GORGEOUS SHINY THINGS

Floor to Ceiling Goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:21:22 PST

There is really nothing better great natural light. Even the most beautiful spaces can look drab if the windows and lighting suck.

I have always wanted big, tall true-divided light windows. They are on my wish list...

via Cococozy

love this studio space....

via Country Living

I remember watching "The Holiday"for the first time and just being in love with the windows in Amanda's home...

via Hooked on Houses

Ah, one day!

Bathroom on the Cheap/ Lipstick on a Pig

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:30:43 PST

I received a lot of questions and emails about the bathroom I featured yesterday. I decided to do a post to help answer them and to hopefully inspire anyone else out there that is stuck with a "dated" bath.

We have 2 of these lovely 1960 era baths.

One day our big plan is to renovate and make both baths into one master bath and add a second full bath using a corner in our family room that is right near the bedroom hallway.

UNTIL THEN something had to be done.

before picture taken when we were looking at the house to buy,

sorry it is so blurry...

#1 TILE

First off, we had bigger issues than the fact that it was chartreuse yellow. I knew the yellow could work since it was going to be a kid's bathroom.

It turned out the shower/tub had rot and mold.

There was no wall board holding the tile up on the first foot, it was all rotted and tiles were loose.

before

We had a contractor friend come in and tell us we needed to replace the first 18-24" of tile and fix the wall backing. I was really hoping he would say "Its crap, rip it all out!" (We did rip out the rickety sliding doors and replaced them with a white shower curtain.)

They weren't able to save much of the tile they ripped off, and I couldn't find a match so we needed to improvise. I found some glass sheets at a local tile store that had

the same citrus yellow with green so I snatched up 6 square feet.

In order to make it feel fresh we added inexpensive white squares around the 6" stripe as filler.

I had plans to add lots of white to the rest of the room,

so I crossed my fingers it would look all right . New grout helps too...

#2 WALLS

When you are stuck with colored tile you have a few choices when ripping it out is not an option...

-Paint it with a paint designed for ceramic.

-Choose a color scheme that makes it feel fresh for the walls. Pattern helps too by drawing your eye away from the tile. Stick with one or two accent colors, don't go crazy.

-And breaking all the color with white makes it feel fresh. You can do this with a white shower curtain, white towels or by painting your vanity white.

There is no hiding the fact that it is old tile, but you can put lipstick on a pig and call it Miss Piggy.

Just saying.

The walls had a shimmery white vinyl wallpaper on them. That go ripped off the day we closed. The walls eventually got painted with green and white horizontal stripes to tie in the glass tile.

#3 LAMINATE CABINETS

Good sweet mother loving gold and grey hell, I really can't think of one nice thing to say about these cabinets and matching counter. Just yuck...

I had been dying to paint these! Thank goodness for The House of Fifty article. I told my husband I had a new pattern and we were going to have to sacrifice the laminate in the name of O'verlays. He actually wanted to keep them as is since they were eventually going to be ripped out- IN A FEW YEARS! Being a designer, eyesores bother me more than most people. If I can paint them away, I will.

So I painted and O'verlay-ed.

I cleaned the cabinets with TSP to remove grease and grime and then lightly sanded.

I rolled on 2 coats of XIM primer, that stuff is the bomb. It sticks to everything!

Here it is with one coat, squiggles still slightly visible but better...

You can also use Rustoleum Countertop paint, except they don't have it in white. I used it when I did my kitchen counters and it is pretty awesome. No priming needed. It bonds to laminate.

I then painted them with 2 coats of white semi-gloss and faux painted the counters to look like white marble. See the tutorial here.

I added the "Grace" O'verlays to the cabinets using Liquid Nails Clear Silicone.

(They will be available in the next few days on the site. We had February 1st as the original launch date, but the article came out early.)

I also changed the hardware to antique brush brass knobs that were hand me downs to me from my in-laws...

