TayRose Design interior design unique Archives - TayRose Design interior design

Decorate fireplace wall “naturally” on a budget

large canvas owl photograph by Everet Regal

Before and after fireplace wall project

What to do? Our fireplace place wall was enlarged when we removed the ceiling and vaulted it, and after tirelessly trying to match the vintage stone below the mantle to no avail, we had to think about another budget friendly way to finish the space above. We thought of reclaimed wood, but that would require framing it and that would be very heavy and the ceiling is so tall we don’t have ladders high enough to get to the ceiling to secure any materials we chose.

So, for several years I just decorated the mantle with decor items, but they just didn’t fill the empty space above as much as we would have liked.

Mantle decor before revamping fireplace wall

Finally, I was browsing through my husbands photos online (he is a photographer and sells his art on Fine Art America here, https://everet-regal.pixels.com/) and found this picture of an owl in a grove of birch trees during a snow shower, and thought, “if this was enlarged on canvas it might just work on the wall over the fireplace”. I roughly sketched a layout I was envisioning, for I am so visual I need a picture…especially when trying to describe an idea to someone else…uh huh, need a picture!

Sketch of fireplace wall layout with owl canvas and birch trees

I showed my sketch and ideas to my husband who re-sized the photograph online to a larger size canvas that would be available to purchase, and we ordered it. (You can find where we purchased it here https://everet-regal.pixels.com/products/silent-snowfall-portrait-ii-everet-regal-canvas-print.html ) We chose the 33.5″ x 48″ size, but there are many sizes available as well as other mediums, such as acrylic, metal, paper, and it can even be printed on a shower curtain or pillows!

large owl canvas purchased for vaulted ceiling fireplace wall as centerpiece

But just hanging a large canvas art would not be enough for the wall, so I suggested we bring in trees to line up around the art so it really looks like the owl is sitting in the trees! First we had to find the white birch trees. A request on facebook from my husband had several people responding back with permission to go on their properties to cut what we needed. (Please ask first for we are NOT encouraging that anyone go and cut down trees where there are posted signs or on private property) Hubby went out several times walking properties that we were given permission to search and came back with several trees perfect for the project.

Cut birch trees brought in to start fireplace wall project

We chose white birch only because those type of trees were in the owl canvas, but one can use just about any tree-however, be aware that most trees have sap in them and will run more in certain seasons of the year- be sure to read up on whichever trees you choose. Also, faux trees could be used as well, whichever works best for you.

We were trying to decide how we would attach the trees to the mortar on the wall, and if there were ways we could bypass any wiring or nailing into the fragile mortar background. I thought if we put the base of the trees in a glass vase with a little bit of playground sand (my hubby thought to put the sand in) and cut the tops just enough so there was some tension pressed onto the ceiling, we wouldn’t need to have any nailing or screwing into the wall. We shopped for clear vases and there are so many choices with just as many prices, and we finally opted for some hefty weighted large glass mugs to do the trick. We found these at the Dollar Tree, and for a dollar, how could we pass them up!! https://www.dollartree.com/Brand-Name-Jumbo-Glass-Sports-Mugs-26-5-oz-/p412969/index.pro

Glass heavy mugs to use as vases for tree mantle project

We faced the handles towards the back of the wall, and lifted each tree up and snipped off the ends with enough tension to stay up secure to the ceiling. Since the ceiling is vaulted and at an angle, each tree had to be snipped at different lengths. I also found bags of black river stones at the Dollar Tree and used them to spread along the mantle top. https://www.dollartree.com/Black-River-Rocks-32-oz-Bags/p363671/index.pro

River rocks for fireplace mantle

We ended up putting 4 trees, 2 on each side of the canvas then filled in below with wispy branch clippings up against the wall. We also tucked in a full length tree branch along both sides of fireplace from the floor up, then cut used the cut of trunks to stick in decorative urns on hearth. The only hardware we needed was the nail to hang the canvas art. Now the owl in the photo canvas comes to life hidden in real trees and even the eyes follow you wherever you walk…so cool!

