Her name is C.A. and her blog is How To Be A Heroine, a site dedicated to decor, health, beauty...and occasionally about things that go "boom boom pow!". Confused? It all started off with a bedroom decoration project where she took the courageous step of trying to integrate the seemingly disparate elements of her husband's beloved military photograph with the Les Arts Décoratifs decor in their bedroom...
Her bedroom makeover project was born with a thoughtful desire to integrate her husband's tastes with the existing decor scheme:
Jonathan Adler says "The wife is always right [when it comes to decorating] unless the husband is gay." I no longer agree with this statement! By allowing a bit of my husband's taste to infiltrate my own we began to create a décor synergy that we both loved. But now I had to figure out how to tie the tank photo in with the rest of the room. It helps that I was starting over from scratch. It allows the mind to think crazy things. I remembered seeing some Phillippe Starck lamps (above) that had piqued my curiosity.
The original $1,756 Phillippe Starck Table Gun Lamp for FLOS is made from cast aluminum with injection-molded polymer, polished 18K gold-plated finish, topped with a plasticized paper diffuser.
Her curiosity stopped somewhere around the point where she noted the prohibitively expensive $1,756 price tag of these hi-end design lamps (talk about shock and awe). But C.A. realized the design had some DIY potential, and she ordered a toy M16 gun, spray painted it gold, then wired and vertically mounted it using the IKEA ALANG lamp.
What you'll need: $14.99 plastic gun, $19.99 ALANG lamp from IKEA, a can of metallic spray paint, and basic electrical wiring skills.
The results are an impressive facsimile of Starck's luxury original (one could get a little closer to the shiny original by taking in the toy rifle to an automotive paint shop for a truly high metallic gloss finish, as metallic spray paint results in a slightly matte finish).
And we understand the military themed object isn't everyone's cup of tea, but one could easily replace a variety of other common objects in similar manner (like this collection of action figures painted gold and converted into a lamp base, or just a thrift store find). The real joy in reading about this bedroom project is how C.A. and her husband's tastes worked together to create a room uniquely their own.
Check out the whole project over at I Like That Boom Boom Pow.
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Gee, I thought a bedroom should be calming and peaceful. All of the images suggest the opposite.
This looks awesome!
@recycleg, different tastes!
Maybe she figured it was better to have the tank photo and gun lamp in the bedroom than prominently featured in the living room.
I wouldn't put them in my own bedroom, but I think both the gun lamp and the action figure lamp are creative, pretty, and fun.
And C.A., I bet your husband would love it if you found a great frame and mat for his picture. Giving it top billing in the room would work better if it were in a frame that made it look like a cherished piece of art.
I do have to admire turning something as ugly as a gun into something that creative. But I have to agree with RECYCLEG--I would find that terribly disturbing not just in a bedroom but anywhere in my home.
Well, there's a new take on eros und thanatos. Sex and death, baby!
@keira That's a wonderful idea about upgrading the frame and mat. I actually think I might do that for Father's Day! xoxo
Everyone is certainly entitled to their own choices, but these would NEVER be mine.
@kiana1002 @sherrybinnh It's supposed to come off as a sexy, ironic take on a Bond Lair, but I do get that it's not for everyone. You can see the full bedroom reveal here:
http://www.howtobeaheroine.com/2012/02/17/ahh-much-better/
xoxo,
CA
I think you did a fabulous job CA. I love that you put things that meant something to your husband in the room you share with him instead of not allowing him a say in how his house looks. Good job!
Those are pretty creative. The takeaway here should be that a home is shared, which means things shouldn't be hidden or shoved into a different room just because one person doesn't like it.
Ha, my brother has a large-scale, military-related photo mounted near his bed, and I'm always telling him that maybe that's not the most effective way to woo his lady friends.
I'm all for the ironic introduction in any interior, and I LOVE large-scale color photography in less contemporary settings... but that photo, yes, most certainly needs more breathing room (in both matting and positioning).
