Sleeping Light: Leah's light and bright bedroom

There was such a great response from the post about Leah's sunporch (here) , that I decided to repost pictures of her bedroom, this time with text.

The starting point was this beautiful Pottery Barn duvet cover (which she uses as a coverlet), with a paisley pattern in the watery blues and citrus greens she prefers:

It perfectly complemented the pale lemon grass wall color she had chosen. We then selected pinch pleated linen draperies in a slightly darker version of the wall color. She doesn't like white blinds, so she picked wood blinds in a pale bleached wood to warm up the room and pick up the colors of the floor (the floor is much lighter in person than it photographed). Dark accents like the frames, the baskets and the chests at the foot of the bed balance the dark armoire across from the foot of the bed.

I found the nightstands at a hotel liquidators. They are actually very small writing desks with a vaguely campaign look. They were originally done in a walnut finish which was the worse for wear, but the hardware was in good shape (it just needed a good scrubbing), the size and lines were good, and the price, $39 each was perfect.

To create more storage, Leah added a shelf to the right one, and then we finished in a silvery, blue grey, sealed with several layers of brown paste wax for a vintage look. After adding a couple of baskets and Leah's vintage lamp that survived Katrina, voila: a look that says tropical without being a cliche:

To create a space for a laptop, the other desk was allowed to remain a desk, with merely the paint technique to refurbish it.

I then found a faux bamboo chair that Leah painted to match. I loved the chair because it's small scale and delicate open back didn't overwhelm the small space.

Leah did the upholstery job, including the double welting.

By placing the four prints over the armoire, I was able to give the too-short piece the illusion of more height. The prints, by blending in to the wall, also tie the armoire (which is really a little too dark for the room , but in real life decorating perfection is not always acheiveable) into the pale, bright room.

Bronze Age: A ceiling before and after

Ceilings are an often overlooked design element. In new homes, even expensive custom ones, they are often little more than expanses of white sheetrock. It's a shame, however, because they can be a wonderful place to introduce color, pattern, and shine. In this case, we wanted to create drama in a dining room. It has a distinct ceiling from the rest of the downstairs, but a large opening to the adjoining foyer. Because of the openness of the floor plan, we wanted the walls to be the same as the foyer, but we wanted a more dramatic feel in the dining room. The solution was to do a metallic bronze finish on the ceiling.
The ceiling and medallion (necessary to hide the hole left by moving the chandlier) before:

The primer/basecoat: Warm metallics need a red undercoat. Even when using opaque metallic paints, the warmth (or lack of it) from the basecoat is apparent. If doing a metallic finish yourself, you will be very unhappy with the results if you attempt it over a white or light colored wall. The darker the desired finish, the more crucial this step is. In this case, I was able to combine priming and a red basecoat by using a primer tinted with Sherwin William's Flower Pot, which is a great, orange based red without blue undertones.

Next, several layers of metallic paint. I used a mixture of Modern Master metallics, including Antique bronze and English Browns. Modern Masters are expensive (About $35 for a quart), but they cover very well, and come in great colors. Even so, you may have to mix several different colors to get the exact shade you want.

It took about 4 coats, but I ended up with a deep luscious bronze to bring drama and warmth to the previously stark surface (to get depth, coveage, and evenness, it is important to use several sheer layers of paint instead of one thick layer).

Before Pics.

I'm busy with a project, but wanted to go ahead and post the before pictures of a client's dining room and foyer that I'm working on. Hopefully, I'll have some after pics by the end of the week (It's a good thing, because the family is returning from vacation on Friday). It's an interesting project, because we are trying to combine transitional architecture and very traditional inherited furniture, while keeping a fresh, modern feeling for the young family that lives here. Wish us luck.

Sunny side up: A sunroom makeover on a budget

Recently, on the fabulous internet radio show, The Skirted Roundtable (here) Linda, Megan, and Joni discussed the true cost of decorating, and whether it's possible to achieve a high-end look on a budget. And the short answer is a qualified "yes." The qualification is because in decorating, as in life, there is no free lunch. You can get the look, but what you save in money will be made up in time spent. My friend Leah was able to achieve a very polished look for her sunroom on a small budget by doing all the work herself, from sewing a custom window seat cushion to sanding and painting the porch itself. It took her months, but the results were well worth it. d Below is a view of my friend Leah's gorgeous sunporch which opens off the living room of her 1930s bungalow.

