Notice the difference

In this age of consumerism, it's lovely to be able to breathe new life into an old piece of furniture. At most garage sales and bric-a-brac markets, there's frames to buy. I picked up this pressed tin one in the photo for $10. It didn't have any backing or glass in it, but I attached a piece of corkboard to it and now I have a lovely noticeboard to display postcards. I also bought a much larger black frame and did the same thing. It now has black and white photos in it and looks really striking. 

So, before your next trip to the shops, poke around your local garage sales and see what treasures you can find to change and make your own.

Thinking outside the frame

All of us would undoubtedly like to own artworks by famous masters or up and coming artists. I did once visit an illustrator in her home in London and among her many framed paintings, there was an original sketch by Matisse. How the other half live! 

My home has many vintage travel posters and dozens of framed photos, but today I thought I'd also tell you about a few ideas for interesting and inexpensive wall decorations.

I've included three photos to give you some (hopeful) interior design inspiration. One of my framed treasures is actually a teatowel. I saw it in a magazine and ordered it online. I couldn't resist the kitsch design and 'London, Lovely Home' writing. I just wanted to look at it, rather than soil it with dishwater! Another is a gorgeous cushion cover that I bought in a rural area of southern China. It was bought from a tribeswoman, and she was very reluctant to sell such exquisite work. It's all handmade and immaculately woven, and I imagine she felt emotional about parting with such a labour of love. I'd love to put a cushion in it and place it on the couch but I don't want it getting food spills, so instead I keep it safe in a frame where I can admire it on top of my bedroom mantlepiece. Another wall hanging is a piece of wrapping paper bought in Barcelona. It cost only a few euros but is very funky and fun and adorns my hallway. The great thing is that I can easily justify replacing it when I tire of it! There are a lot of gorgeous wrapping paper designs around, whether it be vintage ABC posters for kids, maps of cities or the world, or circus imagery, there's loads to choose from.

Oh, and a tip is that Ikea has tasteful, sturdy frames in a range of shapes, sizes and colours.

Photo walls and feature walls

My friend Olivia and I were just discussing photo walls and feature walls, as she's just bought an apartment and has a blank canvas with which to work. I saw a great photo wall recently in a magazine where the frames were all white, small, decorative French Provincial style. It looked really gorgeous and was a nice point of difference to the usual black frames with cream or white mountboards like what I have - pictured. Then again, it does depend on what type of photos you're framing. Pretty white ones are great for family snaps, whereas the darker frames with mountboard give photos a kind of gallery look.

We were also discussing whether feature walls have had their day, and whether a wallpaper feature wall is better than a painted one. Open to discussion. Post your comments.