Archive | Artwork RSS feed for this section

Teeny Weeny Makeover on a Teeny Weeny Budget

by on February 27, 2013

Take a look at my half-bathroom wall…

This is the scene that greets you as you enter the room. Are you bored yet?

It’s impossibly lackluster and after two years it was time for a fix.

If you know me, you know my love for board-and-batten and all things cottage/farmhouse. (Not to be confused with “country” which is another thing entirely, and not my thing at all.) I wanted this bathroom to feel larger than it is, with a little “farm charm” and reminiscent of the aesthetic in my grandparents’ 1921 lake cottage in northern Wisconsin. (The most beautiful piece of paradise you never imagined in the North Woods.)

So began my transformation, starting with white paint on the bottom 36.5 inches of the wall, overlaid with lattice strips of wood spaced 10.5 inches apart.

I followed much the same  process as the board-and-batten in my son’s room you can read about here. And remember that faux Roman shade I made for the kitchen? I decided to try it out in this room for a different effect.

I cut each of the lattice boards to the exact length needed (my house isn’t exactly square) and then alpha-labeled each board so that my power tool recruit (aka good husband) would know where to place each board.

So the new, improved and not-so-boring-anymore bathroom is…

Half Bath Makeover 6

 

The map on the wall was the perfect size if I turned it sideways, so naturally I did. (Hey, when you think about it, we never use maps ONLY in their “North Up” position. They’re meant to be used in 360 degrees.)

 

 

For inexpensive artwork I bought a 1970s National Geographic map of the Great Lakes ($7 on Etsy), mounted it to foam core and cut it in quarters.

 

It reminds me of my childhood and wonderful summer vacations to Wisconsin and Michigan and those gorgeous lakes.

 

 

 

I pulled in a little nostalgia with a vintage Campfire tin my Grandmother gave me last summer. It had been in her kitchen for about 80 years.

 

 

I replaced the light fixture glass with seeded glass covers that cast really interesting shapes on the wall and give an artwork quality to the light.

 

The total cost for this space was $120 for paint, oval mirror, wood strips, a new towel hook, the National Geographic map and the foam core.

And so it is complete. I love walking in the space now!

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 

Comments { 1 }

Mixing Turquoise and Tangerine in a Poured Painting

by on November 24, 2012

Marjorie, my dear friend since childhood, bought her first home last year and began decorating it.

Her downstairs is a cozy lounge-type den with a fireplace, bar, and quiet mood lighting. The colors were all soft neutral browns and tans, so she wanted to put some punch in the space — specifically, turquoise and tangerine.

An afternoon’s worth of pillow shopping at Ross and Homegoods turned up this decent assortment for pretty cheap.

But a massive bare wall above the large sofa presented a challenge because the cost for very very large artwork is pretty high. AND, there wasn’t anything we liked that blended turquoise with tangerine.

Did I mention large? We needed 9 feet of artwork.

So we decided to make a poured painting and put these two colors together. (I posted about this technique here a few weeks ago when I created a poured painting for my master bedroom.) Unfortunately I don’t have any “before” shots of the sofa and empty wall, so following is a photo fest of what we did to put color into a cozy but neutral space.

We started with five 18″x24″ white canvases from AC Moore.

Then we picked a shade of turquoise and a shade of tangerine, put each color in a small paper cup to control the pour, and started working. We used indoor latex paint and a quart was plenty. In fact, a “color to go” size from Sherwin-Williams would have been just the right amount. Because you know I aDORE Sherwin-Williams paint.

Here’s Marjorie getting started…

We let the first color dry completely before adding the second one because we didn’t want the colors to mix together. If you wanted to have a color blend you wouldn’t have to wait until that first color dries.

It took overnight to set because we’d poured several layers of varying thicknesses. By morning it was dry and ready to hang.

You can see here that we intentionally separated the canvases by an inch or so to allow dribble in between the canvases. It looks SO good once these are on the wall, to have a wrap-around effect with the paint.