I toyed with the idea of painting the sinks white using a kit, but I did this once before in an apartment I rented and it started to peel after 1 year around the drain. I also have 2 boys that love to play in the sink, so I sadly nixed that idea...

I had a literal scrap of Citron Imperial Trellis, so I squeezed a faux roman shade out of it.

I know it is a bit too narrow, so don't judge...

#4 MISCELLANEOUS

As far as vintage goes, I am all for it- except when it comes to a 50 year old crapper. Bleach, etc.... It got replaced. I prefer a fresh start and to know that when I catch my 4 year old fishing something out of the toilet the grossness is all in the family...

We also replace the ceiling vent. You don't want to know what the inside of one of those looks like!

10 pound dust bunnies amongst other things.

And lastly there is nothing like some good old elbow grease and Comet.

Hope that answers any questions! Let me know if missed any thing!

I have been dying to tell you...

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:26:42 PST

So... House of Fifty featured O'verlays.

I am really excited about this! I have been wanting to tell you guys and show you pictures, but we had to wait until it launched. As many of you know, I can't keep anything a surprise. I sneak peeks of all my projects, so I am really pleased with my self control at the moment. Rare thing.

Especially since I re-did a bathroom and a headboard and some other stuff just for this issue. (Part of the reason it was so crickets around here November-December. I was secret busy.)
And I so wanted to show you. And now I can.

A big thanks to Janell, she did such a great job on the article and is so nice to work with...

It gave me the big push I needed to get the gross boy's bath finished. Here is the before of my ugly laminate bathroom...

and the after using the soon to be released Grace pattern and lots of stinky laminate paint...

There is also a step by step before and after how to.

We found this old oak dresser for free on the side of the road and accepted the challenge. A little paint, some 2" Harper O'verlays and reclaimed hardware from a different dresser...

and some 1/2" thick Anne frames on the MALM...

Check out more here.

(pg. 66-75 since I stink at knowing how to link specific stuff)

Let me know what you think!

I will be back soon in a bit with some other stuff...

Thoughts on Acid

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:48:15 PST

Acid Yellow that is...

Not this kind...

although that could make for one terrifying blog post.

Hmmm... I think I will prefer my colors not to breathe.

Acid yellow rocks.

Maybe its the dead of winter and I need me some Vitamin D,

but it just the happy little pill any ho-hum room needs.

Small doses though, in splashes...

A complete acid yellow room can make you crazy.

Or so I am told.

(Don't think there have been many scientific studies on this, just the word on the street.)

Moderation...

Like these little chairs and pillow buttons here...

If you are thoroughly down this could help...

Not so acidy, and not so much- but it still works...

Best way to add it in? One of my favorite fabrics of all time-

Trina Turk/ Schumacher "Beauty Bark Print" in Sulphur.

You really can't go wrong with it as an accent. It plays well with almost everyone.

See what I mean?

And bonus... it makes tans even tanner...

Now go get some happy on.

Yay for the weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:54:28 PST

I so need a little down time away from the computer and work. I had a reality check yesterday while I was working in my office. My kids were in the neighboring room playing with the babysitter. I overheard this conversation ...

Joe (my 4 year old) to the BBsitter: "You pretend you're me and I'm Mom."
BB: "OK. Hi Mom"
Joe: "Ask me to play, OK?"
BB: "Do you want to play with me?"
Joe: "Not right now sweetie. I can't. I have to work on my computer. "

Daggers! Right in the heart!

I have had my ass glued in front of the computer all week trying to get brochures, CAD drawings and every other little annoying thing done that requires Photoshop and Illustrator and loads of hair pulling and the patience of Jove. I am so done! Need a break! And the fact that my kids are role playing my neglect only makes it all the suckier. So I am going to try to disconnect from it all for a day or two.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I leave you with some of my faves from Pinterest.

This reminds me of my childhood.

I used to read a book that had a stream in it and I always imaged it looked something like this.

Happy Deja-vu, I guess.

So cool. Would love to do this, but probably never will.

Ditto for this...

Peace out folks!

