Painter Girl

Selecting paint colors ...

I am still working on The Big House Job and will put in another full week over there next week.  By then, I should have almost all of the rooms that are ready for prepping and painting on the 3rd and 2nd floors.  Although most rooms on these 2 floors are just being straight painted, I love the soft, muted tones that the homeowners have selected, and am finding this change from decorative painting to be very relaxing.  It is fun to see each room come alive, especially on the 3rd floor, which needed the most TLC to get the walls back in shape. 

The client has a very clear idea of how she wants each room to feel and look:  clean lines, soft, serene colors.  It can be overwhelming when selecting a paint color for a room, and when faced with selecting paint colors for an entire house full of rooms, it can be  down right exhausting!  To unify the entire house, the ceiling and all woodwork are being painted with Pratt and Lambert's Designer White.  This is my first experience using Pratt and Lambert paints and it has been very positive, other than trying to actually acquire the paint!  This white is not too bright and as pure of a white as you can get.  I'm not seeing gray, blue, pink or yellow tones in this white, that often happens with many of the white paints.  The problem of finding this paint in my area has been a pain in the butt.  One store is in the next town, but in the opposite direction of where I am traveling daily.  That store opens late, for a paint store, and closes early. :-(  Yesterday, I drove there to buy more ceiling paint, arriving 45 minutes after the opening time of this store, and it was closed.  There is another P & L dealer, sort of on the way to this job, but it NEVER seems to be open!  My last choice is a dealer in Boston, which comes with the traffic and parking problems, and very surly help.

To get the color desired, we have been creating our own colors by cutting most colors by 50%.  If you find a paint chip that you like, but feel is a little off, it's easy for the paint store to make adjustments with the formula.  The colors flow nicely on the 3rd floor.  The room that will be the Home Office is painted with one paint and that same paint, cut by 50% is being used in the adjacent room that will be the Library.  That same paint will be cut again, for the Guest Room on that floor.  With the white trim and white ceilings the clean, serene look is being achieved.  While the ceiling and trim paints are Pratt and Lambert, most of the wall paints we are using are Benjamin Moore.  This makes me very happy, because my dealer is just down the street from me and they are experts at mixing up colors. :-)

The second floor, which has the Boys Bubble Bedroom and Bath will be done using shades of blues.  We will cut the blue paint used in the Boys Bedroom by 50% for the Play Room walls.   I'll be working on that floor next week, so will have more on that later.

Today I will be working on getting my March/April e-newsletter out, as well as pulling together some color and design options for the first floor of this house.  Also, my friend, Marc Bordet contacted me about doing some work in a Lobby of a commercial building we had looked at several months ago. 
Recently I saw this picture posted on 2 different blogs and loved the cane design used for the background. It is a Rattan stencil design from one of my favorite design companies, the Stencil Library.  I emailed Rachel for some specifics so I can price out this job over the weekend.  In the meantime, Marc has showed this picture to the client and they love the idea, so hopefully this will be a go for me in the near future.  This design comes in several sizes and can also be customized to your needs.  I am also going to try to get this design in somewhere at the Big House Job.  I could see this on a ceiling or behind a headboard in their new Master Bedroom... hmm.. maybe this could be in both the the new Master Bedroom AND Bath.  More ideas to work on!

Running Around...

Sorry for the lack of posts this week.  That is due to not too much of interest to post about!  I have some contractor delays on 2 jobs, so I am just waiting around for my turn to be able to get into those houses.  In the meantime, I had a new client call, a real estate appraiser who had been in one of the homes I have done, doing an appraisal.  I met with him and his wife yesterday and they are anxious to have me do some work in their home.  Since my schedule is so insane over the next few months, I told them I could fit their kitchen in if I could begin tomorrow.  Their walls are freshly painted with the correct base coat for the finish they selected, so this would be a nice job to slip in.  Here is the finish they've chosen:

It's a finish I call my "Tuscan Finish", consisting of 4 glazes.  They would have small clusters of grape vines stenciled randomly at ceiling height, around the room.  Not too much, just a few here and there.  This is a nice, warm finish and goes well with their cherry cabinets and dark granite counters.

