Studio Makeover: Workroom Update + Easy Wall DIY

It's been awhile since I updated you on all the projects going on in the studio. I've been in such a hurry to get them done that I rarely stop to take pictures or document the progress. But as we finished up the workroom last month, I actually remembered to photograph everything we did. A miracle!

First up, I made a commitment and glued the wallpaper down. Last time I posted about the workroom, I told you that I was stapling the wallpaper instead of gluing it. I was afraid I'd change my mind and didn't want to be stuck with yellow flowers forever. But after 8 months of living with the pattern, I can't imagine changing it!

Gluing it down was easy. The wallpaper was pre-glued and after all these years, it was still sticky. All I had to do was put it in water and stick it on the wall.

Next it was time to add a little trim. I needed a place to hang some of the art we have for sale and the side of the workroom was perfect. I used white trim to frame out a large space, cut out the wallpaper inside it, and painted it turquoise to match the bottom half of the wall. It was a perfect, easy solution, especially great for those trying to add interest to an otherwise boring wall.

Before

Wall Frame DIY

Source unknown (via)

This DIY is SO easy that I'm not even going to bother to explain it. Just head to Home Depot, pick out a trim to coordinate with your room, paint it, cut to size, and attach it to the wall. There are so many decorative options here. You could fill the inside of the frame with wallpaper (like the picture on the left) or with a contrasting paint color. Make the trim the same color/stain as your molding, the same color as the wall, or add a punch of bold color. Endless possibilities!!

New art for the living room!

We've lived in our apartment for over a year and NEVER found the right art to go on the wall behind our couch. Part of the problem is the wall color. We were originally going for a coral but we tried so hard to avoid being too orangy that we ended up way too pink! I've hated the color ever since but we've been too busy/lazy/tired to actually find a color we like or find any art that matched without making the room darker. We also needed the art to have some white in it to better tie in the bright white trim of the room and help bring down the contrast between the trim and the walls. And the art needed to be awesome! We considered making something ourselves and literally spent months trying to decide on a design only to come up with nothing. We considered maps and art collages and posters but nothing worked! So we threw up some old splatter paintings we did in our old apartment and called it a day.

 

Our old splatter paintings, which I can't stand.

Until a couple weeks ago when we were vendors at the Randolph St. Market. I was taking a break from our booth and walking around when I saw the PERFECT pieces in John's (a fellow dealer) booth. I stopped dead in my tracks and made a beeline for his booth. John ALWAYS has something cool and interesting and this time was definitely no exception. It's like these pieces were MADE for us! John and I have made trades before when we both like something in the other's booth so this time we were able to do it again: I got the two art prints and he got our awesome 70's yellow spotlight. I wish I had taken pictures of the light before I gave it to him because it was pretty cool! Next time...

My new art!

Just look at them. They're super colorful, and the background ties in our white trim. YEA!! John found the art, which is mounted on foam board, at an estate sale in Oak Park. It was created by the owner of the house; John couldn't remember her name. There were a few light stains and the edges were a bit roughed up, but it matched the age of the art and added character so it didn't bother me! The only thing these babies needed were frames, which I was happy to make. If you're ever in the need of a quick, easy-to-make frame, don't worry, you CAN do it!

 

LOVE the new look!! 

Quick and Easy Frames

1) CUT: To make the frames, I used 1"x2" wood cut to the size I wanted. If you don't have a big miter saw to angle the edges, you can buy a small miter box (like one of these from Home Depot) that comes with a hand saw. We have one at home. It's easy to use and small enough for apartment dwellers.

2) JOIN: To keep the frame together, put wood glue or another strong adhesive (I used Loctite Power Grab) between the joints. After that, staple the joints together which serves to both hold them together while they dry and also reinforce the frame. Sometimes when you flip the frame over to the front you'll notice a small gap. You can fill them in with wood filler or a sawdust/wood glue mix. Let dry.

2) COLOR: Stain or paint the frame

4) ATTACH: Lastly, staple the foam board/wood/art to the back of the frame.

5) HANG: I used screws and picture wire to hang the art but you can also use sawtooth hangers or even pop can tabs to hang it.

Enjoy your new art!

Studio Makeover: The Doors

The doors are (almost) done!!!

After stripping, sanding, and staining for what seemed like an eternity, I finally got the doors kind of done. For now, I've only worked on the front. I got so tired that I didn't do the inside of the door. I think I'm going to go the lazy route and just leave the inside painted white since the only person who's going to see it is me anyway. I still need to get curtains to hide the mess and find some awesome antique doorknobs, but other than that we're done! 

