DIViji: Guest Room & Laundry

Viji's Guest Room and Laundry Room were more about color and shopping.

And less about creating.

But maybe a little about hanging too.

The guest room is right off of the kitchen and laundry room garage entrance on the first floor. So, while yes, the main purpose is to host family and friends while they visit, during the school year it acts as the first place to drop off school effects.

Guest Room BEFORE:

Guest Room AFTER:

Updates included:

~ Paint: She chose the same green as her kitchen since it matched the bedding that she wanted to stick with.
~ A repaired curtain rod and new curtains from JCPenny
~ New above the bed art from Home Goods
~ A new bedside cabinet from IKEA large enough to hold the kid's back packs.

The adjacent laundry room is their main entry in and out of the house through the garage.  She couldn't handle walking through the path of sterility any longer.

Laundry Room BEFORE:

Laundry Room AFTER:

Updates Included:

~ Fresh paint
~ Canvas art from JoAnns
~ Wall hooks from Home Goods

The wall hooks are glass knobs that Viji fell in with at the store.  To make them solid we used drywall anchors and then twisted the knobs in where the screws would normally go.

Great for kid's coats.

Or purses.

Mostly just purses.

Oh, and I loved it when we were shopping for the art next to the door.  I was grabbing out everything that matched the wall color and she stopped me and grabbed the two that she wanted.

We've got to use these.  This is what I want my kid's to see before they walk out the door each morning.

"See your course and Soar"

"Stand a little taller.  Make each day a little better than the one before."

Best choice yet, Viji.

LEGO Vaughn: Red Bright and Blue

This 4th of July I drink to celebrate our great country.  And honestly, also, to celebrate the completion of my nephew Vaughn's LEGO bedroom.

You saw the mural come to life on facebook.

And in the next couple of weeks, I will share the details of how my sister Sherri, Anthony and I took his room from Bunk Bed Beige:

to Red, Bright and Blue - LEGO style:

I'll even divulge the behind the scenes frenzy.  About my tears when I learned that Vaughn didn't want to keep his Hotwheels painting in the room because it didn't go with the LEGO theme.  About Sherri's favorite color, greige (gray + beige) and how, after some hyperventilating, it helped us meet up in a cosmopolitan color scheme fit for a prince.  And about what it is was like for me to work with two first-born adults.

Wait, I'll tell you that right now.  It was bliss.  Knowing that everything was going to be measured thrice and cut once, perfectly spaced and that the LEGOs in the art would be positioned with their tiny logos facing the same way.

I didn't ask for that last one, but I got it.

I'll also tell you now that these photos were taken about twenty minutes after we wanted to be arriving at the airport for our flight home to Phoenix.

It was madness.

Euphoric LEGO madness.

I look forward to sharing it all with you.

And I look forward to that celebratory drink.  The drink to honor the women and men that protect our country's freedom. And the drink to the red striped shirt LEGO man that safeguards my nephew's imagination.

Update: Links to all the LEGO projects:
Upholstered Box Spring
Name Art
Headboard and Cornice
Mural

Isaac's Crib: Smart Art

The 18-year lease on Isaac's crib starts in just a few days, so I've worked hard recently to add in the finishing touches.

I took the room decorations seriously.  He isn't a kid that just gets a random cutesy elephant picture.  No. The names that Jen and Jeff tossed around for him were Isaac, Tesla, Nikola, Newton.  You know, just the greatest scientist and engineer ever.

My design solution was clear - Nursery Smart Art.  Starting with my version of Baby Newton's Apple that I created in Photoshop.

On the opposite wall is the Smart Art collage.

One is the formula for Newton's Law of Gravity.  (that I saw on a T-shirt and had to learn more about from Wikipedia)

Another is his Team Tesla poster.  (two minute you tube history of Tesla)

And finally the color prism.  What? Of course I did not know that Isaac Newton was the one that demonstrated that light already contained colors.

I didn't know most of this when I started.  Isaac is already making me smarter.  

The Ikea dog butt hooks count as smart art because they are creative genius.

The blank frame is for an enlarged copy of his Sophisticated Gentleman birth announcement.  I will show you that down the road.

