DIY: Coveted Tom Dixon Beat Light Improvised with a $20 Ikea Bowl!

Some women have a thing for shoes and purses. For me, it’s chairs and lights. Honestly, I can’t pass up a good buy on an iconic chair or a great deal on a bespoke chandelier, even if I don’t have room for the item in my house. For a while now, I’ve been coveting some Tom Dixon Beat Lights. You know the ones: matte black exteriors, hammered brass interiors, in three or four different shapes. A set of Tom Dixon Beat Lights would look great layered over any dining room table — particularly mine.

Tom Dixon Beat Lights, in various shapes, both isolated and in a home environment; photos via Tom Dixon [left] and The Goods Design blog

The trouble is, I can’t really afford these stylish, artistic lights and, since I have lots of other perfectly functioning pendant lights, neither can I justify acquiring them. Imagine my delight, then, when I came across what looked like a Tom Dixon Beat Light hanging in the home of one of my neighbours, interior designer Sarah Keenleyside. Sarah came up with a super-easy DIY to turn a $20 IKEA bowl into a Tom Dixon Beat Light lookalike, and she has kindly shared it with us.

The easy-to-source materials (IKEA ANGENÄM bowl pictured); photo by Emma Reddington

Materials
• IKEA ANGENÄM bowl, $20, or ANGENÄM dish, $20 (yes, they make two different shapes, and both will work)
• IKEA HEMMA cord set, $6, in black (note: white is displayed on web image)
• One lightbulb — an Edison or other more decorative light bulb works best
• Matte black canopy (if hardwiring into ceiling)
• Hole saw, 2" diameter

Directions
Using the hole saw, drill a 2" diameter hole of  in the centre of the base of the IKEA bowl/dish. Thread the HEMMA cord set through the hole, and follow the (easy!) instructions for how to keep the cord set in place. Plug your new light into the wall; if hardwiring, be sure to consult an electrician to finish the job.

Seriously simple, right? And the end result, as seen in Sarah’s own home — pretty stunning.

Interior designer Sarah Keenleyside's lookalike Tom Dixon Beat Light, installed in the designer's own home; photo by Kristin Sjaarda Photography

Sarah recently installed a multitude of her DIY lights in a new kid-friendly café she is working on in Toronto. Check out Sarah's Faceboook page to see some behind-the-scenes shots of the process, and Sarah’s latest playful DIY twist on these pendant lights.

What do you think? Are you willing to give this DIY a try?


Emma Reddington is the lifestyle maven behind the acclaimed blog TheMarionHouseBook.com, where she experiments with interior design, cooking, baking and do-it-yourself projects.



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DIY: Modern Guest Book

Continuing our series on DIYs from Saint John’s Opera Bistro makeover, today I’m going to show you how to (re)invent an item that many businesses and households take for granted, or dismiss as archaic or old-fashioned: the guest book. Whether you’re talking home or business, great design is all about making a statement. This statement is modern, creative and fun, and can be made for as little as under $20! All design ideas were conceived and carried out by Punch Inside, Creative Director, Judith Mackin.

The “guest book” pillar in Opera Bistro’s newly renovated space. Photo by Hemmings House.

When you think of a guest book, you probably picture a book with a pen at the end of a string. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the limits of design are defined only by your imagination. Instead of asking guests to sign a traditional guest book, why not paint a wall, or some portion thereof, and have guests sign it with a silver pen? This is what we did at Opera Bistro [see above], and the owners — and guests — are loving it.

Materials
• An expanse of wall or pillar
• Paint colour of your choice (enough to cover the particular surface); latex flats work best — approx. $10
• Sharpies/markers that will show up on your painted surface — approx. $5
• Something to hold your pen/marker; optional: Offer Hand Hook — $83


DIY


STEP 1: Paint It, Black(?)
Paint a small wall or pillar the colour of your choice (in our case, black). Apply the recommended number of applications and make sure all layers are very dry before the first inscription.

STEP 2: PEN AND LINK
When you have a vertical writing space it’s hard to set your pen down, no? Put a shelf within easy reach — or something unpredictable, eye-catching and fun. For the Opera Bistro guest book/pillar, we used an “Offer Hand Hook” by Harry Allen for Areaware ($83; available at Tuck Studio). The gesture of the hand offering the marker works perfectly. Whatever your choice, make sure you place your shelf/hook at a height and location that allows people to reach the marker without ever bumping into it.

There are four possible options you can use with Harry Allen’s marble and resin “Hand Hook” pieces, all pictured below. First up, the “Offer” and the “Grab”; next, the “C’Mere”; finally, the “Bestow.” Again, we went with “Offer,” but not because of the implied gentleness in the name. Any of these dynamic hand hooks will make a positive impression.

The “Offer Hand Hook” (left) and the “Grab Hand Hook,” both by Harry Allen for Areaware: either of these hooks is a nice option for holding your Sharpie. Photo via Areaware.com.

