Color of the Week: October Leaf

While strolling through the mall last week (specifically for some 2 for $25 and an additional 20% off candles from Bath & Body Works!) we came to an unsightly conclusion: beyond the Autumn fragranced candles at this bath store, Fall was absent from the entire mall! I wanted to swing by the Gap to find a nice orange sweater for the season. About 5 years ago, I purchased an orange pull over identical to this week's color, and it had a bit of brown stitiching in it, and to me, it clearly embodied what Fall was all about. Since then, the sweater has aged and ended up in a donation pile, but I am seeking a new clothing item that can offer that same nostalgia. And to our chagrin, everything in the clothing stores was navy and red. I also noticed a surplus of black, white, grey, and silver tones! But no warm oranges, browns, or golds in sight! It was somewhat of a depressing scene. It was almost as though our local retailers had bypassed our favorite season and jumped right into winter.

This color of the week is dedicated to that very orange that is nowhere in sight! That's the beauty of color- if there's a color you need to be surrounded by in your life, it's simply only a trip to the paint store away!

October Leaf, Martha Stewart Paints

This orange is featured from Martha Stewarts' paint line, and is so rich, you can almost taste it! It's a warm burnt orange that you may find in the shadows of a caramel-dipped apple, or (obviously) within a pile of neatly raked leaves. This color embodies Fall at its finest, and would be a welcomed addition as an accent or main color in any major living area. It brings a sense of coziness with it, and- they also say that orange is an excellent color for stimulating conversation! Try out a rich orange in your living room and it will instantly spice up your social life!

READ

Whenever people ask us what gifts they can buy for Hazel, we generally offer the same 2 answers: clothes and books. I want our daughter to grow up with a love for books, and hope that they will enrich her life, just as they have mine. I conjurred up this drawing the other night of an owl resting on a book and hoped she would find some joy in it. When I showed it to her, she tried to give the owl a high-five.

I framed it and set it on top of her bookcase, just as a subtle reminder to pursue the finer things in life.

Beside the new art, is a piece I did for Hazel last Christmas- it's of a
bunny and a chocolate bar, cuz my little girl is a choco-holic :)

Wabi Sabi

Wabi Sabi is a practice that I've known for years, but have only recently been able to attach a title to. The ancient practice, rooted in Zen Buddhism and Chinese Taosim, can best be described as the art or celebration of the imperfect. The practice finds beauty in simplicity and the unfinished, and should be embraced as a feeling, rather than an idea.



image from Wabi Sabi Style

Our homes are a visual map of who we are as people. Just as much, our living quarters serve as experiential reminders to us of lessons we've learned, and those to come. How can we incorporate this concept into our homes? For example, if one was to have a loft with naturally decayed brick or stone feature falls, the practitioner of Wabi Sabi wouldn't remove the stone work, but rather would highlight its natural, imperfected beauty. Also, one would practice this mentality by choosing a minimalist approach, with real, natural materials, rather than mass manufactured products. Wabi Sabi promotes authenticity in simple, uncluttered surroundings. Our homes should be vessels of the celebration of life. Rather than trying to fill your home for the sake of filling it- arrange it in ways that will promote conversation and your lives to be lived in the most thoughtful ways possible.



image from Wabi Sabi Style

I realize that this mentality is nothing new. Surely we've seen it before with the trends of Feng Shui and Shabby Chic, but, I can't help but wonder, is Wabi Sabi a practice that deserves a little more respect and attention than we give it? Or, is it just another fun grouping of words to say?

image from Wabi Sabi Style

Light Bright

Through the recent closet upheaval and the journey of a more organized life, there have been a few items that were in our closet, that I simply cannot find a place for. Some will likely be donated, others I hope to keep for when we have a house someday, and will be able to fill the space better. A mantra that I've tried to adopt in the past month or so is that everything needs a home. And if I cannot find a home, I need to consider whether or not that item is worth keeping. Our dining table has become the catch-all location for such items, and we've done a pretty good job of chipping away at the questionable items. One item that has stuck out to me in the pile is this lamp:

In reality, the lamp is about as cookie cutter as it gets. It's a simple lamp base and red shade from IKEA. The shade was originally purchased in the AS-IS for Hazel's bedroom in our old townhouse. In our apartment, I don't really feel that this particular shade of red belongs anywhere. We've developed very specific color schemes, and with a general open living space, the importance of all areas flowing is imperative. As I didn't have the heart to donate or get rid of the shade and lamp base, I decided to give it a new lease on life! I rummaged through our bin of fabric swatches and pulled out this piece with tiny floral prints all over it. Jackie described it as being "cute", and I agree. I've been somewhat inspired by Scandinavian design in the past few weeks, and this fabric reminded me of something I would see in a Swedish home, possibly in a kitchen nook or something.