Starting layout of canvas and trees on fireplace wall

The canvas was really the only real cost in the project, the trees were free, the vases and rocks total were less than $20.00, so all in all, a very inexpensive project that has a great “wow” feature for the room.

There are so many natural materials that can be used for decor that make a great statement: large driftwood pieces, large canvases painted or printed, shells glued on mirrors or picture frames, live succulent frames, rocks ….the list goes on and on.

Especially if you find materials in your own yard, projects can be kind on the budget, plus, nature inspires art and fits in decor “naturally.”

Finished fireplace wall

Shareathon Cutting Edge Stencil Project – Sofa Table and Pillow

I again was invited by Hometalk.com to participate in a Shareathon project featuring Cutting Edge Stencils on any item of my choosing and sharing the process. I haven’t used stencils very often and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try them on a larger scale.

I went to the Cutting Edge website, www.CuttingEdgeStencils.com and tried to choose just one of their beautiful array of various stencils for my project. I had just been to an auction and purchased a sofa table that I thought would be a great candidate for stencils. I chose the “French Poem” allover stencil, from the website because I really liked the writing style and since I don’t speak French, the mystery of what the words say….

While waiting for the stencil to arrive, I decided that I would prep my table so it will be ready for stenciling. The sofa table had a factory finish, meaning it had a shiny finish over the paint that had to be sanded down before applying any new paint so the paint had something to grab onto.

After sanding, I wiped off all of the sanding dust and wiped down all of the surfaces of the table so it had a clean, dust free surface to start painting. Cutting Edge Stencils recommends acrylic or latex paint which I would have used if I painted my table with a latex paint, but I chose to try the mineral based paint again from Country Chic Paints in the color Cheesecake, for that color is a warm cream and goes with everything. I wanted a contrast color for accents and for the legs, so deciding the 2nd paint color was between Dark Roast and Licorice….dark brown or black. I chose the dark brown color, mainly because again, it would have a better chance of blending in with most decor, and I also wanted to add some metallic highlights, and an antique gold would best suit a dark brown color.

So with paint colors in hand and after the top of the table was sanded down, I used a sanding block to rough up the surface on the legs and apron of the table. One of the features that I liked about this table was that the ends flip up or down, and transforms from a really long table to a shorter version depending on the space allowed. Another feature is that there is a drawer, which is very nice to have to store items for buffet, desk or playing cards .

I painted 2 coats of paint on the top and on the bottom shelf and let it dry. I used a roller for the 2nd coat to smooth the layer, although the grain in the wood still showed the pattern, at least the paint was smoother without brush marks for an easier surface to stencil on. I also painted the legs and the border in the contrast color with 2 coats as well. The stencil arrived and there was a nice instructional sheet included along with a mini foam roller with several replacements and a small stencil brush. The instructional included everything I needed from materials, getting started, stenciling techniques, tips and tricks and finally, cleaning and storage of the stencil. Cutting Edge Stencils also have wonderful tutorials on their website that I referred to before I got started so a lot of the uncertainty I felt melted away.

The stencil I received was an allover stencil, which means it is made for large surfaces like a wall. Since the top and shelf of my table were on a much smaller scale, I ended up taping the stencil on the ends to stabilize the stencil so it wouldn’t move as I painted.

The table was also longer than the stencil, so I needed to re-lay the stencil after the paint had dried on the first half and line it up with the lettering to continue the poem. Since the stencil is clear, it was easy to line up lettering as the pattern continued on the surface. I started to use the small stencil brush using a small amount of paint on the brush, then dabbing on a paper towel before dabbing on table surface, and this process worked fine, but it was going very slowly, so I opted to try the foam roller instead.

What a difference! With the roller, painting went super fast and very easy. I still rolled off a lot of the paint on a paper towel before applying on stencil and was careful how I rolled so that the roller didn’t catch on the letter edges and pull them up while rolling. The chalk based paint seemed to work fine, no problems at all with the stencil. I wanted to also try the stencil on fabric, so after finishing the table, and laying the stencil on the pillow cover to see how I wanted to line it up, I used windex to spray on the dried paint and wiped clean with paper towels and rags. Easy peasy.

