Did you know you can get old rubber tires for free? Just go to your local tire shop and ask them for one. The tire shop near me just places a pile in the parking lot that anyone can grab, any time of day.

After giving the tire a good scrubbing, it’s time to paint it. I actually painted this tire for an eHow tutorial, and I turned the rubber tire into a swing. But seeing how I don’t swing so much anymore, I decided to take it down and make a dog bed out of it. For the complete eHow tutorial on how to paint a rubber tire, go here. I had never painted a tire before, and I learned that it wasn’t very hard. I wasn’t sure if the spray paint would stay on the rubber, but it totally did. 

After the rubber tire was painted, and it completely dried, I added blankets and fleece to the middle to create the bed. 

This picture really captures Fosse and Gershwin’s personalities. Fosse is always alert, ready to see what’s happening. Gershwin would rather snuggle and rest his head. 

There’s something dramatic — and certainly unexpected — about ephemera cascading from the ceiling. For me, it’s really the final frontier in decorating. The walls and floors are already taken by furniture and art. But the airspace above our heads is valuable decorating real estate that is rarely utilized. So why not use it?

My method for hanging is pretty simple. I either glue or tie objects to thread or monofilament, also known as fishing line. (I use thread for lighter elements like rose petals and monofilament for heavier objects.) Then I attach the thread or monofilament to the ceiling. If what I’m hanging is feather-light, poster putty will do the trick. For anything that is medium-weight, I use a 3M Command Strip adhesive hook. And if I’m hanging something heavy that I want to make sure does not fall, I use ceiling eye-hook screws.

The following are some examples of ways that I’ve suspended objects in the air. My hope is that you will be inspired to have a few “hang-ups” of your own.

Floating flowers

I love to display flowers on the table, but there’s often not enough room for them during the meal, given the space needed for all the dishes of food. An alternative is to hang your flowers above the table. I chose calla lilies because their stems are thick enough to hold enough moisture for the flowers to stay fresh out of water for about two days. (Hopefully, your dinner party would be over by then.) Of course, you can also use artificial flowers. The calla lilies were hung with monofilament and attached to the ceiling with 3M Command Strip hooks.

Rose petal storm

Probably what I hang most often are silk rose petals. Suspended as if falling from the ceiling, they look like a camera snapped a picture while the petals were in midair, leaving them frozen in time. I’ve created this effect for romantic dinners for two, as well as for weddings and special events. To assemble strands of rose petals, I ran a needle and thread through three to six petals per strand, spacing the petals apart and gluing the point where the petals touch the thread. The strands of petals are light enough to attach to the ceiling with poster putty. To see how I suspended rose petals at my niece’s wedding, click here.

Whirly chandelier

I don’t have a chandelier above my dining room table, so I made a makeshift one that is much cooler using clear-glass globe candleholders from CB2. I secured them with monofilament and attached them to the ceiling with eye-hook screws. In each globe, I placed an LED battery-operated candle. I’ve also used the hanging globes as an ever-changing exhibit, placing various objects inside the globe depending on season.

Cascading pingpong balls

As if cooking Thanksgiving dinner wasn’t stressful enough, I got it into my head two weeks before the holiday to spray-paint 600 pingpong balls shiny gold and suspend them from the ceiling over our table. After four days of painstakingly painting each individual ball, I created strands of four to six pingpong balls by running a needle and thread through them and evenly spacing them out. Then I applied a dab of glue to the contact points where the balls touched the thread so the balls would stay in place. I attached them to the ceiling with 3M Command Strip hooks. They stayed up through December, and I’ve kept all the strands of pingpong balls so I can duplicate the look another time. For more pics of the gold ping pong ball decor, see my article here.

Halo of feathers

When I designed a bedroom for the Designer Showcase at Greystone Mansion several years ago, I thought the showpiece  would be an illuminated headboard I had built that featured a photograph of an angel sunning by the pool. After all, it cost about $3,000. But the first thing people said when they walked in was, “Look at the feathers hanging from the ceiling.” I had hung a halo of feathers from the ceiling using simple thread and poster putty, and it was this little unexpected decorating touch, which cost only $10, that got all the attention. For more pics of my room for the Greystone Mansion showcase, click here.

Pushing all the furniture against the wall

People seem to think that if you push everything to the four walls, there will be more room in the middle. What are they making room for — a dance floor?

