Tag Archives: Mrs. B DIY

Wall Flower

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Somewhat suddenly, a vision is starting to appear.  A plan.  Just for the backgrounds, really, though it has my blood jumping a little.

I have called to see about the weird spot on the ceiling and discovered Folly Green is great for the dining room, and aptly named as well, I fear.  An omen for the stenciling perhaps.

The strie glaze that I thought would be a piece of cake has turned into a piece of, well, unpleasantness and I am now experimenting with glazes and brushes which was not part of the plan.

I looked for wallpaper yesterday for the first time in years.  It came back quickly, the fast flip to see if anything would catch my eye.  I rediscovered a few friends and we reminisced over rooms they have adorned.

I know some people say “Rugs first!” but my visions tend to come fully formed and it is the paint that I can usually afford fastest, so my houses start with walls.  Today I will be out hunting and gathering information to help with the living room wall project; I am so anxious to begin.

All the images today are from Walls, the Best of Decorative Treatments by Florence de Dampierre, Rizzoli International.  The cover may lead you to believe this is purely a traditional tome, but there is inspiration for every taste.  Murals, panels, paper and paint, there are fine examples of them all.  Photography, Pieter Estersohn.

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Closer to Home

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This project has been complete for a while.  A few folks had asked if I had painted the inside of the armoire.  At the time, I hadn’t.  Now, I have.

I was inspired by Mary McDonald and some of the styling in her book, Mary McDonald Interiors.  My folks have given me a lot – a lot – of cut crystal over the years and I was starting to wonder what in the world I would ever do with it.  Then I spied McDonald’s collection of crystal on her bedroom coffee table.  Pretty.  Sparkly.  I liked it.  So several of my pieces have found a home holding hair bands and beads and baubles.

Silver, too, and I have been on the look out for more of these reticulated cups of which I have a few. (No silver polish was harmed in the staging of my photo, top.)

The baskets hold some basics.  One houses hairdryer, brushes and combs; the other is a temporary spot for the boys’ art.  I don’t save it all (don’t tell them) and I eventually file them in separate bins, but in the day-to-day I find that I pile it somewhere so I actually assigned it a spot.  It works pretty well and keeps the top of my refrigerator clear.

You can see the transformation of the outside of the cabinet here.

All images, other than top, from Mary McDonald Interiors, Rizzoli, photography Melanie Acevedo.

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Gracing My Walls

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After last week’s post regarding the endless inspiration that Mr. Redd provides and the impossibility of Gracie gracing my walls, I started clicking around.

At the same time that I was finding Jennifer’s post on the Peak of Chic, a few of you were commenting and emailing to say, “Do it yourself!  Stencil Library!”

And, that is exactly what I am going to do in my dining room.  There’s hardly a Gracie paper that I don’t like, but some of my favorites are those with this white silhouette.

So, yeah.  I’m going to do that.  First I just need to pick the background color, repair the funny thing on the ceiling and make sure the sconces are in the right place.  Oh, and order the stencils.  
Really, I can’t wait.
These stencils and thousands more at Stencil Library; image, top, via Little Green Notebook.
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Second Chances

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“Really, it’s not you, it’s me.”
“Just tell me what I can do.”
“Nothing, honestly, we were a perfect fit in the beginning, but I’ve changed. TVs have changed. It has nothing to do with you, but I think we are through.”

“I can change.”
“I don’t know – can anyone ever really change?”
“Just give me a chance. One chance. I’ll do anything. I think you still need me.”
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
“The thing is, my tastes have evolved. I need something a little more sophisticated. More worldly. Maybe…darker.”
“Be honest, is there someone else?”
“It’s nothing, nothing really. We’re just friends, not even, I’ve just seen him across a room.”

“I have a dark and moody side, I’ve just never felt like I could share it with you before.”

“Oh, my. That little touch of bling is so unexpected from you. Darling, quick, hold my stuff.”
I painted this piece in the bathroom as it was far too much trouble to lug it to the basement and back up. Three cans of green beans held the trash bags in place and all the while I kept thinking corn would have been a nicer accent. There is no method to painting the piece gray first; I had gray paint handy. The gold leaf is easy-peasey; I put the sizing on before carpool and applied the leaf while I helped with spelling. It’s a piece of cake and don’t let anyone tell you differently. It is a horrendous mess.
The only image not mine, Elle Decor, design by Dransfield and Ross, photography by Simon Upton.
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Come on Over

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Isn’t this the happiest little neighborhood? Cheery and bright, welcoming as the car lights swing into the drive.

Antithesis to homeowner-association-dictated beige.

The sort of spot where you would offer your divided hosta and peonies,

and she would invite you in when you come hunting for sugar or egg.
Marigolds wrapping paper from Paper Source, which I am using to line envelopes, but could be a number of any wonderful things, here.
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