My Home: Chair Progress & Rethinking My Bedroom

I'm so thankful for the last week of rain. It's been a huge blessing to my front gardens. They've perked up considerably. I bought a few more little plants (that promise to get big) and some mulch. Tending to them is on the short list today.

Yesterday was the 1st sunny day so I wrangled the chairs to the front courtyard for their paint job.  Oh My Stars!  I love them!  I'll do a little touch up today and then let them rest outside the weekend before putting them in the sitting room. 

Earlier in the week I pulled some "fabric" to use for the cushions.  I'd say I did really well with the color.  😀😀

These are some chunky monkeys.  I will have to wrangle them through the front door (carefully) to get them back in the house.  

While they dried I started evaluating other rooms in my house.  Because, yaknow, let's make a big pile of stuff to do while we're at it! 

My 1800 sq ft house as I've mentioned before is a 1980s tract house.  It has 2 very large rooms with tall ceilings:  the living room and the master bedroom.  Currently both of those rooms are being used for my studio and fabric storage.  

I've decided to downsize my fabric stash so I can move it out of the bedroom.  It will go into the studio & I will reclaim the bedroom.  The bedroom will give me enough room for my bed and a large sitting area for a couch and reading/TV.  I only use local TV stations (with an antennae) and one of the 3 antennae plugs is in the bedroom.  The bedroom also opens to my front courtyard which will be pleasant when I develop that area.  The room also has very tall walls (cathedral ceiling) which are great for my wall hangings.

So with that in mind I had to reevaluate the 2 remaining bedrooms.  My current bedroom will become the guest bedroom.  The current guest bedroom will become an office. 

My Bedroom (to become Guest Room):

Earlier in the month I put a chenille bedspread on my bed.  It is so refreshing!  I'm tired of all the cluttered beds and walls.  I'm aching for a more modern streamlined look for my house.  It's tough because I have a lot of stuff I love.  I'm starting to put it all in a hierarchy of love.  Tough love! 

I love my current bedroom wallpaper but it's been up for 18 years & if you look closely it is peppered with picture hanging holes.  It has also split on almost all the seams.  I think it's time to remove it.

Like the rest of my house the window sill & the baseboards need to be painted. 

It's beginning to sound like a little redo for that room.  

I shopped my fabric stash for possible drapes and a bedspread.  I currently have floral patchwork drapes hanging.  I could easily keep them (and save myself some serious effort).  

This rose floral is so beautiful!  The fabric has a very soft hand even though it is home decorator fabric.  Lovely peach and greens.  I'm very fond of orange & pink but in some instances orange a little more. 

I picked this up at the thrift store a few years ago.  I have 2 pieces that combined are about 8 or 10 yards.  Yes, that's $4.94 for each piece.  It's a Jay Yang print. 

I also have a substantial amount of this white textured drapery weight fabric.  It would be ideal for drapes if I use the floral for a bedspread.  Or vice versa with the floral drapes and a white/cream bedspread. 

I'll be cogitating on them for a bit.  I have enough immediate sewing that this project can wait a minute. 

Last thing I did before going to bed was tape off some placement indicators for a gallery wall.  I don't usually do this but what the heck?  

The embroidery florals have gotten divided around the house.  They have different frames so that makes it hard to group together but easier to split up.  

Along with a few other floral favorites they will be on the wall facing the bed.  

Before I went to bed last night I hung this group.  Earlier this year I bought the P.  Buckley Moss matted print from the thrift store.  It's a very custom frame and I'm sure it was expensive.  I looked on her website and her prints are in the $100s so for $14.99 I got a good piece.  It seems so appropriate too! 

The cross stitch samplers are ones I stitched in the early 1990s on linen. 

I have 2 of these old '50s nightstands.  They were last painted in the early 90s & they've been a lot of things for a lot of years.  It's time to give them a fresh outlook on life. 

I think once I get the sitting room finished I'll tackle my bedroom.  Maybe I could get it finished by the end of August. Maybe.  