Oh, and did you notice? WALLPAPER!!! I really wanted some old, retro wallpaper to decorate the outside of the room. I searched Etsy and Ebay looking for paper with red in it to bring out the red pipes above the room but couldn't find anything, especially in a full roll like I needed. But on a thrifting expedition Monday, I came across a FULL ROLL of groovy wallpaper. It looks like something straight out of The Brady Bunch! There's no red but I love the pattern and there was tons of it. Best part...it was $2.69!!!! Does it get any sweeter :)

Wallpaper up, time to paint!

I ended up stapling the wallpaper to the wall instead of pasting it. I constantly change my mind so I figured this was a better decision, that way I can easily switch it out for something else down the road. The pattern is busy enough and the staples are far enough apart that you have to look hard to find the staples. I did glue the wallpaper on the right side of the door because I was at the end of the roll at that point and had to put together several small pieces that didn't want to unroll. The paper is pre-pasted so all I had to do is wet it and smooth. If only everything was so easy!

Next on the list: finding door knobs, finally painting the green above the workshop, and finishing the taping and painting of the drywall inside the room. Almost there!

Around the World

I've been totally obsessed with maps lately.  I think it started after our wedding when my mom gave us an old framed chess board with a map of Boston as the background.  We had the chess board for years growing up in the midwest, never knowing that one day I would wind up living there as an adult.  Whowouldathunk?!

Then last month, we came across a US map at the Vintage Bazaar.  One of our booth neighbors was selling it and gave it to us after they saw how much I liked it.  Over the past month, we've found a few more maps at random garage sales and thrift stores.  Now we're slowly building a collection!  All we need are maps of Ireland and Italy to represent Jerome's heritage and one of my namesake India.  Until we find the perfect ones, I'll be drooling over these awesome maps.

{via LeSueur Interiors}

Map cut and modge podged over canvases {via Little Birdie Secrets}

Map wallpaper {via Decor Pad}

Framed map hearts {via Everything Fabulous}

Hanging map.  LOVE the lamp too. {via Design Sponge}

Old map covering French door panes.  Great idea! {via Pink Wallpaper}

Chalkboard Globe {via Design Sponge}

India Map Pillow Cushion, $55, My Bearded Pigeon

Hand-Stitched India Map Necklace, $54, Il Gatto Selvatico


For more awesome maps, check out my "Navigate" Pinterest board.

Blik Your Walls

I'm all about wall decor.  As a renter, it can be hard finding a way to spice up boring neutral walls without violating your lease.  Though I paint all of our apartments and think art is great for adding pizzazz, I'm also a huge admirer of wall decals...they instantly change a room and come down in minutes when it's time to move.  Plus they come in awesome designs that are fun to play around with.

My coat tree decal in our old apartment.  Loved it, especially when we added hooks!

So as you can guess, I was super thrilled to see that Blik, one of my favorite decal companies, is working with Threadless on a line of self-adhesive wall tiles.  The tiles come in sets that can be cut to your desired size making them easy to use for non-wall projects like adding color to bookcases, spicing up a door, highlighting a nook, or even covering end tables.

"Summer Freshness" would be perfect in a kitchen or a kid's room.  So fun and colorful!  "Bird Flurry" is on the right. {via blik}

"Trees" {via threadless}

"Ten."  Cute for a kid's space. {via threadless}

"Take Shape Furs" is my favorite!  Would look glam in a dining room. {via threadless}

The tiles won't be available at Blik until July 12th, but you can pre-order them over at Threadless right now.  Have a tile design in mind that you don't see offered?  Make us proud and enter it in the Threadless Loves Patterns Challenge...the grand prize winner will have their design made into a wall tile, plus $2500.  If you win, don't forget to share some of the love with me for tipping you off to this great opportunity ;)

Apt528 Review: Golden Harvest Universal Border Adhesive

Golden Harvest Universal Border Paste
$5.89 (Home Depot)

Apt528 Rating: 4 of 5
Easy to use.  Convenient size.


Yesterday I showed you pictures of my finished bookcase project.  I removed the original glass doors and made new ones out of wood, then covered them in vintage wallpaper.

Originally when I was wallpapering the doors, I used 3M's General Purpose Spray Adhesive. It was my first time working with a spray adhesive and let me tell you, it was horrible!  The people on the packaging are using the spray indoors with no problems, however I ended up with a sticky office from the spray traveling in the air and getting all over my stuff.  Lesson learned.