The materials I used for the project were: Mod Podge, a foam brush, and some sewing pins. I worked in 3" increments of painting the glue on the existing shade, smoothing and stretching the fabric out, and then pinning it in place to hold it while it dried. It was actually much easier to do than I thought it would be. The only difficult part of the project was attaching the fabric to the inside of the shade. I used the same glue, but the surface was plastic, and very smooth, and lacked an initial grab. After several coats of glue, however, it stuck in place.

I left the shade to dry over night (and did this project while seated in bed, and was alarmed to find several pins in the bed- fortunately, I caught them all before we went to sleep!). The next morning, I assembled the shade and base back together, and marveled at my first attempt of re-covering a lamp shade. Go me! I was anticipating on struggling through this project and cursing at the lamp shade and my crazy ideas- but, I was pleasantly surprised!

But (and there's always a "but"), the new combined lamp seemed a bit blah. The black lamp base was just killing the bright and cheerful feel that I was going for. In a spontaneous leap, I slapped some primer on, and some white paint, and then a bit of sealer for added protection. And voila, a newly update lamp with a bright and fresh feel!

Here's the final product in all its shining glory (and looking so chic in a nice Fall vignette!):



DIY Play Kitchen!

Waaay back when, I mentioned about how cool it would be to make Hazel a play kitchen. And, this is the story of how we did just that.

Whenever we swing by IKEA, right before we get some yummy meatball dinner, we always have to stop at the DUKTIG play kitchen. And it's the best thing to watch Hazel opening the oven, and "baking veggies" and stirring the pot with a toy ladle. I've been tempted on numerous occasions to simply charge the $150 play kitchen to my VISA... but deep down, I know that I can make a cooler version for cheaper.

DUKTIG play kitchen

For awhile now, the topic of making a play kitchen has come up frequently. And on a recent trip to Salvation Army, to drop off some old clothes, we decided to swing by their thrift store, and look at what we found:

It's a side table from the 50s or 60s maybe? (we both have our own educated opinion as to the era we think it's from). It was nestled modestly amongst other furniture pieces with a little sign that read "AS IS: $5). It had no hardware attached. The top lid opened and we were praying that the bottom door would open. So, with a bit of faith, we brought the piece home, and to our amazement, not only did the door open, but, it also had a built in shelf!- perfect for a play oven!!!

 

We discussed options for hardware and began drawing up a plan of how to make over the table. I ran to the bedroom and fetched a handle that was a left over part from an IKEA as-is project (more to come on that another day), and Jackie drilled in 2 new holes for the handle. We rummaged through old paint cans and decided to paint the unit "Tomato Red". It's a color that I originally bought for our front door... but just haven't had the guts to paint. We figured that this project would be a test for the color, and if we ended up loving it, we may go ahead and paint it. After several coats of paint (actually, more like 4 coats of paint plus one coat of primer), the play kitchen was ready for some detailing. 

original concept

One of the main obstacles of the original drawer unit was that the legs were much too high for Hazel to play with, and looked like inverted rabbit-ear-antennas (these legs eventually became upcycled into the drawer garden bed project!). I came across a set of 4 legs (on clearance!) for $3.50 each at work, and spray painted them silver. Jackie also painted the stove top burners (PANNÅ coasters from IKEA) silver. 

We had the pieces for the hutch- the backing and shelf- cut out of MDF at Home Depot (*sigh* I had to come in on my day off), and Jackie used her skills to attach the MDF to the existing unit. The shelf was painted in Ben Moore's Swiss Coffee, and the hutch was painted in Bay Colt by Martha Stewart. 

While rummaging through some old boxes at work, I came across some samples for peel and stick tiles, and brought a few home to make a bit of a backsplash for the kitchen. 

The final touches were put in place with Jackie tediously painting the food imagery on the over door.

Here's a breakdown of the costs of this project:

-Old drawer unit -$5

-4 legs- $3.50 each (on sale!)

-MDF cut to size at Home Depot- $5

-Wooden dowel rod- $0.88

-Peel and Stick Tiles- free samples from work

-All paint, glue, screws, - free, already owned.

