Here’s some of the decorating projects and products used in this room…
Products: Annie Sloan Chalk Paints from French Vanilla and French Touch on Oak Bay Ave; Stool – IKEA; Pillow Inserts and Duvet – IKEA; Fabrics – contact me if you would like a colour story of fabrics developed for your project; Large clothes Pins – Michaels; Bed and Desk – Used Victoria $20 and $75 respectively; Hardware – Lee Valley; Lamp – Wal-Mart; Accessories – Clients
If you would like some help making the place you live a place you love, Contact me! I can help.
Read More →
This weekend my client and I sanded the chalk painted furniture for the girls rooms that we painted last weekend. It was a messy business but when you have a small budget you gotta be prepared to work your butt off...and let me tell you this lady is a work horse! The whole process has been so fun!
And, on Saturday when it started raining we packed it in and went to Home Sense/Home Goods…I found this DVF coverlet that whispered to me that it wants to be a headboard…we’ll see…
I hope you had a great weekend and a productive week ahead. And don’t forget…if you want some help making the place you live a place you love…contact me. I can help!
Read More →
I’m gonna get down to a little painting and gardening this weekend. Maybe even another re-upholstery task. What Can I say….The sun is shining and I’m motivated.
What are you up To?
Here’s a cool vintage poster (undated) from Benjamin Moore…You see! Peeps have doing this DIY thing forever!
Read More →
Thanks for coming back to check out my progress in the one room challenge! If this is your first visit (I’m so glad you stopped by) click here to see the first three weeks of my girl glam apartment project. This past week I tackled a coffee table that my client inherited from her parents which was actually made by her grandfather. It was a big heavy piece and I knew right away we needed to lighten it up if it was going to stay. Here’s how it looks today…
And here’s how it looked when it arrived at my house for a makeover…
I sorta kinda got a Moroccan vibe from the open work on the sides and I fer sure wanted to take the top off and replace it with glass, …. my client wasn’t exactly as sure as I was so I showed her an inspiration pic to help persuade her…it worked.
First thing I had to do was take it apart which was no easy task cause her grampa was very meticulous and built this table for a hurricane. I carefully removed the top and the bracing and decided that this table was going to live out the remainder of its days upside down.
After that I sanded and used wood filler on the holes and knicks….sanding and re-filling several times… It had a thick black enamel paint on it so I sanded the sides a little, but not allot, and then primed it with gray primer.
Next I was ready for the gold, and I wanted it to have some movement…not a flat gold so I used two colours of spray paint and used some craft paints too in order to get some variation in the colours. The product I like best is Rustoleum metallics in Antique Brass & Pure Gold and craft paints in Sahara Gold, Antique Gold and you guessed it…gold.:) I applied the spray paint like the Karate Kid and used my larger art brushes to apply the craft paint. it’s subtle…and certainly more effort…but it turned out really good.
I was nervous to bring it over to her apartment because I knew it was a sentimental piece but thankfully she likes it and the glass guy arrived on time so it wasn’t naked for long. here’s how it looked…
This was a fun, inexpensive and easy transformation. The table was free, and the paints were $20. The glass was by far the most expensive part at $185 incl taxes & delivery. If I were to do it again I would scour used furniture stores for a glass table and re-use the top. Turns out round glass is kind of a pain and we had to get it cut in Vancouver and brought over to the island…hence the price tag. we learn 
Next week I’ll reveal the dresser I’m painting for under the TV…My client did the base coat painting and I’m going to try to take it up a notch with a distressed / stained finish…we’ll see how it goes.
Don’t forget to jump over to these ladies blogs and check out what they’ve accomplished this week! That’s where I’ll be:)…
Read More →
My lovely and talented friend Jenn is renovating her house in Whitehorse and has posted on her blog that she and the mister are in a dilemma. They love bold bright designs but they are having trouble pulling the trigger and painting their wood stairs. Below is the inspiration pic they both loved and their actual staircase (avec chien).
Jenn’s Inspiration The World of InteriorsJuly 2009
Jenn’s Actual Stairs
There is a case to be made for the colourful stairway. However, I think the verdict might be that it works better outside in the bright colour palettes shown here.
Nice open spaces and large scale walls help these steps take a cheerful tone rather than a jarring one.
So what to do? You want some colour, but maybe don’t want the forever commitment that comes with painting your stairs. A couple of options include:
- Paint the Risers Only (Less commitment – still keeping some of the wood tones).
- Stain the wood, or bleach it so you still have the wood look but a totally different feel.
- Add carpet strips or runner to get pop of colour without painting.
- Paint or wallpaper the walls with light and bright colours and patterns and leave the steps wood.
Lets go through the options:
1. Paint Risers Only. I like this idea. White is a classic choice. … (side note their home is influenced my mid century design and they love white)
Houzz
Although you could go with a colour, a combo of colours, or even an ombre graduation of colour as shown here. Tip: use a semi gloss or gloss paint. No eggshell for this treatment.
Pinterest
2. Stain Dark or Bleach for an all over non-colour change. Keep in mind that stain is not just light or dark brown anymore. There are some new gray stains that look very cool and create almost a barn board effect. (may look awesome on that beadboard I see at the landing.)
Both from Houzz
3. Carpet Strips or runner for hit of colour?
Pinterest
Tip: My dog is getting older and having trouble with our wood stairs so instead of a full runner, I bought three of the same rug from Winners and sliced them to the depth of each step. After cutting I zig zagged the edges with my sewing machine so they would not fray. Ikea has some great options that are inexpensive so you wont feel bad cutting them up..And the third one…well its just pretty and I like it, but I would not slice and dice it.
