Painted Desk Chair

My desk chair is sporting a new lighter color.

From the time I first saw this chair, I loved the shape and elegance of it.  But since I bought it new I had not thought about altering its original color.

That was until I started noticing the finish coming off the seat.

I will say I am actually quite dissapointed that after the little use this chair recieve, how easily the factory finish was marred.  These chairs were on sale from Basset.  I got this one on clearance, but the original price per chair was at a price that I would have assumed could handle daily usage.  This chair was not used much, it was brought out for an extra chair at holidays, and that was it.

Initially, I thought of just painting the chair a solid fun color- I settled on yellow. But the yellow just did not work like I wanted, so I went over it with white and sanded down to reveal the yellow and darker finish underneath.

It is a very subtle effect, but really makes a difference.

So what do you think?

-Laurie

House Tour- Guest Room

It is Monday, and that means another stop on the House Tour.

Stop over and make sure you link up your room as well.

Our Guest room is a small little thing, a place just large enough to hold a queen size bed, and enough room to walk around, but it is a huge improvement over the last guest space, which was a converted dining room with curtains placed for doors.  So in the end I feel lucky to have an actual guest room-finally.

Today the room is sporting a very pale wall color.  I wish I could give you an actual name, but it is a hand-mixed job.  Personally I think it is very close to the color in our master bath which is SW Pinkish, but not quite.

The current state of the room is fine, but it does have a feel of hodge-podge right now.  I do have other plans for the room to bring to a finished and complete level, but need to wait until I return from our summer vacation before starting.


The new guest room will have the same vintage feel to it, pale walls and curtains and bed-skirt.  The quilt was hand sewn by my husbands Grandmother, and needs to stay.  The colors in the quilt are a bit of a challenge for me to work with, but I think the pale creams and tans work well, including the slight pink in the wall.

I have a wall treatment in mind, but before I give it away I need to see if it will work out.  

The sewing cabinet that I am using for one of the nightstands is from my maternal grandmother and I think it may be a Caswell Runyan so I am keeping it in its natural condition.

When we purchase the home, this room was painted blue.  A very pretty blue, but in the end, too much for such a small room.  You may remember I was having a hard time getting past that color, you can read about it here and see how blue here.

I think the blue was the same as the blue in our master bathroom in Georgia (picture below), which is why it matched the bedding so nicely, but it made the room so closed in.

I think the pale pink is a much better, don't you?

 

That's it for today- Big plans are coming up for the room.  Watch for in the fall/winter posts.  Thanks for stopping in.

-Laurie

The ABC's of LBC- photo series part 7

S. Slip Covers

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T. Twig Fences

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U. the unexpected

source-Ditte Isanger

-Laurie

Stairwell Gallery Wall- the reveal and process

I have been struggling and debating over what to do in our stairwell.  The big blank walls were killing me.  They needed something, anything to fill up some of the space.

Yep, pretty dull and uninspiring.

Initially, I was hesitant on installing pictures in the space.  Personally, I am not a big family photo display sort of person.  I wanted to keep all our family photos on the 2nd floor, the personal space floor.  But after some thinking and brain storming, I finally caved and decided to go ahead and install a family photo gallery wall in the stairwell.

***Getting pictures of this space was a tad challenging.***

In tackling this project, I first had to decided what I sort of frames and photos I wanted.  I knew I wanted a ton of frames spaced closely together, but I needed to figure out if I wanted all white frames, all black frames, black and white photos or colored photos.  I had already had 2 smaller gallery walls started, one with black frames with B&W photos and another with white frames with colored photos.  I decided to go with the flow and combine what I already had started.

Although, I had already had some frames, I did not have nearly enough.  So, off I went to Ikea I went to purchase another 30+ frames.

Which I added to what I already had.  In total I ended up having 60 frames.

I then just needed to figure out how I was going to place them on the wall.

I wish I could say I had some magic formula on how I figured out placement, but in the end it was more like playing around with a puzzle.  I will try and show you what I did...

I first figured out where eye level was on the wall.  I ended up at 64" above the floor.  I marked that measurement at various places going down the stairs.  I then ran some painters tape to connect that measurement, giving me the center of where I wanted the frames to go.

I measured the length of the wall and marked off an similar space on my living room floor.  I then started placing the frames in the space, trying to vary size and color.