My Home: Almost Finished Painting

So excited to walk into my sitting room this morning to see my new paint job!  

I've always said denim was invented for me.  😎😎  This is the perfect denim blue.

I have a few touch ups and the interior window frame to paint; then, it's finished!  

Before I can claim total victory at the finish line, I have to pause & finish a commission due in the mail tomorrow.  I just wanted to share my excitement with you! 

While painting I had plenty of time to evaluate ideas; a few have already hit the chopping block.  New ideas pushed to the front.  I'll share them soon! 

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My Home: More Painting and then Some More

When I came around the corner yesterday I had full intentions of keeping the original paint.  I decided most of it would be covered by artwork.  Then I went outside and when I came in the front door the 1st thing to catch my attention were the dabbles over the mirror (and I was not even looking for them).  OK, I rationalized, so what?  

Then I thought about getting a quart of paint and painting the 2 walls with the most dabbles.  I started to tape off the baseboards so I could start painting them while I mulled over my options.  Under the mirror was a section where red paint was on the wall.  I suspect it came from a little red chair I own rubbing against the wall.  Who knows how that could happen?  I'm past the point of caring.  

So I figured 1 quart of paint would cost me $20 and it would still be hit or miss on the sheen.  Or, I could spend $30 on a new color and ya know, 3 or 4 days painting this 11 x 12 room.  

So I grabbed my blue color swatches and compared them to the drapery fabric.  It has about 5 different shades of blue.  I also walked through my kitchen looking at the swatches.

I don't usually buy "big ticket" items dependent upon something like the fabric for drapes but I have a feeling these will be hanging a long time.  Because the fabric has so many of the blue shades  I love I felt the fabric was a good indicator of blues I would probably buy even without the fabric. 

I was pleasantly surprised how well the blue I chose worked with my painted kitchen cabinets.  I have loved their colors from the minute they were painted.

If I decide to repaint them (this time by myself as opposed to hiring the job like I did 18 years ago) I will use the same colors.

You can easily see that when I am finished with the baseboards in my sitting room, I will be moving to the other side and painting the kitchen door frame and baseboards.  Some delivery guy beat the daylights out of the door frame when delivering a refrigerator.  From that point it was a slippery slope to their present condition.

I forgot how much time taping off a room takes. If I painted more often I would try to get better with one of those paint shields but at present I'm sticking with tape.  I still had some time so I started cutting in on the walls.  Talk about another huge time suck.   Lord Have Mercy!

This paint has more grey than the original periwinkle paint.  

This morning I had some commitments so I didn't get the cutting in finished until early evening.  I'll get up in the morning and roll the walls.  

As I was moving the chairs I noticed my "test sample" on the chair also hit my wood floor.  I think it shows how mature I've become that I didn't slap myself around.  😎😎 I tried to scrape it off but ended up using Goof Off.   Rian, by the way, the color is Parisian Grey, 1st cousin to Dove Grey.  I like it very much but will wait until the walls are painted to make a final decision.  

Sometime last year I had the bright idea to paint my wood floors.  They have some discoloration that would be nice to cover & I really can't afford to replace them now.  When I worked at Floor and Decor they had some mechanically distressed and painted wood look floor tiles that I really loved.  In my last house I chose a sandwashed wood to resemble driftwood & I loved that floor very much.  So seeing the paint on my floor has me scurrying over to Pinterest to research painting floors. 

As I was reminded recently:  You have all the time in the world.

Well, if I can just get the walls painted tomorrow . . . . 

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My Home: Painting Results

I finished my work yesterday pretty stoked with the results.

The color match for the periwinkle was right on target so I was able to cover all the blemishes. 
I got the windows masked off and spray painted the mullions.  They look 1000 times better. I snuck a peek this morning but haven't taken the paper & tape off yet.  I hope there aren't any surprises.

