My Biggest Mural Ever

In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life must you proceed with balance and stealth. ~Patti Smith

Yup, here it is ... the biggest mural I've ever painted. Ta daaaaaa! I painted this several months ago for my friends Doug and Durell, who live in my ole hometown of Jacksonville.

I waited a while to post it because my only photos of it were the ones my son took with my iphone:

Well, I guess that isn't so bad.

Anyway, D&D have a simply gorgeous dining room with lots of natural light and a beautiful vintage chandelier. It just needed a little visual interest to make it fabulous. Durell loves classic designs that seem breezy and effortless. When she came upon this House Beautiful feature, she fell in love (cue angels singing). So we copied the designer's handpainted wallpaper, which is based on a classic Swedish pattern.

As always, I started out with chalk sketches and went from there. After two solid days of painting, here's the result... I love the colors and the fact that the pattern is unusual, yet nature-inspired and calming. Isn't it great to have friends who are brave enough to strive for the unique? (And daring enough to let you paint all over their walls!)

Here are some details...
I added the little nest. It represents their home and their sweet little family -- mama, daddy and baby girl.

These flowers took me a while to get. I stressed about every little detail. Then I took a step back and realized those imperfections are what makes a handpainted mural special. Soooo ... it's really gonna be OK.
See? Take a step back and get some perspective. Maybe a good metaphor for life!

Dining in Striped Style

When we moved into our house, I was super excited to create a warm, inviting dining room where we could share fun, delicious dinners with family and friends. But I had a long way to go -- check out "before" to the left. Yuck. Ugly cherry wood floors, stark white walls with a chair rail and a hideous chandelier stood in my way. (Our neighborhood is called "Versailles," I think the former owners were going for that Louis XV look with this crazy chandelier!)But I was not to be stopped...

I caught one of my fav designers, Genevieve Gorder doing a sweet living/dining combo for a couple on her show, Dear Genevieve. The room was a mix of mod style and warm whimsy, with yellow stripes, lots of reflective glass and mirror and glossy black furniture. Right up my alley … I fell in love! Now all I had to do was learn to paint stripes. (Gulp) I got the low down from my gal Thrifty Decor Chick, made a plum line with a washer and some string and got busy. Yellow is a hard color to get right, but I used Benjamin Moore's "Vellum." I started in a corner and measured 12" widths around the room and used the plum line to keep 'em vertical. Frog Tape worked well to keep the lines straight, though I did have to touch up a little bleeding here and there. (Pulling the tape off while it's still damp works best to avoid that).
I'll be honest, it took a loooong time and was pretty much a PITA. Just check out the ginormous pile of green tape (and my tacky green pj pants). But I LOVE the results...
The previous owners left these silk curtains ... how lucky am I?
One of the things I love most about this room is the chandelier that replaced the Louis XV brass blasphemy -- which I also stole from Gen's room. So simple, it makes everything else seem overwrought and trying too hard.

Our '60s Danish Modern furniture was another thing to address. Here's a shot of it in it's original state (in the dining room of our old house ... sigh, moment of silence please!)

Good quality, great lines, but it badly needed refinishing. (Note to self, there really is a reason for trivets). So I bought some sanding blocks, spray gray primer, a gallon of black satin BJ Impervo, a black foam roller (the foam part is super important - you don't want fuzzies in your satiny finish) and got cracking. It took me several days to sand, prime and paint the bar, table and all six chairs. And I'm pretty sure my new neighbors thought I was running a furniture painting business out of my garage. But the Impervo went on like butta and I love the sleek look.


When the budget allows, I'll add a funky black and white rug. But for now -- I'm so happy with this look! I've added lots of crystal candlesticks in, we have our big antique wine jugs full of corks on the table and the mirror reflects a whole lotta light. It's the warm, inviting dining room of my dreams!