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!

Peeling Paint

"A clever man commits no minor blunders." ~ Goethe

I think it's no secret that I love to paint walls, but there is one thing I -- and pretty much everyone else on the planet who picks up a paintbrush -- hate to paint: woodwork.

It's no fun whatsoever ... all that taping and dabbing and trying to make a straight line. And the absolute best result you get is that it looks "very nice." No one ever walks into your house and says, "Holy moly, will you just look at that woodwork? I love the color you chose! And the way it's not peeling or uneven, well that is just creativity at its best!" Notsomuch.

But if it IS peeling and uneven, like the woodwork all over my lovely home, people will notice. Well, more importantly, YOU will notice it up there, mocking you. And it's even worse if, say for instance, someone has painted the walls red without even bothering to tape -- and it looks like a stuck pig bled all over the the baseboards and shoe molding. Not that I would know anything about that. Ahem.

Anywhoo, this is the predicament in which I find myself. And not just in my lovely red office, but in my WHOLE STINKING HOUSE. We think that before we moved here, the previous owners, who once seemed like perfectly nice, intelligent people, painted water-based latex over oil-based paint without primer. Perhaps in an attempt to make things easy on us. Wow ... thanks.

And because of this blunder, I will scrape, sand, prime and THEN paint -- all to make it look not horrible, but "very nice."

So learn this lesson, my friends. Be ye not so stupid. When in doubt, use a good primer before you paint! Actually, it's almost always a good idea to prime before you paint. You think it's just an extra step that will cost you more time and money, but really it's going to save you lots of heartache.

Or if you just really don't want to prime and you don't know what kind of paint you're covering, try this little test:

Open a tin of Sterno – you know, the stuff you use at buffets to keep the casseroles warm. What? You don’t have any Sterno handy? Oh geez, honey, how are you ever going to get into the Junior League? That’s okay, hop in the car and run to your fav home improvement store to get some denatured alcohol. It comes in a little metal tin and should be with the paint stuff.

Now go home and find an old rag. If the paint is a light color, use a dark rag. If the paint is dark, use a light colored rag so you can see the paint on the cloth. Dip a small portion of the rag into the Sterno or alcohol. Slowly rub the alcohol on a small portion of the paint. If the paint becomes soft and begins to come off on the cloth, the paint is water based latex.

I know what you're thinking. Sounds like kind of a process, right? Welllllllll ... not nearly as much of a everlovin' process as scrape, sand, prime and paint! Sigh ... but I am not bitter. I'm just going to take it one room at a time, and reward myself with a FUN painting project after each room finished! Hmmm ... what shall I choose next?

What a Difference Color Makes, Part Deux

“The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love color the most.” ~ John Ruskin

In my last post, I professed my love of color. It's something that I hope to pass along to my children by decorating our home and their rooms in vibrant hues and unexpected color combinations. Seeing the bright paintings they bring home from school and the, um ... unique outfits they pick out in the morning ... I get the feeling that they're catching on pretty well.

Part of their color education is making their own colors. An easy exercise is mixing food coloring into water and talking about what happens ... how the colors make us feel.

Stay with me, I know this sounds kind of touchy-feely -- but psychologists have proven that color has a measurable effect on mood and physical wellness. Here's the conventional wisdom on how colors affect us:

• Red: Stimulates, excites and warms
• Yellow: Stimulates memory and alertness
• Green: Brings feelings of calm, anticipation and hope
• Blue: Soothes, relaxes and even offers a cooling effect
• Pink: Also soothes and can even relax muscles
• Orange: Stimulates the appetite and reduces fatigue

That's why I nixed the jade green on the walls of our kitchen and adjoining dining area (which is now a playing area) in favor of a creamy yellow that reminds me of french vanilla ice cream. Yum. (It's BM's Vellum, which, as you might recall, is also the stripes of our dining room). I spend about half my day in the kitchen and Lord knows I need as much help with memory and alertness as I can get!

But seriously. This color choice follows a weird little rule I've always had: Cool colors -- greens, blues and violets for sleeping places, and warm colors -- yellows, reds, oranges and browns for gathering places.

(The exception is my Best Boy's room, which is honey mustard yellow. A snap decision that I am thinking may need to be reversed soon. Sorry, honey)

Anyway, back to science. Researchers think that people have preferences for color based on what their minds and bodies “need.” For instance, if you have lots of stress in your life, you’re more likely to pick up color samples in the green, blue or pink families at the hardware store. Simply put, you are naturally drawn to the colors that help balance your emotional and physical wellness.

