What centrepiece is dressing up your table right now? A collection of half-melted candles? Grocery bags? Your purse when you forget to hang it up? Creative experts Jennifer Scott and Megan Baker, of interior design firm A Good Chick To Know, want you to realize this ‘lazy’-faire approach doesn’t cut the mustard pillows.

The local duo has made a career of using their styling and design skills for good, and see every part of the home as an opportunity to combine the latest fashions with home decor.

The dream team will dish on the top trends of 2013 at the BC Home & Garden Show later next week, but are keen to give us a sneak preview and show 24 hours how to do tabletop right with some chic and cheap DIY.

24: How do you translate the latest fashion trends into decor? And on budget?

AGCTK: The basic principles of styling an outfit or a room are the same: if a runway trend is bold colours and structured fabrics, that can very easily be translated into a room with bright accessories and a streamlined sofa or crisp drapery. When we bring fashion trends into the home, we try to be selective when it comes to larger pieces ... if it can step up your style for a full season, then it’s approved! To beat tight budgets, we love to source trend pieces at local thrift stores.

24: What new trends are you seeing in interior design right now?

AGCTK: One current trend that we adopted years ago  — and built our business niche upon — is personality. This year will show a lean toward creating a space unique to each homeowner, a place detailed to their interests, lifestyles and characters. This one trend is actually more of a fantastic technique to try out other prevalent design trends, avoiding a “cookie cutter” overly-stylized feel to a home.

Check out next week’s DIY FILE for more tips and projects in part two of this interview with A Good Chick To Know.

1. “Glamour Glass” gold-leaf vases:

Materials:

Glass bottles, gold-leaf kit, two or three paint colours, painter’s tape, a small foam brush, clear varnish

1. 1. Rinse and dry glass bottles, removing any labelling and residual glue fully
2. 2. Gold-leaf vases: apply adhesive from the gold-leaf kit and let it sit upside down until slightly ‘tacky’
3. 3. Place the bottle on a sheet of gold-leaf and gently fold it up around the sides of the glass
4. 4. Using the small brush, apply slight pressure to push the sheet into the adhesive until the sheet is fully attached to the bottle
5. 5. Carefully brush off any extra gold-leaf that is not attached to the adhesive; this step will create the ‘aged’ look on the finished product
6. 6. Painted vases: use painter’s tape to section off a bottom area and apply two coats of a base colour (we chose metallic gold) and let dry fully
7. 7. Choose your second colour and, holding the bottles at arm’s length, spray the bottom portion of the bottle (within the same area of your base colour) at an angle allowing some off-spray to creep up toward the top to create an ombre effect. Let dry. Repeat this with a final colour, but slightly lower than the previous colours so it’s not covered completely
8. 8. Apply two coats of clear varnish (allowing coats to dry fully between applications) and you’re done!

2. “Words of Wisdom” book centrepiece:

Materials:

A book of your choice

• Step 1: find a hard cover book you love; opt for a cool vintage one to add some style!
• Step 2: open the book leaving about one inch of pages before you make the first fold (or begin at the first page if the book offers a beautiful inside cover).
• Step 3: taking 2 or 3 pages together, make one large off-centred fold, folding one side edge of the papers down to meet the binding seam
• Step 4: now take the opposing side edge of the same pages and make a smaller fold to complete the off-centred triangle. *repeat this step four times to have thickness in the finished design
• Step 5: start the process again, but this time make your folds in the reverse direction (to create the illusion that the off-centred triangle set is ‘leaning‘ in the opposite direction) *repeat four times to add depth and match the thickness of Step 3
• Step 5: now begin the folds in the same direction as Step 3 and continue repeating steps 3-5 until you have about an inch of paper left on the backside of the book if you did so at the front, or fold straight through to the end if you began at the front cover
• Step 7: viola! Your super fab centrepiece is ready to go — you can use it as a creative napkin holder or leave it as-is to create a conversation piece over dinner. If your book is chosen correctly, you can even send a message to your guests — hosting a Valentine’s dinner? Opt for a selection of Renaissance or Romantic poetry!

3. “Horns of (colourful) Plenty” painted faux-antler centrepiece:

Materials:

Faux antlers, painter’s tape, four colours of paint, clear varnish, small foam brush

• Step 1: source out a cool pair of faux antlers (these are resin antlers found for cheap at HomeSense)
• Step 2: choose one colour to act as the focal colour and paint the antlers fully. Let dry and repeat, usually two coats
• Step 3: once your base colour has achieved the desired saturation and coverage (and is fully dry), take two strips of painter’s tape and section off a smaller area in the centre of the horns
• Step 4: choose your accent colour in liquid form (AGCTK did a metallic gold) and, using a foam brush, apply the paint in the sectioned-off area; let dry and repeat, usually three coats for metallic paints
• Step 5: once your accent colour is dry, cover one end, including your newly painted centre area, with a plastic bag and tape closed
• Step 5: choose a second focal colour (white) and spray paint the remaining end; let dry and repeat. Remove plastic bag once all coats have been applied
• Step 7: choose a final colour; holding antlers at arm’s length, spray tips at an angle allowing some off-spray to creep toward the centre for an ombre effect. Apply two coats of the clear varnish and voila edgy centrepiece