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| Painting a huge floor cloth in my living room to look like painted wood, brown and white.. |
So it all started with a chocolate brown couch. Or was it a sewing machine? Or was it going to art school in the 90’s, falling in love with painting, color and design? Or is it turning 40 and wondering what in the hell it is I am going to do with my life? What besides being a mother of two young children, wife of an engineer, orgainizer of all. Yes, I am a multi-tasking, coffee chugging, kid shlepping over-worked and underpaid mama. The many hats we all seem to put on as mothers can range from (and in the span of one single day) chef, (or can-opening, water boiling expert) maid (not my best hat), laundry attendant, schedule master, playgroup arranging/wine drinking and time challenged exhausted woman.
And we now own a home that needs some major renovating and re-decorating. But, as anyone knows, having two children is a constant reminder that money does not grow on trees. That gorgeous couch I wanted from Pottery Barn (around $3000) is just not happening. Prioritizing is mandatory (as my husband kindly points out as our budget conscious bread winner) when we have piano lessons, gymnastics, swimming, new shoes, birthday parties, new clothes….The list goes on and on. So what to do? Well, I have always wanted a sewing machine for various projects and ideas of mine…. My husband, somewhat reluctantly, got me one for Christmas. (and I quote: “Are you ever going to use the thing?”) But yes, I have used it! After a couple of days and many curses later (What the f#*k is a bobbin?Why does this needle keep breaking? What on earth is thread tension? Oh, you need a different needle for heavy duty canvas? There are different needles? ) and slowly figured it out...
And finally got to the goal at hand which is: hemming and painting my own floor cloths; a beautiful way to hand paint rugs that I have been coveting on the internet for years…An old New England tradition, folk cloths were rugs to put in your home when people could not afford to ship rugs from Europe to America. Here are some examples of traditional floor cloths:
What I am attempting to do, is to make them more modern and colorful. I love the idea that they can be mopped, and are impervious to stains. Many people use floor cloths in their dining room, mudroom, or kitchen. They also make excellent splat mats for kids! You can turn them into a wall hanging, or just to beautify any wood floor in your home. Here are my very first ones. All of these rugs I have copied from rugs I have looked at on the internet. Hand drawn with no stencils, it has been interesting…Working on some more designs, and how to make them cushy underfoot – a real challenge, and I will keep posting photos!
As well as finally starting my first floor cloths, we just gained another 1100 sq. feet when my mom moved out of our attached basement apartment. That meant a new couch for our living room upstairs, and moved our old beat up camel colored one down. We found a comfortable chocolate brown couch at Slumberland for a steal! Only $600 bucks, and a year of payments. It was literally the only couch in the whole store I liked, and it is so cozy. I originally wanted a white slipcovered couch (my husband: “A white couch? With our 4 yr old? Are you nuts?” sometimes he makes a good point), but found the chocolate brown one and sighed with relief at the idea of not having to wash a slipcover every week…Or covering it in blankets at all times to save it from misshaps such as red sharpie markers, mud covered fingers, crayons, strawberry jam and dog paw prints. But then the question arises…What goes with a chocolate brown couch? I don’t think the “cup of cocoa” color that is currently on our walls is going to make any statement. It looks too dark with the dark couches. I want fresh, modern and a bit brighter. So its off to the paint store. So far I love the colors of Benjamin Moore as such:
Nimbus Grey
Wyethe Blue
Puritan Grey
Feather Grey
Grey Mirage.
I am trying to go for a blue, brown and white theme. My inspiration is a painting of my fathers which gave me the palette of brown blue and flax linen color.
But I needed to organize desperately, so I decided to start this blog. I know nothing about blogs and it is pretty overwhelming to someone as technically challenged as myself. (what is a URL, seriously...) But I am starting it for the simple reason to set a goal: to re-decorate each room in my house for as little money as possible, doing it all myself, for one year. I will sew (some fabric included,) paint, and love what I am doing all the while, with just a few interupptions, ha ha.
Can I finish the entire house in a year? Not sure, but I am going to try. And doing this blog will be a great motivator to share my daily thoughts and challenges along the way. I really look forward to getting input (if anyone ever reads this) about design, fabric and color choices...Then I am going to make room inspiration boards. Instant rooms, like in House Beautiful…Except I am a total novice and they are accomplished designers. A learn as you go experience.
Each room will have a jumping off point such as a piece of artwork, a fabric, or some beautiful inspiration idea. Just joined Pinterest, wow, I could pin things for hours! I also have been reading/collecting magazines for years such as House Beautiful (the best house mag!) Better Homes and Gardens (just as good these days!) Veranda, Elle Décor, Country Living and Dwell, to name a few. I am going to start by photographing my house now, each room as it is today. An unfortunate mismatch of pillows, paint colors (which were here when we moved in), and room design which has not been thought out before hand. I just moved our stuff in and try to make it work. But it needs a fresh start, and this is what this blog is to me. After all its just time and paint, right?
Thanks for reading, and I can’t wait to begin and start talking to the community at large of talented bloggers, artists and talented mamas out there…
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| love this rug |
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| Nimbus Grey, Benjamin Moore |
