Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Dining Room Dresser Wall - it's in!

 

Ta da! The dresser is painted, the plates are up, and I love how it turned out! A quick recap of the how:

I mixed the dresser paint with a bonding agent, since I didn't want the chippy look. My house is old enough that it needs newer looking furnishings to get the old/new balance that I like. The paint went on like a breeze - minimal sanding, no priming, it was great!


 I brought the dresser in as soon as it had "cured" - that alone made the room feel more complete! Then I started playing with my paper templates.


I laid out the plates on the floor and took a picture to check the color balance, and stared at everything for a few days to make sure there was nothing about it that bothered me.


Then it was up with the plates! Again, I went with something balanced but not symmetrical, to keep the feel more relaxed/modern than traditional, even though hanging plates on the wall is a very traditional idea.


 Here's how they interact with my floor cloth and the future curtain fabric.


I was a little bit concerned that everything would look too dinky, since it's such a large wall, but the dresser really anchors everything.


 I'll be excited to get the curtains up, but for now, this really makes the room feel more settled, and less "we just moved in" ish.

And now, since I love a good before and after . . .

Before:


And after:

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Summer Cheer

So, I said that one reason I enjoy playing with flowers is because of my Mom. The other is my Husband. After taking the flower arranging class as a teenager, I was fired up and ready to go. There was only one problem. A severe lack of flowers.


We didn't have a whole lot of flowers in the yard, and the ones we did have were not of the pick-and-use variety. I had no idea how to condition them, or even that any conditioning was needed! I wasn't enough of a green thumb to grow what I really needed, so after making a tiny arrangement or two and watching them wilt by evening, I moved on to other things.


Then, a decade or so later, I married a Green-thumb. I didn't realize when we got married the depth of of Kyle's enjoyment of growing things, but it wasn't long after the wedding when he started to bring his produce into the house. And it wasn't just fruits and vegetables!


Every year more and more flowers found their way into the yard. Suddenly, I had material to work with, and a husband who was happy to do the growing for me, and to encourage and admire my handiwork. I had picked up some tips over the years about how to treat different kinds of stems, so I had everything I needed to really enjoy flower arranging as a hobby.


I love to see pretty living things on the table and around the house, and Kyle loves to see me taking an interest in his "playing in the dirt". Together, I think we make some pretty (and tasty) stuff!


Zinnias, Queen Anne's Lace, Lemon Basil, Sedum, Black Eyed Susan, immature Pears and Pretty Weeds.

Monday, July 13, 2015

A Household Equasion

With Baby Girl set to arrive any time now, nesting projects have been in full swing. Most of them have been of the needed-but-mundane variety. (Yes! Another casserole in the freezer! Would you like to see it? No, I thought not.) But a couple of them are of the fun, blog-worthy variety, and this is one of those.

So, what do you get when you add:






1 dresser from my Grandmother filled with fond memories, plus . . .








this paint, plus . . 








this plate collection, on . . .








This wall?



I don't know either. But I'm working on getting all the pieces together, and hopefully it will add up to something fun and cute when I'm done.

Oh, and about that wall. It now looks more like this:


I had the dining room primed all winter, but my kind and wonderful Father painted it for me last time he was down - in ONE DAY. Do you have any idea how many nap times that would have taken me? (Or how many household necessities would have been neglected while I worked on it?) SO wonderful! Up until now it has housed a collection of artwork by the kids and myself, just to keep it from looking so big and bare. We believe it's important to support local artists. ;-)

I have a plan for all that artwork, too. But that will be another project for another time. Right now I'm hoping to get this project done before the little one comes. I'll keep you posted!