by studiotullia | Nov 8, 2017 | DIY, INTERIOR DESIGN
THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE was extended one week (for the first time ever due to all the natural disasters of late). This is WEEK 6 and the FINAL REVEAL will be WEEK 7.
EXCUSES
I apologize for a gap in reporting on my project.
Between the monthly flea market where I am a vendor.
and HALLOWEEN, it has been a whirlwind of muddy pumpkins, costumes and candy.
The visits to the pumpkin patch (twice):
The HOMEMADE Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Costumes:
So, back to the room…
IKEA TRIP
No ORC is ever complete without a trip to IKEA and a night of Swedish Meatballs.
Besides walking throughout the entire store for inspiration, I needed to consider the baskets and the sheets:
Do you think we stayed too long?
GALLERY WALL
The gallery wall is coming together although I am wanting to replace the large beach image on the upper left. I don’t know that I can pull it off in time. I tried to incorporate Jimmy Smits from How to Get Away With Murder into the gallery wall last night. Love the pop of red and the dark contrast not to mention, el hombre guapo! See how that dresser is still very UNPAINTED.
I love the indigo blues and rich reds in this quick shot I took of a tanker in Astoria last weekend, but I want the picture to be more interesting.
After some perusing on MINTED, I found these:
San Francisco is only one of my favorite cities in the world. Which would you choose?
A)Overlooking the Golden Gate, where my husband proposed:
OR
B) Baker Beach, where we had our wedding pictures taken. They are both pretty wonderful. Which one do you like?
NEEDLE ARTS
Here’s a little embroidery project in the works that justifies occasional Netflix binging – it’s for the room also because you know, its all in the details.
I am incorporating some colors into the indigo mix to liven things up. This will be one more layer of interest along with some lovely Pendleton pillows.
CURTAINS
The rings have to be hand sewn onto the curtains as they are extremely heavy and the drapery hooks simply won’t do.
SCONCES
I am happy with the sconces for the price although I need some rods to hide the wires it would appear.
CRUNCH MODE
I can’t tell you everything…I have to leave some things a surprise.
What color will I paint the DRESSER? I am about to pull the trigger or in this case, load the paint brush.
And I have some painting to do this weekend on the doors and trim. We are down to the wire here. I was hoping for a glorious sunlit afternoon next week with the natural light just right to capture the room.
So, hang in there and next week I will show you what I’ve got!
And be sure to check out the FEATURED DESIGNERS via CALLING IT HOME’s website:
As always, thanks for reading along!
by studiotullia | Nov 10, 2016 | DIY, INTERIOR DESIGN
At last! The FINAL REVEAL of my UPSTAIRS HALLWAY & STAIRS. I am so exhausted from the final last two days of pushing myself; painting the final coats on the walls, doors and dresser. Three coats seems to be the magic number for best coverage.
Just a little reminder that for years, the UPSTAIRS HALLWAY & STAIRS was a tangerine orange with some random furniture pieces and very basic lighting.
Here is a BEFORE SHOT:
Are you ready?
Here is the AFTER SHOT:
And here are a few more:
I wanted this to be a functional space for my nine year old twins. Charlotte’s room is too small for a dresser and she really needed a place besides the guest room across the hall for her clothes. 
I painted an heirloom dresser WHALE GRAY by BENJAMIN MOORE. The wool rug is a MOROCCAN RUG from WEST ELM that I added for warmth and color. The wall to wall carpet couldn’t be installed during this time frame. The STAR LIGHT is from POTTERY BARN and the Lamp in a Mid Century vintage find. The shade and baskets are NATE BERKUS for TARGET.
The horizontal reproduction beach painting was from ROSS and it served as my color inspiration for the room. Of course I’d love a beach photograph by GRAY MALIN but for now, this is what we’re working with.
The kids could use a mirror for getting dressed and I found this one at TARGET for $40. The antique bench was a GOODWILL find, with a cane seat and back. It was too folksy for the space with a carved heart in the back so I modernized it with the custom seat cushion and lumbar pillow in white and gray linen, custom made by STUDIO TULLIA. They are filled with down blend and super comfy.
The elongated arm was what I really liked about the antique bench besides the scale being perfect for the kids,
The flower oil painting above the guest room door is by ELIZABETH SEE, an Oregon artist.
SO, moving onto the GALLERY WALL in the STAIRWAY…here is another BEFORE SHOT (with our dog, Pumpkin):
And here is the AFTER:
Salon style GALLERY WALL of family photographs; mostly black and white photographs with some art thrown into the mix. I used black frames, white frames and a few vintage gold frames. I am still working on the wall with several more to go above these. It takes time to select pictures, frames and mattes. That was quite a project in itself. The limited edition print is by Italian artist, BAU and was from CR FINE ARTS, LTD.