Here is the room before.

The assets included the built in window seat, the vintage spanish style table, and the weathered antique wicker table (Katrina floodwaters added a gorgeous weathered patina to this piece that I could never replicate), tons of natural light, and the original terracotta tiles that she painstakingly stripped, resealed, and polished herself .

Here is another shot of the entrance, showcasing the crisp graphic lines of the original french doors against the fresh green living room walls. Leah loves citrus hues, crisp whites, dreamy creams, and watery blues, and used them throughout her home for a unified feel.

Here is a shot of the co-ordinating lime paint on the original grooved ceiling. *note-a key to achieving a highend look is through great architectural features--this room would not have the same impact with sheetrocked walls and without the french doors.

A view of the sunroom, including the window seat, now dressed with a plump cushion in cream canvas and co-ordinating pillows. Leah added a distressed white finish to her vintage coffee table. The wicker side table has been topped with a piece of glass. The faux bamboo frames hanging against the windows are a thrift store find, and the lamp shade is actually a woven hat from the Vietnamese market. Leah's green thumb is evident in the luxuriant foliage.

Here is a closer look at the windowseat. Leah made the cushion and pillows herself. She transformed 3 free sofa cushions into one large bench cushion.

To give the window seat a more polished look, she applied a box pleated skirt to the window seat.

We searched high and low to find an affordable accent chair for the space. Luckily, we found an incredible faux bamboo (do you sense a theme) chair at a local hotel liquidator's.

Here is the same chair before:

An after shot. Leah stripped the upholstery, applied a faux bamboo finish over the dark stain, and reupholstered the chair herself. Since she had leftover fabric from the window seat cushion and leftover paint, the only money spent was on the chair. And at $35, it was a major bargain.

To sum up: a space can be beautiful and budget friendly, but if that's what you want, you need to be prepared to follow the advice of Rupaul, "You better work!"

Alternative Art

Selecting the final art pieces and accessories is one of the most important parts of the decorating process. These choices are what personalize one's home and add beauty, warmth, and excitement. Unfortunately, the selection of most art and accessories (except for any inspiration pieces one may have found early in the design process) usually comes at the end of a project, where budgetary restrictions are really becoming an issue. Thus, this is the time to start thinking outside of the box...in this case a shadow box. A client received these four corner blocks as a lagniappe (a louisiana term that means a little something extra) when she purchased some reclaimed cypress boards for a framing project. We had no immediate use for them, but they had so much interest (and were free), that I convinced her to hold on to them for future use. Then, one day when I was looking at the naked, narrow wall in the foyer between two doors--I had a vision...the corner blocks mounted in linen backed shadow boxes and mounted in a column. This is a technique that could be used for any architectural fragment---just adjust the size of the shadow box. Keep in mind, however, that for these to be a budget friendly project, you need to select a pre-made shadow box--custom ones are available in any size, but are very expensive.

The blocks before:

Even though they were cut from old beams, the center detailing was new, raw, and did not match the exterior wood. There were also pen lines left from the sawing. So, first step, sanding with a coarse steel wool. Steel wool works better on this kind of project than sand paper, because it is malleable and can adapt to small, curved grooves. It is also less harsh on soft woods.

Next step, glazing in order to match the raw center to the exterior patina and to bring out details. I used acrylic craft paint in burnt umber diluted with water to "stain" the center, and then highlighted the grooves with Modern Masters English Brown. I like to use a very dark brown instead of black, because it brings out the same defintion without the harshness. When used on wood projects, it has a more natural feel:

This photo shows the difference glazing made. Notice how much older and more interesting the blocks in the background appear: To seal, polish, finish, and further antique the blocks, after they dried from the glazing, I applied several coats of brown wax with ultra fine steel wool, buffing between coats with more steel wool. And yes, all that sanding matters. Skipping the sanding step between coats of paint, wax, and polyurethane is one reason that amatuer projects look so homemade.

