13__Cutest Infestation Ever: Bamboo Housewares

So the new year has brought with it a collection of new furnishings for our home. They're all modified (hacked) products, something that I get great satisfaction out of. It may be something that anyone can find, but once you've made it your own - it's a unique reflection of your taste worth showing off. All three of these items are bamboo, but as Nicole reminds she's asian - so it's alright.

Project 1

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I can't tell you the anticipation I've had piecing together this wall clock. When I found the dish I wasn't thinking: clock! But after being mesmerized by the dense concentric circles, I knew it was the perfect surface to turn into one of the first accessories in my collection.

I found a number of places online to purchase the quartz movements. There's hundreds of options, and better yet very very good volume discounts. When purchasing a case of 100 the price for each hovers around 10% the cost of buying just one.

It's a simple and beautiful piece. Plus it's bright warm color brings a smile every time I see it.

Project 2

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We hate carpet. It's not the texture really that bothers us, but more the drab look that it exudes. The bluish-gray fuzz under your feet with the white walls (textured to prevent us from painting) is enough to make you want to scream.

So when searching for the ideal Christmas gift I found a reasonably priced full room bamboo rug. It's an ideal makeover for the living room. Thanks Mom & Dad! When looking at the thumbnails online, the colors seemed much more rich and radiant than the delivered product. We still loved the look of it, but wondered if we could easily transform it to exactly what we were hoping for. I tested the corner of it with some wood stain, and was shocked to see that it was mostly (if not completely) unfinished - which made for an easy stain and polyurethane job.

Better still we found a new palette of stains available that (similar to their latex cousins) are mixed to order directly in the can. The result is this gorgeous "coastal gray" finish that really accentuates the bamboo look. Check out the before and after combo photo! And this is just during the first coat.

Project 3

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Here is the resurfacing of my plant stand from last spring. It's the same clean line simplicity that I love to work with. It's a very primitive first prototype with the cheapest wood available. I'll find an image of it from our DC home with the beautiful orchids that originally inspired it.

Here there was a place in the room without much sunlight that called for a tall grassy plant who could hide (or be highlighted by) the lights that illuminate the fabric above for our homemade canopy bed. In the search for the right plant, these bamboo stalks stood out. They are virtually impossible to kill (unlike the orchids which barely lasted the month) and came in a variety of heights to achieve a nice layered effect. I still plan on finishing the stand with stain or paint but have been ambivalent since it's been lacking something to display for most of the last year. I do still love that in it's natural state, it looks as if it's been carved out of one tree trunk.

Thanks for listening to my rants. More updates to follow!