Revamping Tired Art

As I type this, HM is painting our DIY feature wall we have been working on all week (say tuned). It is a one person job so he is in the tented area that used to be our hallway, spraying his way to victory. He is already a begrudging participant in anything DIY, so I figured that if I were to take a nap while he was painting, it would not go over well. So I decided to attempt a project that has been on my to-do list for a while.

HM is in there spray painting his heart out.

I LOVE having original art in my house. I purchase it whenever the price is right. Sometimes the price is right at the DI/Goodwill. Often those thrifted gems are a little sad looking and the colors are not quite right. I decided to turn a recent $1 find into something I would actually want to hang on my walls.


the almost BEFORE PICTURE:

I had already started on the pinks in the top left
and some of the medium blues before I remembered to take a photo.
Oh and a bit of white on the vase. 

AFTER PHOTO:

Doing this project yourself is easy. Start with a painting that needs a face lift. Grab some acrylic paint and start making "blobs" over the original. I wanted it to look like a paint by number since blending/shading requires more skills than I have. This method of painting is fairly forgiving so just go for it. Also (since I am stuck in my office while Michael is painting the wall) I did all of this with 4 colors and some tinting with water color paint that I had in my desk. Not bad huh?


Here are the vintage 1960's paint by numbers hanging in my office.

This was a really fun little project (which is more than HM can say) and I can't wait to find more "treasures" at the DI!!!!! I think it captured the whole "paint by number" look. This was also a test because I would like to do a full wall mural in our guestroom but I wanted to make sure I could create this type of art before going hog wild on an entire wall. I am feeling good about it!

Flashback One Year...

Flashback one year ago, we had just bought the house (of Leo). I am sorry I have not been blogging much since the remodel finished. I somehow had more time of my hands to write posts when I was sitting in the depressingly hot little apartment awaiting "move in day". Since then, I have been too busy LIVING in the house. I figured I would check in and share a few of the updates since November.

Since the weather is warmer, a lot of focus has been outside. I bought a rattan table and chair set from KSL for $60 and painted it black. Add a few plants, a fan, outdoor curtains and some trellises and BOOM. We have a covered back patio worthy of evening meals.

Flashback one year...

We also added some conversational seating to the roof deck. In the hottest months, we really only use the deck to watch the sunset and enjoy the city lights. We are looking forward to our 4th of July viewing perch! I also planted some herbs and peppers in pots on the deck. Since it is right off the kitchen it makes it convenient for summer night cooking.

We had our driveway paved this week, which ups the curb appeal. It required 4 truck loads of concrete which means the rest of the landscaping will have to wait a bit before we can rip out the rat bushes (which could also, based on last Friday night, be called RACCOON bushes).

Flashback one year.....

We have big plans for the landscaping. In my mind it will be as though an estate is Napa has been plucked up and relocated to the high altitude snowy desert conditions of Salt Lake. How could this possibly not execute exactly as I envision it? Here is a bit of inspiration:

Finally, I wanted to let you all know that I will be blogging again, if only with a weekly update. HM and I spend every weekend working on house projects. If the projects are successful, I would like to share them here. If they are not successful, I would like to share more photos of the concrete driveway. I kid. All my projects are successful.....

Real Cactus, Fake Poodle

From, literally, the moment the house was finished, we have been entertaining and hosting guests. My family visited over Thanksgiving weekend and every one's stay was comfortable (so they tell me). Please excuse the odd faces in the shot below. I guess my cooking was so great, they would not even stop chewing for the picture.

Before the family pulled in to town, I added a few items to the house. My favorite, Cashmere the Cactus.

I really like the vibe she brings to the house. I bet you didn't know cactus (cacti?) had such swagger. Oh yeah they do! You know what else has swagger? Bushes shaped like poodles.

While the fake poodle does not track in mud, the real poodle does. I needed a rug in front of the door he goes in and out of the most. I couldn't find anything I liked enough to get yet not enough to be sad when there was mud all over it. I settled for getting two small rugs from Target and sewing them together. By like hand people. I sewed them by hand.

That was all in place before my family arrived and during their visit, I also received my coffee table and rug for the living room. It is crazy how those two things made it feel so much more inviting.

I added the two red stools from Target right before I hosted a meeting at my house. Maybe they will stay there or maybe they will move somewhere else in the house. One thing that is still not done and not even hopeful is the bookshelf. I threw a few things on it but that actually made me so depressed I had to remove everything. Apparently I am very sensitive to the moods of my cactus and bookshelf.

Old school look, but not in a good way

The next big project on the horizon is setting up the Christmas tree. I might then set my sights on the office/den. It feels boring. I am going to make it an office and I think I might go dark in here....like Navy?

