Get The TechniqueThis morning, the crafters and set stylists from The Martha Stewart Show were lucky enough to take a trip to Martha's house to explore and be inspired by her "natural habitat."
The set stylists like to give our TV set the look and feel of Martha's home, so there is a lot of picture-taking and note-taking on these visits. (We tend to look like a bunch of eager students in a museum.) The objective for the crafters is to find craft ideas from custom and handmade items in Martha's own home. This tends to be extraordinarily helpful: In recent TV seasons, a smaller version of Martha's birdcage, made from recovered window frames, was developed for a segment; faux bois, Martha's favorite finishing technique, inspired handfuls (if not dozens) of crafts; and yoga towels were created from bath towels, mimicking those Martha kept on hand in her exercise room. (These are just a few of many ideas that came either directly or indirectly from Martha's personal environment.)
Conversely, it's also quite satisfying for us to see projects from the TV show that made it into everyday use— cat toys, tea towels, a desk blotter, tote bags, hypertufa pots, and even a garden shed, to name a few—proof that the things we make are lasting, useful, and enjoyed.
Below is a sneak peek into our visit (highly edited: We can't give away all of Martha's secrets!). While you watch our show this season, see if you can identify any of these photos as inspiration!
1 Handmade hypertufa pots near the greenhouse
2 A beautiful assortment of eggs from Martha's hens got us already thinking of Easter ...
3 Leather rosettes hold tufts in place as an alternative to buttons on this beautiful bench
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5 From the greenhouse desk: can you guess what this leaf is made of?
6 LOVE this photo taken by Kristin - color inspiration from Martha's garden
7 More garden color: Gorgeous currant tomatoes on the vine!
8 Faux bois pillow in the dining/entertaining room to coordinate with ...
9 Faux bois panels on the walls!
10 We were captivated by a set of large faux cabbage leaves used as placemats
11 I personally loved this clock, and it got me thinking about a simple clock idea for a kid's room ...
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13 Sharkey takes a break from the commotion we created
From: Lori Griffin | 8/17/10 at 10:11 am
We are looking to redecorate our Nursing Home located in a rural setting in Missouri. We were thinking upscale with a homey and cozy feeling. What would be some inspiring starting elements that we should consider including? Would it be a consideration to have an onsite consultation? Looking forward to hearing from you.
From: *gemmifer* | 8/17/10 at 9:50 pm
Is the hosta leaf made of a ceramic or concrete?