TayRose Design interior design repurpose Archives - TayRose Design interior design

Create a “trunk” inspired look for a Nightstand

finished nightstand trunk inspired

I was commissioned to transform my client’s little girl’s room to a jungle theme room. They had originally seen and fell in love with the bedroom I had designed for the Parade of Homes recently.

It’s a Jungle in here! Parade of Homes Pigliavento Builder, TayRose Designs

My client had asked for a nightstand next to the bed rather than the lidded crate I had used in my previous showhome. I wanted to choose something that still had a feeling of traveling the ocean seas towards jungle paradise. I started shopping both online and in local shops but didn’t quite find what I had envisioned in my mind. So, I checked out my furniture stash of odds and ends pieces I’ve collected for future transformations on projects that come my way, and I found the perfect size night stand that had a drawer which my client had requested and room on top for a lamp and maybe even a book.

However, in its current color it would not work with the design. I kept thinking about travel and how I might be able to simulate the look of a trunk or suitcase for this furniture piece. I knew the orangey colored stain color was not going to work, so by using a palm sander and sand paper by hand, I sanded down to practically the raw color on the sides and front frame work so I could stain it a darker brown. I wanted to bring in some jungle green color and I thought that chalk paint would be great choice for it covers just about anything with little prep. I chose Spanish Moss chalk color from JoAnn Fabrics Folk Art series and I also picked up their clear wax as well to go over the paint to seal and protect the color. http://www.joann.com/folkart-home-decor-chalk-8-oz/13830781.html

http://www.joann.com/folkart-home-decor-wax—8-oz./zprd_13358940a.html#q=FOLK%2BART%2BCLEAR%2BWAX&start=1

Folk Art Chalk paint and wax

I also wanted to add details to my “trunk” so my inspiration came from age old steamer trunks that had wonderful leather straps and metal hardware. I haunted the local thrift stores for leather belts and picked out a few that I could cut up and apply with upholstery nails into the wood.

thrift store find belts

For metal accents, I found at Hobby Lobby perfect corner pieces that came with their own tiny nails to tap into the corners of the top and drawers. https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Wood-Crafting/Hardware-Tools/Antique-Bronze-Plated-Corners/p/80783525 and https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Wood-Crafting/Hardware-Tools/Antique-Bronze-Plated-Corners/p/80783621 For the front, I found at Lowes some brass cabinet latches that I could use that simulate trunk latches. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gatehouse-2-Pack-Polished-Brass-Cabinet-Catch/3355522

hardware for trunk nightstand

The latches were a little too bright brass in color, so I sprayed on some brown paint and dabbed off with a rag to give more of an antiqued look. Now I was ready to start the staining and painting…….

I removed the drawers and sanded the fronts lightly for they were to be painted, then sanded the sides of the stand, the edges and inside the opening, then wiped down with a tacky cloth to remove sand dust. I had some leftover dark walnut stain from another project that I brushed on to the sides, edges and inside of the opening shelf then wiped off with a cloth to the desired color.

staining nightstand darker

I think I applied the stain twice after letting the first coat dry per can instructions.

I decided to paint the inside of the drawers in the Spanish Moss green chalk paint and since the little girl loved purple and polka dots, I thought having a surprise when the drawer opened would be a fun addition.

Inside drawer surprise dots

The top of the stand and the drawer fronts all got painted with the Spanish Moss and I applied 2 coats and only needed 1 jar, so the paint really goes a long way. After paint had dried I applied the clear wax over the painted surfaces according to jar instructions which was really easy and let dry. Over the stained areas I wiped on a poly with a cloth and let it dry as well.

I measured and cut the leather belts to fit down the top in 2 rows and down the front of the drawers as if the leather strap was one continuous strap. I used gorilla glue as well as upholstery nails to adhere cut straps to surfaces. For the latches, I placed the latch where I wanted to screw it down, then marked holes with a pen and started the hole with a small drill bit and screwed latch in place. I nailed the corner pieces to the top and drawer edges with the tiny nails included in the packages and then came the handles.

adding leather belts as straps

The original drawers had a wood knob right in the center and I wanted to have a handle. So, I needed to deal somehow with the hole in the center of the drawer. I could have tried to plug it with putty, but the drawer front was quite thick and it would take a lot of putty and challenging to get load it up into the smallish hole. I could have found a wood dowel to glue into hole then cut off, sand and then paint over too, but I just decided to use the hole rather than hide the hole. I found at Lowes the perfect length brass bolt with a rounded head that fit through the drawer and had a brass small nut on the other side…done. I lined up the handles and screwed them on the front.