They also have a white fireplace surround that needs some interest in the Family Room.  They picked out a nice finish and are looking at these design elements.  I'll have to do this job at a later date, when I can fit it in.  Also, these designs will have to be ordered.

Whenever I am not out working in someone else's home, I am staring at my own walls wondering what I can do to them next.  I love this wallpaper pattern that you are seeing in all the magazines and design blogs these days:

Of course, "wallpaper" is a word that is forbidden in my house/world, so I designed my own take on this.

I want to do this on one accent wall in my living room.  I'll do the trees, floor to ceiling, like the wallpaper. This is my base color of my living room walls.  I used an off white tinted Venetian Plaster, and dragged  a stiff brush through it while wet to form the bark.  When dry, I added the brown. It will be easier to do the bark with a graining tool that I lent my friend Stacy, so will wait until I get that back.  I may lay it all out on the wall, in the meantime.

More snow, rain and freezing rain here in the Boston area today.  I need to go out in this yucky weather to meet with a client to finalize some colors for next week's job.  Hope you are all staying warm and dry!

Repair and Re-group

Yesterday, I did a quick repair on a wall for one of my favorite clients.  While my previous client (the ceilings), is from my favorite Italian Family, this client is from my favorite Greek Family.  I love it when I have an entire Family of homes that I do.  That way, I really get to know everyone over the years and it is a comfortable way of doing business.  It's also just very nice to see Families who live close in proximity and are very involved with each other.  That's rare these days.

My Greek Family have all recently moved, so this will be the second set of homes I will be doing for them.   Two of the daughters and their families have purchased new homes within the past 2 years and their parents are in the process of doing some major renovations to home they recently purchased.  All live within 2 streets of each other! 

When yesterday's client purchased her home 2 years ago, I did a Lusterstone finish in a Sitting Room, along with 2 columns that lead to an open kitchen.  Two big settlement cracks had formed on one of the Lusterstone walls, so I repaired them. 

The good news is this was very easy to repair.  The bad news... I forgot to take the "After" pictures!  I was too busy taking measurements and pictures of 3 ceilings that I will do some future work on.  Didn't I just say I was going to take a break from ceilings??? I'll take the "After" picture next trip over there.

Here's one ceiling... the Family Room.  Another high ceiling, maybe 15'.  I'm not sure what I want to do with this one.  It's very broken up.  I don't think I have another view of it to show you right now.  I'll save this ceiling for last. I'm looking at some border designs, vs. doing something on all of the ceiling.

I would like to see these 3 pendant lights framed out and a scroll design done within the framework.
The ceiling was patched recently and those patches need to be painted first. The ceilings in the remainder of the house are low, just under 8'. The homeowner wants to bring in some moldings, but does not have the height to do crown molding.  Bringing in some areas of framed out designs will give her the look she is after.

This Sitting Area will have a little more elaborate ceiling.  I want the center section framed out, maybe 5' x 6', using the same molding found around the windows.  Within that framework will be something, which I will have to work on a little more.  I have a rough sketch going right now.

I'll  pull together some ideas  over the weekend and drop off on Monday.  I'd like to be in here by the end of next week to do the work since I have some other work scheduled for the following week.  The husband is a former contractor, and will be able to install the framework quickly with no problem, eliminating the wait for a carpenter.

In the meantime, I will also be gathering some ideas for the Parent's new house.  They are on vacation right now, but I had a tour of the home yesterday.  Having done work in their former home, I know their style and what they are looking for in this new house.  I'll probably end up doing 2 bathrooms and a ceiling in the dining area.  All walls and ceilings are freshly painted and the hardwood floors are being installed this week.  The granite was being installed in the kitchen when I was there.  It will be nice to be able to get any ceiling work done before the furniture is moved in.

