely amaze you.  Do be sure and check out the Inca Lift site.  The Jetson’s, eat your heart out!