I painted the ugly brown stairs white with gray treads along with the railing at the top of the stairs.
Here is the view from the bottom of the stairs. I found this basket made for stairs that is perfect for books, toys and other odds and ends that need to go back upstairs.
So, that is it. I will add some more pictures to this post later, however I am working on this remotely from Astoria, where we are staying for the weekend.
So check out the rest of the ORC GUEST PARTICIPANTS’ rooms HERE
And the ORC DESIGNERS, invited by the ORC Sponsor, CALLING IT HOME, who finished their rooms yesterday are HERE:
Here are all the sources I can think of for now:
WHITE WALLS – Mountain Snow by METRO PAINTS
WHITE SEMI GLOSS on trim and stairs – MILLER PAINT
GRAY DOORS – OWL GRAY by BENJAMIN MOORE
GRAY TRIM on Railing & Stair Treads – WHALE GRAY by BENJAMIN MOORE
GLASS PENDANT – SCHOOL HOUSE ELECTRIC
MOROCCAN RUNNER – WEST ELM
BEACH PAINTING – ROSS
FLORAL OIL PAINTING – ELIZABETH SEE
ROUND MIRROR – TARGET
CUSTOM CUSHIONS on Antique Bench – STUDIO TULLIA
LAMP SHADE & BASKETS – NATE BERKUS for TARGET
BENCH, DRESSER, & LAMP – vintage finds
FRAMES on Gallery Wall from POTTERY BARN, IKEA, AARON BROTHERS, and a few vintage ones.
I hope you liked it! It feels much moire inviting and functional now. LIke we have gained an extra room.
Thanks so much for following along! Have a great weekend.
Best,
Suzanne
by studiotullia | Oct 28, 2016 | DESIGN TRENDS, HOME IMPROVEMENT
Well here we are at WEEK 4 of the ORC. I am at a rather difficult stage of this project.
PAINTING OVER THE ORANGE WALLS
The orange walls have required at least three coats of white paint and I’m not even sure that’s going to do it. I still have to paint the trim on the doors and the stairs.
My intention is to finish those by the end of the weekend. We’ll see how that goes. This is after one coat so you can see what we are dealing with.
That old trim is looking pretty funky.
Trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The pictures for my gallery wall are being matted and assembled this week.
I ordered a runner from West Elm and I’m hoping it’s everything I want it to be
Once I have it, I can figure out the door paint colors
So I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me NEXT WEEK.
I’ll be painting the dresser and selecting new hardware…
My husband’s job is to install the lighting and assist with painting. He is a seriously speedy champ on the paint roller.
We also need to restore the floor at the bottom of the stairs. It is the scariest thing we found when we pulled up the rug. This area is also the entry into my home office so I thought it needed something.
I found an awesome stencil on Instagram from HEIRLOOM142 . It is coming from Canada so I hope it gets here in time! They shipped it out the next day which I really appreciated.
I’m stressing out this week so wish me good luck.
Grab a huge cup of coffee (or wine if that applies) and follow along with all the other DESIGNERS and GUEST PARTICIPANTS
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post. I’ll talk to you next week!
Best,
Suzanne
by studiotullia | Oct 20, 2016 | DESIGN TRENDS, HOME IMPROVEMENT
Three things I have been juggling this past week:
- Pictures/Frames for the gallery wall
- Slipcover style for the ottoman
- A mirror for over the ottoman.
It really takes awhile to sort through old photos and then decide which ones to use. I decided to opt for artful pictures; strong images that stand on on their own. I also have a strategy for framing my pieces. In an effort to not get too busy, Ive limited the palette to white, black, occasionally gold/silver and a few unique vintage frames to mix things up. It takes time to build a gallery wall so I am not expecting to finish it completely in the next couple weeks, but at least I’ll be on my way. Here are a few examples of PICTURE WALLS I really like:
I like the simplicity of the black and white
I also like when there is some art thrown in along with some variation in sizes. 
Here are some of the PHOTOS I have gathered so far. Ive made a few trips to Goodwill and I have found frames from Aaron Brothers, IKEA, Pottery Barn as well as some higher quality custom frame shops! I am taking them to a framer to just have the mattes cut and assembled with nice hooks on the back.
The closest I have come to an style slip cover I want is this simple tuxedo style. The fabric is going to be a white or natural cotton fabric:
And I would like to put a mirror over the bench. 
