Thursday, October 8, 2009

Pottery Barn Inspired


I have had this picture from pottery Barn in my idea folder for a long time. I love every single thing about it. From the classic black painted furniture to the gorgeous chandelier to the apothecary jars, but especially the chic look of black and white halloween decor with just a splash of orange. Love, love, love. There is something in this picture that I've wanted to re-create, but have not been able to figure out. Well, finally I got it and I tried my very own version of it. If you'll look very closely on top of the sideboard and above it on the shelves, there are some adorable cylinder shaped things with pumpkin faces. I fell in love with them the instant I laid eyes on them! Can you tell that they are made out of old books???
Precious.


This is my version of the P.B. originals. And I'll show you how to make your very own!


You can use any books, but I prefer the old, worn look with yellowed pages. Start at either end and begin folding the pages in, toward the spine of the book. Continue to fold and fold and fold some more until you have no more pages to fold. Lots of folding.


As you are folding, you will notice the pages start to curl around and form a cylinder. When finished, give them a nice fluffing and tape the two covers together in the back. You can add some little shapes to make a jack-o-lantern face or put black letters on there to spell out "BOO" or "EEK". In fact, I think I might make mine say "eek"...I like that better.



Mine are definitely not Pottery Barn worthy, but I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. Considering I've been drooling over them for more than a year!



And because I am in a Pottery Barn frenzy, I'll leave you with some more gorgeous eye candy. I could just die.... I love this room so much! Those plates on the wall make me salivate. Dreamy, right? I am now on a self imposed manhunt for a collection of black and white plates for my bedroom. I.MUST.HAVE.THEM.




30 comments:

Darlene - Our Creative Life said...

They look great! You did terrific!! I remember seeing those in the PB catalog last year and thought they were cool. I just posted a Pottery Barn look-a-like item too (maybe you would be interested...since you love PB like I do!)

Beansieleigh said...

Hi Amanda! LOVE this idea for Halloween!! I will have to hunt down some books to use today! Thanks! ~tina

Jess said...

I think they look FAB! I have a love affair with PB too!

Sara said...

Great job, Amanda! You are so good at recreating the PB look at a fraction of the cost. Pottery Barn is my favorite store!

Anonymous said...

i super love the feather wreath!!!! I want one in red :)

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

That is a gorgeous room, Amanda. I love those dining chairs, but like everything going on! Very clever with the books. I'm probably aging myself here, but I remember when I was a kid, the thing to do was fold the Reader's Digest pages to make Christmas trees.

Stacey said...

That room is gorgeous. You probably get tired of hearing me say this but you are so talented. I would have never looked at those pumpkins and figured out how to do it with books.

P.s. I like you Halloween display on your mantel too!

A Southern Rose said...

This is the neatest idea! They look so cute! I love your feather wreath too. Did you make it?

Carmen @ Life with Sprinkles on Top said...

Very cool! You did a great job on the book pumpkins. I think you should leave them as pumpkin faces. They are so cute that way! I love the black and white look with the touch of orange as well.

Anonymous said...

great ideas with the books! omg you are genius!

Kim's Treasures said...

Great project!!!

Kristina P. said...

Yours looks as good as anything found at Pottery Barn!

BLJ Graves Studio said...

Love your project. Also, I saw lots of black & white plates at Hobby Lobby earlier this week. They were very similiar to the PB ones.

Room to Inspire said...

This room is beautiful, from the table up to the shelves. This book idea is great - I think this would fit perfectly into my Fall decor.

Chelsea

Danielle said...

If you are close to a Hobby Lobby, then check out the Black & White plates they have on sale this week from $1.99-2.99... I was just at Hobby Lobby and saw that they were on sale, and I thought of your blog as I saw this post this morning.

Danielle

curlyscreations.blogspot.com

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Okay, Miss Thang...another brilliant knock-off. :)

I am in love with those black and white plates. If I see any in stores around town, I'll let you know. :)

horse loving lineman's wife said...

Very creative and very cute! I love the book idea.

Jen - Balancing Beauty and Bedlam said...

So cute, but it's such a coincidence that you have that picture. I'm doing a thrift store post this week and I found a round table for $12..didn't buy it but am showing what someone could have done with it and showing inspiration pics in both black/white...this one. :)

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Isn't black and white wonderful? I am redoing my kitchen with black and off white. I just love the simplicity. Those plates ARE fabulous!

Have a great weekend!

XOOX
Jen

Pam Walter said...

Way cute! I'm glad to see that there is someone else who clips ideas then hangs on to them forever. But hey...it's not like they're going to go bad or anything. www.satisfiedsole.com

Unknown said...

Awesome! I've been thinking or trying those, and you make them sound so easy, I might just do it! Must go to Goodwill and buy some books. :)
Have a great weekend, my friend!

Mandi Shandi said...

Love it! And thanks for showing me how to copy it. I just wish I had that fabulous feather wreath you do to go with them. LOVE IT, and love you dear friend.

Katy said...

fabulous rooms and your decor is lovely!!
I saw some black and white (inexpensive) plates at Hobby Lobby...go check there.

Shelbie said...

Hi! I just saw your blog for the first time, and the Halloween book things are sooo cute! I may have to make some of my own! Thanks for showing the how to! cute blog. If I try them out I'll show yours and have a link to your blog for my peeps! thanks

Adie said...

You have such great taste! I think your books are awesome!

Ali said...

Cool, cool, cool! Am green w/ envy over the Cricut and thinking about starting to sell my baby booties to earn cash to finance my creativity as well. Not sure what is holding me back...

Regarding the plates - if you can't find what you like, look for shape & size, then have some fun w/ spray paint and stencils or cut some flourishes w/ your new toy and pretty up some plates of your own. You've got the skills sister!

Ali said...

Cool, cool, cool! Am green w/ envy over the Cricut and thinking about starting to sell my baby booties to earn cash to finance my creativity as well. Not sure what is holding me back...

Regarding the plates - if you can't find what you like, look for shape & size, then have some fun w/ spray paint and stencils or cut some flourishes w/ your new toy and pretty up some plates of your own. You've got the skills sister!

Let it Shine said...

You could easily make your own plates with your new Cricut :)
Paint and paste baby!

The Fiskeaux Family said...

Microsoft has some gorgeous b&w scrollies in their free clip art...you could just decoupage...?

House Queen said...

So cool, I can never keep the Pottery Barn drool wiped off of me!

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