I loved the way this little night stand turned out. Plenty of space for her to store her books, a reading lamp on top and her secret treasures tucked inside the dotted drawers. It feels great to transform a simple piece of furniture that may have been set aside for awhile, to a new usable piece with a new look that now fits in again!

jungle nightstand in room

Fireplace brick surround makeover-Brighten Up Space

This particular makeover didn’t start out as expected. You see, my client wanted to change the feel of her formal living room to more of a casual feel so they didn’t have to go downstairs to their family room all the time. My client was looking for new curtains, some updated wall art and accessories in colors that would bring some “pop” to the room.

Upon entering the room, what caught my eye first was the oversized sofa and loveseat which were newly purchased, so they had to stay. Secondly, the fireplace of multi-colored dark bricks didn’t give off the light and bright feeling she was looking for in the room. In the back of my mind, I remembered a fireplace makeover I had done just a few months prior and how well it turned out. So tentatively, not knowing whether she absolutely loved her fireplace or not, and, not wanting to offend her, but just to suggest, I asked her if she had ever thought of changing the brick color. Well, she almost jumped off the sofa with glee saying she always wanted to paint it but wasn’t sure- if I had any photos of the one I did prior, how much it would lighten the room, how soon it could be painted, and, oh, did I mention how excited she was!

Fireplace before paint treatment

I took lots of before pictures so I could show my friend Amy who helped me with the last fireplace makeover to see the size and colors. This fireplace is a smaller surface, only up to the mantle. My concern was how deep the colors were and how many coats of watered down paint we would need to brush on in order to cover the especially deep red colored bricks.

close up of bricks before paint treatment

Amy gathered up her glazes, rags and drop cloths, and I picked up a sample quart of the new color paint that the client was going to paint her walls…Accessible Beige from Sherwin Williams. One of my “go to” colors, it looks great anywhere with most any color. A perfect neutral.

We arrived and started our prep, taping with painters tape all around the edges and covering the fireplace doors and carpet with plastic, plus laying down drop cloths. It seems like the taping and prep takes longer than the painting, but very necessary! Not taking any chances of splattering paint on walls or carpet. We had a small bucket that we added some water and started to add the wall color paint, mixing it until it was lightly tinted. Better to start with a lighter mix than too opaque with the paint. With a brush in one hand and a rag in the other, we started to paint the first coat over the dark bricks. The bricks were soaking up the paint fast and barely changing the color. I thought, wow, this is going to take a lot of coats. After painting the whole area with the lightest coat, we waited a few minutes then added a little more paint to the water mixture and started the whole process over again, painting on and dabbing off with the rag. We found that we painted more over the red bricks then dabbed off some on the more darker color bricks giving a more varied look with the colors, plus, dabbing also gives texture- a stippled look.

Fireplace started painting after taping off

The client was working upstairs, but often came down to peek at the progress and loved seeing the transformation. I was surprised that we only had to go over the surface twice reaching the color saturation that the client approved with a little dabbing of extra paint here and there over the deeper red bricks. The surface dried very quickly, we waited about 20-30 minutes or so before removing the tape and plastic. The pictures show the fireplace before the walls were painted, they were a soft yellow color. The new wall color was painted about 3 days later in the same color as fireplace but a bit deeper, for the paint would be at full strength and not watered down. Thank you Amy, for the “after” photo, you can see how we let the different shades of colored brick come through for added dimension and color, but the reddish tints are now warmer neutrals.

Fireplace painted makeover after

As for the rest of the room, the client decided to wait a bit and decide what she really wants. I made some suggestions and she may call to have more work done.

Fireplace before and after

All in all, another fireplace makeover success. A side note…I love brick fireplaces and I rarely suggest painting them, but there are a few, that just need a little help, and we’re glad to oblige!

(If you have a fireplace that needs a little lift and you would like a quote and live locally, take a picture and measurements and email them to me and we can give you an approximate quote for the job.)

