(decorating with washi tape)

Trendenser

Washi tape is a style of Japanese paper tape that started in Japan but manufacturing has now spread throughout the world. Washi tape is commonly made using fibers from the bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (Edgeworthia papyrifera), or the paper mulberry, but it’s most commonly made using bamboo, hemp, rice, and wheat. Washi comes from wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper, and the term is used to describe paper made in the traditional manner, regardless of where it’s manufactured. – Wishy Washi Tape

Babble

Over the past few months I’ve finally started experimenting with washi tape: taping photos on the wall in my daughter’s room, adding rows of washi tape to a framed print, and attempting a cross-stitch mini-mural on my bathroom wall…epic fail, but I’ll try again.

 What’s been holding me back from jumping on the washi tape band wagon is how addictive it could become. Thousands of gorgeous patterns and colors and they’re so small and cute; what’s the harm with buying another couple rolls? Am I right?

The beauty of washi tape is there’s just enough tackiness so it sticks, but isn’t permanent. Give kids a few rolls of washi tape and this “arts and crafts” project could keep little hands busy for hours.

Recently introduced by MT Casa is a wider size tape for making a washi tape statement in your home. What a treat for people who are renting and can’t paint or hang wallpaper, but want to add color and their own sense of stye into their space. Washi tape adds an air of whimsey and fun to any project. Non-permanent flair for your walls, floors, furniture…and cars.

The Minimalist

MT Casa

MT Casa

Apartment Therapy has some inexpensive and creative ideas for washi tape and kids rooms here and here. I touched on washi tape in the home, and I can only imagine what the scrapbooking crowd can do with a roll of washi tape.

If you have any washi tape projects send us a photo – it would be fun to see what people can do with a roll of tape. If my bathroom wall turns out I’ll share a photo.

(2013 bachman’s spring ideas house)

Dining Room

Where did the time go? This is the last weekend for the Bachman’s Spring Ideas House! Remember you need a ticket to go through the house. Your $5 ticket includes a coupon good for $5 off a Bachman’s purchase, with 20% of ticket proceeds benefiting Art in Bloom, the principal fundraiser of the Friends of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Visit the Spring Ideas House to see a hip take on ideas for spring entertaining and home decor from the perspective of a busy event planner and gardening enthusiast. After being buried under the Minnesota snow piles, this Ideas House rendition encourages getting out and getting together. Bachman’s designers are applying modern elements and clean design with infusions of bold patterns to the 100s of creative home décor and entertaining ideas. Expect to see an on-trend mixture of grays and yellows infused with crisp whites and plenty of natural elements. Plus many rooms will be themed around unique gatherings, giving you ideas for the upcoming party season.

Yellow kitchens were the big winners in the September 2012 issue of House Beautiful’s “America’s Favorite Paint Color.”

The living room coffee table is built from 6×6 cedar posts and decorative tiles. I also liked the idea of using a water feature in the fire-place during the months when the fire-place is not in use. Imagine that soothing sound of trickling water.

Drama Queen? An appropriate name for the wallpaper in the sun room, don’t you think? Loving the oversized scale of the vine – reminds me of Jack and the Beanstalk.

The headboard wall is covering in paper flowers and the light pendants are made from hanging baskets.

 Being an Event Coordinator,  three chalkboard walls are a necessity. The chalkboard paint went straight on the wall and was framed out with molding.

Event Coordinator’s office

Once again the Bachman’s design team did a lovely job. It has to be difficult to keep it fresh and new with every Idea’s House. We’re very appreciative to Bachman’s for choosing Hirshfield’s paint colors. It’s an excellent venue to see the paint “in action” and according to Nancy and R.C.W. it’s a great product.

For more photos, Hammers & High Heels, has an extensive montage of the Idea’s House. Have a great day - the sun is shining.  Enjoy!

Hirshfield’s paint colors used in the house:

Front Porch
Trim 0012 Bunny Cake
Floor 0211 Light Lichen
Entry
0806 Sweet Angelica
Living Room
0219 Camel’s Hump
Accent wall above fireplace 0806 Sweet Angelica
Sunroom Wallcovering
Drama Queen GC0874
Dining Room
0217 Oak Tone
Kitchen
0806 Sweet Angelica
Main Bathroom/Back Hall
0806 Sweet Angelica and 0218 Drifting Sand
Stairwell 
0217 Oak Tone
Event Coordinator Office
0462 Resting Place
Event Coordinator Workshop
Walls
0391 Crispa
Chalkboard Paint:
Benjamin Moore 529 Sweet Daphne, 627 Spring Break, 683 St. Lucia Teal
Girl’s Bedroom
0211 Light Lichen
Master Bedroom
0462 Resting Place
Upper Level Bathroom
0211 Light Lichen

 

{cottage paint}

Hirshfield’s is excited to announce we’re adding a new product called Cottage Paint, to our line of decorative paint finishes. Cottage Paint is a clay-based paint that dries to a matte finish. If you’re looking to update an old piece of furniture, this is the product for you.