I sprayed a (too large) section on the back of my chair to see how the paint would work.  Seems OK today so I guess I'm kinda committed now.   😎😎  Another dang color decision to make.  Home Depot's spray paint selection was down to 3 cans.  Now I know to skip them and shop at Lowe's.  They are conveniently right next door and share the same parking lot.  Can you imagine?

I did have a little surprise with the wall paint this morning.  The color is accurate but the sheen is a bit off.  It's not obvious when you look straight at the wall.  I'm debating the merit of ignoring them or getting more paint.   Most of the upper wall will be covered in the needlework art and the bottom will be interrupted by furniture.  The other wall will be almost totally covered in a big wall hanging. In the big scheme of things it may not be worth the effort.  In the little details department I want to do it right.  Decisions like this could cost me a day!  Ha!  As I am reminded by my son:  you have the rest of your life.  Yes, but I'd like to move on sometime soon.  Of course having one "almost perfectly finished room" will make me crazy looking at the rest of the house.  Yep, this Summer's Tumbleweed. 

 What would you do?

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My Home: The Painting Continues

Thanks for your comments!  I've had some emailed directly to me because blogger isn't cooperating and Angela, for some reason I don't get a notification you have commented.  I've read them all and come to a few decisions.

Today's goal is to get the large picture window in my sitting room finished.
Yesterday I checked off the hallway: walls, baseboards, hall closet door, and door frame are finished.  I moved around the corner and evaluated the sitting room.

Mirror:
It was professionally installed by a glass company so the only way to remove it would be cutting the sheetrock.  At this point that's more than I want to tackle.  It would involve getting a team in here and then praying their tape and float and texturing was up to par.  I don't need the stress or the expense.

Picture Window:
I had intended to paint the mullions between the windows even though they cleaned up pretty well with soap and water.  I think they'll just look fresher with paint.  It's going to be tricky since I bought spray paint.

The repair on several of the water damaged sections of the windowsill came out super!  I'm really happy with the results. 








Drapes:
Now is the time to decide on the roman shades.  I will have to remove the blind hardware from the window's top to paint it.  Once it's down I doubt I will put it back up.
I've been enjoying the view and light while working in the room.  I can do more to develop the little courtyard garden as time and money presents itself.  It would be a good spot for the mosaic totem poles I anticipate making. 



I pulled some fabric I have been saving for years. It's a favorite weight for drapes-like a mid-weight canvas. There is enough for full pinch pleated drapes & with the rod already hung the sewing construction should be easy.
I was debating a coordinating shade under them but if I need to close out the world, I can draw the drapes. 
The fabric design has a subtle patchwork look that appeals without being in your face patchwork.

Wall Paint:
I do need to touch up some places on the walls.  If you look closely, it resembles the wall behind a dart board where novice dart throwers couldn't hit the target.  It's to be expected with various uses for the room.

It shocked me to find the original paint can in the garage.  I half expected to open it and see liquid paint in there.  I was wrong, of course.  But the dried up hunk was enough for the nice young man at Home Depot to get a paint match.  As I waited in line I perused the "country blue" samples thinking I would paint that color if he couldn't get a good match.  I only bought a decorator sample size (yea for that little consumer invention!) and when I tried it on the wall last night, it blended well. 

With my $5 worth of paint I'm going to stay the course with the original blue, the mirror and save myself some effort, money and time. 

Focal Wall(s):
I have a large collection of needlework art I hope to hang in a gallery wall composition on the large wall directly across from the entrance.  It will be colorful and cover most of the upper wall.  I love many of the pieces and will enjoy seeing them again.

When I moved the cabinet out I could see immediately I have a pretty good sized wall there.  It's 65" wide.
I have an unfinished crazy quilt (well, that's optimistic--I've started embroidering two blocks) that nags me.  It's a journey through events and such in my life.  I want it but every time I think about working on it, the question is always:  When finished, where would I hang it? (besides the bedroom no one enters!)
I think I have found the perfect spot!  Yea!   (The Madonna needs some toning down.)  It will be a very good companion with the gallery wall needlework pieces.