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How to wallpaper a bi-fold door to use as a headboard or screen

I’m writing a trilogy of sorts-a series of projects using wallpaper as an accent with the remnants from wallpaper rolls after papering a wall. I will be sharing 3 projects; a chair, a lampshade and the project in this post is a bi-fold door. I was invited to participate in a program to try a product and then share how it works and hopefully inspire others. Since I never really used wallpaper before besides lining drawers, I jumped to the challenge. We were given some choices of papers from Walls Republic, found here, http://www.wallsrepublic.com/ and I’m telling you, they have so many beautiful papers to drool over, plus, if you have trouble deciding, they will ship up to 5 samples free so you can touch and feel the actual paper before purchasing a roll….such a great option! My paper choice was Adeline in Duck Egg which is a soft pretty blue color on a creamy white background. The paper is nice and thick and had a pretty sheen when the light hit it. We haven’t had any sign of Spring here in Upstate NY in March, so this wallpaper design was my way of bringing in a little Spring-

Wallpaper label from Walls Republic

One of the projects I decided to apply wallpaper to, was half of a bi-fold door set. My husband is a photographer and uses different items as back drops, and I thought this would be a great way to try wallpaper on a surface before applying it to a whole wall, since I was such a newbie with wallpaper. I laid down my drop cloth on top of a piece of masonite board on the floor in the photo studio and brought my sawhorses in….it was freezing out in the garage…March and snow….you know, Upstate NY…brrrr.

I decided to paint the raised panel side of the door and add wallpaper to the inside of the raised panels, and then on the other flat side I would lay a full sheet of the wallpaper. I found a lovely shade of blue paint color from Sherwin Williams, called Quietude #SW6212…isn’t that a great name? For the cream color in the background I chose a paint color from the Country Chic mineral chalk based line, Cheesecake, which matched the wallpaper nicely too.

Cheesecake mineral chalk based paint

After painting the edges, I traced out on paper the inner panel sizes and cut out the shapes on the wallpaper. The other great thing about this wallpaper is they have a newer technology where you don’t have to paste the back of the wallpaper, but apply the paste to the item you are papering. You can still apply the paste to the back of the paper if you want to, but with these newer papers you don’t have to do that step. The adhesive paste that Walls Republic recommended is Romans and you can find it at Lowe’s but any good wallpaper adhesive should work, and if you have any questions, Walls Republic has great customer service.

Also, included with the wallpaper roll, are instructions, complete with drawings, which is so helpful for me who has to have a visual to see how something is done.

Once I had all my wallpaper patterns cut out, I brushed the adhesive paste to the raised panels and lined up my paper to the edge of the panel and slowly laid down the paper, smoothing gently as I laid it down, pushing the air bubbles to the sides until smooth. I used a wallpaper brush to gently go over the top of the paper again, wiping away with a damp cloth any excess paste from the edges, trying not to get the paste on to the surface of the paper. If I did get glue on the paper, I quickly wiped it with a lightly damp cloth- And the best feature of this wallpaper? It’s dry strippable, which means you peel back a corner and pull it off in one sheet- Isn’t that awesome!! This feature alone, makes using wallpaper as a decorative wall option much more inviting!!

After the paper had dried, my husband trimmed off the wallpaper at the edges with a sharp razor blade. My husband is very precise which was so helpful with this project! I noticed after the paper had dried that some of the glue residue on the paint after wiped was still shiny. So I just touched up the paint on those areas and it all blended away.

I flipped the doors over and wallpapered the flat side so it looked more like a wall. I unrolled the paper so that it went beyond the ends about 3 inches and cut it. With a large brush, I generously brushed on the wallpaper paste then with the trusty aid of my husband, we held the paper at both ends and gently lined up the paper along the straight end and slowly laid it down while gently smoothing out the bubbles underneath with the wallpaper brush. Once dry, wallpaper was trimmed along the edges.

For the 2nd door, I laid it next to the other door, then unrolled another wallpaper panel lining it up against the other paper on the door so the pattern matched the other door as close as possible. Luckily, this pattern repeat is close, so there wasn’t much waste.

The final step was painting the hinges and I painted them with the blue color using a q-tip to dab the color onto the screws once installed.

