beef.

over the past few days, i've been working out of town in canton, georgia. the area was pretty rural, and there was a "flea market" close to my job site. i stopped in yesterday, and picked up these vintage corned beef crate tops. at first, i thought they were really gross, and the thought of corned beef was making me want to vomit, but, their old-school look and spanish text had me hooked -- so i bought them.

i thought immediately of where i would hang them, and how they'd be hung, but the idea of painting them came to my brain later in the evening...and i just finished them! i'm very happy with the outcome.

first, i drew out the bull silhouette on the middle one with a pencil. then, i taped stripes onto the other 2. (i'm thinking i might actually add another thicker stripe to the bottom one)

then, i primed the areas before painting them orange. orange paint does NOT go onto dark surfaces well, so i always make sure to have a full, solid coat of primer before i paint anything orange (or red) (or lime green) (other other brights).

ta-da! mika inspects. i know it's gross for him to be on the counter. he's a little stinker like that.

(phone picture which gives you the best representation of the color)

if you are very observant, you'll notice that i also painted our kitchen the dark navy-black color...and alas! we have no more chalkboard wall. i loved my chalkboard wall, but i decided i was tired of it. i'm in need of constant visual change!

the contrast is a little off in these pictures, but you can at least see the stripes and bull better. (and you can see where "happy birthday jordan" was written on the chalkboard wall...i didn't notice a residue still being there until i looked at this picture!)

the stamp on the crate top makes it look like the cow has a halo. which is why you shouldn't eat cows. :) (i'm a vegetarian)

little boy's room stripes.

last week, i did these blue-on-blue graphic stripes in a little boy's room, which is being designed by an interior design team (the same team i did this work for). they're using paul frank as the inspiration, which i just loved! i've been a paul frank fan for a while. in case you aren't familiar with the company, here are a few images to jog your memory (or enlighten you):

last but not least, these flip flops, which i used to own in college. now that i think about it - i want them back.

anyway, here is the room! obviously not decorated yet, but when it's done, i'll try to get some photos to share here.

it's a light blue, then a dark blue stripe, with a brush-stroke-y red pinstripe down the center of the lighter stripe.

we liked how the small sloping ceiling walls around the room gave it almost a circus tent feel.

there was also this little entry way area that i did:

upgrade.

this post will be short and sweet, but i wanted to show you what i got today...

remember the mirrored side tables from target that i got a couple of weeks ago? i love them, but i don't love the cheap-o knobs that came on them. talk about making something look like the low-ticket item that it was...

they were even plastic, i do believe.

anyway, i was going to get simple glass knobs, but when i saw these new beauties from anthropologie tonight, i thought they'd be the best fix for me! i really love them.

(please forgive the dusty top!)

here is what they look like in person and in daylight:

they look like cut geodes, but they're just porcelain. at only $6 a pop, they were a quick, pretty fix.

a(nother) new chair.

i posted about this chair last week, but i thought i'd give you guys a real look at it today. i bought it at scarlett loves rhettro here in atlanta, and i'm pretty sure that it can be classified as the chinese chinoserie style (if you know what style it is, exactly, please let me know!). i'd actually been looking for something exactly like this for months, and when i saw it up in the ceiling area at scarlett loves rhettro, i knew i had to have it! i liked my old chair, and i'd even had these cushions reupholstered for it, but i decided i wanted something with no arms, and a bit more modern, in style. i used the same cushions on this chair, and they fit perfectly. (except i did take out the pillow form of the previous pillow for the back of the chair, and replace it with the shorter one that came with the new chair. i just folded the excess fabric under, and it's fine.)

before:

it had that funky splattered '70's green paint on it, so i bought a can of spray primer (a very important step if you are trying to take something from dark to light!), and a couple of cans of yellow valspar spraypaint.

i love how shiny the "gloss" finish is. i think it looks lacquered, which is what i was hoping it would look like! i did end up selling the old chair - sans cushions :)

!!!

this is kind of an odd post, but there was a client that called me yesterday (having twin boys!), and i got your voice message, saved it, then went back to listen to it and call you back - and the voicemail was gone! no trace of it...anyway, if this is you, and you are looking for me, please email me at kristen.fountain@gmail.com. i got a new phone, and the voicemail is WEIRD! sorry!

frame refresher...

last week, i "refreshed" a frame that my client bought for her future baby's room.

here is her nursery:

bedding is from the land of nod, and don't you just love that cute rabbit painting with the polka dots? a friend of my client's did it for her.

and, the other side of the room:

a friend also did the "you are my sunshine" painting (so sweet!). i love the little chandelier!

anyway, my clients had bought this framed painting at an auction, but weren't in love with the current frame. they were going for an "animal" theme in the nursery, so the cute kitty cat was a hit, but the old, beaten-up frame had seen better days. and that's where i came in.

here it was "before":

they are going to hang it above the crib. i thought it'd be a good place to pull in some more of that orange that is in the other artwork.

and, after:

i painted it white, then i painted it orange and did a little distressing. this frame distressed beautifully...the wood was just perfect for it.

as you can see, i even painted the matting. i think it freshens the whole piece up.

chair.

perhaps the most creative title i've used yet...

anyway, charlene sent me this chair to be painted...she got it as a family hand-me-down, and is having it reupholstered in a great, brightly-colored floral fabric. (you can see it sitting on the back of the chair in this photo!)

it was being sent to the reupholsterers soon after i got it, but i tried to style it a little for you guys. i love this chair!