So I am on the hunt for one locally; we’ll see what I can find.
So, don’t forget to check out the progress of the ORC PARTICIPANTS HERE:http://www.callingithome.com/blog/2016/10/one-room-challenge-fall-2016-week-3:
And the other GUEST PARTICIPANTS here: http://www.callingithome.com/blog/2016/10/one-room-challenge-guest-participants-week-3 
Have a wonderful Friday and enjoy your weekend.
Best,
Suzanne
by studiotullia | Oct 7, 2016 | DESIGN TRENDS, HOME IMPROVEMENT, HOUSE TOUR: Traditional Spanish Style House near Pto. Vallarta
Well, here I am again, taking the challenge. Along with hundreds of other designers, I am committing to 6 weeks of design starting today! This bi-annual event, sponsored by Linda from CALLING IT HOME, is super fun to follow along.
Here is the link for the ORC DESIGNERS …
And here is the link for the ORC GUEST PARTICIPANTS, who are free to join in with their own projects.
A little history…Our house is an Arts & Crafts 1906 Bungalow style house. Grandma used to live upstairs in our house, which was converted into a duplex a long time ago, but she moved out a little over a year ago.The kids (two 9 year old twins) have moved upstairs so they could each have their own rooms. We are slowly transforming the space into a lighter, more kid-friendly zone.
Last Spring I did my DAUGHTER’S ROOM as part of the ORC SPRING 2016:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
This time, I am going to spruce up the UPSTAIRS HALLWAY & STAIRS.
Here is the BEFORE:
The walls and carpet have got to g0! I am also rethinking the furniture and its functionality. And the lighting.
Here is the chair I have there now which is not that comfortable and the wrong color.
My daughter needs a dresser just outside of her room, where the large trunk is so I am planning to paint an old heirloom piece that we have. I like the idea of a punch of color. Here’s an example:
The banister and post are looking warped. The woodwork on the upper level is kind of wobbly and in a perfect world, needs to be replaced.
We recently stripped the carpet on the stairs to see what we were dealing with underneath.
This is what we found under the carpet at the bottom of the stairs. Pretty bad. So, that needs to be replaced and painted also.
BLACK & WHITE with COLOR ACCENTS is pretty much the direction I am headed.
Here are a few inspiration pictures I have found by the firm, ASHE_LEANDRO. Boy do they have the BLACK & WHITE motif down:
Photo Credit: ASHE_LEANDRO
I need to put some artwork up on the wall going upstairs and in the hallway. This salon style hung artwork could work.
Photo Credit: ASHE_LEANDRO
There is a possibility I might tint the white walls slightly. I like the way this yellow piece looks as an accent color (for the heirloom dresser).
I should probably mention The BATHROOM, as it is off from the HALLWAY and is the next item on the list when this is done. We were going to do it for the ORC, but weren’t sure we could get it done in time.
I would like to continue the BLACK & WHITE motif into this room as well.
Here is a BEFORE:
I really like these bathrooms:
And some kind of black/white tile, but I don’t know that I will get too far with the BATHROOM just yet.
So, to summarize my tasks in the next several weeks, here it is:
|
ORC FALL 2016 TO DO LIST
|
|
Date
|
Task
|
|
10/9/16
|
PAINT HALLWAY & DOORS
|
|
Reoccur walls and trim and paint
|
|
Select Door colors and paint – black or color.
|
|
10/16/16
|
REPAIR/REPLACE WOODWORK ON STAIRS
|
|
Paint stairs and wood work
|
|
Possible replace column/post at top of stairs
|
|
Repair floor at base of stairs and paint
|
|
10/23/16
|
PAINT STAIRS AND WOODWORK
|
|
Paint Selection, possible design motif/stencil
|
|
FURNITURE SELECTION
|
|
Replace Chair and Chest with more functional furniture
|
|
10/30/16
|
Paint heirloom Dresser for Charlotte
|
|
Select a new piece of furniture or spruce up the one I have
|
|
FLOORS & CARPET
|
|
Replace wall to wall carpet
|
|
Select a Runner for upstairs
|
|
10/6/16
|
LIGHTING
|
|
Select a new light fixture and install
|
|
SELECT ARTWORK, FRAME IT & INSTALL
|
|
Select art work, family photos and have it framed and hung up on the walls
|
|
Select artwork/mirror for over the dresser and piece of upholstery.
|
|
ACCESSORIZE & STYLE
|
|
Accessorize with plant, throw, pillows.
|
Nothing like a little accountability to get things rolling. So I am off….
Thanks for reading my post!
Best,
Suzanne
