Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Violet's Room Makeover/Wallpaper Tutorial

Last weekend we gave Violet's room a makeover, and it has become my favorite project to date! For those of you who know my five-year-old daughter, she definitely has her own sense of style. Part Jersey Shore, part rock-and-roll...what it ain't is remotely girly. But I wasn't ready to give her a skull and crossbones room (although Graham & Brown has a cool wallpaper for that: http://www.grahambrown.com/us/product/19911/skulls), so I went with this stunning pattern from Graham & Brown called Funky Flora, designed by 1960s British fashion icon Barbara Hulanicki.


The daisies are flocked velvet on an almost sheer, rice paper like background with tiny gold threads running through it. On the one hand it feels very sophisticated (especially in the inky purple, almost black shade), but the retro flowers give it such a happy vibe that I thought it could work in a kid's room. Still, I had some reservations: Would it be too overpowering? Too "old" for a five-year-old? As soon as I caught my first glimpse of the half-finished wall (that's my husband, the master wallpaperer), I had my answer. It was just perfect.


We did decide to only do one "feature" wall, as opposed to our original plan to paper the whole room. and I think this helped to keep the room feeling lighter. I love, love the result...and so does Violet!

Before


After


I changed the furniture around in Vi's room to create a little play area for her on the window side of the bed, while her chest of drawers and a mirror take up the opposite side. This layout gives the room more dimension and actually makes it feel larger. The canvas screen prints on the wall are from All Things Grow (www.marcydavy.com)


When it came to dressing the window, I decided to install a roller blind instead of curtains, as curtains covered too much of the wallpaper. I left the rod up so I could hang a garland from it (every little girl's room needs a garland if you ask me, even if your little girl dresses like Eminem) and that way it'll be all ready to go if I ever decide curtains are in order. To keep things bright and cheerful, I added a yellow quilt and framed some of Violet's paintings. 


I am totally hooked on wallpaper now. It has an impact you just can't get with paint and it's a lot easier than I ever thought it would be, especially with G&B's "Paste-the-Wall" paper. It only took my husband about two hours to do this wall from start to finish. So maybe I should say it is easy when you have a husband who appears to possess a natural talent for wallpapering (he claims there is "an art to it," which I'm beginning to believe after struggling with making the toy box pictured). Still, if you have the right tools and a smidge more patience than I have, I trust you can do this. :)

If you're interested, keep reading for a step-by-step pictorial of how to put up that wallpaper you've been dreaming about...

What you will need:

Wallpaper
Wallpaper paste 
Brush or roller for paste
Wallpaper brush 
Scissors
X-Acto knife 
Stainless steel ruler
Seam roller

You can buy a wallpaper tool kit at most home improvement stores for under $15 that comes with all of these items, minus the scissors and paste. That's a pretty snazzy deal, imho!

Now that you've got the tools, take the time to prep your wall before you start. Fix any imperfections (i.e. fill large holes) and sand smooth, then get rid of any dust. Make 50 lb puppies and curious  children watch from outside the room, and you're ready to roll...err, unroll and paste, that is. ;)

Step 1: Paste the Wall


Starting at the left-hand side of the wall, use a roller or a brush to spread the wallpaper paste on the wall for the entire length of the strip you are using and a bit wider than the paper's width.

Step 2: Hang the Paper


If you are doing the whole length of the wall, you can hang directly from the roll. Unroll paper and position the top edge near the ceiling. Smooth with the wallpaper brush as you work your way down the wall. For subsequent pieces, you will need to make sure patterns match up. When working with smaller areas, such as around windows, you may want to measure and cut your pieces first, remembering to allow for any pattern match when cutting. Always leave a couple of inches at the top and bottom for trimming. 


Step 3: Trim Excess Paper


Using a straight edge and an X-Acto knife, carefully trim extra paper at the top and bottom. (Note: This is trickier with flocked or textured wallpaper than the smooth stuff.)

Step 4: Smooth Seams


Once you have two sheets up, use your seam roller to smooth the seam by running the tool down the paper where the sheets meet.

That is pretty much it! If you can manage to stay focused on the work when responding to annoying comments like, "You haven't even started yet?" "That's all you've done so far?" you will be well on your way to success. Better yet, ship the kids off to Grandma's for the afternoon. Then, when you're all done, stand back and admire your handiwork. Stand back and admire it some more. And prepare yourself to do it again in a few months. I'm telling you...once you've wallpapered one wall/room, you will want to wallpaper every wall/room in the house. :)




Wednesday, January 7, 2015

A Touch of the '70s

I don't know about you, but after Christmas I always seem to get the urge to redecorate. Down come the tree and all the decorations and suddenly the house looks so...naked. It makes me wonder why it didn't bother me before.

Weird.

Anyway, I was thinking about how to punch things up a bit and was drawn--again--to my sad entryway. After taking down the Christmas display I had arranged on the wall above the console table, a single framed 16 X 20 print wasn't cutting it for me anymore. I had to do something more original...something that spoke more to the style of the rest of the house and who we are as a family.

Enter my friend Melissa, who told me on the kids' first day back to school that she had bought me something at a thrift store over the holidays. She wasn't sure if I'd like it, but she thought I might. She could never have known that it was JUST what I needed!

Some 1970s handicrafts are cool. Most are hideous. I am still on the fence about where I stand on macrame plant hangers (leaning toward cool). But to my mind there's something quite lovely about this little piece of wood shaving art. (Who knew that was even a craft form? Seriously!)


It's just subtle enough in its folksy, vintage vibe that I thought it could blend in with other art that I had and not overtake it. And it totally inspired me to create a nature-inspired mini gallery wall above my console table that is just a little more interesting than what I had there before, using small artwork and picture frames I had lying around. Thank you, Melissa! I love it! <3


Then, while I was at Target shopping for a frame for a print my husband got as a gift, I stumbled on something I've been looking for forever. I've long wanted a wall hanging for my living room to fill the space above the TV, but most of the ones I'd seen were either way too expensive or too ugly. I couldn't believe my luck when I found this one by designer Nate Berkus at an awesome price point. I've loved Nate Berkus since I used to watch him on Oprah and I'm so happy his housewares line is available at Target. I was a little disappointed that the picture on the packaging made the wall hanging look twice as long, but ah, well. I still think it's cool beans. :) 



So, is a macrame plant hanger far behind? Probably not. I have a real yen for the 1970s that I can't seem to shake (a cleaned-up version, that is...someone please whack me over the head if I start extolling the virtues of shag toilet seat covers)!