Wall stencil & being spoiled...

I have a customer who is opening a bed and breakfast after the holidays. She invited my mom and I up to take a look at the room progress and get some advice on how to make the space even more special. The rooms are lovely and have the most amazing view of the entire town, Straight of Juan de Fuca, all the way to Victoria B.C. and Mt. Baker. There is a fireplace that is flanked by recessed walls that were just perfect for some sort of wall treatment. 

My first thought was to add wallpaper but that is such a commitment and the carpet had a lot of pattern already. We decided that a wall stencil would be a great compromise...we could add interest with a script that would be a compliment to what was there and easy to paint over if they ever decided to change the design. 

We went with the "Springtime in Paris" wall stencil from Royal Design Studio. The great thing about the Royal Design stencils is the guides they have added to the stencil. They are easy to match up and make completing a large project (like a wall) go without a hitch. 

Our customer had previously purchased the vanity you can see in the corner. It is painted in Coco Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan. She LOVES the coco so that was the color we would use on with the stencil. 

I mixed a little Artisan Enhancements pearl plaster to give a slight shimmer and give some substance to the paint. I started in the top corner and worked my way across. The edges and corners at the floor were a little tricky. These stencils are made from a heavy duty Mylar which makes them super durable and easy to clean, but not so easy to bend! Fortunately the plan was to make the script soft and aged looking...so a little smudging or irregularities were welcome...plus the furniture would hide any oopsies!

Now, mind you, this work was being done at a future bed & breakfast...so my customer treated me to the most amazing chocolate chip pumpkin bread, coffees, and fed me a lovely lunch! I was feeling totally spoiled!

We still have to find the perfect finishing touches...a great lamp and a piece for the walls. Overall we were happy with the effect of the stencil. It added great warmth and interest without competing with the pattern of the rug. 

The Coco Chalk Paint® in the stencil really looks lovely with the Coco vanity. Once the room decorating is complete I'll add more photos. My client suggested that my husband and I be guinea pigs for her prior to the opening of the B&B. How could I say "no" to that! 

The Artisan Enhancements and Royal Design Studio products are not paid endorsements...simply products I use and love to work with at the shop! 

Little Round Table Re-do

This little round table was found on a trip to Victoria, B.C. by my mom. She has a wonderful source for antiques and can't resist bringing home some lovely small tables to nestle in the shop. Some are more loved than others and need a little TLC. This particular table was pretty rough on the top-the veneer was chipping away. 

It had such great detail around the top and the legs I couldn't NOT tackle this lady with Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan!

I wanted to do something interesting to the top to hide the blemishes and it would give me an opportunity to play with Annie's layered random all over stencil technique. My assistant started with a base coat of Paloma...

Once dry I worked with the Paloma as the starting point for the stencil color, mixing in a little Old White, Coco, and Emile Chalk Paint® to get the light and dark tones. I moved the stencil around in no particular pattern and made sure to overlap and hang off the edges in some places. 

A coat of clear wax to finish and then some dark wax to soften the contrast and bring out the details. 

The Paloma makes a lovely backdrop for the gold tones in our glitzy birds for holiday and our always popular Goldleaf body products--available at our shop Heather Creek.

Thanks for looking!

Danielle

Making time and Getting Organized...

It's daunting at times, trying to manage my home, business, spend time with my family, and take time for myself. It's nearly the end of the year and I've got so many plans for 2015 I figured it was time to start getting organized. I'm pretty scatter-brained (just ask my husband). I can't count the times I've left home with my lunch sitting on the counter, lost some important document...not to mention all of the projects in some random state of (in)completion! I have good intentions but very little follow through. Writing this blog is a perfect example. I have a blog for our shop, Heather Creek, that I had intended to update regularly, posting photos of before and after projects, etc. My last post was in February! So much for that! I need to push myself to get organized, both at home and at work. I even went so far as to purchase an organizer. I know, it's archaic that I bought an actual organizer and am not using my phone or laptop. I am a paper person, always have been, and it's easier for my this way. I realized that in order to grow my business, manage the shop, and have time to breathe in the middle of it all, that I needed to be more on top of things. I know at some point I will have to submit and hire someone to help me. I'm hoping to put that off for a bit until I have an actual game plan. So, I'm starting small, a petite goal I know I can reach. A weekly before and after post of a project I've completed. This will accomplish 2 things, forcing me to actually COMPLETE a project, AND update the blog. A two-fer I can handle. Wish me luck!

Danielle