This layout was not how the photos ended up on the wall, but it gave me a starting point.  I then made a template of each frame, assigning it a number and locating exactly where I needed to put the nail, I also wrote a brief description of the photo.

I then just started at the bottom and worked my way up the stairs, placing and adjusting the templates as I went.

You can also see I added a second tape line, this line is to give me the lowest point I wanted to place the frames.

And all the way up I went...

Next came placing the nails and frames.  I highly suggest starting at one end and working your way  from that point, actually installing the frames as you go.  I soon found my templates were not level and when leveling them it crowded the next photo over. If I had just started putting in the nails and not installing the frames, I would have ended up with a lot of readjusting and many unnecessary holes.

The installation process goes a bit like this...

1. Pound in nail
2. Find correct frame
3. Add putty to corners of frames

4. Hang on wall
5. Level and press into place (The putty helps keep the frame level)

6. Go to next frame.

Really pretty easy, jut time consuming.  I did have one big oops, as a frame fell off the wall.

I was a bit heart-broken over this one.  It was my only true shadow box, and the replacement frame was not deep enough for the rock.  I soon learned that when you run out of putty, it is time to stop, or else the frames will fall off the wall when you pound in the next frame.


So, what do you think? 

I am loving it, and I still have room to fill in.  I would love to bring the photos up, filling it in closer to the ceiling.

-Laurie

Lambrequins- Window Wednesday

Lambrequin - short and decorative hanging for a shelf edge or top of a window casing.

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To me the Lambrequin is a formal window treatment.  One more at home in European Palaces than in the average American home.

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source-Lesley Petty

source-House Beautiful

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However, the Lambrequin, can also have a whimsical side, which makes it perfect for a kids room.  A beautiful example if this is the following designed by Candice Olsen.

-Laurie

House Tour- Bathrooms

Bathroom day on the House tour.

I am going to start out saying, our bathrooms are small and humble.  Just big enough to function, but really for only one person at a time.  No extra room for, well, extras.  With all that said....on to the Johns.

Our house has 2 1/2 baths. The 2 full baths are upstairs on the bedroom floor and the half bath is on the main living floor.  In general it is the half bath that gets the most use.  It is also the most finished of out bathrooms.  Keep in mind this space is 4'X4', making picture taking tricky.

Highlights for me are the shelf, which adds a bit of warmth to the room.  The large basket of TP, as there is no other storage in the room and the faux board and batten wall treatment.

Instead of a traditional towel bar or ring, I have chosen a simple hook, in hopes the ease of use will encourage my kids to actually hang the towel back up, but that hasn't happened yet.

Here is a better look at the faux treatment.  I love the texture it adds.

Anyways, it is a simple basic windowless bathroom.

The Master bathroom, again is small, yet functional.  I have given it some attention, but it is on my mind, and I want to do more.  However, what it really needs is a new floor, and I am uncomfortable with having to deal with the toilet and sink on my own (but more on that later).

 

The walls are covered in a press tin wall paper pattern that has been painted a very pale shade of pink.

You may detect a theme here... I love rocks and you will find them all over in my house.  The stacked rocks I collected on our summer vacation in Washington State.

Now on to the big problem in this room, the issue that prevents me from really "doing" the room.  The floor.

As you can see here, the press and stick tile job is horrible.  I joke that it was a "drunk" DIY night.  I joke, because we inherited the floor.  I really don't know the story behind the installation.  You might suggest covering up the unsightly seams with a rug.  Ah I thought of that, but there is no room under the door....

because there are 3 layers of flooring.

It is a job I really would like to tackle, but as I suggested, it is out of my current comfort zone, so I will be waiting a little bit longer.

The 3rd bathroom, is the kids and guest bath upstairs.  This is also on my list.  It is actually pretty high on my list.  I know what I want to do, but just don't have the time.  I hate when that is the case.

So, I will show you what it looks like, but remember, this is not at all completed....

It is even sporting a big hole that needs to be finished out.

I would like to tell you the room will be done soon, but looking at my schedule, I won't be able to start work on it until August.

So there you have it.  My bathrooms.  Small, yet functional.  One finished and 2 still needing work, but if everything was finished how would I keep myself busy?

-Laurie