Posts Tagged ‘wallpaper’

the not so big wallpaper reveal

Monday, August 20th, 2012

It may seem like I’ve been on vacation but no. August projects have just been slow to pick up momentum. However, this week it looks like I’ll have new things to show you.

The first: the wallpaper is up!

Shall I get right to it? Remodel detritus blocking the full view, sorry I can’t get a better shot. As always, click to biggify…

view from the left

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

view from the right

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So there you have it. A black and white photo mural from SurfaceView — Brushwood, from Ella Doran’s Trees and Leaves collection. It unites my split personalities, organic and modern. Dramatic without being overwhelming. Can’t wait to see this with the TV on the wall and furniture in the room.

I selected the linen texture to keep it from being too flat and reflective…

Surface View linen texture sample

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mmmm, nubbly. Looks great closeup…

wallpaper closeup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soon I’ll have more to show you downstairs. Keep your pants on!

 

wallpaper dilemma: HELP!

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

February 22nd, 2011. My year-old Cavern Blackbird wallpaper got torn down as the downstairs remodel officially got underway…

destructomess2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I guess installing it was a little premature. But how was I to know David would decide to insulate the wall? Erf.

My plan all along has been to replace it with the same wallpaper. I liked that it was screened onto actual kraft paper. Nice texture and a strong graphic. Plus I really wanted to bring a little of the outside into that dark space. But it turns out they’ve changed the paper. I do not like the sample. Blech.

Rethinking is necessary.

While in L.A., I dropped by Walnut Wallpaper (across the street from Heath Ceramics, yum)…

walnut wallpaper store in l.a.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve stalked their site for years, so I had a good idea of what was inside. Rack after rack of oohs and aahs…

thistle in 3 shades by timorous beasties

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was seriously tempted by that black on black. But I decided the straight rows of mirror-image thistle that Walnut had on one of their own walls felt a little too formal. What gorgeous illustration, though…

thistle on the wall at walnut

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in Providence, I ordered scads of wallpaper samples to hold up to our crazy new Mustard Olive paint — which is looking particularly bright in the light here…

benjamin moore’s mustard olive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below are shots of my wallpaper samples (rollover images for name) — believe me, I know, wallpaper is such a personal thing. You may hate all of these but these are the ones I thought might work. Unfortunately, my multiple personalities are showing and I can’t decide which one wins.

One last thing: this room is the fun room. Movies will be watched here. Games will be played here. Records will be listened to here. The wet bar will get much use. And upon occasion, guests will sleep here. I’d like to think of it as a really awesome boutique hotel room with a 7-year-old on the couch.

Oh, and for better images of these and more, pop up my Pinterest wallpaper page.

 

NATURE

Disclaimer on the first two wallpapers: I couldn’t capture the true black of the paper. They read a lot darker in person and look pretty great. My Pinterest link has more realistic images.

wallpaper sample: branch from fermliving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wilderness in black from fermliving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GEOMETRIC

Wallpaper + math = love.

hexagono in black by i have no idea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ooh, metallic! squares in black silver by fermliving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

labyrinth in black and beige by cole and son

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

vapor in licorice by flavor paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hexagon in dark grey by cole and son

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one may be overkill but I couldn’t resist sending your brain into spasms. (Be sure to see the larger image via Pinterest.)

pleasure dome in sugar by flavor paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FUN

Because I am a geek, I confess that this may be my favorite of the bunch…

imperial forces by brian flynn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, really! Imperial Forces, launched at the end of last year. Here’s a larger sheet at Walnut. Go ahead, gawk…

imperial forces sample shot at walnut l.a. store

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did I mention it’s flocked? Flocked! The TV is going to be on top of whatever paper we choose, so this might be a fitting choice.

However, I have not decided. A black wall would look fabulous, certainly, but is it too serious? David says geometrics will be distracting — like anyone’s going to look past the television, right. Is Star Wars too fun? I just can’t decide and I need to order paper right away. Tell me what you think.

color for downstairs

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

It’s taken a few days to switch over, but I have now made the full switch from Mountain Time…

back from colorado

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… to Remodel Time:

walls finally plastered

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep, we got plastered. Completely plastered. And now it’s time for the cherry on top: paint!

