Huis

I have no clue how a professional goes about designing a room.  To me there seems to be a few big things that have to happen.  Furniture. Lighting. Art. Accessories.  Late last year I felt like all the furniture and lighting had come together.  I have never felt finished with either of those in any living room I have lived in.  Probably has something to do with owning versus renting.  Feels good.

I had almost all the artwork done.

I felt so close but so far.  The last wall was the biggest wall and it really made half of the room feel cold and sad.  After some thought I decided I wanted one big piece of art. The walls that touch this big, blank wall have 3 and 4 frames on them.  With all the color and patterns already happening in the room I thought having multiple frames would be insanity.  Unfortunately, having two babies that need new wardrobes every season means I can't afford to buy a giant painting or print...or frame that I really love...and I don't want to spend a moderate amount of money on something that fits just for the sake of fitting and I am not totally in love with.  Also, I am impatient and don't want to bargain hunt or save. I decided to paint something myself. I got the biggest canvas I could find for half price at Michaels.  Sweet.  Done.  Then I had to figure out what to paint which is extremely limited b/c I don't really paint.  And by don't really I mean don't at all.

My first idea was an abstract-like colorful, blobby painting.  It's easy to be tricked into thinking you can do it..I have seen plenty of DIY abstract art in the blogosphere. It doesn't look that hard because you aren't trying to end up with a painting that looks like anything.  But as those attempts in the blogosphere prove...finding colors that work well together and don't look childish and cheap is the hard part. I spent a few months staring that the blank canvas having an internal battle between my "I can do anything" voice and my "be realistic and don't waste money" voice.  It's probably a good idea that I didn't attempt it because if I had succeeded I don't think this room or I could handle more color crazy art.  I needed something to ground room a little.

Then I saw this.

Jackpot.  A big black and white word.  That's it.
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More months went by while I tried to figure out what word to paint on the canvas.  It's for the same reason I don't have a tattoo.  I can't figure out something that I am 100% sure will never be lame.  A word on canvas is obviously not as permanent and/or expensive to remove as a tattoo but there is a lot of labor and emotional energy that goes into painting something for me and I don't want to get tired of it in a month.

After wasting lots of time coming up with lame words I brainstormed with my brother who was smart enough to turn to the internet for inspiration.  After looking at lots of lists of words we decided to look at words in other languages.  Bingo.

Huis.  It is Dutch for home/to house. Dutch?  Yes Dutch.  I lived in Holland for a summer and I have never felt more at home in any place.  It's my soul country...like a soul mate.  I love it.

I love the effect it has in the room.  I do not love how my photography skills make things look awkwardly proportioned and terribly spaced. I tried to get pics of the walls from floor to ceiling so that the proportions would look normal but that is HARD.  I only got one kind of decent one. So I gave up.  Sorry.  Trust me.  It doesn't look this tiny in "real life".  Oy.

Next...edit those pillows.  Yikes.  So many sizes.  So many colors.  Too much.

Made it Monday: Painting

via

I am not by any stretch of the imagination a painter.  I like to play around occasionally but there is so much I don't know that I am intimidated to even try most of the time.  I saw the above painting project on Young House Love and felt inspired.  I think getting to use a ruler really empowered me to just do it!

I played with the design for a while and decided I wanted a rounded edge rather than a pointed edge.  I also want blue for my living room...I didn't realize how similar the blues would look to the original.  I am way too of an amateur to make my first attempt on a large canvas.  I had an extra 9x12 canvas in my craft supplies and decided to do a mini version to make sure it wouldn't be a colossal waste of time (and money).  

First attempt:

I used one color of blue and either added black paint or white paint to alter it.  I also watered down the paints so they wouldn't look so solid.  Turns out I don't love uneven color so I did three coats.  Up close you can still see it is uneven. I think watering it down kept the colors from being to strikingly different...but what do I know?  I wanted the center color to be variations of white.  I was so nervous that the transition between the colors would be too subtle.  Why didn't I just try it and then darken the colors if I needed to?  B/c that is how I do things...the hard way.  I don't like the difference between the white and the darkest gray.  Had to fix it.

The fix:

Better but not quite IT.  It is something I could live with, though.  I did a white wash over all the grays...two coats.  It softened the lines between the different shades which I like.  I prefer an even more subtle difference in shades.  So when I do the large canvas I will definitely be altering the colors much less.  I might also do yellow or pink instead of black as the color I mix in.  OH! Maybe orange.  I might have to do another practice canvas.  Stay tuned.