February 20th, 2010 by Kimberly Ann
So after my last post about the Flickr photos I used in my new picture frame, I felt so accomplished I decided to use Flickr again for a little collage over my desk.
I’ve been trying to think of something to put over the desk in the sitting room of my bedroom, other than just a bulletin board. I came close to buying a piece of artwork that was a tattered looking world map print, but I really wanted to go for something a little more fun and inspiring since it’s my desk space and where I need my creative juices flowing the most.
At work last week, one of my co-workers was telling me that his wife had bought pictures frames, one with five photo spots and one with three. At first he thought she had just bought picture frames with the stock photos still in them. Then he realized that each of those photos had a picture in the shape of a letter, and the letters spelled out his two sons names. I thought that was a pretty neat idea, so I decided to set out on Flickr looking for alphabet groups to find photos that resembled letters to spell out our names. Finding the picture with an “&” in it was golden!
I printed the photos out on my photo printer, got a few cheap frames from Wal-Mart, pulled out a shelf I have had for awhile with nowhere to put it, picked up a bulletin board from Target… and now I’ve got a space over my desk that brings a little smile to my face when I look up after hours of being buried in code working on websites!
Name Photo Collage
Tags: bulletin boards, collages, decorating, flickr, office space
Posted in Tips | 540 Comments »
February 13th, 2010 by Kimberly Ann
A couple weeks ago I bought a picture frame I loved for Hobby Lobby without really knowing where I might put it. Once I got home, I decided an empty wall in the living room was the perfect place.
But my living room is already covered with photos of friends and family, and I didn’t really want to add more personal photos.
I decided to check out Flickr to see if there were any photos worthy of printing and putting in the frames. I searched for local landmarks, downloaded some great photos, converted to sepia, and printed! Voila, instant artwork.
You have to be careful, of course. You’re usually dealing with copyrighted work. Make sure the photographer allows users to download the photos for personal use. I found many Flickr photos that didn’t allow download, and I steered clear of those.
There are lots of great ways to use Flickr photos to decorate. You could search for photos from your honeymoon location, your hometown, dream vacation spot. I could see this working great in a kid’s room. Print off pictures of fire trucks and sports to stimulate your little one!
Posted in Tips | 467 Comments »
February 13th, 2010 by Randi
Another really great blog called Young House Love is about a couple and their journey through life and renovating their house. I think this link is completely appropriate for this site as it highlights tips on taking stunning pictures of your rooms in your house, even those pesky small half baths with no room to turn around. Follow the link to improve your photography..for those wonderful pictures that you post on here. Hey, it’s easier to give you advice on decorating a room if we can actually see the dimensions! 
Click here to read the entire blog…or scroll down to see my favorite points.
Here are a few of my favorites:
1. Turn all the lights on, even the lamps. You want to let as much light into the room to illuminate all of the areas that need decorating. So open the blinds, turn the lamps on, and light the candles. Oh, and take the pictures during the day for some extra natural light that helps a room shine.
2. Take several shots. After you take your first shot take a second to look at it. It’s much easier to judge a room when you can see it from the eyes of someone else (or a camera for that matter). This can give you an idea of any certain areas that you really need help with, which helps fellow decorumers really hone in and give great tips for smaller spaces.
3. Try taking both horizontal and vertical pictures. Sometimes the best way to showcase a room is to grab a shot of one area, from ceiling to floor. This also gives a more honed in approach for specific trouble areas. However, in some cases a horizontal picture is key for capturing the entire aura of a room. Again, take several pictures and look at the afterwards…you’ll find what’s best for your room. An example below…
Horizontal to showcase the entire room.
Vertical to pinpoint a design element from head to toe…
There are tons of other great tips. So get check out the link above, get to snapping shots around your place, and start uploading them! We can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!
- Randi
Tags: Photography
Posted in Tips | 352 Comments »
February 13th, 2010 by Kimberly Ann
I am so excited to launch this site – in only two days after conceiving the idea! I’ve wanted some sort of blog site for awhile now, but had no idea what type of site to go with.
I was struggling the other night searching google, trying to find some sort of design inspiration to help me come up with some ideas to revamp some rooms in my house. In particular I was looking for window treatments for my bare windows that were contemporary looking. After struggling and not finding anything that looked remotely like my 3 windows, I decided to search for a site where I could post a picture of my windows and get some ideas. After not finding a site, I decided to make my own (where there’s a will.. there’s a way).
So a few snippets of code, a quick learning of wordpress and phpbb3, and I’m here!
My hope is this site will grow, and be a place to be inspired by and learn from one another!
Posted in General | 525 Comments »
