Ken's Meandering Thoughts on Living Stylishly...

So, I grew up with braided rugs.  My grandmother made them from all of her sewing scraps.  There was always one on the floor of the kitchen or one of the bedrooms.  Nice and soft, a mish-mosh of faded colors that some how blended into very pleasing soft pastels.   They got completely abused by our family, our muddy shoes, the various pets, but somehow managed to last a good 50 years and never show dirt.  When I was called upon to warm up a family's new home on this Saturday's episode of Home Made Simple, of course a braided..  - Read More

  Trying to figure out what kind of indestructible pillows you can get for the kids' rooms, while also trying to figure out what to do with last year's sports jerseys they're so proud of? Kill two birds with one stone!  I made these sports jersey pillows for this Saturday's episode of Home Made Simple on OWN, 9a/8c.  They couldn't be easier.  If you want to bring the sports theme to your family's Man Cave, but don't have any jerseys laying around?  You can find out how to make your own using iron on numbers and turn them into pillows..  - Read More

Displaying family photos can be a bit of a challenge.  How to display them without it being a cluttered, dusty collection of mismatched frames on the piano....yes, that is the questions!  In this Saturday's episode of Home Made Simple I tackle the problem with the use of oversized decals which turned a wall of cabinets into a personalized gallery.    The steps were easy:   1. Take a high resolution digital photo of your family photo.   2. Email or bring it to a local print shop. 3. Have them print it on an oversized translucent decal.  I chose to..  - Read More

Here are the steps for the painted table cloth and napkins I made on Hallmark's Home and Family.... Hand painted and stenciled table lines have an age old tradition, but are often very expensive or very traditional in their styling.  Here's how to use some leftover house paint and masking tape to make your own. You can use leftover latex wall paint from the breakfast room walls to make matching linens or give new life to that stained tablecloth that's been stashed in your bottom linen drawer.  The secret is fabric medium which is added to the paint to keep..  - Read More

Here are the steps for the leafing a picture frame from today's Home and Family show on Hallmark: Gold and silver leafing techniques have been around for centuries.  Gold, silver and other metals are hammered into very thin sheets and then adhered to wood, metal or any other material.  The process takes a delicate hand, but is not difficult and is a great way to dress up an old picture frame, vase or make your own gold leaf votives. MATERIALS - Spray or brush leaf adhesive - Metal leaf sheets - Soft paint brush - Base coat of paint (if..  - Read More

  Space in a home office is always a challenge.  One always has to give up something in order to get something else.  One thing that usual gets the axe early on is any extra seating.  That really is a shame since wouldn't it be nice if that temporarily abandoned spouse or child could come in and hang out while you finished up the bills....or perhaps having an alternative to that uncomfortable office chair to sort through all the junk mail or get caught up on email.   Well, I'm here to say you can have your cake and eat..  - Read More