For all you list makers:The Whiteboard Alternative

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:31:52 PST

As a person with A.D.D., I cannot live without my list. I have about 5 floating around at all times, and I like to keep a master list in big plain site too.

In my new office I didn't want to add more clutter with a white board. I had a big mirror hanging over my desk and a bunch of whiteboard markers, so I improvised.

Works great, and much prettier than a whiteboard.

The only downside is now whenever I look at the mirror to check my list, I can actually see the overwhelm on my face and that I really need to tweeze the brows- need to add that to the list.

this next

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:19:55 PST

I have been banging my head against my cabinets wondering what to paint them for 2 years, even though I got the kibosh from the Mr. more times than I can recall.

( I block out "No" really well). What is it with men and wood anyway? And it isn't even real wood.

So, I think this is it...

Gloss. Navy.

Its the new fake wood.

Or so I say.

I have toyed with so many colors, from grays to bold persimmon, but navy works with my scheme and its a color but neutral all at the same time.
Here is some more glossy blue love that has me wanting to sign on the dotted line...

(navy and pinky lilac- my color combo of the month)

Not navy at all, but it has me rethinking my exterior door...

Boy+Girl LR

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:00:39 PST

Its winter, the time of year I am hyper-hyper focused on my house (mostly because I am in it all day). Now that my office is off the living room I am well aware of all the loose ends going on in there, and my ADD is wanting to finish them.

So between work I am bopping back and forth and tying down my color scheme. Blue (to make the men happy) and magenta/lilacs (to make me happy). The boy/girl scheme has had some teal and yellow babies too.

Here is where I am at. New painting underway...

the painted entry wall...

a new ottoman cover I am almost done sewing...

and a bunch of pillows I am still on the fence with...

I have a few more things to paint and stitch up, but the color scheme is BRIGHT and totally making winter more bearable. Hope to have this mammajamma finished by the end of the month.

T.G.I.M.

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:26:35 PST

Mondays generally suck, so lets celebrate that nonsense!

I have a new favorite drink, thanks to SOMA, a local restaurant... the SOMATINI. I recently went there with my niece Ashley to celebrate her birthday. We had one, went and got our nails did, and returned afterwards for a second. I am telling you they are really that good.

I decided to try to whip one up for myself this evening.

Super easy, and they made cooking dinner much more glamourous...

Blend a handful of cherries ( frozen or fresh) with the juice of one lemon and a bit of sugar.

Pour into a shaker with some ice and 1 1/2-2oz black cherry vodka (which I didn't have on hand because I never buy the flavor flave stuff, so I say vodka or gin- still tastes GOOD). Shake and serve with a twist, enjoy.

PS... Lime juice would be perfect too.

PPS... if you are lazy or don't have a shaker throw the booze and ice in the blender and have it frozen.

doesn't my phone take amazingly crappy photos????

"Fiona"

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:37:39 PST

Latest and greatest O'verlay. Hot off the press!

She comes in 7x29 1/4", 7x22 1/2, 7x15 1/4" & 7 12 7/8".

More sizes to come.

Get her here.

Hearts

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:46:01 PST

I found another pattern to obsess over thanks to Heather over at Love your Space...

Organic Compounds" by Kick.Stand.Press. is just plain kick ass.

sing it with me... awwwwesome!

I am also quite fond of their "Goodbye Seahorses".

Would love them on an acid yellow background for my boy's bath.

See more of their handiwork here.

My Office, finally.again.

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:48:26 PST

Thanks for your patience. I was so sure I would have this done on Monday, but instead I had a ton of "real" work do, so they makeover had to wait. I am really so excited to have this done, and I gotta say I'm way more productive in a pretty space. Here it is, the office (and guest room), where I spend about 16 hours of my day. I probably should just sleep in it too...

The inside of the closet office with its geometric faceted paint job.

my motto...

I can close the doors and it turns into a guest room. I painted thin gold lines on the doors to dress them up...

I have a second desk where I blog from, or if Cheryle or an intern is here they can sit.