The “C'Mere Hand Hook” (left) allows you to tie a string to the ‘come hither’ finger, to hang your pen; you could replace the flowers with your sharpie in the glass tube of the “Bestow Hand Hook.” Photos via Areaware.com.

STEP 3: SIGN OF THE (FUN) TIMES
Last but not least, put out the markers and let the signings begin! Is the host allowed to post on her/his own guest book/wall? You decide: This is your modern guest book — it’s perfectly acceptable to provide an encouraging message for your soon-to-sign guests.


As used at Opera Bistro, to complement the black paint: Sharpie Metallic Permanent Markers, Fine Tip, Silver; 2-pack costs under $5. Photo via Staples.ca.

ALL DONE!
This modern guest “book” is a lovely way to turn a wall into a form of keepsake — a literally graphic aide de memoire for all of those special occasions you share with friends and family.

Next in Judith Mackin’s DIY makeover series: How to redesign an old piano
 

Judith Mackin is founder and creative director of Punch Inside, an interior design firm in Saint John, New Brunswick. You can follow her regularly updated blog on JudithMackin.ca. Her design and décor studio, TUCK, is slated to open in June 2012. [Photo credit: Kelly Lawson]


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Pinterest and the Contemporary Craft Movement: Is DIY a Dirty Word?

The DIY crafter's tools of the trade. Photo by Meredith Heron.

In my youth, I was always very craft-oriented and generally artistic (for whatever reason, this did not extend to sewing, crushing my Mother’s vision of a Mom/Daughter Sewing Dream Team). Sewing not withstanding I was good at drawing and making things -- I could draw perspective from the age of 5 and I was able to mix and create colours using paints and tints like I had secretly downloaded formulae into my brain. I’m very fortunate to have have been give these talents because they've made me the designer I am today.

Before I became a Designer with a capital “d,” though, I was a Crafter. And as I observe the online trend towards more and more DIY crafts, notably spurred on by Pinterest, I look back at that learning/transitional phase in my life and…I shudder.

My path of craft (which eventually led to design) started with, of all things, flower arrangements — the dead variety. Back in the ’90s, Country Chic was all the rage and there was huge demand for dried flower arrangements (or, as I like to say, Death by Dehydrated Eucalyptus). Armed with a glue gun, I set out to make my fortune and, let me tell you, I have the scars to prove it.

It wasn’t a business model: It was a starving student’s way to afford Christmas presents for her immediate family. But I did something right, because I quickly found myself commissioned to make arrangements and wreaths for non-family members. CHA-CHING!! People would pay me well (at least, from my impoverished perspective): $75 for a wreath that required approx. $40 worth of materials and took 2 hours of my time. This opened doors, and soon I was being asked to pick paint colours, advise people on faux finishes, and so on.

But, as I said above: I shudder at the memory of a lot of this stuff. To a certain extent, I’m still in therapy: Sponge painting! Smooshing (technical paint term)!! Venetian plastering!!! I did it all. My first attempts were…awful. If only I’d kept the photos (actually, probably a good thing I didn’t), but trust me: Country Blue sponge, stamped over white, with matching Cow Border around the middle definitely happened, and I have the 3 a.m. nightmares to prove it.

Despite this heinousosity (Meredith original technical term) of the '90s, I embraced it all, because bucks are bucks, after all. I made sure everything was so coordinated and tied together that people thought I had talent and encouraged me -- and continued to pay me! -- to pursue it. And certainly, modern DIYers should provide comparable dedication to their work. Still, at the very first opportunity, I moved past the aforementioned trends and vowed to never ever let clients make the same mistakes again.

I do hope modern DIYers do the same. I admit, I’m a little jaded when I open up my computer and log in to Pinterest and see this new generation of DIY craft types taking the same road that I once travelled. I have seen untold horrors carried out with Tulle that make sponge painting look like a viable décor option. I also worry that ribbon-trimmed memo boards are going to be the decorator borders of tomorrow.

Speaking of which: We did one for a client’s son’s room. By “we,” I mean our Design intern. Sure, I can DIY, but these days, I choose to DIFM: Do It for Me. My intern’s pretty crafty, though — non?

From left: fabric remnants (I'm a hoarder) + gros grain ribbon = gorgeous; little details, like coloured tacks, can really distinguish a DIY; painstaking alignment of grid & ribbon. Photos by Meredith Heron.

In the end, I’m not saying DIY is a dirty word, but DIY crafters should remember that there are a lot of other words in the design dictionary!

What do you think of Pinterest and the new DIY craft movement?
 

Meredith Heron is principal of Meredith Heron Design. She has entertained with her quick wit and unique style as a designer on the hit show Restaurant Makeover and is also an award-winning Design Blogger. Follow Meredith Heron on Twitter @meredithheron




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