But what if color psychology isn't working for you don't feel drawn to any particular color? You might find yourself being sucked toward the beige abyss. Back away, my friends, back away!

Try this: take a spin through your closet and see what color pops up most often. (If it's beige, I'll give you my phone number and we'll just have to work through this together.) If it's something like hot pink or orange, don't freak. Just find toss pillows and accessories in these bright colors and paint your walls in a "safe" neutral that makes them pop, like light gray. Or try a more subdued blush or coral with bright accents.

Or take this approach -- think about the mood you want to set in your space and choose a color accordingly. The color phobic can usually stomach sage green -- practically a neutral itself. Might I recommend a pretty, silvery green Sherwin Williams calls Svelte Sage? (SW6164) I liked it so much, I painted my first house this color!

It's not that beige is a terrible choice, just don't make it the only choice. By thoughtfully choosing colors that make your heart go pitter pat, you'll find yourself more at home in your house.

What a Difference Color Makes!

"Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet."
~Paul Klee

Why are some people so afraid of color in their homes? I once heard a celebrity interior designer say, "If Americans had it their way, our colors would be beige, white and beige."

One quick look around here will tell you that I'm not one of the fearful. My own whimsical walls range from sky blue to buttery yellow to lavender to my favorite, "smoldering red." Of course, you can't go bonkers and paint all these colors slap up next to each other. There has to be some natural flow and harmony. And the color just has to make sense in a room.

Take our master bathroom, for example. When we moved in, it was a sad blue gray. This is a fine color for libraries and hospital operating rooms, but it just didn't make sense here. The floors are a festive Mexican tile with blue and yellow accents, and the walls are all decked out in white and cobalt blue tile. Also, the sleek, silver mirrors and light fixtures installed by the previous owners fit about as well as a five dollar suit.

So we decided to paint the walls a rich terracotta that celebrated the fiesta on the floors. I pulled those light fixtures down and spray painted them to look like oil rubbed bronze. New globes in a smoky brown warmed up the fixtures even more. Then I sold the mod mirrors and shelf on Craigslist to fund new medicine cabinets.

Voila! Totally new bathroom ... all thanks to a little elbow grease and our friend color. Just makes sense.

I think that I shall never see, a poem as lovely as a whimsical tree

"The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness."

~ John Muir

My friends Doug and Durell are doing a nature-themed nursery for their baby girl, who is due in May. I heart this idea big time (something different!) and was super excited when they asked me to paint a whimsical tree on one of the walls.

Trees make me feel so peaceful and comforted by the continuity of nature. What a perfect image for their sweet baby to see each day! And since I just finished painting a stylized willow in our bedroom (more on that later), it wasn't really like I was branching out! (so lame ... sorry)

Anyway, I started with a light blue wall and a picture Durell found on a blog. She plans to put a comfy white chair in the corner next to the tree. And to finish out the rest of the room, she's using etchings and art they've collected over the years, and accessories like a sweet little shabby chic floor lamp with branches and birds. Talk about natural beauty!

Congrats to D&D and here's hoping their little pixie sleeps well under her very own tree!

Make Rooms for Baby

I'm such a mama bird. When my babies were on their way, all I could think about was creating a warm, inviting little nest for them. Like most parents, I wanted their nursery to be more than a safe, baby-proofed, quiet room ... I wanted it to be one-of-a-kind and perfect. So I chose a theme, painted a cool color and painted a small mural that would provide the finishing touch.

For our best boy, I loved the relaxed style of Pottery Barn Kids' Island Surf pattern. The blues and red were right up my alley and the patterns of tropical scenes, swirling waves and swaying palms made me feel calm despite the tumult of pregnancy hormones. (Maybe reminded me of our Hawaiian honeymoon just a tad.) So I gussied the room up in PBK finery and painted these blue palms on the wall.

Doesn't it just make you want to curl up in a hammock and take a nap?

Hah! Fat chance.

When Little Miss M was on her way, we decided to move big brother to a big boy room. I reeeeally didn't want to change the light blue color of the nursery. (Partly because we loved it, partly because we're lazy). So I dreamed up this vintage, flea market chic red and light blue theme that I think is girly and uniquely pretty. I decided to do an "M" with an oval border and bows.

Feminine and sweet! And of course, with murals, neurotic parents like us don't have to worry about anything falling off of the wall and onto the baby! (Nice feature)
I'm finishing up a painting in my bedroom now and will be doing another nursery soon. Stay tuned!

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!