After getting everything sticky and wrestling the paper to not glue to itself, I finally got the wallpaper onto the door, just to have it peel up a week or so later.

My bookcase with new, wallpapered doors

Aaaagh!  The guy at Home Depot suggested using actual wallpaper glue instead of a spray.  Wallpaper is quite thick and comes in rolls so it's natural tendency is to curl up when you're not looking.  Wallpaper glue is made especially to solve problems like this.  Instead of buying a huge bottle (I only needed enough to cover two panels), we got the one-step Universal Border Paste roller by Golden Harvest. Squeeze the bottle and the adhesive goes up the cap and onto the roller and wallpaper.  The bottle is the perfect size for borders and small projects and you don't ever have to worry about getting all sticky.  To clean up, remove the roller and run it under warm, soapy water until clean.  Even I'm not too lazy to do that!

So far, the adhesive is working well and was 10 times easier to use than the spray.  I can't wait to use it on another wallpaper project I have coming up.  If you have a paper project coming up, I definitely recommend giving this adhesive a try.

My First Decal!

As you may know, I have a long-running obsession with wall decals.  They're great, especially for renters who want to liven up their walls but aren't allowed to paint.  You can stick them on walls, furniture, and even laptops to make creative, unique statements.  When you're bored with them or it's time to move, peal the decal off and your back to a blank canvas.  Such a great idea!  But after years of talking about my favorite decals, I've never actually owned one until now.

In a desperate attempt to get the look of a coat tree without taking up floor space, I went on a search for coat tree wall stickers.  I've shown a coat tree decal before.  Many come with the hooks that attach to your wall and make the decal actually functional as a coat tree.

The decal I chose is from Etsy seller Art and Decoration.  It didn't come with the hooks, but for $20 it was a great deal.  If you're looking for a decal but working on a limited budget, you should definitely check them out.  Be warned that their decals come in a lot of pieces, which is why they're able to sell them for so cheap...more pieces arranged in a smaller space means less sticky film is used which translates into lower prices for penny pinchers like us.  I had to ask them to send me a diagram so I could figure out which piece goes where, but once they did, it took me no time at all to put the decal together.

 

The original decal included cats chasing butterflies at the bottom of the coat tree.  I don't know why.  I threw them out. 

Piecing it together.

I cut the pieces apart, then used painter's tape to arrange them on the wall.  Once they were in the correct positions, I pealed away the backing, used a credit card to smooth everything out, then pealed away the transfer tape and, voila!  Once I get the hooks up, it will be even more awesome!  What do you think?

Photo Inspiration

Now that we finally have a couch for our basement living room and I've reupholstered it in the perfect green fabric, I can start working on the color scheme for the room.

So far, I think I want to go with jewel toned versions of the pink, blue, yellow, and green that are upstairs.  Most of the room will be a soft grey (Subtle Touch by Behr) so I don't have to paint it back when we leave, but the big long wall of the room will have some sort of color and pattern.  I'm not completely sure what I want to do, but I definitely want a big, fun pattern.

I considered zigzags/a chevron pattern but the wall is so big it would take FOREVER to do.  Still at the back of my mind though...

{Image via Apartment Therapy}

These aren't even the finished product, just the taped-off pattern but I like the idea of the lines kind of dropping off here and there.  Neat idea! {Image via Remodelaholic.com}

Love the varied angels. {Image via It's Great to Be Home on Flickr}

 Super cute! It's like an organic version of the traditional damask design.

{image via Style Hive}

 The combination of the two patterns is perfect.  I think I might use the random strip idea on my side walls.

I think my absolute favorite pattern is the octagon.  Aren't these rooms awesome?! What do you think?

I have no clue where I got these last 3 images from...sorry! 

Etsy Shop of the Week: Inaluxe

Getting ready for Christmas?  Need a housewarming gift?  Stop by Inaluxe for a few cards and prints.  Each piece has a life of its own with colorful, mid-century themes and layers of texture.  I especially love the folksy animal prints.  Your white walls won't be bored with a few of these hanging around!

Currently, Inaluxe is having a giveaway.  Enter before the 21st for your chance to win a gorgeous print!  Click here for more info.

Decals on Sale!!

Surface Collective's having a 50% off sale.  Now through Sunday, all decals are half price.  Time to get shopping!