-Picture Frame Window- free, already owned

-Coasters for stove burners- free, already owned

-Fabric curtains- free, already owned

In Total, we spent: $24.88  

Compared to the $150 version of this kitchen, we saved $125 and got to give our daughter a very personalized place to play and express herself. And the value of creating a learning toy with your family that your daughter will enjoy for years to come? Absolutely priceless.

Color Of The Week- Bay Leaf

This is one last shout out to green before the October chill hits, and inevitably will shift all greenery into oranges, yellows, and browns. I actually used this color just over a year ago on a piece of furniture, and was, and still am quite fascinated by it. I still have most of a quart left, and am waiting for the perfect project  to bust it out again. Originally, I painted it on a side table for our front door, but it just didn't sit right in that location. Since then, I have re-painted it silver, and have ruined it by over-sanding. And recently, we let go of the side table. However, I wish I had a picture of the Bay Leaf painted table to show off its brilliance.

BAY LEAF, Martha Stewart Living,

This is green is sincerely packed with warmth. While I'm using it to promote the last kick of all things green before the Fall season hits, I truly feel that this is a color that can easily transcend into any season, and into most decor schemes, even though it does pack quite the punch. I love to see this green used on accent pieces- frames, chairs, doors- but cower when I see a room painted this color. This is a color that promotes the mantra of "less is more" and demands the respect to be used strategically in small doses.

Framed

I'm on this new rotation at work of actually having every weekend off and it's pretty awesome! *update*  apparently, it's not going to last long, as the powers that be have realized that they need me there on weekends. lame. Anyways, on a typical Saturday morning, if I'm not at work, the three of us head out to the farmer's market down the road for some fresh veggies and maple scones (mmmm). On Friday evening, Jackie noted that there was going to be a Vintage Fair at a local farm, and that we could forego the usual farmer's market to switch it up a bit. 

When we arrived bright and early on Saturday morning, it was packed! And there was so many old treasures to see: old china, jewelry, furniture, and even services like photography were present. It was definitely a neat experience. The trail between booths was covered in loose gravel, and not ideal for a stroller... So, we'll just keep note of that for next year. 

There were a few items that caught my eye... candlesticks, some decorative acorns... and then there was this picture frame:

I've been trying to keep an eye out for an embellished picture frame for quite some time, but the ones I usually find at thrift stores are either too costly, or aren't embellished enough. What I loved about this one was that it looked worn, and literally had chunks of the frame missing- it added so much character! So, I splurged, and bought it for $20.

And, yes, I did paint it. As awesome as the gold finish was, I just didn't feel like it suited our place at all. I finally found a home for this picture frame: The left side of our pink wall! Therefore, the mission was to find a color that would go with hot pink. I pulled out a few paint candidates, and we narrowed it down to: an off white top coat, with distressed blue peaking through. Having the weekend off gave me plenty of time to use a little paint brush to meticulously dab the tiny crevices of the embellished frame (and after 1 coat of primer, and 3 coats of paint, my poor Purdy brush is pretty frayed!)

Check out the hot painted burgundy velvet!

I started off with the primer. I cannot stress enough how important primer is. For both my painted door and our dining chairs, I chose to skip the priming step because I was either using oil base paint, or a paint with a built-in primer. And now paint is generously peeling off both projects! And so: No excuses! ALWAYS use a primer if you want your top coat to last! It was especially "fun" to paint the burgundy velvet trim that surrounded the inner perimeter of the frame... very fun, indeed.

After the primer coat, I painted 1 coat of Peacock Blue (the same color I used on one of the distressed hooks). To dry, I set it down on top of Hazel's Toybox... and, I couldn't believe my eyes- it was the exact same color! Let me explain: as I mentioned, the frame was painted in Peacock Blue (Benjamin Moore color), and the toy box was painted in Lagoon (Martha Stewart color), and they're almost identical! I must really be drawn to that color! It just bums me out a bit- I love color, and strive to incorporate different variations through every project... and to re-use color can often be a bit of a downer. Oh well.

Peacock Blue vs. Lagoon: Can you tell the difference?

I covered the blue with 2 coats of White Chocolate paint (mmm, good enough to eat!) and lightly sanded- just barely, to give it a very subtle aged-feel. Following the sanding (and the hour trying to remove the loose sand from the crevices of the embellished frame), I busted out the water based high gloss varathane, and gave it 3 thick coats, and the frame literally looks wet! Awesome!

The frame in its soon-to-be-home

 I think we'll wrap it up at that for today. The next step for this frame is for me to try and fashion a backing to support the picture, as well as to find some eye hooks and wire to mount the frame- but that's a different story, for another day.



Distressed peaks of blue with a full gloss sheen! Love it!