First, the bathroom. We carried the tiles over to Benjamin Moore and matched up a white to coordinate…

paint to match the tile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the white tile isn’t a crisp white, it has a lot of grey in it. So we opted for a white with soft grey undertones: Classic Grey in Natura Zero VOC, Eggshell Finish. On top is Ann Sacks Texere in Dove, 12″ x 24″ plank tiles — for the floor. On bottom is Ann Sacks Savoy Stacked Brick Mosaic in Chalk, 5/8″ x 1-7/8″ — for the walls.

Had to choose grout for the tile too…

choosing grout for the tile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only other real “color” in the bathroom will be the walnut built-ins. Spa-like but modern and spare.

Unlike the upstairs which is really all about the view, the downstairs is darker, with fewer windows. Because this will be the cushy, flop-on-the-couch entertainment area, I want it to accentuate the coziness, so white didn’t make sense.

I also want to bring some of the outside in so that it’s not so starkly different from the upstairs. Therefore, natural, neutral colors. This is what will go on the walls…

benjamin moore mustard olive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know, I know, Mustard Olive looks like an “off” color, doesn’t it? But because it’s a shade of green with a lot of gold in it, it’s warm without being too dark. There’s not a whole lot of natural light down there, so it won’t read as bright most of the day.

It will look good next to our dark walnut built-ins and the cork that will be on the floors and ceiling (we kept that pale to bounce more light around)…

paint and cork and walnut

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You’re still not convinced? I could tell. Here it is against more stuff. I like how it looks with grey…

paint against more stuff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s Cavern Blackbird wallpaper in Kraft (yes, same paper I put up before), the charcoal wool of our Libre sectional, and one of the pillows we like to plump up while watching AdventureTime.

Don’t worry, when it’s all said and done it will look great. Or else.

 

brimfield past

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Over the years, Brimfield has had plenty to offer — much more than my last post might suggest. I’ve always come away with something I love, for a steal. Like these…

A vintage cast aluminum lounger. 40s? 50s? 60s? Dunno. We had it beadblasted to remove the peeling paint and left it bare, then found a company on Cape Cod who specializes in rewebbing…

brimfield score | lounger side view

brimfield | lounger back view

It came with the cutest loveseat…

brimfield | loveseat front view

brimfield | loveseat side view

Since I brought up beadblasting and rewebbing, I should mention the Brown and Jordan patio set we inherited from David’s grandmother. Was it white or yellow in its past life? I forget. We had the set beadblasted and rewebbed at the same time the lounger and loveseat were done so they would “go” together…

brown and jordan set

brown and jordan set, detail view

One year we scored three vintage medical cabinets for our storage-less loft. We decided to have them stripped and sprayed before we brought them to the new house. The metal is thin and couldn’t take beadblasting. Also, it wasn’t uniform enough to warrant leaving the cabs bare as we’d hoped we could. (I apologize for having absolutely NO natural light to help this shot out)…

brimfield | medical cabinets before

I decided to dress up the interior walls with Waldots wallpaper by Ferm Living…

brimfield | medical cabinets after

Still not sure I’m loving that paper. Hard to tell here because the light is awful, but the paper is a little more purple and much less grey than I’d imagined…

all papered!

closed up and ready to go

Have also picked up a slew of  vintage Vornado fans at Brimfield. Very streamline, industrial, Raymond Loewy

brimfield | vornado fan

Could use a good dusting because they get used every summer. The company is still around and recently released a new “Retro” style based on the original…

remodelista | vornado “retro” fa

The one above was featured on Remodelista but I keep seeing it on various design blogs. Less of an energy hog than the originals, that’s for sure.

The point is, if you haven’t been to Brimfield, go next year. You just never know what you’ll find when you have 20 fields’ worth of flea market to stumble through.