Moss as Art: A DIY Project

 

 

I just started a DIY project at home with the help of my friendly neighbor. With the growing popularity of a living wall, I wanted to try my hand at creating a simple version for my own home. I love the idea of plants as art and decided to start with easy simple to grow and maintain: Moss.

The Internet popularity of the moss mat has only expanded my interest in this concept. Though not many people have presumably brought one into their home, it’s creative approach has sparked conversation.

“Nguyen La Chanh’s ingenious design is made from a decay-free foam called plastazote, and populated with three varieties of moss: ball, island, and forest. Maintenance required for this little patch of green is limited, as the moss thrives off of the humidity released from daily bathroom rituals.”

 

 

Though I’d like to continue the do-it-yourself experiment into a moss table (as pictured), we started with a piece of art. We decided to grow moss on a piece of plywood to later mount to the wall. Pending any success, we’ll add two more pieces for additional decoration.

I’m no botanist, but I found directions moss-growing directions that were easy enough to follow; then I let some creativity take over. Please let me know what you think!

 

Materials:

• 1’x1’ piece of plywood
• Water sealer for plywood
• Burlap (enough to cover plywood with 3 layers)
• Staple gun
• Moss
• 8 oz of beer
• Teaspoon of sugar
• Blender

Prepping the base

 


Burlap stapled to plywood

 

• Start by treating the wood with water sealant. You’ll need to let this dry, so make sure to get this finished before you’re ready to continue.
• Once the plywood is treated and dry, cut the burlap to fit the plywood. You’ll need 3 separately cut pieces.
• Pull the first piece of burlap tight against the wood so it’s not draping, but allow room for plants to root themselves. Staple the burlap to the back of the plywood.
• Do the same with the other two pieces of burlap, but angle the pieces in different directs to add texture. You should not be able to see the wood when this is complete.

 

Growing moss
This is the fun part so, if you have them, make sure to include kids!

1. Collect grown moss outdoors. We used about 6” worth. Make sure to shake off any loose dirt.
2. Put the moss, beer, and sugar into a blender. Blend until liquid.
3. Pour the mossy concoction onto the burlap. Leave room on the edges.
4. Allow the moss to grow by keeping it flat, moist, and shady. (It’s pretty messy and a little smelly at this point, so we kept it outdoors.)
5. Once the moss has rooted and grown, we’ll be adding trim pieces on the edges to frame the moss!

Have you ever experimented with anything like this? How did it work out?

Creating an Organic Feeling Environment

Organic, Natural, Environmentally friendly, these are all the buzz words we are hearing today. But what can you do to bring the organic look into your home? In the ideal world, a large open area with lots of windows would be a great way to bring in the organic look.

Now some of you may have this and some of you may not, so let’s start with the background color. This can make or break the overall feeling in the environment. Make your color scheme consistent with the colors of nature; beige, brown, white, light blues, light greens, stone, and grays. I recommend picking one of these colors for the paint on your walls. Possibly light beige, a color that might remind you of sand. Now, what to do with the rest of the room?

For a dining room, I recommend light colored or painted white woods. The area to pop the other “nature” colors might be on the seat fabrics. Bringing in light greens and blues mixed with white and browns are ideal to make the room pop. Try a beautiful oil painting of a water scene over a buffet or on an open wall. Keep the window treatments light and airy; possibly not use any at all! Soft linen drapes in a white might be a perfect solution, but do not use this color if it is the same color of your walls because a soft contrast is needed here. Repeat the soft colors used in the room through the dishes, glasses and/or vases. And most importantly, don’t forget the table centerpiece! Some soft greens foliage, a bowl with sea shells or stones, possibly even candles may work perfectly here.

As for the bedroom, I would recommend light colored wood, painted white wood, bamboo, or wheat board for the furniture. The bedding would be the perfect opportunity to bring in the beautiful blues and greens found in nature. Texture can also add to the feeling such as using linen or soft cottons. Wood, bamboo, or tile floors would look great in here with a sisal rug. Wall art should be simple with a skinny frame or even frameless, but don’t forget to make sure there is some color! Keep the lamps light, possibly with a glass base and a white shade without any details. Simple picture frames, greens, or candles would be the perfect finishing touch for the nightstands.