The fix: Move furniture away from the walls, and arrange the pieces together to encourage conversations. If as a result, say, a sofa or chair seems to float in the middle of the room, anchor it with a console or side table.

Poor lighting

Even a well-appointed room can look dreary when there’s not enough light. Just as bad is a room lit by one super-bright overhead lamp that reveals every fine line on our faces.

The fix: Try to have three sources of light in each room at different heights and diffuse each with shades so that the light is soft and flattering. Also, use dimmer switches so you can vary the mood.

Not planning ahead

Don’t fall into the trap of falling in love with a piece of furniture in the store, but finding that it’s too big for the room when it’s delivered.

The fix: The next time you consider new furniture, take measurements of your room first, and draw a diagram of your room layout on graph paper, with each square representing a square foot. Use the graph paper to help you plan how different furniture pieces will fit — before you buy them

Being too matchy-matchy

Don’t buy sofas, loveseats and armchairs in matching sets. Ditto for bedroom sets with matching dressers and nightstands. Your home is not a Sears showroom.

The fix: Incorporate pieces that coordinate with each other, rather than match exactly. Also, feel free to mix up wood finishes in the same room. They don’t all need to be the same shade of brown.

Looking like a catalog

Some rooms are almost too perfect, like they’re straight out of a catalog. The result is a sterile environment that doesn’t reflect your own personality.

The fix: Go ahead and order from catalogs. Just be sure to include furniture pieces and/or accessories that have a backstory and special meaning to you.

An over-reliance on white walls

Unless your home is a sleek, modern work of architecture that looks like a gallery, white walls are boring. Colored walls add warmth and provide a more pleasing backdrop for your furniture and accessories.

The fix: If you’re afraid of colors, go with neutrals. Even a light tan is preferable to white. My secret weapon for color-phobic clients is the Restoration Hardware paint fan deck. Every color is a soothing neutral.

Over-accessorizing

If you’ve ever sat on a sofa or gotten into a bed with too many throw pillows, you know there can be such a thing as too many accessories. The same goes for too many picture frames, candles and other tchotchkes, which make your home look cluttered.

The fix: Remove half of your accessories and see how the room breathes. Put the extras in storage, and rotate your accessories every few months so it always feels like there’s something new.

Hanging art too high

In almost every home, there is at least one picture that is hung too high. Artwork that is higher than eye level feels disconnected from the rest of the room.

The fix: Position your framed art so that the center of it, measured vertically, is between 57 and 60 inches from the floor. That’s eye level for the average person who’s not a basketball player.

Hanging curtains too low

The tendency for most people is to hang curtain rods right above the window frame. Doing so makes the windows look shorter and the ceilings lower.

The fix: Install the curtain rod as high as you can, right below the ceiling level, assuming you have a standard 8-foot ceiling. (Vaulted ceilings are a whole other discussion.) Higher curtains draw the eye up, making the room look more expansive.

Forgetting about the ceiling

Poor ceilings. They are typically an afterthought, or worse, just ignored. Having a white, unadorned ceiling can be jarring, especially when the rest of the room is drenched in color.

The fix: Consider painting the ceiling a shade lighter than the wall color. This way, it makes visual sense with the surrounding walls and furnishings.

I was recently asked to participate in eHow‘s Project Throwdown Challenge, in which they invited six designers to make one home decor project using our imaginations and four specific materials: 1) an IKEA Lack table, 2) a sonotube of any size, 3) chains of any size, and 4) paint, stain or decoupage. See what the other designers created here on eHow’s Project Throwdown page. AND TO VOTE FOR MY PROJECT, PIN IT here.

I had never even heard of a sonotube before. Had you? They are those cardboard cylinders that they use to pour concrete into to make columns. Home Depot sells them in various diameters, the largest being 14″. For what I wanted to make, I needed one that was bigger – the width of the Lack table – so I found a place online called discountcontractorsupply.com. Not only do they have the sonotubes in big sizes, they also cut them to your needs, so I was able to order a 2-foot section.

So what did I make? I decided to create a dog bed, as the lack table turned upside down looked like a 4-poster bed. And I thought that the sonotube cut in half would make a great canopy. (That’s why I bought a 20″-diameter sonotube.) And the chains would be the side rails of the bed that would hold the doggie mattress.