After all the surfaces were painted and dry, I applied some antique gold colored rub n’ buff metallic to the legs and a little on the borders to bring out some highlights on the curves and brighten up the brown a bit.

After applying the metallic, I used the natural wax offered by the same company as the paint and brushed on all the surfaces and buffed off the excess until all the stickiness was gone.

I found a wallpaper roll I had onhand that I used to line the drawer, so a bit of a surprise when opened, and the colors seemed to work well with the paint colors.

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to try the stencil on fabric, so I used a solid velveteen pillow I had onhand, and I first removed the pillow insert, then laid the stencil down on top of the fabric and lined up the lettering as straight as I could, then taped down the edges of the stencil to the floor to keep it steady as I painted. I was able to use the foam roller in the same application procedure on the fabric as I did on the table top and shelf and it worked like a charm! I even used the same chalk based paint that I used on the table, for I read that the paint could be used on fabric as well. I decided to flip and have the cream stencil words on a brown surface to show a different look with the lettering, plus I did have the pillow on hand, so no added cost there!

When staging the photo with the table, I used a table lamp that had originally been brass and I painted it in the same color as the table with the chalk based paint, and I also took the lampshade and stripped off the fabric and painted the wire in cheesecake color as well. I found at Hobby Lobby back in the dollhouse furniture area, a small wood dresser that I painted in same paints as the sofa table to pull in the colors as your eye went to the top of the lamp, and to have a little unexpected finial idea.

I love how the stencil poem gives enough of a pattern but doesn’t feel too busy and can be decorated easily. (Of course, when my husband takes such beautiful pictures, everything looks awesome. See more of his wonderful work at eRegalStudio.com. )

Cutting Edge Stencils recommend storing the larger stencils flat and under a bed as an option, so that is where my stencil is heading….but not for long for I’m sure I will have more projects in the future that will include this stencil!

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Photo-Art pillows add big punch to Home Decor

Taylor

22 Apr 2015

Art, Interior Design Room, Office, Theme Room

Africa, Art, Clay NY, contemporary, custom, decorator, Eregal Studio, Home Decor, Interior Design, lion, mood boards, office, Parade of Homes, photography, pillow, TayRose Design, unique, Wall Art

Hanging pictures on our walls has always been a way to showcase our families, remind us of a favorite movie with a poster, frame school art from our children through the years, or reminders of places we have been. Wall art evolved to paintings of subjects we were drawn to, or abstracts with colors that melded with our sofas, that filled our walls with pattern and color. With the many styles of design, from Contemporary Modern, Country, Shabby Chic, Traditional, Rustic to Eclectic, all of them have some home decor style that we identify with. The graphic bold colors and stark black and white for Contemporary, the painted distressed wood for Country, the creamy whites and floral for Shabby Chic, and so on, and with all of these, photography, framed has been there to hang on our walls.

When you think of all the photographers in the world, and all the different styles and subjects they portray in their work, for Interior Designers, photography is the go to decor item for adding emotion and even drama to a room. I am so fortunate to be married to a photographer, eregalstudio.com and have used his art photography in several of the Parade Houses I have designed, and I have marveled at how it fills a space with a powerful statement.

I feel a beautiful photograph can be compared with a beautiful painting, for they both affect an emotion, and they both capture a moment frozen in time.

The other day, my husband told me he had sold a pillow online from his Fine Art America store,http://fineartamerica.com/products/majestic-king-everet-regal-throw-pillow-14-14.html

I had to stop and ask, “a pillow?” Now, I know this concept of a photograph on a pillow is not new. I remember seeing children’s photos on pillows, or their favorite pet, but it got me visualizing an office or living room with accent pillows with beautiful photographs on them, and my mind started creating artful photo pillows! Imagine an home office with dark mahogany furniture and a zebra colored rug, leather sofa, soft throw and a lion pillow?