I revamped an old bamboo bar cart to keep my crap on...

and the guest bed, aka where I can lounge and read mags in all my spare time.

I made the painting by cleaning my brush off everytime I changes colors on the facet wall...

I can't decide if I like the yellow Trina Turk pillow or the lilac Quadrille on the bed.

I needed new shams, so I used white cottom twill fabric and dabbed it with paint thinned with water...

I seriously want sheets like them now.

Can't be an O'verlay office with some O'verlays...

My other motto...

Slipcovered my desk chair.

It is so much better having my office upstairs. I still have the downstairs one, but that is now for painting, sewing and building crap. Also an exercise room. ha.

SO here is how you paint the wall all pink and magical...

You will need to do several shades of one color if you want to make it monochromatic, so I painted the walls a mid tone to make coverage easier. My base here is C2 "Mod", a pink lilac tone. I then chose the rest of the colors and lightened and darkened my mid-tone with either white or my darkest color, a magenta.

So I started laying in the design by just drawing a line. Duh, I know.

But all you do is have an axis point and have several lines come off it, and then each line ends at a new axis point. Kind of like "sun rays". See how each line connects to an axis? Just draw your first "sun" and have all the lines have different lengths, than make those end points be a new axis. Repeat, and as you go your connections will make lots of triangles.

When I was finally done I decided I was going to do 9 colors. This was largely because my largest "sun" had 8 lines and I didn't want to deal with a bitting colors so I went one over. I then numbered the sections 1-8 and "W" for white. ( sorry it is hard to see in this picture) It is kind of like playing dominos, you don't want the same number to touch. This gets confusing, so no drinking for this part!

I taped out all the #8's first. They were the darkest and would require 2 coats...

then I let dry and repeated and repeated...

A little tip, I was able to reuse a lot of the tape. (This process uses a lot!)

Finally, 6 hours later. My son was getting really P.O.'d. He kept coming in hourly with reminders of how long I was painting and comments like "are you ever going to be done?" or "why do you like to paint everything Mom?" He did at one point tell me it looked cool though.

A quick peek...

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:16:33 PST

because I totally suck at big reveals. Here is a glimpse into my new closet office. Totally girly, totally crazy and very pink. I kept the rest of the room sane and neutral. I will have the big reveal for you soon. Still working on a slipcover for my ugly black office chair and a few more things.

Going dark

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:52:36 PST

I finally just did it. I couldn't take my indecisiveness so I went to the basement, mixed up a bunch of leftover paint and made myself a dark charcoal brown. Neutral, I know. So not like me.

The starburst is no more. I am taking it down several notches, but I am gonna ramp it up inside the closet office. That baby is already coated with some pink and I have a long day of doing ahead of me.
I am fighting every urge to over the top this space. It is right off my gold squiggle walls living room, so it needs to be softened up. Be back with some good crap soon I hope. Thanks for all your guidance! Have a great weekend!

good stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:32:46 PST

Last night an I came home to a husband with the stomach flu, so I got him set up with some toast and ginger ale, put the kids to bed and camped out on the sofa. I caught up with a bunch of work and then did something I haven't done in ages. I read a magazine cover to cover (while enjoying a gin & tonic)- heaven!

Cheryle had given me some of her favorite reads from her holiday vacation week, and best was the February Veranda. Lets just get to the meat, shall we?

Dying over these walls, and ceiling, and curtains. I am never going to finish my office because I keep seeing more shit I want to do.

Windsor Smith's spread. Her game room in Ralph Lauren's Bone Black just does it for me.

Love me some high contrast.

This painted starburst mirror. And the hand painted ikat walls are pretty slick too.

These club chairs...

And that ottoman. It has my wondering if I can turn the queen mattress in the guest room /office into a giant tufted one. It can double as my lounge spot for spreading out paperwork and maybe I can throw a mattress pad on top for when guests arrive.

