by studiotullia | Oct 31, 2018 | DIY, INTERIOR DESIGN
We are at Week 5 and getting down to the wire. It is going to be a busy weekend, let me tell ya.
We got this darn heating vent installed, thanks to my husband! You have no idea what a relief it is to have a new one. Our old one was so beat up.
FLOOR VENT
ANTIQUE CAFE CHALKBOARD
I saw this a month ago at the Portland Flea Market and have been thinking about whether or not it would work. I called up the owner at LOOKS & BOOKS in Milwaukee, OR and he still had it! He said he bought it at an auction in Pennsylvania. He came down on the price so I went for it. I’m really kind of excited about it.
I am going with a standard charcoal gray chalkboard paint form Benjamin Moore and using a large salvaged chalkboard that our neighbor a few doors up was coincidentally getting rid of. How these things happen is a curious wonder. We just have to trim it down a bit and paint it.
ART
I am also getting a few works of art framed from I’VE BEEN FRAMED in Portland. They are close to my house and I use them a lot for re- framing vintage art. You’d be amazed what a nice frame, or a fresh matte and glass can do. Not sure they’ll be done in time for the final reveal, but sure hope so. They service artists a lot in the neighborhood and are a very reasonably priced, old shop with lots of artists working there. Always glad to support small businesses.
As you can see I have this old artist’s proof – an abstract, silk screened print of horses running, in browns and blacks. It was in a really heavy silver frame which I re-used for the upstairs GUEST ROOM. I never really appreciated it all that much but now that I am trying to bring out browns and blacks in the space, I reconsidered it. It has the original matte here below which I don’t really care for.
I taped it up there without the matte to see if I liked it better. I think it will add some interest and height to the room.
My husband added that wifi UFO thing to the ceiling for better internet service…
So those are the kind of details we are dealing with.
CURTAINS/SHADES
We are installing the blinds and curtains this week, too. One of my extraordinary seamstresses is bringing them tomorrow and I cannot wait.
As you can see, I taped the shade and the fabric up there so I could see how it looks before I pulled the trigger. IKEA for the fabric on the leading edge of the curtains and the brown woven shades since they blend with the woodwork. Basic, I know, but they will have to do until I can upgrade.
To see what all the other frenzied designers are up to at this point, you may click on the two squares below:
We will see you next week for the final reveal. Let’s pray for some sunshine so I can get some decent shots.
Have a great weekend!
by studiotullia | Oct 24, 2018 | DIY, INTERIOR DESIGN
We are at WEEK 4. The mural is pretty much done. Here are a few of the stages we went through getting to a place we were relatively happy. I took these with my iphone so I apologize for the quality of the images.
SKY MURAL
There are a few things I might change to balance it out but I needed to wrap it up and move on. I like that it adds some color and life to the room which is especially important in the winter months in Oregon. Half of the year it’s gray and rainy, day after day.
I don’t want to show you the final finished wall. I have to save that for the final reveal!
As you can see it adds quite a visual punch to the room.
It turned out darker than I anticipated so the room is feeling visually heavier on the mural side. I have been trying to address that with some other design choices. I decided that bringing out the black ,white and warm wooden tones throughout the space would also help unify the room.
LIGHTING
This fixture I chose by FEISS was installed. I am ok with it for now.
UPHOLSTERY FABRIC
My choice for upholstered chairs: Tumbling Blocks by Miles Redd for Schumacher.
ART/ACCESSORIES
I came across this painting on sale at Goodwill (originally from Target) for $5!!! and I was thinking, am I crazy for thinking this could work?
I brought it home and after living with it a few days decided to go for it. It is the same era, style wise – mid century, like the light fixture – that brings a modern element I like to the room.
This Pendleton Wool Blanket I had recently made up from salvaged Pendleton turned out to work nicely as well with its black, white, yellow ochre and red accent colors.
I had this original print of my Mom’s from the 60’s that I am having reframed, lightened up with an ivory matte, and hopefully installed in time above the door. And to think this was headed to the donation bin.
RUG
I like the new grass woven rug, the LONHOLT, available at IKEA for the rug. There is no point in having a really nice rug in there as the last one was partially trashed with all the birthday parties, dinners with tweens, etc. that go on there. The price was right, too.
CURTAINS
This is where I am headed with the bay window – three shades and two curtain panels on the sides.
For now, these IKEA grass shades will work.
IKEA also had some very affordable fabric so I brought some home to see if it would work for the curtains.
PILLOWS
Is this adorable or what? I had to add a small pillow in this fabric I love to the mix. A little woodland theme with a pair of twin bunnies…I could not resist.
Fantasy Forest by Schumacher
I found this at the Portland Flea Market last month and I am pretty sure I am going to buy it. It is a cafe chalkboard frame. I called the dealer and he still has it. I think it will add something truly interesting to the room and he is giving me a deal…it just needs the chalkboard part. There’s that.
So, I am going in a new, completely unexpected direction. Quite an evolution from my original scheme. It feels more masculine, but I like it. I think the neutrals will allow for different table schemes with colorful place settings. I have a healthy collection of plates, linens, etc which I love to use throughout the year.
Here’s my remaining TO DO LIST:
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Hang the mirror on the Mural wall.
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Upholster the dining seat chairs
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PDX FLEA MARKET: Purchase my café frame and make the chalkboard back for it and install (surprise coming)
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IKEA: Purchase and install 3 32 inch wide Roman shades
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IKEA: Purchase 6 x 8 woven rug
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Paint drapery hardware or rather spray paint with black paint
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Install drapery hardware
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Finish and Install curtains, shades
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make two pillows
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Try to refinish surface of the table
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Buy plants to go in front of the window to cover the ugly duplex outside.