Newport Art Museum...napkins

Ok, I finally resolved my problems with the napkins I was making.  Well... I haven't totally resolved some of the issues, but... these 2 napkins will just be on display, not for use... will not have to be washed... so they will be fine. ;-)  The next batch of napkins I make for my own use, will be tested thoroughly.  I'll wash them multiple times, iron, etc. to see how they hold up.  Marc will also test drive a few to see how they endure.  I am hoping they will hold up to repeated washings, because I just love this idea and am going to try to market them in the near future.

Here are the two I am using for the Newport Art Museum event Marc and I are participating in:

Too cute, huh???!  This is a photo of Marc as a young boy. The photo was done by scanning the picture and then printing out on T-Shirt Transfer paper on my printer.  The image is then ironed onto the fabric. I glued on the trim around the photo and stenciled all other design elements with fabric paint. The only part not washable at this point is the trim I glued on.  Supposedly, the transfer is washable.

Here are both napkins.  That's me on the left, at about 7 yrs. old.  I got some glue on my napkin and tried to wash it off late last night, but when I checked on it early this a.m., the glue was still there!  I quickly stenciled another napkin and did a new picture for it.  I was in rush to get out the door, so did not take a pic of the "clean" napkin.  I gave both napkins to Marc today, because he was going back to Newport to finish the room.  I'll be sure to take pics on Friday at the opening.

This pic is blurry, but I wanted to show the opened napkin, so you can see that it is stenciled all around the edges.  My friend Susan did the scanning for me and she had it come out in sepia tones, vs. black and white or color because she knew that was the look I was going for. These will eliminate the need for a placecard at the diner table and be lots of fun  at parties and get togethers, don't you think?  I'm very excited about creating more, using different themes.

Newport Art Museum

Today Marc and I brought all of the furniture he will be using in our room at the Newport Art Museum.  I could only stay 2 hours to help him unwrap and unpack things due to other commitments, but I did take bring my camera for the Before Pictures. ;-)

The room is small, about 12' x 12'.  The art work will remain on the walls and the table came w/the room, so we will use that for our dining room table.  Marc has all other furniture and some accessories on loan from Country House in Cohasset, MA.  Country House specializes in custom draperies, brand name furniture at discount prices, gifts and accessories.

Here is a few that is opposite the fireplace featured above.  Marc made some window treatments himself for these windows. You can see a glimpse of them lying on the table at this point.  When I left, Marc already had a good start on decorating the mantle.  I will show the "After Pictures" when I return on Friday for the Wine Tasting/Opening of this event!

What's next?

I hope everyone enjoyed a little R&R with family and friends over the Thanksgiving Holiday.  As we head into the final Holiday stretch of the year, I have a 3 fun projects are on deck to keep me busy.   One, which is pictured here, is an event Marc Bordet and I are working on together, Holidays Tables at the Newport Art Museum.  We have 1 room in the galleries of the Griswold House to decorate a Holiday Table.  I have stenciled a table cloth and 2 napkins. Marc will work his magic and pull the room together.  I will post pictures of the finished room later this week, when I go to the site and actually see the room.  We have a fun cocktail party to attend this Friday, November 30th, when this show opens, so I'll bring my camera.  Well, I'll bring my brother's camera, since mine is still not working. :-(

I've finished the tablecloth, but am having some technical difficulties with the napkins, which I will discuss more when I can figure out what I am doing! 

Here is the tablecloth before I got my hands/brushes on it! It's cotton. It's brown.  It's boring.

Now to begin.  I am using the same Damask pattern by Royal Designs that I used for the Magnetic Memo Board Project.  I lightly sprayed the back of the stencil with repositionable spray adhesive.  I am just using one color, a bronze fabric paint, and one stencil brush.  Very simple, very easy. ;-).

