Hunt for home furnishings (without the meatballs)

1. Glee star Jayma Mays and actor Adam Campbell in the living room of their Los Angeles home. 

Click here for our post on Jayma May’s Los Angeles Home.

2. Mary Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy’s $13.5 million, 8000 square feet Turtle Bay Garden Home

Click here or image for our post on Mary Kate Olsen’s Home.

3. Jonathan Adler’s Kaleidoscopic New York Apartment

Click here or image for our post on Jonathan Adler’s Home.

4. Ellen Degeners and Portia De Rossi’s horse ranch home in Santa Monica Mountains.

Click here or image for our post on Ellen and Portia’s Home.

5. Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynold’s Ex Establishment. The Buff & Hensman designed “Wong House” was built in 1969 in the Los Feliz hills.

Click here or image for our post on Johansson and Reynold’s Home.

Couchelo’s 5 favourite Easter DIY crafts from Country Living’s “29 Easy Easter Crafts”

(image source: Alison Gootee/Studio D)

1. Ombré Easter Eggs

You can create this dramatic display with just two 0.25-ounce vials of blue dye you may already have in the kitchen. Set out six 12-ounce glasses, labeled A through F. Add one cup of boiling water and two teaspoons of white vinegar to each and stir, using a separate spoon for each glass. Then, mix in the color as follows: A, two drops; B, six drops; C, 10 drops; D, 20 drops; E, 45 drops; F, 60 drops. Submerge a hard-boiled egg in each glass. Steep for five minutes, or until you’re happy with the hue, then remove and place in an empty egg carton to dry. Repeat with additional eggs (up to three dozen).

(image source: Alison Gootee/Studio D)

2. Get Creative with Easter Eggs

Who knew that silk fabric transfers onto eggshells as easily as the dye in a decorating kit? Regular old vinegar plus hot water does the trick.

Step 1: For each egg, cut out a 5-inch square of patterned 100 percent silk. (We limited ourselves to black-and-white prints to achieve the effect above; colored patterns yield more vibrant results.) Lightly dampen the fabric, then lay it flat, right side up, and place your egg in the center. Gather the fabric tightly around the egg, like a beggar’s purse, and secure with a rubber band. Repeat this step for the same egg, using a same-size square of plain white cotton and a second rubber band. Note: Use blown eggs if you’d like to keep your handiwork longer.

Step 2: Place eggs in a single layer in a nonreactive pot and add enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Add 4 tablespoons of white vinegar. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

Step 3: Remove eggs with tongs and cool about 20 minutes. Then unwrap the fabrics to reveal the exquisite designs.

(image source: Dana Gallagher)

3. Goody Bags for Spring Chickens

Step 1: Download and print the chick template. Cut as directed.

Step 2: Center the stencil on the front of a 31⁄2"W x 63⁄4"H white paper bag ($3.29 for 16; michaels.com for stores). Use a pencil to trace the chick outline onto the bag.

Step 3: Slide a small piece of cardboard inside the bag to serve as a cutting mat. Cut out the chick outline

Step 4: Cut a 3"W x 4"H square of cellophane. Using a glue stick like Elmer’s All Purpose ($2.92; acmoore.com), apply a bit of glue to your finger and run it around the perimeter of the chick outline inside the bag. Slide the cellophane square into the bag and press to adhere.

Step 5: Fold the top of the bag over, then use a hole punch to make two evenly spaced holes in the folded paper. Fill the bag with candy; finish with a ribbon. Repeat for each bag.

(image source: Unknown)

4. Play it by Ear

To stitch up one of these kid-friendly accessories, you’ll need a child-size headband ($3.99; drugstore.com) and 11⁄2 yards of 1⁄2-inch-wide double- fold bias tape. (For a range of prints, from $9.50 for three yards, visit etsy.com/shop/pollydangernotions.)

Step 1: Cut an 181⁄2- inch-long piece of bias tape. Hem the cut ends under 1⁄2 inch on each side, then stitch together the long side to form a casing. Fold the casing in half so that the ends touch and use a straight pin to mark the fold’s center.

Step 2: Feed an extra-thick, 12-inch-long pipe cleaner through one end of the casing, stopping at the pin. Feed a second pipe cleaner through the casing’s other end until it, too, meets the pin; remove pin. Bring the casing’s open ends toward each other and twist the exposed pipe cleaners together to form a rabbit ear shape. Repeat steps one and two to make a second ear.

Step 3: Cut a piece of bias tape the length of the headband, plus one extra inch. Wrap the tape over the headband, then use pins to mark the two spots where you want to attach the ears (use the photo at left for guidance).

Step 4: Remove the tape from the headband and stitch the long side together, from the pins out to both ends of the tape; stitch these ends closed, and remove pins. Twist the ears’ pipe-cleaner ends around the headband in the desired spots, then slide each end of the headband into the casing. Use a needle and thread to slip-stitch the tape around and between the ears closed.

(image source: Christian Peterson)

5. Vintage Floral Brunch Invitations

Invite friends to a spring luncheon. Make copies of a vintage floral greeting card and print the party details on the back. Then adorn each guest’s place setting with a flower wreath. Thread faux-silk blossoms onto florist’s wire, and secure at the ends to form a circle.

This is part two of the post featuring the stylish furnishings of our favourite period drama, Mad Men. As we dive into the homes of our favourite TV style icons, we recognise most of the items chosen are associated with Betty, but to be fair nobody has a better grasp of suburban 1960’s life and style than the former Mrs Draper. 

Here’s 5 Timeless designs and elements that you can incorporate into your space today:

1. Betty and Don’s bed

If only Betty and Don’s relationship was as perfect as this frosty blue velvet, button tufted bed head. The material is certainly fitting for this era and the fact that it provides a comfortable resting spot for Betty’s weary head, that’s just a bonus.

2. The muted coral walls in Joan’s apartment

This dusk pink, coral wall suits Joan to the core. The teal, coral and cream colour mash up in Joan’s living room perfectly portrays her precise, non-frivolous personality. The choice of furniture is more traditional and the arrangement clean and simple. It is not a playful setup, but none the less Joan is not a playful character outside of work. I certainly would not want to be caught making a mess at her place.

3. Megan and Don’s manhattan apartment

Megan and Don’s manhattan apartment are a perfect portrayal of their relationship. Although we feel for Betty and her perfect housewife despair, we can’t help but feel the attraction of the lifestyle that being with Megan offers. Don’s a curious, ambitious and flirtatious man, we can’t help but agree that this is a home that suits Draper. 

4. Betty’s suburban kitchen

Notice the green and pink hues again with Betty’s suburban kitchen. I dare say the greens and oranges were a popular colour scheme in the 60s. There is a homely charm to the kitchen, though in today’s day and age, a spray of high gloss white with original wooden bench tops would give the kitchen a brighter lift away from the melancholic watermelon scheme that represents that suppressed depression enveloping Betty Draper.

5. Black Barcelona leather daybed

Technically, this doesn’t count as home furnishings but we couldn’t resist finishing off with this delightful Mies Van der Rohe Barcelona daybed. The piece looks just as good at Betty’s Psychiatrist’s office as it would any home or office in this day and age. We’ve seen few settings of this daybed under elegant ceiling down window sills. Absolutely classic.