Monday, January 28, 2013

Rustic Décor with a Contemporary Flair

I finished the second décor item for my new laundry room yesterday (I posted about the first - the tiny houses -  here) and spent a frustrating morning trying to photograph it. It is hanging on a long skinny wall near the entrance to the laundry and visible from the kitchen. Lighting it for good photography is impossible with the equipment I have. But I tried. I am not thrilled with the photos but I love the piece.


For this piece I used inspiration for a design created by Liv and Jeff McMillan and shared on both Apartment Therapy and Curbly. They created their wall art by sticking wood slices to the wall. I approached it differently and will share my technique in a tutorial in my next post.

The construction is made up of over 50 slices of wooden branches. If you have been following me for any time you'll know I love working with materials from nature and branches in particular. I have posted an entire series on inspirations for branches in décor here. If you love branches you should check out that resource. For this project I used smooth bark varieties including maple and black birch.


The branches were of a variety of diameters with the largest about 4". I cut them into a variety of heights and worked to create a random composition with them.


I considered the long skinny wall, right inside the door of my laundry room and created a composition with proportions just for that wall.


This piece looks rather static straight on, but the beauty of this location is that I always approach it from an angle and the various depth add to the dynamic composition.


And the view from the kitchen is truly inviting.

One of the reasons I designed my laundry room is to have a place to stage entertaining events, you know those huge family Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. My plan was to keep the door shut and contain the mess and mayhem of entertaining in this room. Adding attractive features like this means I'll have to keep the room neat. That was not the plan!

Update: I have posted the step-by-step tutorial for this project here.

With so many of my projects I am captivated by the visuals created as I work. Here are a few photos that caught my eye.



Here is a photo of the original work by Liv and Jeff. Thanks for the inspiration!
Photo credit: Liv McMillian

Previous Posts of Interest:


©2013AshbeeDesign, Marji Roy

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Hope to see you there as well!

22 comments:

  1. I love this piece. It adds so much character to the space. I just started a new link party and would love for you to come over and share your post or any social media sites. Talkin’ About Thursday - http://designeddecor.com/talkin-about-thursday-link-party-5/
    DeDe@DesignedDecor

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    1. Thanks De, My re-done laundry is a huge improvement but adding the art work makes it personal.

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  2. I pinned this I love it so much! Very unique and creative! I'm also checking out the links you mentioned to see what else you have done. Great work!

    Visiting from Be Different Act Normal,
    Shannon
    fixingforfriday.blogspot.com

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    1. Find any other links of interest? Hope you found my branches theme here.

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  3. How fun! that really turned out wonderful!

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    1. Thanks Diann - and it was easy to do! Give it a try.

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  4. I really need to get a few tools, we have lots of wood lying around from tree trimming and I'd love to make something like this...

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    1. Go for it. Branch possibilities in decor are endless!

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  5. i love this. timeless and cool.

    :) popping by via tuesday's treasures and would love to have you visit my blog when you have a moment.

    smiles to you.

    michele

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    1. Thanks Michelle, on my way over to your blog right now.

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  6. Wow, the design really caught my eye in the thumbnail. It's really awesome looking! Great job!

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    1. Thanks Emily. Looking forward to having company so I can show it off.

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    1. Thanks for visiting and commenting. Are you going to make one for your Cape on the Corner?

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  8. What a cool idea. So simple but looks fantastic. I am hosting a link party and would love it if you would link up. Thanks.

    http://www.ifitsnotbaroquedesignblog.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and visiting. I'll head right over to your party and check things out.

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  9. I love this! It looks great. I'm your newest follower ;)
    Jamie ~ Better With Age

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  10. That is awesome! I love it! How could I not include this in the highlights this week too? lol! Thanks so much for sharing your creativity! :)

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  11. This turned out beautifully! Pinned it like it was hot, and I can't wait to show my hubby. This might be our next team diy project, thanks to you.

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