Also, the navy and black theme and that chair.

tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:44:20 PST

OK, I am super excited about this... Tonight the DIY Network is going to be featuring O'verlays on their new show I Want That. It airs at 9:30 pm, so watch along and have a fancy beverage with Cheryle and I. We are pretty pumped to start 2012 like this!

On other fronts (the office redesign), I am becoming obsessed with doing something like this,

Faceted Walls...

Any of these 3 Cole & Son papers do it for me...

I am very inspired and intrigued with this one. It would be easy to paint something similar in a crazy design on my walls...

Kind of a bit "Ice Queen"-ish..

And the wall in the right nails it, how cool is that?

ANd now back to reality.

I have everything basically in the new office (in stacks and piles), but I cannot commit to color or paint. Part of me wants to keep the big starburst walls, another part wants to change the color and pattern. Here is where I am at.:

This picture was taken from my computer. So I sit at a desk in that lilac chair- but behind me I also have an enormous closet that will house my printer, a desk for my laptop where I do my CAD magic, and all my junk. The wall in there has the opportunity to be insane and fabulous, and since the doors close I am going to stress the insane part. There is also a guest bed in here, so that way I can close the insanity and folks can get a peaceful nights sleep.

So, anyone have any suggestions? I only know that I want to keep my lilac chair. Maybe facet the hell out of the inside of the closet in girly shades of lavender and white, and make a pretty banded pattern on the outsides of the doors? Any suggestions, I need decisiveness please!

Hi Ya!

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:49:00 PST

Hello my lovelies! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a great New Years. I have been working so hard at eating & drinking, being merry and growing a not so cute holiday muffin top that I neglected many things, like you guys. I am so sorry. I meant to post so many times, but I got distracted by kids and stuff (like eating and drinking). I just gave up on my pile of unfinished posts and decided to take a little unannounced blog break.

I am back now and I just wanted to say "thank you". 2011 was a really crazy busy year, and I am so grateful that I have you guys to share it all with. Blogs are strange things when you actually think about them. I am an open book by nature, so sharing the details of my life in this fashion is no big deal. You have all in someway or another been a form of support for me. From your encouraging or straight from the hip much needed honest comments, to being my sounding board for so many crazy ideas. You just need to know that reading your comments, getting a new follower or an email from you keeps me doing this. I so appreciate all of it, and just want you to know that. I only hope that I can continue to be interesting or entertaining enough so that you continue to come back here.

I have a whole bunch of projects and stuff to share with you this year. Lets just start today with a resolution I am working on... getting organized. Since starting O'verlays, life has gotten very busy and I constantly find myself wishing I was more organized. Time is precious, and I find I waste so much of it looking for things I misplaced. Even files on my computer! I have been working on my new office space and wanted to share some inspiration with you. They just get me excited about being neat, I can hear my husband laughing about that statement. So here are some I am loving...

clean and simple...

pretty and feminine...

a place for everything-YES!...

In my case I have a desk area against a wall and a big closet I am transforming into a workplace (and I am in the guest room to boot), so this is more my speed...

I want to bedazzle my big closet doors like this...

and make the inside into a pretty but organized space...

and possibly add some pattern...

Hmmm... I will keep you posted.

Glad to be back!

Danika

When I squint at my tree I see...

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:12:53 PST

As a lover of all things sparkly, Christmas lights are awesome in my book. I usually do white, but having kids has given me a new appreciation for colored lights. So much so, I actually bought a big pack the other day while I was out hoarding incandescent lights (thanks for the heads up Mom).

There is something beautifully "Lite-Brite" and retro about them...

So I added a poll to the top of my side bar. How do you light it up?

Vote. Please. I am just curious. And nosey. And bored.

And leave a comment if you have strong feelings on the matter...

I'm back! With an iMac!

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:04:00 PST

Hello, hello! How I missed you guys! After the past week of technology crash hell, I am so glad to be back online. I apologize to everyone that I owe emails to...I'm on it.

