Asleep Under a Tree

The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. ~ Robert Frost

Even though I haven't been writing this blog for very long, it probably comes as no surprise to my millions of readers that I love trees. I love planting them, tending them, walking among them, looking at them -- and of course, painting them. So when I was searching for inspiration for decorating our bedroom, a whimsical, restful tree just seemed perfectly ... natural.

With two preschoolers, stressful jobs (both in and outside the home) and endless home improvement projects, I wanted our room to be a peaceful place with quiet, cool colors.

We started out with something not so quiet and restful -- sunshine yellow. Since bright yellow is notoriously hard to paint over, we primed and painted the room ice blue. Now all I needed was inspiration...

I found it, oddly enough, browsing through Esquire magazine. (Yeah, I read guys' magazines. The writing is so smart and snappy -- it has to be, since most guys really don't read.) I came across some photos of a New York City apartment the magazine had designed for some fancy celebrity party. (Sigh ... oh to design apartments for fancy celebrity parties!)

They used a handpainted wallpaper from a fancy schmancy British designer to "collect and soften" the room. I LOVED the effect and set about figuring out how to make it mine. I tested some ideas in my printmaking class -- trying different shapes and colors.

Then I chose a background color: Benjamin Moore 2123, "Sea Star," a soft greenish gray. Which sounds more like a dead fish than a silvery gleam on the ocean, but it's reeeeally pretty. Promise.

Anyway, I sketched out a willow-like shape in chalk and got busy painting. This is the result! I love the free form of the trunk and branches, and the modern simplicity of the oval "blossoms." And I know this sounds pretty goofballs, but the tree has become a sheltering place for me -- it represents comfort, peace and stability -- kind of holding our family up. I swear I sleep better under it!

Yep -- that's an upholstered headboard and yep, we made it! More on that next. Until then -- sweet dreams!