And here it is dry and hanging….

You can see how we pulled in the two accent colors using pillows and textures as well as the painting.

(Please don’t use these photos as a guide for placement of your artwork on the wall. The paintings should actually hang about 6 inches lower — as in closer to the sofa — instead of suspended equidistant between the ceiling and the sofa top. Small distinction yes, but it makes a big difference in visually connecting the painting to the sofa, creating flow, and eliminating that awkward white space that halts your eye on the wall.) 

 

We were so pleased with how this turned out, especially considering that the cost is $5 per canvas (get them on sale!) plus two quarts of paint. Total cost was about $50, and for a 9 foot custom art installation, pretty doggone cheap.

And now Marjorie gets to tell all her friends that she made this her very own self.

Because she did.

I think this would be great fun to do at a crafting party. Yes?

 

 

 

 

Comments { 0 }

Make Your Own Poured Painting

by on November 5, 2012

As part of our master bedroom makeover I needed a piece of art to go over the bed. The picture doesn’t give you the immensity of this 6-foot wide king bed, but there was a pretty big blank wall above it. I wanted something that would pull together the two main colors of this room — greenish gray with brownish plum. I looked for several weeks and found no fabric or art or anything that could work. So I had to get creative.

I bought four 18″x24″ paint canvases at A.C. Moore on sale for $5 each. Then I took the paint I’d used on the walls of this room (Sherwin-Williams’ Comfort Gray—a fabulous color I must credit my clients the Sacks for turning me on to) and a sample container I’d bought months ago (Sherwin-Williams’ Socialite) and put them together for some poured art.

I arranged the canvases on a drop cloth on my screened porch. (Note: a screened porch is ideal for any of your painting/gluing projects because it allows the airflow without the rain or bugs or pollen or whatever else flies around your yard.)

I poured with the Comfort Gray color first and then let it dry about 2 hours before adding the next color.

I didn’t take any in-process pictures because it’s kind of impossible to be pouring paint in somewhat straight lines and also taking pictures of yourself doing it. I put the paint in a small paper cup so I could control it better, and then just poured on the lines as I liked.

The end result is this abstract piece which reminds me of Aspen trees.

I hung the canvases with two in the middle a little higher than the others because I wanted a headboard-style arrangement. It actually does make you “sink” a little lower in the bed to have them hung this way.

Here’s a shot of the room with the paintings and the DIY painted drapes that integrate the same “Socialite” plum color into the room.

I added a plummy chair we had upstairs previously with a green parrot pillow to connect those two colors a little more intentionally.

Next I’m going to add a pop of plum somewhere in this bedding. I am obSESSed with folding down my sheets and layering the bedding. 

So that’s my $20 + leftover paint project. It is ridiculously easy and you could also do it with different designs like this one I did for my living room.

I’m happy with how this one turned out and I hope you’ll try it and send me a picture! It is SO SO easy and you don’t have to have any artistic skills to do it. And did I mention the $20 total tab?

Okay, now I need to get back to this guy, waiting for me to finish my picture taking…and trying to pull himself up with my drapes.

I know. Tiny ball of gooey, squishy LOVE…this little one.

Comments { 1 }

Custom Initial Art

by on September 17, 2012

I love handmade gifts. — Giving them. Getting them. Making them.

So I was thrilled that my sweet friend Shelley had already chosen her soon-coming baby’s name “Amelia.” It opened the possibilities for a monogrammed gift.

Using her nursery colors as my guide, I bought ribbon, two sheets of decorative paper, a letter “A,” and a 12×12 paint canvas.

I attached the ribbon and “A” with hot glue, and I attached the papers with adhesive dots that are 1/8″ thick to give some layered dimension to the piece.

You could make this SO easily in any color just by changing out the ribbon and paper.

Best of all, the supplies for this gift came in just under $10 yet it is completely custom, personalized and an original piece of artwork.

I will be making more of these in the near future!

Comments { 3 }