Then, I had to decide if I was going to paint, stain or decoupage. That was an easy decision, because I am a decoupage fiend. But what papers would I use to decoupage? I actually went to Paper Source to buy some beautiful papers, thinking I would use them, but when I took them to my studio and placed them in my flat file storage rack, I was reminded of all the Pantone posters I have hoarded in that very same rack. A while back, at my favorite local art store Mittel’s, I saw a stack of old Pantone posters selling for $1 each, and I pretty much bought all of them. I have hundreds of them. Here’s just some of my stash:

These Pantone sheets were once used for advertising layouts, but since the advent of the computer, ad agencies no longer use them, so they are obsolete. They are prized among collectors, however, and sell on Etsy for upwards of $75 each. I don’t think I’m ever going to sell them, so I figured I would use some of these Pantone sheets to decoupage the dog bed, making it a “Panbone” dog bed. (Yes, I like dog puns.)

I also have a ton of paint chips, courtesy of fan decks I have bought on eBay. Paint chips are almost the exact width of the Ikea Lack table legs, so I decided to use these to decoupage the legs and the side (or apron) of the tabletop. I just had to shave about 1/8″ from the side of each one so they’d fit.

And obviously I have an obsession for Pantone. Exhibit A: My studio.

Step 1: Decoupaging the Table

Because I would be flipping the table upside down, I had to decoupage the bottom of the table top. First, I cut one of the Pantone posters to fit the table. (Actually, the poster is slightly too small for the table, which is fine because I was going to add a big “Pantone” strip on one end.

Since this was a simple paper on wood job, I used Mod Podge decoupage medium to adhere the paper, applying Mod Podge to the table and then placing the paper on the surface. However, my trick for decoupaging large pieces of paper is to immerse them in water first. The water relaxes the paper, and more importantly, allows you to reposition the paper. If the paper were dry, once it touched the Mod Podged surface, it would be stuck. I squeegeed the excess water, and the paper was nice and flat on the table with no bubbles. Then I applied Mod Podge over the paper to seal it.

And then I decoupaged a strip of white paper printed with PANBONE and a fake color name.

Step 2: Decoupaging the Table Legs and Apron

To decoupage the paint chips onto the table legs and apron, I thought I would do the same thing I did with the table top. But when I immersed the paint chips in water, they puckered because the white part of the paint chip is made of something different from the color part, so the different materials reacted differently to water. So then I tried just applying them directly on the table legs and apron with Mod Podge, but the paint chips still puckered. What finally worked was spray adhesive. I sprayed Scotch Super 77 on the backs and pressed them firmly on the Lack table legs, and they were nice and flat on the surface. See?

But would they withstand a sealant? Since the Mod Podge made the paint chips pucker, I used acrylic polyurethane instead. I used Benjamin Moore Stays Clear low lustre polyurethane. It was a really old can, and the polyurethane was so dried up and thick it had the consistency of vaseline. But it still worked! In fact, it was even better because it didn’t drip. I applied a couple of coats, and the paint chips were sealed nicely.

Step 3: Cutting the Sonotube

I’m not going to lie – cutting the sonotube was a pain. It is about a quarter inch thick and very solid. I used a box cutter and all the brawn I had, which is not very much. To make sure I cut a straight line, I used masking tape to indicate where my cut line would be, and I used a level to make sure the line was perpendicular to the ends of the sonotube. 

Step 4: Covering the edges of the Sonotube

The edges of the sonotube are pretty ratty because they’re exposed cardboard. To hide them, I covered them with white duct tape. The white duct tape also made a good border for the giant paint chip that the sonotube would become.

Step 5: Decoupaging the Sonotube

Since I was so successful with the Spray Adhesive/Polyurethane method of decoupage, I decided to try the same with the sonotube. For the sonotube half, which is the canopy of the dog bed, I cut up 5 Pantone posters in different shades of red so that the canopy would be a giant paint chip. I also printed “PANBONE” with a fake color name “Bow-House” on a sheet of paper. Like I said, I like dog puns. I cut additional strips of white paper that would go in between each color strip. Then I spray mounted all the pieces on both sides of the sonotube half. So far so good. However, when I applied the polyurethane on top of the paper to seal it, there was a little bit of puckering. It wasn’t too much, and no one probably will notice, but if I were to do this again, I would decoupage the paper like I did the table top – immersing the paper strips in water and using Mod Podge. When it comes to decoupage, you have to experiment because different papers react differently to various media.