From the Cottage Paint website:

Cottage Paint is a clay-based paint that dries to a silky matte finish and remains porous and easy to sand or wet distress when dry. We didn’t invent this paint, it’s been around since the frescos in the Sistine Chapel! We did, however bring it up to modern environmental standards by removing almost all of the VOCs in both the bases and the pigments.

1. Cottage Paint dries in about 15 minutes to one hour. I’m not joking. BUT for a rule of thumb – never do more than THREE applications of anything to a piece per day.
2. It adheres to just about any surface you can think of: Wood. Plastic. Metal. Brick, Melamine…
3. It requires NO sanding, priming or stripping. NO prep work – just a CLEAN surface. 
4. It can be distressed as soon as it is dry using a damp cloth or fine sand paper. 
5. Cottage Paint does not roll or peel like latex when sanded, and appears as if the paint has truly worn off over time.

People get really excited about the “no prep” aspect – but use your judgement. I was working on a chair with a high-gloss factory finish, and I took five minutes to scuff it with sandpaper to assure maximum adhesion. Use TSP to clean the piece making certain it is clean, clean, clean.

Cottage Paint offers a clear wax coat in three different sheens for a protective finish. For a tougher finish a varnish top coat can be applied. Also, included in the Cottage Paint products are colored waxes which give your piece of furniture that aged antique look.

The standard Cottage Paint line has 24 colors. But wait…There’s more! Drew, Minneapolis Institute of Fine Finishes, a/k/a The Plaster Center, developed  30 additional colors for the Cottage Paint line. In addition to the extensive palette of pastels and brights, imagine all the color possibilities you have just by adding white to a color.

Join us at Hirshfield’s Eden Prairie store on Saturday, March 16, 2013.  Ongoing demos are taking place from 10:00 – 2:00. Cottage paint and two DIY decorative plaster wall finishes, Sedona and Moiré, are being featured. Hirshfield’s Maple Grove will be the next store showcasing the products, so stay tune for more information.

The Edina store and The Plaster Center stock the Cottage Paint, with the following stores waiting to be set up:

Baxter, St. Cloud, Shakopee, Wayzata, Edina, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, Coon Rapids, Roseville, Apple Valley, and Woodbury.

We appreciate your patience as we set up the remaining stores. If you have questions about the product, please contact The Plaster Center at 612-374-0221 or Hirshfield’s Edina at 952-927-4647.

P.S. I used Créme Brûlée as the top coat on a piano bench and I put a sample of Schumacher’s Chiang Mai Dragon, in the Aquamarine color way, next to it. What a stunning combo. I could totally see an accent wall in the Schumacher paper with a Créme Brulée buffet placed in front of it. You could charge admission, it is that lovely.  A $2 piano bench and $200+ a roll of wallpaper; a perfect example of mixing “high and low.”

{new year’s resolution: refinish those garage sale finds}

Raise your hand if you made a New Year’s resolution this year!

Making the resolution is the easy part, the hard part is actually following through! Have no fear, the team at Hirshfield’s is here to keep you accountable! All month long we’ll be bringing your tips and advice to help you stick to your home improvement resolutions. We’ll be covering topics such as adding color to your space, getting your home organized and using more green products in your home. Today we want to help you finally tackle those garage sale, antique store and flea market finds and turn them into the beautiful showpieces you imagined them as.

Refinishing old furniture is not only a more environmentally friendly option than buying new, it is also a way to incorporate family heirlooms or sentimental pieces into your current design scheme. Not to mention, refinishing an old piece assures you that you’ll end up with a one-of-a-kind look!

A old side table transformed via DecorHacks

You’ll want to start the refinishing process by wiping down your piece with soapy water so you can get a good look at it. Are there layers of paint or stain that need to be removed? Are there some gouges that could use some sanding or putty? Talk to your local paint professional to determine what steps you need to take to make sure your piece is ready to accept new paint or stain.

The before and after of a project that some Hirshfield’s team members worked on

Here is a refresher course in Kim Yeager, Minneapolis designer, owner of Lark Nest Design and self-proclaimed “junker”, tips for refinishing furniture:

• You can paint metal. You can do a paint makeover on metal but the surface should be primed. Pieces with lots of curves lend themselves to a spray-on primer that comes in a can.

{new year’s resolution: use green products in your home}

Raise your hand if you made a New Year’s resolution this year!

Making the resolution is the easy part, the hard part is actually following through! Have no fear, the team at Hirshfield’s is here to keep you accountable! All month long we’ll be bringing your tips and advice to help stick to your home improvement resolutions. We’ll be covering topics such as adding color to your space and getting your home organized. Today, we’re going to help you in your resolution to use more “green” products in your home!

Low- or no-VOC paint is an easy place to start. This type of paint releases fewer or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into your home or office air. VOCs create ground-level ozone pollution and carry potential health risks.