Furniture:
I'm chair and table heavy with all my furniture.  I could stand to downsize some of it.  The wicker chairs really aren't wicker--they are some kind of lacquered cotton(?) rope.  The lacquer just flacks off on its own.  So they could stand to be painted.  I'm assuming spray paint would be the easiest.   Does anyone have any experience with this kind of project?  



The cushions are in desperate need of recovering (again). They've been washed so many time they are starting to fall apart.  I'll be using some of my quilted patchwork tshirt yardage for them.






I'm back to contemplating using the raw edge patchwork to recover the Goodwill chair and matching ottoman.  And I'll definitely be looking for a 2nd hand loveseat at an upcoming trip to the Houston Furniture Bank. 

But for this week, I need to stay focused on the painting and getting the needlework art hung.  Those will be a huge accomplishments. 
I have 2 commissions to finish soon.  Once they are done I can sew the drapes. 
Everything in its own time, right?

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My Home: Baseboards and Other Design Ideas

Truthfully I don't know how I could have lived in this house with the condition of my former door frames and baseboards.  I do remember a small meltdown about them 6 years ago and one of my friends told me wisely, "you have plenty of time to address them later".  I guess we now know "later" is 6 years.  It's amazing what I can choose to ignore when given the opportunity. 😎😎

I have come to grips with the fact this is an older house and the original construction was not super top notch to begin with; so, I have some little blemishes I'm overlooking.  If not, I could spend all summer just working on the short hallway.  I'm not about to sand down walls & I gave the door frames & baseboards a cursory sanding at best.  

While I have been painting I have also been thinking about my front sitting room.  It was designed as the house's dining room but it's never been used for a dining room.  I have a large enough kitchen eating area that I've never needed it for dining. 

Currently I try to use it for a sitting room.  It's a nice spot away from the massive clutter of my studio which is on the other side of the wall.  

As a sitting room it has some design challenges.  Occasionally I feel like I've made progress with them (or have learned to ignore them) and other times I am searching for a magic wand. 

I've started to dismantle it a little.  But before I go full force, I decided to post some pictures.  The room is roughly 10 x 12 feet.

This is the view from the front hallway.  Straight in is the main wall.  I currently have one of my raw edge pieces hanging there flanked by machine embroidered butterfly florals I stitched.  

I'd like to somehow keep the butterfly florals (I have 8 in the set) for the sitting room.  I can move the wall hanging to the other hall or a bedroom.  (And I could do that with the butterfly florals too.)

One of the other major walls is a stationary ugly window.  If I was rich instead of so good looking, I'd have that window replaced in a heartbeat.
The window sill has water damage so it's on the short list for repair this week.  I think I can handle it.
I originally thought about having it replaced but Brent reminded me of the door fiasco & suggested I work with what I have already.  At least we know it fits.  Who knows if the window is square?

My dog destroyed the bottom half of the blinds (aargh!) & I usually have raw edge drapes hanging.  I washed them yesterday.

There's a small wall to one side of the large entrance (it's the tiny foyer for the front door).  That cabinet is basically empty.  I'm contemplating moving it to another bedroom so I can use it for storage and display which surprisingly is its purpose.  That would open the wall space for my butterfly florals.  I'm imagining a short table there so I can have a shelf for a few folded quilts and some knick knacks.

 

At one point Brent & Laura installed mirrors on the other large wall because they were using the room for a belly dance studio.  I've considered removing them but others have suggested they do give the room some light and depth.  At this point, I'll just leave them.

The big disadvantage is the lack of wall space on the far side of the entrance.  In a perfect world I could put a couch there and look into the courtyard.  Clearly this is not a perfect world.  I don't want the end of a couch clogging the entrance. 

Maybe about 19 years ago a man I was dating gifted me the framed poster.  It's a fabulous piece and a family favorite.  It's also big.  I have traditional ceiling heights (except in my studio which is the original living room) so there aren't many places where it can hang.  It's either here or the space where the cabinet is currently standing.