Finally for the living room, always look at the largest piece of furniture you will need. Typically this is the sofa and is a great start to building the atmosphere of your room. A beautiful crisp white sofa will bring a light organic feeling to an environment. Then placing colored pillows in blues, greens, beiges, stone or grays is a great start to bring in the colors of nature. For the coffee, end tables, and entertainment console remember to keep the wood light colored or painted in light colors. Simple accessories that remind you of nature are great for adding to the feeling to the room. How about some large coffee table books with photographs of the ocean, lighthouses, or the outdoors? Simple candles can be placed in a large charger with stones or shells covering the bottom. Bowls are a great place to add natural textured accessory balls. Finally, finish off the room with a beautiful seascape painting, photography of outdoor places, or flower prints.

Enjoy your Organic Feeling Room!

Finding a Focal Point

Imagine entering into a room and plopping down on a sofa and staring at a blank wall across from you. Now imagine plopping down on that same sofa and looking at a fireplace or an armoire or a beautiful painting. Every seating area in a room should have a focal point that a person is drawn to. In a living room, most commonly the formal room in a home, may have many functions. It is often the place for holiday gatherings, Christmas trees, a decorated fireplace, a Hanukah menorah, decorated for Easter with spring floral arrangements and baskets, etc. In any case, it can be a busy place that is ever changing seasonally and it may be difficult to define a focal point at all times.

By creating your own focal point, you may have an easier time if there happens to be a fireplace or a great big window with a beautiful window treatment. However, some rooms may be architecturally challenged and the focus may be left out of structural components. In this case, you can make up for it with your own creativity.

Use color and scale – large items like bookshelves, art, and mirrors can become a focal point for a gathering of a seating arrangement. Introduce vibrant colors to grab the eye towards a main feature. Focal points may or may not involve furniture; define a conversation area with a beautiful rug or a sideboard to separate seating areas from one another. Enhance the sideboard with a decorative urn full of flowers; turn the rug on an angle for an interesting impact. All of the little unexpected things that you can do creatively will add emphasis and could impact the room largely enough to become the focal point.

Bedrooms may also be challenging, but consider the obvious….the bed. Use interesting layers of patterns or textures in you bedding. Add a euro sham or two to give the headboard area a big punch. Instead of a footboard, consider a storage trunk. Apply the general rule of “looking for the obvious” and enhancing it as a way to define the focal point in every room in your home. I am sure that you will find it easier that you may have anticipated.

Have a great focal point idea?  Send it our way!  And include pictures if you have any!

Accessorizing the Perfect End Table

The key to selecting the best end table is to consider how well it works with the rest of the furniture in your room. Do you like modern furniture? I suggest a sleek ebony wood end table. Do you like traditional? Then an end table with more detail or carvings would be great in a cherry or mahogany.

The Shape - Deciding whether your end table should be round, oval, square or rectangle depends on the area in your room you will be placing it. If it is in a corner, a square or rectangle end table may fill the space more evenly. Circle end tables tend to work well if the sofa is floating in the middle of the room or if a chair is angled next to the end table.

The Lighting - The next step is selecting the perfect lamp to place upon your table. The base of the lamp should cover about 25% of the end table. We often make the mistake of selecting a lamp that doesn’t cover a large enough space, leaving the end table to look off balanced and can immediately throw off the entire display.

The base of the lamp should weigh out the end table and sofa. Pick a lamp with a bigger base if you have a very “heavy” sofa and end table. A lamp with a skinny, straight base would work well if your sofa and end table are more sleek and thin.

The Height - It is also important to know how to select the right height for your lamp. You should not be able to see the light bulb in the lamp when sitting on the sofa. This is a dead giveaway that the lamp is too tall. Be careful not to get one that is too short either. You want the light to spread evenly on your book or magazine. A good indicator that your lamp is too short is if there is a heavily cast shadow.

The Accessories - It is now time to add the accessories. Always work in odd numbers. I suggest one to three accessory pieces for each end table. They should be of varying heights. It’s important to be able to build the display with interest. Always keep the tallest accessory shorter than the lamp shade and placed in the back.

Popular accessory choices include candles and/or picture frames. Do not be afraid to use a little bit of greenery as your third accessory. It tends to cover a lot of the empty space you may have. Make sure you cover about 75% the table with the lamp and accessories, but leave room to set down a book or a drink. We want your end table to be usable. After all, you do have to live there!

The Base - Finally, you may want to look at the base of the end table for any additional opportunities. I personally love end tables with drawers. I don’t think you can ever have too much storage in your home. Shelves are a great opportunity to store books. If the base is open, try putting some floor accessories under it. These accessories may include boxes, decorative suitcases, vases or possibly even some greenery.