With the bi-fold door, depending on where it is used, I was going to add some knobs or hooks to hold scarves or jewelry; in a large bath to hang a robe near the tub, or it can it can be a headboard for a twin, or queen sized bed if you do the double doors. Lots of uses for these mobile wallpaper units as I like to call them!

You can view my other posts showing steps for Walls Republic wallpaper accents on a chair and lampshade on my other posts found here: http://tayrose.com/2015/04/16/taking-a-vintage-pendant-and-adding-wallpaper-for-a-fresh-look/ http://tayrose.com/2015/04/16/how-to-wallpaper-a-bi-fold-door-to-use-as-a-headboard-or-screen/

http://www.eregalstudio.com/ credits for finished wallpaper project pictured in this post

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Taking a vintage pendant lamp and adding wallpaper for a fresh look

I was given the opportunity to try a new wallpaper product from Walls Republic www.wallsrepublic.com. These particular wallpapers use a newer technology of pasting the object surface rather than pasting the paper first, cool, right? I have never really used wallpaper before besides lining drawers, so I was willing to challenge myself, and pick items that could be papered using the leftovers rather than tackle a”wall” to paper. Walls Republic have mega choices for paper in every style and color you can think of, so when you go to the site have fun! Plus they ship out up to 5 samples free, so you can see the paper in person before ordering…a nice perk!

Supplies I used for this project:

Wallpaper roll from Walls Republic pattern Adeline color Duck Egg #97411

Wallpaper adhesive paste brand Romans from Lowes (brand recommended from Walls Republic)

Wide brush or roller for pasting the adhesive

Wallpaper brush to smooth out air bubbles

scissors

ribbon and hot glue gun to attach

paint for painting inside of shade *optional, my shade just needed some freshening up

I had this vintage pendant light in my stash for years and once the wallpaper arrived, I knew this shade would be one of the perfect candidates for this project. You see, I had 3 items in mind…

lamp before wallpapering

Oh boy, this lamp was not the prettiest flower in the pot, but I could see the potential. I disassembled the lamp so I could paint the parts later, and concentrated on the shade since that was what I was going to wallpaper. I first removed the old fabric trim and since there were some age discolorations on the inside of the shade, I painted the inside. At first, I used a spray primer paint, but didn’t like how the paint was dripping, so I smoothed out the drips while still wet and let it dry before painting over with the same color paint I was going to use on the metal parts, which is from Country Chic https://www.countrychicpaint.com/paints in the Cheesecake color that matched the wallpaper background really well.

spray paint inside lampshade

Painting the inside with the mineral chalk based paint worked much better than the spray paint…just want to spare you the mis-step of using spray paint for this project. I always live and learn many times it seems, and usually from this, a much better way to do something presents itself…thank goodness! HA! While my paint brush was still wet, I went ahead and painted all the metal parts their first of several coats.

Cheesecake mineral chalkbased paint

I laid the shade on the backside of the wallpaper that I unrolled a bit, and began to roll the shade holding on to the paper end so I could determine how much paper I would need to cover the shade. I was sure to leave about an inch overlap at the end. Walls Republic suggests that ends meet rather than overlap on walls, and that makes sense, but since I was doing a lampshade, I wanted a bit of an overlay. I cut off the piece and lined up the straight edge of the paper to the edge of the lampshade. On the other side of the shade will be the extra width of the paper that will be trimmed off after I pasted down the paper. I got my large paint brush and started brushing the paste onto the shade…remember, you don’t need to apply paste to the paper but right to the surface of the object. Try to avoid getting the paste on the surface of the paper, if I did, I used a damp soft cloth to remove….

laying lampshade on wallpaper to cut to fit

I continued to paste and slowly roll the shade onto the wallpaper, smoothing gently as it rolled until the whole shade was pasted and the wallpaper was in place. Then I went back over the paper with one hand inside the shade following my other hand on the surface using the wallpaper brush to smooth out the air bubbles to the sides until the surface was smooth. Having my hand inside ensured that I didn’t press too hard on the shade and dent it. I let the shade dry before I trimmed off the excess paper on the end. Walls Republic have a nice hanging instructional that is included with the wallpaper complete with drawings which always helps us visual people!!

