One of my favorite blogs to visit is dailydanny.com, where green living expert Danny Seo writes about various topics that all relate to an eco-friendly lifestyle. Awhile back, I remember coming across this photograph of his craft room and absolutely fell in love with how it so gracefully combined elements of interest in a way that maintained a sense of simplicity in the room.

Photo courtesy of dailydanny.com

The most striking feature was the set of silhouette plates hung on the wall for decoration. Although the plates were not uniform in size or material, as some had a foil-like shine while others had more of a lacquer finish, their round shapes as well as the black color created a sense of unity in the display. Each plate featured a unique silhouette or design, which was something I spent time looking at later, and they certainly help to move the eye through the display as a whole. For example in the upper middle of the piece, the image of the cow faces right guiding the eye down through the plates to the right of the window. Then, the plates on the right feature images that move your eye into the the display rather than out of it, such as the turkey, horse, and two people facing left. I found this to be a strong point in the display because viewers are continually moving through the piece.

The room itself has great sense of balance. Symmetry certainly helped to achieve this feeling through the placing the same item on both ends of the wall, such as the mirrored shelves on the walls as well as the table supports and stools. Furthermore, the plate display works well with other elements of the room to create unity through the color black. The first thing I look at in the picture is always the plate above the window with the cow, then my eyes move down the plates along the right, down to the table support, to the stools, then up through the plates on the left, back to the cow plate. This circular path that my eye is drawn through is based heavily on the dark color of those elements, and the variations in the repetition of black in the room make it interesting.

This photograph shows a great design for a small little nook, and is also inspiring for all who are looking for new ideas of decorating. Most of the time little spaces in the home become wasted space because people don't know what to do with them, and this is a wonderful example of a useful solution. It also shows that a beautiful wall display doesn't have to cost a fortune. In fact, the silhouette plates were created by Danny using old plates from thrift stores, some images printed from online, and porcelain paint. Using this technique, the possibilities are endless because different colors could be used or different shapes of plates, or even something other than plates! With a pinch of creativity, this simple craft can result in a truly unique design for just a few dollars.