4. Paint or wall paper treatment on the wall without painting the stairs. How about these from Marimekko? Or any number of stripe or chevron patterns you can dream up with paint!
I also love this wall panel set by Keith Haring
So there are a few options to bring in some bright happy shapes and colours into your stairway. If you were to ask me…my vote would be for white risers stained tops and a graphic wall treatment.
Hope this helps Jenn! I have to get to your house soon!! I already love it!
Anyone else have any thoughts on treatments for stairs?? What do you like best?
Read More →
Hi! And thanks for coming back to check in on my progress in the One Room Challenge (ORC). (ORC is 6 weeks, 20 bloggers/20 rooms and Lots of action!!) If this is your first glimpse of my project you can check out weeks One and Two right here. This past week I made my requisite trip to IKEA and showed remarkable restraint I might add! I got some Billy’s and Benno’s per my measurements and then headed to the hardware store to pick up trim and crown molding. Here is what I ended up with:
And here’s where I started…
This bonus room is under my garage. It is dark and the lighting will be addressed in the weeks to come. I painted the back wall with Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore. My lovely nieces helped paint the backs of the Benno shelves but assured me that they have no aspirations toward design. They are strictly focused on becoming zoo keepers. Well,…. okay then!
As you can see I have trimmed out all the fronts and where it meets the wall to give it a finished look. I painted all the wood trim in Timid White by Benjamin Moore as it is a very close match to the white of the IKEA Billy shelves. I added a crown at the top too which seems like a preschool step compared to what Linda at My Crafty Home Life has been doing with her crown molding- so let’s be clear…she’s the reigning queen of crowns, and mine’s pretty good
I took a small Billy shelf and cut off the bottom in order to construct a bridge between my two stacks. It started to sag a bit in the middle so I went back to the hardware store and got some small pieces of lumber which I painted in the wall colour. These cleats are screwed into the studs and provide just the right amount of support for my hack!
So there it is. Not allot of pretty pics this week – but certainly lots of work!! I might submit it as an IKEA hack when I’m done. My desk Hack is here. I feel relieved that this hard part is over and I’m looking forward to some good old fashioned decorating.
Next week the electrician and the drywaller will be here…that’ll be a gong show.
Below you can find links to the other Challenge Participants!! Check them out!
Jessie - Mix & Chic – Master Bedroom
Linda - My Crafty Home Life – Master Bedroom
Alison - My Little Happy Place – Office
Danylle - Nana Moon – Master Bathroom
Jennifer - The Pink Pagoda – Family Room
Lindsay - The Pursuit of Style – Stairway
Emily - Rue de Emily – Living Room
Lindsay - Sadie + Stella – Office
Lisa - Trapped in North Jersey – Living Room
Read More →
Ever admire an old barn or building painted in glorious shades of red? I love the juxtaposition of red buildings set in a golden prairie and I was happy to find a document, while procrastinating working at the archives the other day, that conjured these visions for me.
Check out this recipe for paint ca 1909…
Recipe for Making Paint
Made as follows, and no more should be mixed than is to be used that day; Stir into one gallon of milk about three pounds of Portland Cement and add sufficient Venetian red paint powder to impart a good color. Any other coloured paint powder may be as well used. The milk will hold the paint in suspension, but the cement being very heavy; will sink to the bottom, so that it becomes necessary to keep the mixture well stirred with a paddle.
Apply with an ordinary whitewash brush.
Read More →
Thanks for coming back to check on my progress in the one room challenge. This week I managed to paint the walls and complete my bedside tables project…A relief because they were the two most labor intensive aspects of the room. The rest is the fun stuff…but more on that next week.
Here is how the room progressed this weekend…If you look closely you can see that early on I had an enthusiastic assistant, but he deserted the project shortly after the work began…typical.
Click here for my Week 2 post on choosing my paint colour. I chose Kendall Charcoal (Benjamin Moore HC 166)
In addition to painting the feature wall I finished these bedside tables…Click here for the Week 3 shots in progress.
My Tip of the week relates to installing new hardware onto cabinets or furniture pieces like I did this week..
Professional Tip: When installing new hardware to your DIY project sometimes you need a longer or shorter screw than the one that came with your new knobs. There is a screw called a “breakaway” that you can break off at the appropriate length in order to get a nice tight fit. They are available at most hardware stores. The only trick is to try not to damage the thread by squeezing too hard when breaking off the pieces….my advice is to buy a few extras 
Check out the other amazing bloggers taking part in the challenge and see what they’ve been up to!
Jen Office
Kelly Office
Danylle Girl's Room
Emily Boys Room
Suzanne Girl's Room
Kim Living Room
Taylor Living Room
Jennifer Laundry Room
Read More →
This week I am helping a client choose colours for walls and features. I prefer the Benjamin Moore Colour deck so here are my preliminary favourites for the interior but it it’s not over until those testers are approved.
Med/Light Gray tone for the overall wall scheme…
The Fireplace Feature wall will be painted in a dark charcoal…
The six niches framing the fireplace will be painted with a lighter colour inside…
A feature wall on the main level will get a dramatic treatment in dark navy blue…
Choosing Colour depends on the natural light in the space, existing fixed elements such as flooring and cabinetry and the desire of the client to have a warm or cool palette. Within each colour family there are so many variations and the truth is that while a designer like me can help you choose colours based on a good eye and experience …everyone….should do testing before making the full commitment to a colour. Benjamin Moore’s test pots are $4.99….How much will that painter cost the second time around?
Ill be testing colours tomorrow…I’ll share some pics, tips and some insights into how it’s going.
Contact Me if you want some help making the place you live a place you love
Read More →
Recent Comments