Step 6: Adding the side rails

I bought the perfect doggie mattress in the form of an outdoor seat cushion from Target. To keep it from sliding around on the bed, I used pieces of large, plastic white chain as side rails. To attach them to the posts, i.e. the table legs, I asked the nice man at Home Depot what he would recommend, and he turned me on to these adhesive mounts that hold a zip tie, which then goes around the chain link. Perfecto. I only placed them on the sides and the back, not in front. Doesn’t it look like a boxing ring?

Step 7: Attaching the Canopy

Finally, I placed the canopy over the dog bed, making sure that it was level. I was able to use the white markings of the paint strips to get the canopy at the same height on every post. Then I screwed the canopy to the table leg/post. Oops, since I already decoupaged the PANBONE strip on the edge of the canopy, I had to lift the corner to position the screw, then reposition the strip and re-seal it.

Now that the dog bed is all assembled, it’s pretty sturdy. And comfy for my dogs Fosse and Gershwin. If Gershwin would just let Fosse in.

And here’s a graphic to pin!

When I disclose this little tidbit of information, people think I’m kidding. Ikea is great for bookcases and office furniture, but there is still a stigma attached to Ikea’s more substantial furniture pieces, like beds and sofas. So when I was in the market for a new sofa sectional a few months ago, I initially did not consider anything from Ikea.

The new sofa I was buying was replacing an old sofa from Z Gallerie, which was on its last legs. The upholstery was shot. And because the cushion was attached to the frame, I couldn’t just replace the cushion; the entire sofa needed to be reupholstered.

From my experience with the Z Gallerie sofa, I knew the one most important feature I wanted in my new sofa – removable covers. Reupholstering a sofa often costs more than buying a new one. Slipcovered sofas made sense for me, but I did not like the style of traditional slipcovered sofas I was seeing in stores. I’m just not a shabby chic kind of person. If only I could find a modern sofa with removable, replaceable slipcovers.

That’s when a nagging voice in my head kept telling me (in a Swedish accent) to think about Ikea. Because Ikea offers its sofas in a variety of colors, yet aims to keep inventory and its signature “flatpacking” manageable, most of their sofas come with removable covers. Eureka! But how’s the quality? The comfort? The style?

Knowing you can’t judge a sofa by an online photo, I ventured to the Ikea store in Carson to give it the old Goldilocks, trying every sofa to see which one felt just right, if any.

At the top of my list was the Friheten. It is a thoughtfully designed, compact sectional that folds out into a bed, and best of all, is available in hot pink. Hot pink, people! (Editor’s note: It is no longer available in hot pink.) There’s even a hidden storage compartment under one of the cushions. I was ready to buy it…until I sat on it. The cushions are so stiff I could not imagine lounging on the Friheten for more than a few minutes. In a way, it would be ideal for out-of-town guests because it would make them want to leave.

Next I tried the Ektorp, which was actually quite comfortable. I could picture it in a cozy Scandinavian farmhouse. But comfortable as it was, the traditional style did not go with my modern décor.

Then I sat on the Karlstad. Now this was more like it. Here was a sofa that had clean, contemporary lines. The cushions had just the right amount of give. And it had a wide selection of cushion cover fabrics. I really loved that these cushion covers were form fitting and did not look at all like slipcovers. The one minus of the Karlstad was the ugly legs. They are rectangular light-wood blocks that scream “cheap.” Fortunately, Ikea sells modern aluminum legs that go with the Karlstad for only $20 per set of four.

So after more bouncing up and down on the showroom pieces, I purchased my first Ikea sofa – the Karlstad chaise/loveseat combination. I selected the Isunda Gray fabric, which is a beautiful tweed that seemed very durable. And the retail price of my configuration was just $829.

I was warned that assembly was required on the sofa, but I figured that meant I would just have to screw in the legs and put on the cushion covers. Oh no, was I mistaken. When the delivery people dropped off the multiple boxes in my house (I recall there were at least seven different boxes I had to take apart), I realized that I would have to basically assemble the whole frame, connecting the seat, back and arms. Fun.

But you know what? It wasn’t that hard to put together. It did take me almost three hours, because we’re talking four separate assembly manuals totaling 64 pages, but each individual step was easy. And I’m not that handy.

