Thursday, June 21, 2012

DIY Coffee Table Books

Last week while perusing one of my favorite blogs, Centsational Girl, I came upon a post that she had written about what to do with the "dog-eared pages" in your life.  You know -- the magazine photos that you tear out of House Beautiful and Dwell and save for inspiration.  I happen to have a problem with this.  I save, save, save, then forget, forget, forget.  I even had a family friend gift to me many of her favorite tear sheets and provide me with a binder full of amazing inspiration from a real interior decorator's perspective.  I hadn't gone through those pages yet, but I decided to take a look.


The first thing I did was go through all of the sheets and decide what was relevant to my design and decorating tastes and what wasn't.  This was a great exercise for me -- really taking a look at a photo and deciding if it just appealed to me, or if I would want it or an aspect of the pictured design for my own home.  I figured that anything that I like to marvel at from afar but not use within my own home, I would recycle.  

I made three categories with my tear sheets -- Interiors, Vacation Cabin, and Details -- and realized that these would make great coffee table books, full of all of the pictures that I love to look at.  Grey and I dream to have a cabin in a woodsy area someday, and I have tons of ideas for that, so I'm really glad that I included our hopeful home in the categories.  The Details book was to hold many things -- ideas for place settings, holiday decorating, how-to's, color schemes...  Anything detail-oriented.  


I found a beautiful canvas book at Michael's, and I decided to start on that particular afternoon with my Interior tear sheets.  I'm sure you can guess how this went...  You just need a glue stick and a book of your choice, and, of course, your inspiration.  :-)




There is still a lot of room left in the book to fill as more inspiration falls into my lap, and I have two other books in the works.  I have already flipped through this many times while waiting for my husband to get ready for a date, or passing the time between appointments.  It just makes me happy to see all of the aspects of what makes my decorating style unique in one place.  :-)



love,
maria

8 comments:

  1. How long did this take you...great idea!

    Rachel
    onasundayafternoon.com

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    1. Well, the first time I did this, because I had so many tear sheets to organize, it took me about three hours. But I added more to it yesterday after reading an issue of Elle Decor, and it took about an hour. It's fun for me, though -- leisurely time spent well. I enjoy it! :-)

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  2. I do this with the inspiration I find in magazines - such a great idea!

    XO
    www.pearlsandpaws.blogspot.com

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    1. It really helps to get all of our inspiration in one place, I find. Makes it easier to assess, and sweetly displays our growth.

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  3. Oh nice way to keep pretty things in one place and all the clutter in another!

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    1. I love having a book full of all of my favorite things right at my fingertips! :-)

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  4. I have a book like this, too, but mine is not as fancy - just a binder with clear page holders and torn out magazine pages. I am sort of a magazine tear-out hoarder... I have folders filled with recipes and decor ideas! I need to get the rest of them organized so I can actually make use of them :)

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    1. I keep all of my tear-outs in a binder with clear pages, and when I have time, I transfer them to my book. :-) I love keeping them all organized! :-)

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