wallpaper on lampshade

I knew I was going to add ribbon trim to the ends of the shade, so if my cut line wasn’t exactly straight that was ok because it was going to be covered by the ribbon. I was so lucky to find only 2 ribbons that came close to matching the colors in the wallpaper and I grabbed them…plus, at Hobby Lobby, they were on sale for 50% off…can I hear an Amen!! I used the hot glue gun to attach both ribbons, first the larger ribbon in blue, then the thinner cream ribbon.

hot glue ribbon to lampshade

I reassembled all the lamp parts, after I used Windex to clean off the glass prisms, then added the shade. One last step I did was to take the creamy color paint and dry brushed the chain. I didn’t want to completely cover the whole chain with the paint, for I like to see the metal coming through. You could also make a chain cover in a color matching the fabric would be pretty too.

All finished and ready to hang..I love how it seems to breathe a fresh breath- like putting on a new floral dress after wearing long underwear for months…HA! Can you tell I live in Upstate NY?

Check out my other posts showing how I used the same wallpaper to accent a chair and and bi-fold door so they would all coordinate together.

Seeing vintage in fresh new ways is always inspiring and keeps perfectly good treasures out of the dumps!

To view the other wallpaper inspired items using Walls Republic wallpaper you can find them here: http://tayrose.com/2015/04/16/how-to-wallpaper-a-bi-fold-door-to-use-as-a-headboard-or-screen/ http://tayrose.com/2015/04/16/wallpaper-challenge-at-least-for-me/

http://www.eregalstudio.com/ credit for finished group photos on my wallpaper project with the chair, bi-fold and pendant light.

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Sea Shells far from the Sea Shore…..A mirrored view

One can’t say enough about shells….their shapes; colors; and sizes from a tiny spiral to a large conch- shells have been a part of decorating through out history. Shells add beauty whether displayed in a dish, or on a shelf or, in my case, adhered to an old mirror.

I have 2 examples of mirrors and a memento box that I have made that changed their entire look just by adding shells. On one mirror, I painted the shells, and the other, I left the shells in their original colors. Both I feel have done shells proud…

The first mirror I had a large oval gold-painted mirror that had some rose bas relief along the rim but only in a few places so I wanted to fill in the whole rim to make the mirror more sculptural looking.

Whenever I see shells at garage sales, or thrift stores, I try to scoop them up for I know they will be used one day, in one way or another. Or I just admire them in a bowl or jar- reminded of the waves from whence they came.

I used a putty type product called Laticrete to apply the shells to the rim, working in small sections so the adhesive wouldn’t dry out too fast.

It’s waterproof and used to set tiles. It has a creamy consistency and I used a putty knife to apply then set the shells into the soft putty.

After the putty was dry, I decided to paint the mirror plus the shells in white, with several coats, using up some white paint I had leftover in my basement.

I thought white was an appropriate color, where I could envision the mirror in a beach house at the Cape, or in a contemporary loft in the City, or cozied up Shabby Chic style in a vintage cottage. I love the mirror in white, it’s so sculptural with the shells, and you really have to walk up and look closely to verify they are shells, which makes it all the more interesting.

For the 2nd mirror, I decided to keep the shells in their original forms, and I again used putty to attach the shells, but I added some black acrylic paint to the putty to darken it to a gray color so the shells would stand out more. I also painted the inside rim in black so the shell color would pop, and give a nice contrast rim around the mirror.

I worked with the putty in small sections at a time, fitting shells and adding tiny shells into small openings, filling as many gaps as I could find with more shells. This mirror was in pretty bad shape, so by covering it with the shells, the life was saved with a little hint of it’s history at the top. The mirror too is timeless, and really fits into any style of decor be it eclectic to contemporary. It has found a spot in my bathroom, and if I tire of it there, it will find another wall in the house to be appreciated.

(And yes, the mirror is hanging on some bead board that I painted the wall color and then hand painted the seams of the bead board slats in gray….call me crazy, but for this accent wall in the bath, it works really well and didn’t take all that long to do.)

The last piece I did with shells, but certainly not the last piece I will use shells on, was a memento box I had covered in shells as a card box for my wedding. This box now holds trinkets and memories and the shells encircled a favorite photo of ours on the lid.

Shells will always be a part of my home decor, and though I may not live by the seashore, the sea is remembered by the tiny treasures found on beaches and in thrift stores that share their natural beauty… off shore.

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