(needs to be dusted off a little more! hah!)

i loved the wood detail on the arms. what a unique chair!

trellis wall + painted baby nursery furniture

the past couple of days, i've been working on a nursery for a little baby girl that will make her way into the world in may. her parents commissioned me to paint a crib & changing table set they bought on craigslist, and to do a patterned wall where her crib will be.

they painted the "accent" wall a pale pink, and the rest of the walls are white.

before:

after:

i borrowed the pattern from centsational girl's trellis wall, and i made my own stencil. as you can see, mika helped:

it's a very subtle pattern, but i like it! so soft and feminine. as usual, the colors in the photos do not do the room justice, but hopefully this gives you a nice idea. i'm trying to figure out white balance on the program that i use for my camera, but i've yet to do that. anyone know how to do it with the canon rebel "digital photo professional" program? if so, email me!

i love this pattern in the soft colors, but think it could be great in a bright orange or another color with the white trellis pattern, too!

i also white-washed the crib and changing table for them:

my abstract painting.

i am a person that sort of artistically thrives off of color combinations...they're probably my favorite thing about design in general. i had a few in mind when i started thinking of redecorating our living room, so i combined some of them, and here i am.

anyway, in april's lucky magazine, on page 100, there is a dress/necklace/bag outfit that has a color combination i really love. it's a camel color/sunflower yellow/coral/tomato red mix, and there is a painting to the left of it that the outfit is based off of. the painting is by vanessa briggs, and it was my inspiration for the painting i did in our living room. i started out with the same colors, and then just went in my own direction from there.

you may recognize my canvas from this painting. it used to hang above our sofa..i got tired of the look of it, so i painted over it. i know, i know...kind of ridiculous. but, it wasn't a painting that took a long time, and i liked the texture i'd created on it. the texture still shows through on the new painting, so it's a mix of the old and new.

this painting reminds me...did you guys see the big moon last saturday night? insane!

this is my favorite section of the painting. i think your eye is automatically drawn to the lower left-hand side of the painting (where the drips are), and this area is right above that. i like how the color gradually gets darker as it goes up...serene.

new living room look.

hello everybody.

so, as i mentioned last week, i did a whole lot of painting in this place. painted the walls (black horizon by benjamin moore, which i borrowed from this client's project. we used it on the dresser, and it is the black on the wall. it's a cool midnight blue-black.), the ceiling (standard ceiling white), and the bookshelves (a dark gray color that i hand mixed). i'll get you guys better pictures of the sofa, and soon i'll show you my bookshelves, but for today, i thought i'd give a little early peek of my sofa area.

(yes, i am aware that the arms of our sofa look AWFUL. mika has scratched the poor sofa to death. its guts are hanging out. i'm doing something about it soon - just still trying to decide what exactly i want to do! and, i didn't straighten out the pillows before i took this photo.)

anyway, as you know, i sold my side tables and coffee table, so for now, i just have the little black garden stool sitting in front of it. there will be a real coffee table on it in the near future! i bought those mirrored side tables from target. i'd like to replace the knobs on them, but i haven't done that yet. the yellow chair you are seeing to the left (i'll give you a more detailed tour soon!) is from scarlett loves rhettro here in atlanta...i painted it a high-gloss yellow. and, last but not least, i did that painting thats above our sofa yesterday, as inspired by a painting that i saw in lucky magazine this month.

oh! and i got the little brass swing arm lamps from goodwill last week. i bought the shades at lowe's.

there are still a lot to do in here...i have quite the list, but i guess the majority of the work is done, and it's now just time to hunt down the things that i have pictured in my mind. and, as a disclaimer, i do want to raise the height of the painting above the sofa a bit, and lower the painting that is in the side of this photo. just fyi :)

(picasa wouldn't let me reverse the order of the photos...this post is a real mess! sorry, guys)

early morning.

my dad sends a "TGIF" text to me and my brothers every friday morning, and today, i'm really feeling it. it's been a long week! amongst working for clients everyday, i've done a LOT of painting in our house. i've painted the kitchen and living room ceilings white, the walls in the kitchen and the living room, primed our bookshelves, painted the back of the door, and a new chair that i bought. i've also sold several pieces of furniture, and am getting prepped to (probably) reupholster our sofa. if you guys have any tips for cheap but sturdy fabric for furniture (all i need is a simple white), please let me know! i have to buy 18 yards of it, and i'd really like to keep the cost down.

anyway, just thought i'd share a couple of photos i took this morning in the early light of the "new" space:

(every thing is topsy turvy in here)

for sale!

selling my cute little side tables -- there are 2. i've painted them, and added glass tops, to make the tops a little sturdier. they are 26" tall, and the diameter at the top is about 10".

selling them locally only, sorry out-of-towners! $35 for both.

i think that i'm done with the selling, but who knows! i've sold our coffee table, big chair, and the little footstool. a change is comin', my friends.

oh, and in this picture you get a good preview of the new living room color :)

happy thursday!