Hello color 25 bright ideas for DIY decor

For crafters interested in adding a little or a lot more color to their living spaces, Smith, the blogger behind The Crafted Life, who has more than 40,000 Instagram followers, has lots of ideas for making colorful, brand-new items or revitalizing old ones. She emphasizes the basics, like using hardware-store paint chips to explore colors, and seeking natural light not relying on images on screens to determine true color, and creates useful references to color vocabulary and palette choices. (She doesn't neglect neutrals!) As for the projects themselves, Smith includes both practical objects (brightened-up flowerpots and dish towels) and purely decorative items (like her eye-catching, homemade wall art) that can be made in a relatively short time with low-cost items found in hardware or crafts stores: paint, epoxy, glitter, wood blocks, acrylic sheets. Tips are provided for every room of the house, with advice for staging tables, bar carts, and bookshelves, too. An eyeful of inspiring projects and jumping-off points for color-curious home designers.--Bostrom, Annie Copyright 2010 Booklist

Lifestyle author Smith offers practical and adventurous projects to animate one's home with the extravagant use of color. The book's projects revolve around average objects that can be enlivened with a new coat of paint, such as terra-cotta pots, catch-all trays, wooden clothes hangers, and centerpieces. Beyond providing basic instructions for the projects, she explains color theory and shows how to determine workable color schemes while offering tips for mixing and matching colors. Then, room by room, she leads a walking tour of ways to spruce up living space with simple touches. The projects include marble-dipped utensil holders for the kitchen, a set of rainbow-painted chairs for the dining room, and a decorated mirror frame for the bedroom. There's a whole chapter filled with tear-out-and-frame wall art. The projects themselves are simple and require little to no expertise, making this guide perfectly suited for crafty teens or anyone looking for a low-cost way to add personality to their home or dorm room. Color photos. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents: INTRODUCTION: 9 Welcome to My Colorful World 11 Color Theory 101 CHAPTER ONE: THE LIVING ROOM 23 Wall Art, Three Ways 31 Party Animal Coasters 35 Catch-All Mini Tray 39 Colorful Planter, Three Ways 49 Fancy Footed Vase 51 Pom-Pom Basket 55 Style Your Space: Bar Carts for Beginners 60 Get Colorful: Amp Up Your Neutrals CHAPTER TWO: THE DINING ROOM 67 Two Quick Centerpieces 73 Three Pretty Napkins 81 Embellished Placemats 83 Salt & Pepper Shaker Makeover 87 Painted Chair Set 89 Style Your Space: How to Set a Charming Table 94 Get Colorful: Warm and Cool Colors CHAPTER THREE: THE KITCHEN 101 Color-Blocked Trivets 103 Rainbow-Scalloped Sugar and Flour Canisters 107 Marble-Dipped Utensil Holder 109 Bright Hanging Planter 113 Rainbow-Stamped Dish Towels 115 Photo Magnets 118 Style Your Space: Creative Ways to Organize Supplies 122 Get Colorful: Bolds and Brights CHAPTER FOUR: THE BEDROOM 129 Wooden Hanger Makeover 131 Instagram Wall Art 135 Mini Photo Blocks 137 Colorful Mirror 141 Mini Bud Vase 143 Pom-Pom Votive Candle Holder 147 Geometric Patterned Pillow 149 Mini Bookcase Makeover 153 Style Your Space: Staging a Beautiful Bookcase 156 Get Colorful: Pastels 160 Photography Tips 165 Resources 166 Tear-Out Artwork 175 About the Author 175 Acknowledgments Excerpted from Hello Color: 25 Bright Ideas for DIY Decor by Rachel Mae Smith All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.