Plus, "gun" has long been a metaphoric stand-in for, um, masculine "parts," so I think it can most certainly work in a bedroom. :)
Gun Lamp - awesome job!! I've liked the Starck original so I'm going to try it. Thanks for the post!!
@texdoll Thanks! This is a fun and easy project. BTW - I didn't actually rewire the lamp, it's just attached to the front of the Ikea lamp with wire. I had to saw off about an inch off the top of the toy M16 so it would lay flush with the "pole." I thought this would disengage the firing mechanism, but it didn't! Still works and makes us laugh every time. :)
I agree w/RECYCLEG when she/he posted:
Gee, I thought a bedroom should be calming and peaceful. All of the images suggest the opposite.
For anyone into Feng Shui, this bedroom has the spirit of violence.
Not my style but sounds like they are having fun with it.
If you view the whole post, one will see C.A. added a great balance calm/peace; and if there's one place I want that "boom boom pow", it's in the bedroom!
Awesome job C.A.!
@lyonstill I get the whole Feng Shui thing, but wouldn't the qi in which it was intended matter? As in - not the spirit of violence, but the spirit of sexual chemistry and respect for your spouse's interests. :) xoxo
@KAMB thanks for having my back! :)
PI - BINGO.
Love the IKEA hack...there are a lot of women who shoot these days and don't have any problem with guns (of either type ;-). There are so many artists who have incorporated firearms into their work. I was just looking at some really large drawings of pistols and thinking how cool it would be in the living room over the TV...but I can't afford the many $1000's that some of those artists command, so that might be an upcoming inspiration to make my own. After stealing your lamp idea...heh
Geez, these comments are so critical. I think this is hilarious. I love the toy-action-pull-the-trigger-light explosion. Come on, that's awesome people!!!! Who cares if it's not our style, as long as she and her hubby like it!
I like it and more importantly the couples likes it.
Great DIY on the lamp!
perhaps his war fetish would be better explored in therapy than in the bedroom
I have less of an issue with War Art in the bedroom than I do the Philippe Starck knock-off.
To be honest I don't see the "fun" in a picture of people killing each other - and i especially wouldn't want it in my bedroom. And it makes me kind of sad that nobody thinks of what is behind a picture like this - killing and suffering.
The Lamp (both original and knock-off) I just find tacky - but better then the picture as it actually does somewhat make fun of people and their obsessions with guns.
Never judge a book by it's cover....the full reveal of this bedroom is creative, fun and perfect balance of the sexes. Hats off to you CA!!
Personally, I don't dig the war theme and I'm not a fan of gold spray paint - but in my opinion, frilly pink is way worse in a bedroom (talk about a mood killer).
The picture should be moved to the wall next to the bed and put it in a bigger frame - something ornate and gilded.
@HHRI LOL - I totally agree with the frilly pink comment. And interesting suggestion about moving the photograph. It would allow for an amazing, substantial frame!
@hiloliving Darling, an interest in military history ≠ a war fetish. xoxo
@nina79 I totally see what you mean, but this is a picture of a military exercise in which the tanks were being tested. You could extrapolate all sorts of interesting meaning from this: the role of military power in today's society, metaphors for testosterone-driven youth, etc etc. The story of men and their quest to prove themselves as viril and strong (with or without technology/machinery) is a tale as old as time. You see what I mean? xoxo
Very creative! I'm gunning for more DIY from this heroine.
CA, "Darling" for you must equate the same as "Well bless your heart!" to my family.
You are very creative:) I want to ask where did you get the m16 gun? Did you have to drill a hole vertically in order to slide the gun throught the lamp post?
@greysweats1963: Haha. Exactly.
@Samanthatee: I searched on amazon for a toy M16 and found one with "lights and sounds." And the toy rifle is actually just attached onto the front of the lamp with wire, so I didn't have to rewire anything at all. There are some good instructions in the comment section of the décor page on my site:
http://www.howtobeaheroine.com/decor/
Hope that helps!
xoxo,
CA