Please note the two zits on my chin. Zit #1- Computer Crash Zit #2- Deadlines

Last night the hubs and I went computer shopping for a new desktop for the home office, our Christmas gift for each other. We have always been PC peeps, but we have entered the Mac side. Holy crap is it awesome!!!! The screen makes my peepers so happy, and all my favorite blogs are so bright and shiny! I get my laptop back today, and I will still be using it for all my CAD, but now at least I feel a bit more crash proof.

I am in the middle of setting up the new office in the guest room- please note the assortment of crap in the background. Got big plans for this room, and it is going to be kid proofed. I am setting up the old dinosaur desktop in the kitchen to play their Angry Birds on.

I will be back in full effect shortly once I have home base all set up.

Missed you! And if anyone has anything cool I should know or Apps I need for a Mac, do tell. I am a virgin here.

Danika

Monday, no fun day, and a 20% off O'verlay code.

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:48:23 PST

Insert imaginary picture of middle finger here.

I will spare you the details, but I am the proud owner of:
-a crashed laptop
-a glitchy dinosaur "backup" computer that won't let me load photos to my posts
-a dead vacuum
-a phone that will not let me get into my Gmail

Monday, you suck. Same to you technology. Why do all my devices choose the same time to die or act up? Its not even in threes anymore- who else is planning to off themselves today? TV, camera you want a piece? Do I have a forcefield around me or something?

OK, while I go find myself a tech geek, I have some holiday cheer for you. We are running a 20% off sale at O'verlays. Use coupon code HOHO20 at the checkout. Good til this Sunday 12/11/11, not valid on custom orders. Enjoy!

I will be back shortly once I get things fixed, or I find a proper comuter to blog from. In the meantime I can yap to you from FB.

Deck the door...

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:13:53 PST

I haven't bought any wreaths yet, and I am kind of glad. I am really liking these simple snowflake inspired wreaths, and some look super easy to assemble with basic pine boughs or swags....

but if all else fails, it will be my second favorite: good old balls to the walls (or doors)...

How do you decorate your front door during the holiday season?

A couple of things...

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:14:38 PST

First off, I am loving the new Elle Decor. Ashley Stark's home is one of my new favorites.

Check out more here.

Just know you will be seeing me attempt to make that light fixture shortly...

And speaking of new favorite spaces, have you seen (I'm sure you have because she is all over the blogosphere) Naomi Stein's pad?!?!! She blows me away with her talent and her fearlessness. Love her!

And she did us proud and knocked our socks off with her use of O'verlays on her RAST dressers...

seriously good!

Check out more of her incredible space over at Design Sponge or her blog Design Manifest.

And I finally have some updated pictures of the painted Chiang Mai wall with the banquette redone.

They are crappy because I only had my phone with me, but I am having real pictures of the space taken soon...

Some navy crocodile...

And her new tabletop is complete too. She had it custom made and put on top of a West Elm table frame...

And thanks to Nate Berkus for featuring our O'verlays in his Change It or Chuck It segment today!

Pretty freaking cool!

Painted Ikat Chevron Wall

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 10:30:59 PST

I finished my last painting project today! I stenciled my entry in an ikat chevron stripe. (Yes, this used to have the big DeGournay mural. As much as I liked it, I learned I am not that much of a yellow person. Also I paint all the time, so I get tired of things quickly.)

The rest of the room is gold and white squiggles, and

I did this by cutting a stencil and going row by row...

The homemade stencil cut from tag board. Note the flat bottom edge...

As I would go down, working top to bottom, the new row would make the ragged edge for the last.

The white rows still had to be finished so I cut the bottom off the stencil once I finished all the rows and used for the last few edges...

I just worked across using a brush and finishing the last flat edges...

and then doing lots of touch ups.

The one good thing about having a ragges edge is that I didn't worry to much about the paint bleeding.

Oh, and I finished one more project before Thanksgiving... my chairs. I used the blanket I had in my son's room. They didn't care for it too much, so I took it back.

I am now done for a bit with projects. Time to focus on Christmas. We got our tree yesterday, and decorated it last night. The kids were so excited, that makes it so much more fun.

