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by Linda

Shadow Box Molding

May 17, 2011 in Bathroom, Bedroom, Beige, Blue, Bright, Classic, Dining room, Feminine, Gray, Hottest Designers, Living room, Mirror / Wall Acessory, Pink, Purple, White

photography by Brandon Barré

If there is one thing to love about classic buildings, it’s definitely the wainscot. And just to cover all bases, wainscot is wooden panels, most often seen covering the lower part of a wall. It was originally popular for its insulationg property, but is mostly used as decoration these days.

A more simple and less costly variant of wainscot is the shadow box molding. It’s basically just thin molding, and the possibilities are endless. Let’s take a look at some great examples:

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Image via brides

The owners of this entryway added tall baseboards and shadow boxes on the lower half of the walls and even on the door, to make the space more interesting. It definitely worked!

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image via Style at Home

Although these shadow boxes looks to be recessed, this style can easily be recreated with thin strips of molding. (to see paint color suggestion for this room click here )

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image via Brides, design by Mary mcDonald

Another example of shadow box molding. Such a great way to bring contrast to a dark paint color. (To see more of this bedroom and paint color suggestion, click here)

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image via Apartment Therapy

But that’s not to say that shadowbox molding doesn’t work equally well on lighter walls as well. You can see a very different take on this in the teen bedroom of the same home as the one above ;)

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Burnham Design

A beautiful beige living room decorated with shadow box molding. I think this is a great example of the depth this molding can create.

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design by Kendall Wilkinson

The moldings may be in a color contrasting to the paint color, or painted the same color as the walls to add texture instead of a prominent visual element. (You can see more of this bedroom here).

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image via Horchow

Mix it up for a more modern take. Here the boxes are designed in a geometric pattern, using bamboo moldings.

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image via Sherwin Williams

Here’s a fun example where the interior of the shadow boxes are painted a color that complements the general paint color. Such a fun and pretty dining room!

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image via Sherwin Williams

Another variation is to paint the moldings a color other than white (not pictured ;).

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Or you can of course use beautiful wallpaper!

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Image via Apartment Therapy

And here’s a fun option for renters: metallic tape shadow boxes!

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Avatar of Linda

by Linda

How to make a Butterfly Display

October 6, 2010 in DIY, Mirror / Wall Acessory, Natural, Summer

As I promised yesterday, here’s the instructions on how to make your own double framed butterfly display. First, here’s how my frame turned out:

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Pretty cute, don’t you think?

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Here’s how you do it:

You’ll need two identical frames. I used a pair I already had from IKEA.

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Google your way to your favorite butterfly picture. I used this one. Re-size the butterfly image(s) if necessary to fit your frame best. Print as many butterflies you want, then cut them out.

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Remove the glass from both frames and paint the frames. Remember to paint the inside of the frames, as this part will be visible.

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Now put the glass back into each of the two frames and secure them there by lining the glass with a hot glue gun. When each frame has it’s glass secured, fold your butterfly along it’s body to create that natural shape, and glue your butterflies to the INSIDE of one of the frames.

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Glue the backs of the two frames together, and voila, you’ve got yourself a double framed butterfly display!

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You can cover the crack with regular spackle. When dry, sand lightly with fine grained sand paper, then paint the sides of the frame.

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That’s it!

I love the transparent background. See the butterflies to the right? They are real ones. I actually think my printed ones look way better!

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The frame doesn’t need to hang on the wall, it’s very stable and can stand on it’s own. I’m definitely going to be making more display boxes in the future, this was really fun and easy to do.

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–> The best part is that you can frame anything! If you make your own double framed display, I’d LOVE to see it!

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