 

Original blueprints for the house

Stay tuned.

You Decide....

With Phase 1 of the rennovation coming to a close, it is sometimes hard to imagine that the house was ever anything other than what it is now. Wasn't it always this cool? I will let you decide. Has it changed all that much?

April 2014

April 2014

 

November 2014

 

October 2014

Things are looking great. We are starting to have a steady stream of house guests and dinner parties. The plan is to bunker down during the winter, enjoy the space, and make small decorating updates. In the spring we will access the plan for Phase 2, which will be focused on dry walling the garage, a new driveway, a fence, and landscaping.

I will continue to update a couple of times a week with the changes that are happening inside. Less drastic than "We Have Walls" updates, but much prettier pictures! Look forward to seeing a rug project that I did this week. It involves me, yellow tread, and some needles. I will also introduce you to a new addition to the family. Cashmere the Cactus.

Be Our Guest

Please don't think that the lack of posts this weekend indicate that nothing was happening at the House of Leo. Plenty was happening. Plenty. As you may know, we had been gearing up to welcome our first house guests in the new place. We wanted their experience to be top notch, starting with VIP airport pick-up.

We had spent the days (and hours) leading up to their visit moving our stuff out of the apartment. The apartment looked so much better and BIGGER without all of our stuff lying around.

We spent the week/weekend lounging around by the fire and playing board games. We even managed to sneak in a birthday celebration and host a bunco night.

We learned a few things.

One, the apartment makes for a very private house guest experience. No body was in any one else's space. It was really nice. We even tried running the apartment shower and master shower at the same time. Great water pressure and the hot water never ran out (go tankless!).

Two, we learned that the house is VERY loud. I think we were all deaf after bunco night. With all the glass and hardwood floors, there is not much to absorb sound. Add 12 semi-drunk women and a some bunco dice and you approach sound barrier speed. And so started the search for a living room rug. It was an all day affair. I finally ordered one and I am awaiting delivery.

 

Of course the minute I ordered the rug, I started having second thoughts. I REALLY hope to nail this on the first try. I have been very successful picking things online for the house. I hope to continue this success. This is one of many rugs that will need to be ordered, but I am pacing myself. I am also looking into having my carpenter make a coffee table for me. Sadly, I can't imagine that it will be finished by Thanksgiving. Sad face. At least it will be there the next time our friends come to town!

Feeling Optimistic

Good morning everyone. I feel a lot more optimistic about the house this morning. Maybe because I woke up in my master bedroom this morning, walked out to start the coffee in the kitchen, and I am currently writing this post fireside. Yeah, maybe that is it.

The rug is vintage and I bought it from esalerugs.com

Sure, if this was a 360 degree photo and you spun around you would see tillers but it does look like a bedroom, don't you agree? I will definitely celebrate that! Michael and I have moved most of our stuff upstairs (save for our shower supplies). The closets are up and we added hardware to Michael's.

In case you are wondering, Dog moved in to the master bedroom as well as evidenced by his bed and rawhide. The cats are refusing to leave the apartment. Have fun with that house guests.

One thing that we are going to have to solve sooner than later is the window situation. We are having the uppers frosted for privacy, but the south facing window let's in a lot of light. As in, the moonlight kept me awake kind of light. Curtains for the room were not high on the list, but they have now been moved up to immediate.

This picture was taken at 7am. Notice the light shining on my pillow.

Since I was up, I decided to snap a picture of Michael and put it on the internet for the world to see. Then I headed out to the kitchen to make coffee. There a lot of details still on the punch list that need to get done, but if you don't look TOO closely, you can almost treat it like a finished kitchen. The new appliances help.

I could point out all the unfinished items in this shot, but I won't.

Michael is going to have to get up and join me by the fire soon because the tillers will be here in an hour. Yes. On a Sunday. They only get paid when the job is complete and so they are just as anxious as we are to get the master bathroom done. It is looking close though. All the shower tile is up and the vanity counters (and shower bench top) were installed Friday afternoon.

Tile looks awesome right?

Vanity with counter and our massive sink!

The tiller expects to be done laying tile this afternoon. Tomorrow he will come back and grout and then we will have one of the crew install the fixtures. Once the shower heads are in, we can move our remaining stuff upstairs and it will be official. It is taking everything in my grown up body not to touch the steam panel. Michael expressly told me that it is functional and NOT to be turned on. Now it is a need. I neeeeeeeeed to push the button.

Well, that's all for now. After I finish my coffee and Michael gets kicked of the bedroom by the tiller, we are going to give the apartment a deep clean and make it ready to receive guests Wednesday. But first, I am going to spend a few more minutes by the new fireplace.