I think at one time I thought of moving her and Laura commented how much she loved looking at her from the kitchen table.  She had a good point.  I love seeing her too.  So I think she is staying there.
I'm trying to resist the temptation to add other pictures with her.

Ideas to contemplate:

1.  I think I am finished enjoying the blue/periwinkle paint.  It's been on the walls about 18 years.  Now would be the time to change the color.

2.  I have a very nice silver tone rod hanging my drapes.  I could move it to the one main wall I have for a larger wall hanging/tapestry.

3.  If I move the rod, I could leave the windows bare or I could sew some minimal looking roman shades.  Roman shades are my go to window treatment.  They are easy to sew, affordable and surprisingly wonderful.  Having the shades would "clean up" the look of that wall.  It would possibly give me a bit of wall space to hang another picture.

4.  No way would I have a wall and a window wall both with hanging pieces.  So I need to decide which one gets the rod.

Last year I worked on this huge piece of raw edge yardage with the thought of using it to reupholster a Goodwill chair.  I haven't done it yet and I think the chair needs new padding, etc. so I'm not keen to jump on that project just now.  I'm quickly moving into the "let's get this stuff out of here" attitude rather than "let's redo everything" attitude.  Funny how that happens when you launch into a big project.

But!
The idea of further embellishing this piece as a tapestry for my sitting room wall appeals to me very much.  It has enough bright colors & a shabby chic look that I like.  I can envision connecting a bunch of memorabilia type things to its surface.

The AC is on hold this week. I'm hopeful the rat will be found dead floating in my neighbor's pool.  He suggested coming over and just shooting it but I didn't want to take that opportunity for something to go wrong.

There's a tropical disturbance due in soon.  Hopefully it only brings enough rain to get us back on a cooler track and saves my tender garden.

That's where I am now!  If you've followed along, thank you.  It's hard to imagine if you are not directly involved in a project.

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My Home: More Forward Progress

The door is within minutes of being finished.  I'm going to check soon if the detailing around the panels and window needs another coat of paint.  I started painting the baseboards and door frame yesterday.  Holy Cow!  They look better!

I spent all evening in my sitting room looking around & wondering if I had the energy to repaint the room and replace the artwork with current work.  I'm in a redo mood but it's hard because my house is small and I have lots of artwork I love.  I think I need something a bit more restrained for awhile.  Or maybe I need to be restrained; like in a straight jacket.

We had a brief rain yesterday afternoon.  It was so welcome.  I just about cried.  Of course it was followed by several hours of scorching sun.  If we could have a few more days of rain I think my new garden would have a chance of making it to the fall season.

I expect to walk out every morning & see my garden dead.  This morning I was surprised to see some new blooms!  I think I'll go to the garden center this evening and get some mulch.  I'm sure it would help the soil retain moisture.

So here's the saga of my air conditioner:

About 2 weeks ago (or maybe 3-who's counting?) it stopped working.  I called a service company to check it.  A young man came out & I showed him where the air conditioner was on the side of the house.  As I am walking back to the front of the house, I heard a little scream.  I walked back around and asked:  was that you?  Are you OK?

He came out from the area sweating and visibly shaken.  He'd encountered a big rat who was none too happy to be disturbed.  (I now know the noise in my attic all winter was not an opossum or raccoon.)
Then he got very defensive and a bit abrupt with me.  He looked in the attic to assess the furnace's condition.  

My system is 20+ years old.  Truth be told, it needs to be replaced.
He proceeded to give me a quote and refused to go back out and look at the air conditioner.  I don't blame him.  It's hot & there's an angry rat.  The quoted price told me I would need to do some comparison shopping.  

When talking to my son he suggested I get rid of the rat situation before asking anyone else to come out.  I've put out poison (that turned to mush in the rain) & I'm waiting. 

Brent suggested it could be an easy fix (he has experience babying this system into working) & I might be able to buy some time with the old system.  Surely, the AC companies add $1000 to the estimate in 95° weather. 