Now we plan on getting cozy and watching lots of Christmas specials here,

or couch jumping...

Daylight and Answers

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 10:27:48 PST

I have some so-so daylight pictures. It is raining dogs here and is quite dark and gloomy, so the lighting is just OK...

I have some answers for a lot of your questions too!

Someone had asked how I hung the curtains because you couldn't see a rod.

I used a basic cable system from IKEA. I thought about painting this gold too.

If you don't want to use a rod this is a trick I learned over the years. I use eye hooks screwed into the wall every 2" and simply attached the drapery hooks to each one.

The panels will be stationary (obviously).

Next up is how did I hang the paper...

I used good old commercial strength non-staining clear paste. Roman Formula 838 to be exact.

Also I find brushing the paste on (you can also use a roller) works better because you can apply it a bit heavier.

Fold the top over on itself, and then do the same for the bottom (wet side to wet side) and let it "relax" for about 3 minutes.

When you hang, open the top half, match the seam to the previous strip and start smoothing down and out to the sides with a wide soft wallpaper brush. When you get to switch plates or outlets take a pair of scissors and snip a criss cross over the area and then trim around...

And if you over cut an area, just snip a patch to fill in. I did this along the top and around the heat register. Unless you are looking for it you don't notice because of the texture.

For those of you in an apartment or not wanting anything permanent I would suggest double sided tape along the seams and edges and then use grosgrain ribbon at the top with brass push pins for a nice finished edge. Something along the lines of this, but not as elaborate (sorry this was the best I got for googling "grosgrain and tack banding on wall", but it does kick ass...)

Hope this helps!

Come back in a few days, I am working on my last big project wall.

I made a stencil for some flame stichery zigzag pattern and hopefully will start some painting soon. Today has been one of those days where nothing is going smoothly, so I might just wait.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Super Cheap DIY Metallic Gold Grasscloth

noreply@blogger.com (Danika Herrick) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:01:45 PST

In honor of the end of spray paint season, I decided to go out big.

6 1/2 cans and light headed big.

For my next trick I decided to make my own metallic gold grasscloth. Why?

Because I really wanted some and didn't feel like spending over $100 a roll for it.

Mine totaled out under $20 a roll...

sorry for nightitme pics, need to update in the morning

Remember my hell room?

This is what it looked earlier in the day...

Grasscloth has saved it!

So here is how I made my own metallic weave..

1) Find remnants or excess on Ebay or wallpaper sale sites. I found 4 new tan Waverly singles for the "Buy It Now" price of $49.99.

( I lost 2 auctions because I was trying to stay under $10 a roll, and both times they went for about $15. Stupid, cheap me. When I saw this for $12.50 a roll I jumped quick.)

I also had 1 1/2 rolls of a similar weave in dark green from a previous project.

2) Make a sample...

This is a shot of the tan and the green painted. They looked close enough, especially because I had a big break between where they would be going.

3) Spray away. I used 2 sawhorses and cardboard along the bottoms for the rolls to rest on. I did one roll Sunday when it was warm and it dried really fast. Today was chilly so it took a bit longer. Simple back and forth motion. 2 cans+ does a double roll.

4) Hang.

Grasscloth is also awesome for the 36" width factor. It covers faster and is rigid so it was very easy. It went right over my paneling and covered the seams perfectly!

(I did get impatient at the end and cut myself twice while trimming due to the thickness, but I should have changed my blade.)

One tip I have is to paint any trim that is against the grasscloth BEFORE hanging.

The last thing you want to do is get paint on your paper, and this way the trim painting is easy...

I am almost done with this room! I love how much cozier the space feels by adding gold and texture. It feels very "Thanksgivingish".

Thomas just likes to ride the gold pig and wear a "big brain".

So final break down for the paper...

4 singles @ $12.50 each (Ebay)

1 1/2 singles -personal remnant

6 cans Rustoleum Bright Gold $3.21 (on sale Lowe's)

Total- $69.25