And the green V book shelves are from Ikea too.

Here is a closer look at the Smart Art images.

Now, who is with me on Team Tesla?

DIViji: Dining Room

You're Invited: to a virtual dinner at Viji's.

Please bring one of the 3 Cs.

Chocolate, Chardonnay or Cheese.

Dining Room BEFORE:

Dining Room AFTER:

Anthony supplied the frames.

I provided another set of curtains.

And Viji brought the spray paint for the chandelier.  Brought it like I've never seen a can a spray paint brung before.

Bon appetit ma cheri.

DIViji: Living Room

Aside from a few small projects that we might tackle down the road, my work at Viji's is done.  

So many lessons.

Such little time.

So much spray paint.

Let me start walking you through the transformation.

Viji's Living Room BEFORE:

Viji's Living Room AFTER:

That's right, Coco Dreamland.

It is now regal, inviting and fit for belly dancing soirees.

Seriously.  I was there when the belly dancer balanced the sword on her bazongas. The room beckoned her.

Besides the new chocolate walls and a few accoutrements, the significant changes in the room were:

~ A few coats of gold spray paint to Viji's old wood coffee table and end tables.

~ A new area rug from Home Depot


~ A new DIY accent chair


~ New curtains


~ Redone lamps

Here is one of the lamps BEFORE:

And with some spray paint, hand painted gold detail, spray acrylic and a new shade, here it is AFTER:

A few weeks after we finished the lamps, I received my Jonathan Adler email newsletter featuring his new electra lamp for $345.  

I know right?!  He totally made a knock off!

Oh well, somebody needs to set the trends and it might as well be Viji and I.

~ And the last change:  The piano was moved to a different room.

Not by me.  Although, I did call Jen to come over after school and help me lift the piano up the two steps out of the living room area and wheel it over to its new home.

That day's lessons?

Pianos are heavy.

And my copay for the chiropractor is $15.

Choking and Ouising

Even though my In Your Business B&B is still a few years down the road, it is never too early to start scouting out locations.

According to Hooked On Houses, Sally Field's home in Steel Magnolias is on the market in Lousiana for $1.175 million.

I know what you're asking.  

Are those beautiful pastel curtains from Shelby's bedroom still there?

You know it.  And impeccably preserved to boot. <Insert sigh of relief>

Current photo:

While perusing all the pictures, cinematic as well as current, I learned that the movie was based on a true story.

I could have done without that info.

It's like the universe just said, "Um, yeah, your Steel Magnolias snotty-ugly-cry isn't enough.  We are going to need you to have a complete emotional breakdown during the film.  Maybe even choke and shart a little bit."

I also learned that 'Ouiser' is not spelled 'Weezer'.  Who knew?

Isaac's Crib: A Place To Chill

Finally.  Isaac has a place that he can relax and put his feet up after a long night in the Talk Stick Casino poker room. 

Maybe listening to his Baby Queen CD.  Perhaps having a nightcap.

Always enjoying the sophistication of his solid wood, contemporary parlor chair.

I wish that I could tell you that I whipped up that chair last weekend.  But the truth is that Isaac's dad, Jeff, constructed it back in high school.

The chair is in impeccable condition.  The cushion that has been on it for the past 15 years?  Not so much.  We bought a foam piece and coordinating fabric and constructed a new removable cushion cover.

I was so proud of myself for perfectly lining up the fabrics for the front of the cushion.  I/m serious, my headband was cutting off circulation from pride swelling.

It should have dawned on me that something was off with my gloat parade when there were no kids lining the streets to catch candy.

Just five minutes after my triumphant fist pump routine, I realized that I had looked at the measurements incorrectly.  The width was really the length and I had put the zipper on the side and the new front was as far off as I could have gotten it.

Normally, I would take it apart and fix the error of my ways.

Jen said that she would punch me if I did because it wasn't visible anyway.

I left it.  And I wasn't fired.

There were quilt pieces leftover, so I put them together as a back pillow for the chair.

Or a head pillow - if Isaac decides that he just doesn't have it in him to go to his crib and calls it quits in his throne.