(I had so much fun designing the mood boards!) Or a more contemporary sleek office with chrome and glass and a pillow with a closeup of bridge cables or a tall building ……there are so many ways that photography as an art form has grown from only on the walls to decor accents in pillow form.

Just another way to live with art!

Check out Fine Art America.com and see how any photo can be made into a 100% cotton pillow 14″ x 14″ up to 26″ starting $27.00 photo printed on both sides and insert included!

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Wallpaper Challenge…at least for me

I had an invitation asking if I would be interested in a new program called “Share-A-thon”. They were inviting a few contributors to try out a product and then “share” the step by step project to inspire others. When I heard it was wallpaper I was intrigued, for I have never used wallpaper before except to line drawers, so I thought this would be something new to try. We were sent a link to the product, who in this case is Walls Republic found here, http://www.wallsrepublic.com/ that have beautiful online candy for the eye, pages and dreamy pages of wallpaper samples (plus you can get up to 5 sample swatches for free). We had a list of samples to choose from and I chose a paper called Adeline in the color, Duck Egg #97411.

These papers use a newer, “paste to the wall” technology, where you paste the item you are attaching the paper to without having to paste the paper first. The papers are hung dry, so no soaking before hand…a nice one less step. Another awesome feature, is that the papers are dry strippable, which means they are easy to remove by just peeling back a corner and the whole paper comes off in one sheet….no more stripper and heaters and scrapers…just peel and go! Do you know how many times I have wanted to try wallpaper somewhere but because of the hassle to remove it I didn’t? This feature alone has me going room by room looking at the walls much differently now….

I started thinking about how I would use the wallpaper. I knew that I wanted to make something that would show what to do with remnants after papering a wall. I decided on 3 items: a chair, a hanging lamp and a bi-fold door. I figured that these items could be used in a bedroom, a large bath or guest room.

3 before items for wallpaper project

After 3 pieces wallpapered with Walls Republic wallpaper

For the chair, I needed to shellac the chair first so that the tannin pigment of the stain would not bleed through the chalky mineral paint I planned to use. I found 2 colors that matched very closely to the colors in the wallpaper from Country Chic paints- Cheesecake, and Elegance. I applied the blue Elegance in various areas so it would show through the creamy cheesecake color when I distressed it.

After painting on the blue Elegance color, I applied 2 coats of the cream Cheesecake color. After drying for a day, I did some distressing and more blending of the 2 colors as per product directions…Country Chic has great tutorials on their website, which is so helpful for us diy’s. For the finishing coat on the painted areas of the chair, I used the Country Chic natural wax brushed on lightly then buffed off with a clean cloth for a smooth finish

Since the chair seat was wood, I thought it would be perfect to cover with the wallpaper. Mind you, this chair is meant to be an “accent” chair, not really used to sit on, but as a holder of sorts which you will see how further in the post. Also, the thick spindles along the back of the chair would be a great place to try some appliques with the wallpaper as well as an outlined curve on the top of the chair. I pried up the chair seat and painted the seat with a latex primer/paint mixture in white that I already had on hand. I painted 2 coats just to be sure no bleeding after the shellac layer and 2 primer/paint coats.

Once thoroughly dried as per can instructions, I unrolled some of the wallpaper out and laid the wooden seat on the paper and cut out leaving about and inch width around the perimeter to turn under the seat. I set the seat up on some risers ( I used all the same size paint cans) and proceeded to lightly bend the paper down along the edges so I can see the outline of the seat and know where the paper is supposed to lie. I picked up the recommended paste that Walls Republic had suggested from Lowes, the Roman brand adhesive and I brushed a liberal amount to the top of the wooden chair seat. Trying not to get any paste/glue on the top of the paper was the biggest challenge, then proceeded to lay my cut out piece on the seat starting from the top and laying down, pushing gently the air bubbles to the sides as I lowered the paper all the way down. Then I took my wallpaper brush I picked up at the Dollar Store, yeah..and smoothed more bubbles out to the sides for smooth surface. If I did happen to get a bit of glue on the paper, I tried to wipe off quickly with a damp rag.