So how is the sofa holding up? Sofa, so good. The cushions are holding their shape quite nicely, and the fabric still looks new. It has not pilled, even with the dogs’ occasional scratching. I am actually not that worried, because worst-case scenario, if the upholstery is destroyed, I can buy replacement covers at Ikea for about $200.

Is an Ikea sofa for everyone? Of course not. But if you keep an open mind, there are several benefits to an Ikea sofa that you won’t find with other brands. I find it interesting that while there is a perception that Ikea furniture does not last, the ability to change out the upholstery in many of its sofas actually gives the furniture a longevity lacking in more expensive options.

And one more nugget of information: I wrote this column sitting on the Karlstad, using one of the sofa arms as my laptop table. Like I said before, Ikea’s always been great for office furniture.

(This article was originally printed in the Jewish Journal.)

I went for an “old-time journalism” meets new media concept, combining vintage graphics with pops of modernism. Every door was covered with black and white murals (printed at muralsyourway.com), so as you walk down the hallway, you see a gallery of 9′ tall photographs. The best part about the murals (other than the fact that they look fabulous) is that they’re peel and stick – and repositionable – so they were so easy to install. At one point I didn’t like the placement of one of the murals, so I just peeled it off one door and put it on another.

I love how the black and white photo doors look against the backdrop of white walls and bright accent walls.

Atlas Carpet Mills provided carpet remnants so that the carpet design would be a mishmash of colors and designs. It adds to the kinetic atmosphere of a publishing office always on a deadline. The carpet design was installed by a fantastic floor covering company that understood my vision and was excited about implementing it – Bob Mardigian Floor Covering. Bob was the best! Before the carpets were installed, he walked me through the entire space and marked off where each carpet remnant was going. It’s not easy lining up those sections so they’re seamless, but he did!

This is the lunch room. I love the mural of all the old-time paparazzi. 

In the lobby, I decorated the walls with QR codes for JewishJournal.com. I love the graphic nature of the QR codes. They’re like modern day fret work. Also displayed are three generations of vintage typewriters/computers – an old Corona, a midcentury Smith-Corona, and a 1994 Mac Powerbook 145b. 

I started with the balls. I found these ping pong balls at Amazon for only $8.30 for 144, so it cost less than $35 for almost 600 ping pong balls. These were practice balls, so they were softer and lighter than real ping pong balls, which is not good for practicing ping pong, but great for what I needed.

To spray paint the balls gold, I punctured a hole in each one and inserted a piece of stiff wire into the hole. Then I held each ping pong ball by the wire, spinning them as I spray painted them shiny gold so they would have an even coat. Then I poked the wires in styrofoam to allow the balls to dry. 

After I had all the balls painted, I strung them in strands of 4, 5 or 6 orbs, so there would be variance in the lengths. To do this, I used a 5″ doll needle, which went through the center of each ping pong ball as I made the strands.

And at the two points where the thread meets the ball, I added a dab of glue so the balls would stay in place. I used Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue.

When all the strands were dry, I packaged each in plastic to keep them separated, or else they would tangle on the way to the house where I was doing Thanksgiving. To hang each strand, I placed a dab of poster putty (I used UHU Tac), to adhere the strands to the ceiling.

And the result was magical. The shiny gold on the ping pong balls reflected light so it looked like they were lit from within. I also glued some extra ping pong balls to the branches in the tall vases, and added some to the floral arrangements. I spent all that time painting the ping pong balls you better believe I was going to use each one. I hung all the strands of ping pong balls the night before, and by the next day gravity had taken about 10 of the strands. But there were plenty still up, so the result was still spectacular. I think this idea would also look beautiful for a wedding, don’t you?

I started by putting 3M Command Strip wire hooks on the ceiling. I use 3M Command strips for everything because I can hang things without damaging the paint, as they’re easily removable. So they’re great for temporary installations. I bought two 9-packs on Amazon and applied them to the ceiling in a circle above the table.

On the hook, I hung a paper clip that was unfolded, so that one end hung on the hook, and the other end became the hook to hang the sheer curtain panels. Because this sheer panel was like a fishnet with holes, it was easy to hook it. I used 4 curtain panels, i.e. 2 pairs for $3.99 a pair And here’s the finished look. It’s still up, even after the birthday party. I just love it.And in case you were wondering, those are CB2 Whirly Hanging Candleholders suspended above the table, with LED flameless votive candles from World Market. I have those Whirly Candleholders above my table at all times, I put various things in them throughout the year, or depending on the dinner party.