Here I am stenciling right along.  Actually... here's where I quickly discover that this project is going to take much, much longer than anticipated!  I don't stencil on fabric often, I quickly discovered that the stenciling process was not going nearly as quickly as when I stencil a wall or furniture.  Each repetition takes quite a bit longer to stencil.

Tah-dah!  A few hours later... all done! :-)

Tomorrow I am going to the museum with Marc to drop off the furniture we will be using in the space.  I'll leave him there to work his magic, but I will take some before pics of the room to post.  At least the tablecloth is done and Marc can set the table.  I'll try to get the napkins done tomorrow night or Wednesday.  Now besides the technical difficulties that I am having with the napkin design, I left my 2 printer cables at my mother's house over Thanksgiving.  She is putting them in the mail.  I did have an extra for one of the cables, but the other one has to be ordered and is not stocked, so I'll either need to wait for the mail or maybe see if I can borrow a cable from my brother who has the same printer. 

In Better Spirits Today

I thought I should also update you on my better outlook for next week's upcoming jobs.  I gave myself a little pep talk today after talking with  2 of the clients who's homes I will be working in next week.  Even though the finishes may seem simple to me, these 2 clients are very excited about me coming to do this work.

One client is new to me and has never had any decorative painting done in her home. She and her husband are the ones having the pearl glazed stripes done in their master bedroom.  So... shame on me for pooh-poohing this work!  I really am grateful for ALL work that comes my way and this is a very classic look and suits this couple's decor perfectly.  They both expressed their fear of introducing color into their home on the walls, so this tone on tone is a good match for them.  All other walls in their home are Linen White. We'll see... often just doing one room like this will inspire the homeowner to do another. ;-)

The second client is a repeat customer, although I have not been to their home in about 6 years.  In that time, they have had 2 more children!  Yikes, sometimes I feel sooo old!  I will be putting a multi-plaster finish on the raised panels of all of their very white kitchen cupboard doors.  They have a lot of cupboards.  This really will make a huge difference, so again...shame on me for not being thrilled to be a part of this.  I'd blame my indifference yesterday on PMS, but since I am not in Menopause... I'll blame it on that! ;-)  ...or maybe it is this dreary weather we having here in the Boston area.  Anyway, this is a not so easy process, so it will present a challenge... which is something I like.  Both the husband and wife are very excited to be having this done. 

I'll be taking pics of both next week while I am on the job sites.  Tomorrow I will be finishing up loaning myself to Stacy for her job.  We got a lot done, but she still has a ton of trim work left to do and some wall painting.  I told her I had to go off and do my own thing next week, but I may give her another day or two if she needs help after that.  She always helps me out when I ask, and God knows I always stick her up on some scaffolding that I am too fearful to climb!

Nothing Exciting Happening

I'm feeling a bit down about work these days.  I have nothing that really excites me on deck right now.  I've been helping out my friend Stacy on a good sized job she has recently undertaken for a client.  Unfortunately, this job requires a lot of prep work and minimal decorative finishes.  Even then... the finishes are nothing to get excited about, although they definitely will improve this McMansion. 

For my own work for clients, I have a bedroom that I will be doing pearl glazed stripes and a plaster finish on some panels of cabinet doors in a kitchen.  Again... an improvement and nice addition to both of these homes, but... nothing to get excited about.

I feel like posting an add somewhere saying " Wanted... a very open minded, creative interior designer, who has clients who love color, new ideas, and are ready to bring some "Wow!" into their living environment...and of course, are willing to pay me what I'm worth. ;-)  Sometimes I just feel like I have so many ideas that I would love to see on walls, furniture, ceilings, floors, etc., but I do not have enough clients willing to be just a little more adventuresome.  I'm not asking them to do something that will be tiresome or out of date in a year or two... just something a little more creative than plain pearl glazed stripes in a bedroom or a plain Lusterstone finish in a dining room.  How about some pattern going on or more than one color???  Is this too much to ask???