So in the meantime I've been relatively comfortable with the ceiling and room fans blowing.  At least I won't be staring at a $200 electric bill; although, it's possible that could be my water bill.  

It all works out in the end.

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My Home: More Door Progress

I'm making slow forward moving progress on my entry way.  I'm not racing through this project.  I feel like it's a nice detour from my constant sewing.  I like the sewing but I needed a little break.  Well, I got that break! 

Funny, how in my world, break means more work in a different direction!

The front of the door is painted.  I've also painted the inside door frame and the outside door trim.  The outside door trim was supposed to be grey.  It looks decidedly blue to me.  The quart of paint costs $20 so Tuesday I was hesitating about buying another quart to repaint it.  It's such a small area of blue.

I may add a floral wreath or welcome sign on one of the walls and I can be sure to add blue to it.

I have never liked the porch bricks.  By themselves they are fine & I know the original bricklayers thought they would probably go "well enough" with my existing brick; but, to my sensibilities, they don't.  They just miss the mark.  I have a large amount of flagstones left from my patio project.  They are a mix of rust, grey and some blue/grey.   I'll pull as many as I can that have more of the blue/grey to use for the small entry floor. 

 

My original brick is a bit funky but I like it! 

My courtyard part of the house needs to be painted.  I'll have to wait until it gets cooler before I tackle that project.  I may even have to buy a spray painter.  I have some trim with rotten bottoms that need repairing.  And the new antique white is glaringly wrong with the old white house paneling.  I'll eliminate the pale green trim too.

One of the projects I want to do this summer (and now it may be early fall) is design and make some mosaic totem poles from ceramic pieces I have accumulated over the years.  I'd like one for each side of my entry way.  If I incorporate more blues (which will be easy) they will tie that area together well.

Yesterday I took the paint plunge.  I bought a gallon of satin enamel to paint the back of the door, my chipped door frames and disgusting baseboards.  I also bought a quart of paint to touch up the inside entry area.  When I painted it on, it was more yellow than the wall.  Upon further investigation I discovered the paint can I thought was the hallway paint was the guest room paint.  Rats.

So there went my $20 I might have used for the blue trim on a quart of paint I'll probably never use to touch up the guest bedroom.  I tried to forgive myself quickly and move forward.  Sometimes that is all I can do.  And, take better notes.   That part still stings a bit.

Today's goal is to get the interior of the front door sanded and painted.  It's going to be a long day and I'm already starting a bit late.  But, it's all good. 

If I get too hot, I'll stop and rest.  I'm working with fans; no air conditioning.  For the most part I am fine but there are portions of the day when it's been brutal.  These 98° days are hard to tolerate non-stop. 

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My Home: Front Door Design Changes

Yesterday I painted the front of my door.  The fabric worked well except it was difficult to get paint close to the edge and not obscure the raw edge I was trying to preserve.  That left some of the blue showing through.  I decided to let it show and thought I could capitalize on the blue by leaving most of it around the glass and panels.

I tried a faux distressing idea.  Then I called for a few opinions.

Comments came back:  "needs more patching on the surround"  "a little too blocky"  "looks unfinished"  "too many competing elements" "prefer one color" (said 2 people) "eyelet trim is too cute" 

I pulled off the eyelet trim.  It was looking a bit too "gingerbread house" to me. 
I agreed the glass window was the focal point so instead of competing with it, I decided to paint the panels and frame one color.

The bottom panels need a 2nd coat of paint.  I am tempted to put a plain piece of fabric there if I can find one with a similar weave the right length.  The fabric I used on the surround is not long enough and I don't want any joins on the panels. 

I do like the texture with the smooth frames.
I'm undecided if I will add any more patches to the surround.  I may have to let that idea percolate.

While the interest is still running, I need to paint the door frame.  I have a lovely shade of gray about the same tone as the window's leading.  And, there are still those baseboards. Oh and, the backside of the door too.

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