And finally, mounted in a premade shadow box. To mount, I made a small hole in the center back of the shadow box, and screwed a wood screw through that hole into a predrilled hole in the center back of the wood block:

And a couple of shots of the shadow boxes in place:

A thank you bouquet

My friend Candice and her friend Graham are visting, and Candice noticed this vintage pitcher in my kitchen. While I was meeting clients, she snuck out and bought this beautiful bunch of lilies in purple and yellow as a hostess gift to fill the yellow pitcher (flowers don't always have to go into vases....any container that can contain water or hold another container that can hold water can be a vase).

And here is the completed bouquet. Notice how the yellow, purple, and green match the Mardi Gras sign over the sink. Thanks so much, Candice.

From Curbside to Bedside: How to refurbish a street find

Below is a pic of the great little nightstand I found abadoned on the curb when neighbors down the street moved out: It was a great find, because my guest room presents some difficulties. It's a small room, 12 x 14, made even narrower by a closet that juts out into the room. In it, I have a queen bed, which is too large for the space. However, I already owned the bed when I moved in with Thomas, I love it, it was relatively expensive, I didn't want to get rid of it, and we often have couples staying in the guest room. My intial decision with the bed placement, below, was to shove the bed into the corner to preserve floor space, and I used a small bench as a nightstand, both because of its diminutive size and because I really didn't have another home for it. Neither solution really worked; it was awkward crawling over another person if you shared the bed, and the stool offered no storage.

One day, while walking Cleopatra, the sweetest ,cutest dog ever, I stopped this little cutie on the curb. Sure she was a little battered, but at a little over 12 sq. inches, she was the perfect size, and the deco styling was a sure fit for our 1930s house. Furthermore, It was solid wood construction, and the veneer was intact except for a couple of very small chips around the edges.

The first thing I did was to thoroughly clean the piece with a 0000 steel wool pad soaked in mineral spirits to remove dust, gently sand down imperfections, and give a clean working surface. think of it as a gentle wood exfoliant. In the pic, you can notice the imperfections in the varnish on the top (the lighter patches of wood).

Next, I used a stainable wood filler to fill in the chipped door edges.

After applying, I sanded down the filler.

Next came multiple layers of stain and polish. I planned on keeping the finish in a similar tone to the original finish, but darker. This was for a couple of reasons. One, stain is like haircolor; it's easier to cover variations, mistakes, and inconsistency if you go darker. Second, while I didn't care if the nightstand's finish matched the bed exactly, I did think a darker finish would be a better complement.

First step, after patching, was to spot stain the worn areas in the finish, the stratches, and the putty with sedona red (which I already had left from another project) in order to blend the lighter patches with the rest of the finish.

Second, I lightly sand with superfine steel wool, and then did a couple of coats of a mix of Minwax Polyshade Special walnut mixed with Colonial Maple (the mix was also left from another project). I used the polyurethane with stain because the piece had originally had a laquer layer that had worn through in places. By using a poly, those unprotected areas would be given a layer of protection. I also needed the mixed colors to get exactly the color I wanted: a reddish tone with darker brown undertones. If you are looking for a certain effect or trying to match existing finishes, mixing is the way to go. Just remember to write down proportions as you are experimenting so you can recreate the perfect stain in larger quantities.

Third, because I wanted the piece to have a more authentic finish, I again sanded the entire piece with steel wool, and applied 3 coats of dark wax with a steel wool pad.

The piece in progress, after blending the lighter areas:

In place:

Since the stool was also narrow, I was able to squeeze it between the bed and the window to create a second nightstand. It's a little snug moving between the bed and the closet, but the benefit to having two nightstands is so much greater.

It's the perfect size for an alarm clock, a couple of books, and a small bouquet.

It was missing a pull, so I found a co-ordinating pull, painted it to match the original and added a broken beaded tassel for interest:

And for an extra touch, I lined the bottom drawer with a remnant of a favorite fabric:

Since I already had the stains and other materials needed for the makeover, my total out of pocket cost was $1.57 for the clearanced drawer pull. Considering the fact, I just saw a similar piece for $75 in a consignment store, I think it was a good deal.