The Striped Walls Are Done!

On Saturday, I painted fireplace wall in the living room of my neighbor's condo.  I started at 10:00 am and finished up by 5:00 pm.  I have a little clean-up to do to make the stripes a little more crisp.  I used the Frog Tape, but because of the wall texture, it's hard to get a tight seal.  My neighbor is very pleased with how it turned out.  The stripes definitely added the color that Jeremy was desiring for this space.  I think it looks good.  Most people I showed the stripes to either loved them or hated them.  I like to do things outside the box, and this look is definitely outside the box.  My neighbor liked it, so that's the important thing.  Take a look:

Before

Before

After

After

I will help my neighbors find artwork, new lamps, rug, pillows, and other accessories to complete the room.  Over the next weekend, I will paint the foyer the same color as the stripe.  Check back to see this transformation.  

Everything Old is New Again

How many of you have furniture in your home that you are tired of looking at, but you don't really want to replace it just yet?  I'm sure that a lot of us have sat back and looked at furniture in our homes and imagined what it would look like with new fabric, or if a new coat of paint would spruce it up.  I faced this dilemma last summer.  The table and chairs in my breakfast nook were purchased in 2002.  The furniture is hand-painted with fruit accents.  It has a french country look to it.  At the time I loved the furniture.  Over the past few years, I was tired of the fruit but I didn't want to purchase new furniture for my breakfast nook.  So, one day while sitting in my kitchen I imagined what the table chairs would look like if I painted them.  I decided that I needed more color in my breakfast nook.  My walls are Latte (taupe) and the furniture has a brownish/dark taupe coloring to it.  It sort of blended into the walls.  Also, the seat covers were off-white.

To paint the chairs, I used a kit designed to refinish cabinets--Rustoleum Cabinet Restoration.  The kit can also be used on furniture.  Below is a picture of one of the dining chairs before the paint and the new seat cover:

This is what the chair looked like after a two and a half day process of prepping the furniture, painting two coats, applying a glaze, then applying a top coat.

Here is a before photo of what the breakfast nook looked like before the chairs were painted and the seat cushions recovered:

Now here is the after with all the chairs painted:

By painting just the chairs and changing the fabric on the seats, I added a nice pop of color to my breakfast nook.  I also changed out the artwork and accessories on the buffet and table.  I decided not to add any paint to the table.  Sometimes it's good to get away from the matchy-matchy look.  I think it adds more interest too a room.

With a little bit of time and effort, you can easily transform a space from boring and dull to wow!!

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark!

Happy Holidays to everyone!  I've been a little behind on my postings.  Hopefully I can squeeze in a few between now and year end.

I saw this quote on Twitter from House Beautiful:

"Darker colors are always sexy. They warm things up and make everyone look better."

On Saturday, my nephew and I went on the Christmas tour of homes in Little Rock.  Every year during the Christmas season, five to six homeowners will open their homes for tours.  Since I am a house voyeur, this is right up my alley!  All of the homes on the tour had dark colors in the main living areas and in some of the master bedrooms.  The dark colors definitely made the rooms more dramatic.  Unfortunately, I have no photos to post.  You will have to trust me when I tell you the homes were fabulous!

BTW, Chris Olsen has his first book out--"Chris H. Olsen's Five Seasons".  I went to his launch party December 9th.  Beautiful photography of Chris' home.  Chris offers great decorating ideas for the home and garden.  For those of you who don't know who Chris Olsen is...  Chris is a landscape architect, interior designer, business owner, TV host, and all around nice guy.  I have known Chris for about 10 years now.  I saw Chris this Saturday and told him that I loved his book but there is no way I can make the beautiful craft projects featured in his book.  Chris' response to me, "If I can do it you can do it!"  You can find his book at http://www.leisurearts.com or check out your local Barnes & Noble.

Color Courtesy of Mother Nature

I am working in Springdale, AR and right outside the location I am working is the most spectacular red maple tree.  This tree looks as if it is on fire.  This is why fall is my favorite time of the year.  Enjoy!

Quote of the Day!

I have a Twitter account and I follow several decorating Tweeters.  I saw this Tweet today from designer Bruce Norman Long posted by House Beautiful.  I think this quote best describes what I love about color:

"I like dark colors because they always make a room feel more decorated than it is."

I think this is so true.  On Saturday, I helped my neighbor Penny paint her dining room SW Coconut Husk (same color as my living room).  She loved the color when she saw it in my living room and wanted to paint her dining room this color.  Her dining room was red when she moved into her house 5 years ago and she never liked it from day one.  So, I schlepped across the street Saturday morning and we were done by noon.  The color change made a dramatic difference in the room.  This is the "after" photo.  I didn't get a chance to take a "before" photo.  Take my word for it--we did a dramatic color change.

The Allure of Color

The use of color frightens a lot of us, but it shouldn't.  Our lives are filled with color.   Yet when it comes to applying color to our walls, we can't seem to decide on a color so we do nothing.  Fall is my favorite season.  I guess that is why I am drawn to tans, browns, reds, oranges, yellows, and golds.  I gravitate more to darker colors.  For me, a room painted in a darker hue grounds the space.  As I am writing this, I am sitting in my living room which is painted SW Coconut Husk.



SW 6111 Coconut Husk

It is the darkest color on the color chart (#16).  I'll admit, I was a little hesitant to try this color.  Once I applied the first brush stroke, I immediately fell in love with the color.  The color is dark, but I consider it a neutral, just as taupe or tan is a neutral.  The richness of this color makes the other colors in the room pop.  Notice how my living room looks painted in its original color, SW Latte.  It's a warm, neutral color but it just says, "Blah" to me.  It's as if the wall color is competing with the colors in my furniture and artwork. 

Blah-blah-blah!!

 
Now notice how the room looks painted in SW Coconut Husk.  Notice how the artwork and the orange/rust pillow in the chair pops against the dark walls.

My advice to anyone who is thinking about painting a room:  You must love the color.  It has to make you happy every time you step into the room.  If it doesn't, then find a color that makes you happy. 

If you don't know how to paint, don't let this be an excuse for not changing the wall color in your home.  The first time I ever painted was back in the late 1970s while I was still in high school.  I wanted my bedroom painted dark blue.  I hired my neighbor's son to paint the room.  I thought that I would love the color, but I hated it.  In fact, the room depressed me.  So, I decided to repaint it myself and I painted the room peach--it was a happy color.  I loved the color and the walls remained peach until my mother's house sold in October 2005.

Painting a room is not the only way to add color to a space.  Placing accessories in your favorite colors can liven up a room.  Notice how the color orange pops in this room.  This is a very neutral room, but the room perks up through the orange pillows, rug, and drapes.

Find a color that you like and purchase pillows, vases, and artwork in that color.  This works well for a room that has neutral walls and furniture like the room in the picture above.  Adding your favorite color to a space adds instant happiness!  The beauty of adding color with accessories is that you can easily change the mood in a space by changing the accessories.  Or, if you decorate by the seasons, you can change out pillows and other accessories to match the season.  My sister-in-law, Sadie, is the queen of changing accessories.  She has several looks for her dining room based on the seasons.  For fall, she has an olive motif.

If your room needs a pick-me-up, color is the best therapy!