Well, that's where I am right now.  A little discouraged.  I have 3 fun, creative jobs on schedule for AFTER the first of the year... but I need something that I can feel passionate about NOW!

I have to buy some new batteries for my digital camera tomorrow.  When I do, I will take a pic of that chalkboard bureau I did for my dining room.  Now I have some hardware on it and some chalk designs.  I love this piece. It's very fun.

I'm still here...

For those of you who are checking in on my blog, yes... I am still alive and well.  I did not post last week because I had no current job going to post about.  For three days, I worked at home, mostly sorting through piles to file and moving some things into my daughter's vacant bedroom, that is to be my new office space.  Sarah, (my daughter), still has some misc. clothing, books, and boxes left in there, so it's basically a junk room at the moment.  Two days last week, I went on consultations.  One day was spent on the North Shore of Boston, visiting the commercial job that will commence sometime late September/early October.  Marc and I met with 2 of the supervisors to go over some more details. We are very excited about the work we will be doing here and I will be posting more about that later, as the time gets closer to begin that job. 

The second consultation I did was also with Marc.  We drove to Bourne, which is the beginning of the Cape for those of you who are unfamiliar with the state of Massachusetts.  It's about 1 1/2 hours from my house.  The clients live in California right now and will be moving here in June of 2008.  This is a new house, currently under construction.  The walls in most rooms have been painted, but the trim and floors are not installed.  It's a big house with a nice ocean view.  They are installing an elevator, so that gives you a clue as to the size of this house.  There is also a small apartment as part of this house in a wing that is over the garage.  The husband's mother will reside there.  We had the pleasure of meeting her, since she currently lives just down the road. She's a young widow, very active...so the elevator certainly is not for her!   I am now in negotiation with the clients over the price and what rooms will be done this first round.  I want to try to get the bulk of the work done now, in August because I don't want to run into the commercial job in September.  Also, I don't want to return to the Cape in the Winter to have to complete more work.  That would be a miserable drive in the Winter.  I'd rather go back there in the Spring to do additional work.  I should know by tomorrow, what is happening there.  I am also sitting on the fence as to whether I should commute daily for 8-10 days or if I should impose on a friend of mine who has a 2nd home nearby.  My friend always extends the offer to stay with her when I work in that area, or to just use the house if she is not there.  I think she will be there, on vacation.... so I really hate to impose if that's the case.  I'll give her a call as soon as I know how much time I need to spend on the Cape.  Maybe I can split my time between driving home and staying a night or two at her house.  Anyway, Marc and I and a guest of Marc's who is here visiting from France, had a fun day driving around that part of the Cape, having lunch and doing a little shopping.  Too bad every work day can't be that laid back!

I left my camera in Marc's car, so cannot post the before pics of this new house. :-( 

What's next?

Looks like a busy Summer.  Here are the jobs that I will be doing over the next 2 months: 

Stencil/freehand work in a Master Bedroom (new client, referral from the Flower Condo)
Touch up work at a Beauty Salon I did 1 yr ago, plus work in the Salon owners home
Kitchen and Dining Room for repeat customer (finishes, plus a little stenciling in kitchen over finish)
Multi-glaze finish in hallway to match a finish I did for this client in their foyer a year ago, plus 2 baths. 
These are jobs I a certain of. 

Two jobs that I am still waiting to hear about are:

Matte Black, distressed finish on a custom built oak vanity and desk in a Master Bath.  Huge room, dated, older vanity with lots of doors/drawers

Lastly, another home that has all white woodwork...client wants a dark finish.  This last one is a big job and Stacy will rejoin me on this one if it materializes.  It will take 2 of us 4 wks to complete, plus we will sub out the base painting for this one.  The homeowners will be gone for the Summer, so we can stretch that job out and work other jobs in between.  I'll keep you posted.

I also will be taking a much needed vacation the first week in July and probably another week early August.  I want to go to the Montreal Jazz festival in July, so will be booking that any day.  Still researching hotels....