Wish me luck as we are getting down to the wire here with less than two weeks left to pull this together.
You may follow along with all the other designer and guest participants by clicking on the images below.
Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it. Tell me what you think. Am I crazy or will this work? See you next week!
by studiotullia | Oct 10, 2018 | DIY, INTERIOR DESIGN
Here we are at week two and I am excited to have settled on the color palette at least for the walls. We are gaining momentum on this project. For some reason, the ORC makes it all come together…
(Click on images above and below to see all the other designers’ projects)
PAINT
This week as been about getting the base colors for the room where I want them. I settled on A PIECE OF CAKE by Magnolia Home for the walls which is a light gray that looks taupe until it dries. It is a silvery gray. My husband thought it was the same color as the dry wall tiles he was installing on the ceilings. I have to admit he has a point, so this color required some serious convincing on my part.
It looks almost white during the day but as you can see below it is darker than the white wall on the left. For Portland winters I think it will stay light enough. We’ve already had some rainy gray days and it feels a lot better in the dining room already than the dark orange we lived with for years.
Below is pretty much what you need to paint. Blue tape and paper, spackling paste for patching walls, putty knife, sandpaper, brushes, rollers, paint cup, paint tray and liners, drop cloth, paint, a bucket of water and a rag.
I recommend buying the small color sample cans until you figure out what looks right. The space and natural light at your home is often radically different than in the paint store.
I chose SUMMER SKY by Metro Paint mixed with their MOUNTAIN SNOW until it was a very light sky blue for the Ceiling.
And for the built in bookcase I chose:
RALPH LAUREN OCULUA BLUE RL1747
and
METRO PAINT MOUNTAIN SNOW $13/gallon! Recycled paint
You don’t need a lot of the teal blue relative to the white. I came up with something close to this color:
ACCENT WALL/SKY MURAL
I have been obsessed with sky and cloud formations all Summer in anticipation of painting the mural on the accent wall. Something like this sky wall by NEWALL is my goal:
I love the colors and swallows in this wallpaper by John Derian.
Here are just a few of the lovely skies captured this Summer – can you believe how brilliant blue the sky can be?
Gearhart Beach on the Oregon Coast:
Astoria, OR at my Father in Law’s Studio – my husband and kids are canoeing.
I had this vintage painting below framed over the Summer. It also captures the color palette I am after for this room. I chose a gray washed, simple, more modern frame than the original ornate gold one. What a difference!
Thanks for following along. See you next week.
by studiotullia | Oct 3, 2018 | DIY, INTERIOR DESIGN
It’s impossible to stay on top of all the featured designers and guest participants, but click on the image below to go to the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE headquarters where all participants link in once a week for the next six weeks. Pick some favorites and follow along. There is a lot of talent and drama out there.
TREPIDATION
With some trepidation, here I am six months later, still trying to renovate the dining room. For those of you who don’t remember, I attempted to address the dining room last Spring with the SPRING 2018 ORC and ended up putting this project on hold. A trip to San Francisco, the twins’ birthdays, illness, and a major hitch lead us down a dark path of incompletion. The major hitch being that we decided to redo the ceiling rather than paint over the nasty asbestos tiles. I was trying to do a quick fix and my husband Shiloh got me to slow down and take the time to do it right. I really had no idea what we were getting into.
RECAP
Here is a quick recap of our storied dining room. When we moved into the house the dining room was a deep orange and has remained that way for over a decade. You know why? Twins. Charlotte and Arthur came along and needless to say, the dining room had to stay that way for awhile.
When we first moved in, we found the brass light fixture at THE REBUILDING CENTER in Portland. it was supposed to be a $40 temporary fix. I have banged my head on that solid brass fixtures more times than I can count. I relished carrying it to the curb this Summer where it was promptly claimed by some poor innocent passerby who has no idea how hard that thing is when you walk into it.
The curtains will also be replaced.
The chairs will be reupholstered.
MOUNTAIN WHITE
To get rid of the orange, I did a few base coats in MOUNTAIN WHITE by METRO PAINT which is my go to white. I’ve used it all over the house – in my office, in the upstairs hallway. Its recycled, quality paint that is extremely affordable ($40 dollars or so for a 5 gallon tub) and it is a beautiful white for bluish Portland light.
See the ugly ceiling? It looked even worse after the white went up. That’s when we decided we couldn’t bare to look at it every evening over dinner. It would bother us. We’d ask, why didn’t we replace it when we had the chance??? 
THE DEMO
This is the ceiling without the wooden trim covering the seams.
Then he cut into the ceiling to replace old wires and add new ones for the wifi and smoke detector.
Then he bought dry wall to install over the tiles since we were only going to lose 1/2 inch if we took them down and that would have been a nightmare.
He had to build these wooden braces to hold up the dry wall during installation.
And there’s this lovely grate that my father in law and a few others have fallen through when a chair leg finds its way into the holes.
So, 6 months later, clean slate.White walls, white ceiling. Let the fun begin.
INSPIRATION
The room that remains an inspiration is this room by San Francisco ABH Interiors:
I love the soft gray walls with the darker wooden tones and of course this incredible mural by GRACIE STUDIO. We plan to do an accent wall but with a more northwestern vibe. I like the lightness of the room with the warm sepia, aqua and white tones.
Swallows are a thing in Portland. And this John Derian Chimney Swallows Dawn Wallpaper available through Designers Guild is pretty wonderful:
So is this serene cloud wall by A NEWALL:
SO, the walls are where I am headed next.
Thanks for following along! I’d love to hear from you as we go along here…