Benjamin Moore Natura® Zero-VOC Interior Paint is ideally suited for residential applications. Unlike conventional zero-VOC paints, Natura remains zero-VOC even after tinting, which means it remains virtually odorless regardless of color.

{friday finds: home sweet home}

Here’s the story of a lovely lady, who saved 30,000 bottle caps…

This story warms my heart in so many ways: ingenuity, creativity, recycling, the want or need to express your personal sense of style, and my favorite, yard art. Olga lives in a small, isolated Russian village (north of Mongolia) and saved bottle caps until she had enough to cover her home. She crafted the designs after traditional macrame motifs and animals in her area. Pretty amazing, eh. You can read her story and see more photos here, but these insightful comments say it quite nicely:

Our magic comes from within, inspired by the world we inhabit and the resources we stumble across. How to teach people to listen to the small voice that guides them to the plastic bottle caps, and allows them to be viewed as beautiful? Olga? How did you do it?

Resourceful and fantastic. best things come from necessity and imagination.

Have a glorious weekend. And maybe you’ll think of Olga and be inspired to do something…big or small, it makes no difference.

{friday finds: environmentally safe paint removers from Hirshfield’s}

Bachman’s Ideas House

knack studio

A fresh coat of paint can give new life to an old piece of furniture, an outdated room or even a home’s entire exterior! However, sometimes before you can add that fresh coat of paint you have to first remove the old layer(s). Removing old paint can sometimes prove to be an icky task and the harsh fumes and chemicals in paint remover can be less than desirable. For safe, effective removal of paint, look for environmentally friendly paint removers like these options from Hirshfield’s:

Smart Strip

Smart Strip by Peel Away
This is a 100% biodegradable, water-based paint stripper that is extremely effective for removing multiple layers of architectural and industrial coatings from virtually all interior/exterior surfaces such as wood, brick, metal, concrete, stone, plaster, fiberglass, etc. Smart Strip™ does not contain methylene chloride, any caustics, or toxic chemicals. It is odor-free and safe for the environment.

The blogger behind Isabella & Max used Smart Strip to remove layers of paint and primer from a brass light fixture.To put it in her words, “A product that actually has lived up to its claims!”

Smart Strip is a 100% biodegradable paint stripping product. It works on painted brick, all kinds of wood products, metals, stone, plaster, concrete, fiberglass and more. Great for Acrylic Paint, Latex Paint, Lead Based Paint, Oil Based Paint, Shellac, Stains, Urethane and Water Based Paints.

Smart Strip by Peel Away is available at all Hirshfield’s Decorating Centers and Contractor Service Centers.

Peel Away 7

Peel Away 7
Peel Away 7 is an environmentally safe paint remover. This is a unique, safe

{bits & pieces: leather flooring made from… }

How seriously cool is this leather rug repurposed from belts? Can you stand it? I have to give credit to Cupboards for sharing the Ting love. Did anyone else instantly think, ” I can do that?” Head over to Cupboards for more leather love!

Wall treatment from belts

{world’s best graffiti removal system}

Nobody likes to hear a story about a vandalism that has occurred. But unfortunately, the defacement of property can happen anywhere, including the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. This is why John Rose and his team worked to develop the World’s Best Graffiti Removal System.

Rose has been in the graffiti removal industry for more than 30 years and has made it his personal mission to make it “game over for vandals.”

The World’s Best Graffiti Removal System, available to contractors, municipalities and building managers through Hirshfield’s, is guaranteed to be the quickest and safest graffiti removal system in the world. It is easy to use and employs only biodegradable products and environmentally sustainable techniques.

Some of the advantages of the World’s Best Graffiti Removal System include:

• Remove graffiti from ALL building surfaces without damage to the substrate, the environment or the end user.

{Hirshfield’s Earth Day giveaway!}

Earth Day is  April 22 – a day to celebrate Earth and support environmental programs. Earth Day is the largest civic event in the world, celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities.  More than a billion people participate in Earth Day activities every year.

Hirshfield’s is helping to celebrate Earth Day right here in the Twin Cities with a giveaway of two of their favorite environmentally friendly products; Benjamin Moore Natura® Zero-VOC Interior Paint and Smart Strip™ Paint Removal System.

Benjamin Moore Natura® Zero-VOC Interior Paint
Ideally suited for residential applications. Unlike conventional zero-VOC paints, Natura remains zero-VOC even after tinting, which means it remains virtually odorless regardless of color.

Smart Strip™ Paint Removal System
This is a 100% biodegradable, water-based paint stripper that is extremely effective for removing multiple layers of architectural and industrial coatings from virtually all interior/exterior surfaces such as wood, brick, metal, concrete, stone, plaster, fiberglass, etc. Smart Strip™ does not contain methylene chloride, any caustics, or toxic chemicals. It is odor-free and safe for the environment.