Tutorial I followed for sewing a box cushion cover:  Design Sponge  --- except that I put the zipper corner to corner instead of wrapping it around.

Isaac's Crib: Bachelor Pad Curtains

Isaac isn't even out of the womb yet, and he has already let his crib turn into a frat boy bachelor pad.  Bottles everywhere - clothes all over the floor - enough white powder to send him to the clink for 80 to life.  I'm pretty sure I saw a hooker climbing out of his window as we walked in, but I'm not 100% so I am letting it go.

In all honesty, the people to blame for the room disaster are the parents of the students in Jen's third grade class.  It was recently teacher appreciation week, and instead of doing the typical flowers, snacks, candy, etc., they decided to make a baby themed week of gifts for her.

Diaper Monday

Tub Tuesday - bath supplies, wash clothes, towels

Wipe Wednesday - baby wipes

Thoughtful Thursday - baby clothes, books, treats for Jen

Their generosity was ridiculous.

So ridiculous that I had to climb over their mountains of benevolence just to get the damn curtains I made hung up.

Then I shoved everything to one side of the room so I could get a clean picture to show the curtain addition. 

That's how the legit bloggers roll.  Shoving.  Any beauty emanating from the creation in the lens needs to be balanced by piled tension behind the camera.  

This is a closer look at the curtain fabric that matches the wall stripes and is accented in his crib quilt.  Isaac will have a keen sense of complimentary colors and fabric balance.  I'll make sure of it.

I put in blackout fabric for the lining, because when I babysit and want to pass out on that plush orange rug, the only thing that better wake me up is the chills from my blood alcohol level dipping too low.

And just so you can sleep comfortably tonight, we did get that mountain of generosity all organized and put away before I left.  But that's it for me.  Once Isaac shows up in about a month the room cleaning is all up to him.  And the next lady of the night I see trying to sneak out of his room is in for it. There will be a Heidi chase down...so I can give her a business card for any inappropriate attire she might need.

Order Up: In The Black Plates

I met Jackie at a craft bazaar last fall.  A craft bazaar with a $40 registration fee, where I was positioned only feet away from the gourmet coffee hut, with the church lady baked good table in between.  You could say that I was destined to lose money that day.

Jackie endured my cheesy sales pitch "Get a head start on Christmas gifts...these items are food safe ...sealed and cured...recommend hand wash...look it's a Santaur!"

When she told me that she was interested in having me paint the two maroon plates perched on her kitchen wall and took my business card, I assumed she was executing the ol' 'ego stroke and bolt'. A classic craft fair getaway technique.  No worries, I had a church-lady-made pumpkin scone (or two) with my name on it.

My sales total was $40 that day.  The only thing I took home (besides unsold product) was the crumbs of a scone and some cranberry bread that had managed to work past the modest neckline of my sweater to sit all itchily in my brassiere.  That usually only happens with movie theater popcorn, but I guess it is just anything that I eat aggressively.

A few weeks later, Jackie emailed me pictures.  She wanted something decorative on her plates that coordinated with her valances.  And I wanted a magic pill that melted away my holiday pounds.

One of us was in luck.

I sent several different idea sheets to Jackie to narrow down the style and held the paint flip book up to her valances to choose colors.  She lives just down the road so it was consultation convenience at it's best.

After painting began, Jen came over and asked to see the valance picture.

Me:  What do you think? I think the design will look nice.
Jen: You should have offered to make her new valances first.

I wish she were in charge of my sales department instead of me.

I should give myself more credit.  With this project complete, I am finally in the black for that fall craft bazaar.

Yes, even after the coffee and church lady treats.

I wonder how much the church ladies made that day?  It had to be ridiculous.  Like Spanx sales in the beginning of December.  I don't know last fall's going rate for the crack they put in those scones, but I like to imagine that the snifter glasses weren't shy on the brandy at the Ladies Aid meeting the following Thursday.  They tell me it is the only appropriate chaser for Gertrude's 'Better Than Sex Cake'... unless Clarice brings her Virginia Slims. Then that works too.