Once the paper was dry, I really let it set overnight, I decided the best way to secure the ends under the chair seat was to hot glue along the underneath edge and it worked fine. For a little more added protection, I brushed a coat of Modge Podge to the surface and it dried clear and didn’t affect the paper, which was a great relief! (I did sample the Modge Podge on a small scrap to be sure it didn’t discolor the paper before actually applying to wood seat)

I decided rather than use the same nail heads which most of them were bent anyway, I had some large headed silver nail heads that my husband pre-drilled small holes around the perimeter of the seat and then hammered in the tacks. I like how the little bit of shimmer in the paper picks up the shimmer of the metal nail heads.

There is a part of the chair at the top that is outlined and I thought this would be a great place for an accent of this pretty paper. I made a pattern of the area on tracing paper and cut the wallpaper and applied it in the same way…paste, smooth out bubbles, clean off glue, modge podge. For the spindles cut “appliques” from the wallpaper and pasted them to the front of the spindles, smoothing the paper out with my fingers and wiping up the excess glue. When dry, I trimmed off the edges that stuck out with a razor blade.

Here are a couple of ways to use this trio of wallpapered items- in the bath:

Also in a bedroom, to catch tossed off clothing…

You could also use the bi-fold doors hinged together as a headboard for a twin or queen sized bed.

All in all, I learned more about wallpaper than when I started this project, and working with this new type of wallpaper, I think I was spoiled. W

hat turned out as a challenge ended up easier than I thought….I have a feeling that as I look around the house, many things just may end up with a wallpaper accent somehow…. try it, you’ll like it!!

To read about the other posts on wallpaper, find them 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/ credit for finished group photo of wallpapered items.

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Owls emerge from remnants

Taylor

16 Nov 2014

Art, Repurposed

fabric, Handmade, Home Decor, New York, one of a kind, owl, pillow, remnant, Taylor Regal, TayRose, unique

For the past couple of weeks, while trying to purge through piles of fabric remnants and trims, a thought came to me, why not take these remnants, and sew them up into “feathers” for owls to put on pillow covers and messenger bags. So, I drew up pattern pieces, and tried different ones as each owl emerged….I like the idea of each one being different, unique…taking on it’s own personality per se. I also love the concept of using up items I have laying around, spilling out of drawers, baskets, boxes up in my small sewing area to make room for other projects. I’m one for adding lots of detail…knowing unfortunately, that I will not be gaining any of my labor back when and if they sell, however, that doesn’t seem to daunt my efforts, for an item just doesn’t look finished unless some little detail is added (I’ve always loved accessorizing, so I guess this spills over into my designs)

Owl pillow from fabric scraps with buckles

Remnant Feathered Owl pillow

I love using different textures, and elements that make an item textural, 3D and with a little surprise thrown in…something unexpected.
I scrounge the thrift stores looking for feather pillow inserts that I remove from pillows and reuse at a really good price. Also, table runners make great pillow covers, or even messenger bags like the owl one I made that was found on the clearance rack with the jute loops just perfect for owl feathers!

Two owls perched on messenger bag

Old zippers transformed into the beak and eyebrows, embroidery brought black felt circles to bright eyes, and buttons added another dimension to the pillow.
I bought a slew of purse patterns on sale that I hope to use to help me to cut a straight line and make good use of the remnants I have waiting for a purpose.
I’m always jumping from one project to another, and for now, purses and pillows are a new passion for me…soon I hope to get back to jewelry making now that I have organized all my bits and pieces.
I was able to sell one of the pillows 6 hours after posted on fb, and so glad it’s going to a good home!
Hoping to get more purses made and up in the store under Shop tab and Accessories. Also selling some in brick and mortar shop in Liverpool, NY called “Inspired” owned by my friend and her husband. Read more!