Painter Girl

The Milton House Foyer/Upstairs Hall Completed

In the end, I was really happy (and so were my clients!) with how this all turned out.

 

This view is from the second floor hallway, looking down to the landing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see some of the crystals on the flowers in this photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second floor hallway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the diamond wall, before the furniture is placed back.  I have about 8 layers of various gold products on this wall!  I wanted to do it using just Gold StucoLux, but it was soooo thin and watery that the layers would not build up and it did not burnish.  After four unsuccessful layers, I added layers of gold glaze mixes to get the color and sheen I was looking for with the StucoLux. I have used non-metallic colors of StucoLux before with great success, so was quite disappointed with this gold and would not recommend it.

 

 

 

 

The same crystals, in a larger size, are placed at the corners where the points of the diamonds meet (hard to see here).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This wall does have a nice glow to it now and works well with the stripes and adjacent back hall.

 

Thanks Chris, for all your help and hard work! 

 

Finally Getting Back to the Milton House

Yes, I know it's been well over a week since I last posted, but my uncle died so I had to go out of town for his wake and funeral.  Next, I had a final report due for a class I am taking and then I was in Maine for a few days with extremely slow and/or no internet service.  Now, I'm happy to be back home and in the swing of things again!  This Milton House Foyer/Upstairs Hallway job is finished as well as the Master Bath in this home.  I'm going to sit here and write them all up now, before something else happens! 

The first layer for this project was a soft, metallic glaze.  I can't remember why that blue tape is stuck on the wall, but probably an area that needed a little attention.

 

 

The second layer was the same gold glaze, but done as stripe.  I was fortunate enough to have Chris Smith helping me out with this job!  We went around with a level and watercolor pencil, marking out the stripes, then just used a small roller to roll on every other stripe.  We wanted the edges to be jagged, not crisp, which is why we did not tape out the stripes.  The darker stripes are 15" wide and the lighter are 18" wide.

 

They continue up the stairs, to the second floor hallway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a close up of the stripes on the stairs where you can see the jagged edges of the stripes. 

This would be a nice look, if you stopped here, but of course, we did not...

Who Knew I Was So Trendy?

 

 I recently came upon a post on Apartment Therapy, one of my favorite blogs.  The post features what they refer to as "Gallery Style Walls".  Apparently I've done just that in my own little dining room.

A while ago, I painted this lime green horizontal stripe around the room, about 1/3rd down the height of the wall.  A few months ago, I added the black/brown row of beading at the bottom.  I like the way the stripe showcases my small plate collection. If they were just on the plain, off-white paint found above and below the stripe, they would not show up nearly as well.

 

This framed chalkboard is a project I created for my dining room a few years ago.  I had a soft, metallic orange finish behind it for some time, but of course, could not leave well enough alone.  Last week I added these stripes, just because I have not been doing enough stripes lately?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like to change this blackboard each month.  I've decided to start practicing my Italian again, and after two different friends of mine sent me this wonderful quote attributed to Michalangelo in his 87th year,  I decided it should be my Febbraio inspiration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's what the chalkboard looked like with the metallic orange background.  Not bad, but I like the stripes much better!

 

 

 

 

You can see the "metallic" a little better in this photo, which also shows the start of my taping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inspiration for these stripes came from this mobile which hangs in my Living Room and is very visible from the Dining Room. 

 

Finished, Milton House Four Seasons Room

Today I added the final touches.  To really make the Moorish Trellis design pop on this glazed wall, I went around with a liner brush and added some gold detailing.

 

 

 

 

On the other three walls, I went around the room and lightly marked stripes, 3" apart, with a pencil.  Yes, more stripes. The good news is...no taping.  I then just took the same liner brush and free handed them with the gold.  I wanted a more casual, less precise look.  Here you see one corner.  Remember, there is not a whole lot of wall space on these 3 walls.  Most of it, and I mean 90% of it, is made up of windows/doors.

Because of all the shrink wrapped furniture in the center of the room, I could not really get a great picture of the entire room.  I'll be back here in March for another project, so will take more photos then and post.

 

 

For those of you who are not here in the Boston area, I just thought I'd show you some of our snow. The snow bank is now almost as tall as my garage!  We are quickly running out of space to throw it.

 

 

 

 

And look at my poor Christmas Tree!  We have to keep digging it out of the snow bank and putting it back on top in hopes the town recycling truck will come and pick it up.  Apparently they are a little behind with.  If this keeps up, I may be able to reuse it this December. It does seem to be holding up quite well!

Revisting My Stripes

I am back at the Milton House working on the Sun room so I thought I'd show you a few photos of that Striped Living Room Wall I recently completed.  I was sitting on the fence about how I liked this wall until I saw all the furniture put back, the artwork hung and the room put back together.  This wall really is an improvement over the "Before" photo...yay!

 

 

 

 

Ah, now you remember my wall of stripes, right? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even though there is a lot going on in this room, I think the stripes now help to anchor the room and bring some balance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The artwork really pops now, vs. before when it was displayed on a plain, white wall. The orange and gold tones now bring a warmth to this large 20' x 30' room.

Done!

Well, in the end, it all turned out just fine! It was very hard to photograph this wall because behind me is all of the furniture, so I can't back up very far.  I was able to bring a little more gold in by lightly sponging some on the orange stripes.  That is not dirt or a spot on the wall... I put the picture hooks back up because I knew where the holes were.

 

 

 

 

Here is another shot.  The orange/gold tones really gives this room a nice, warm glow now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hesitate to even post this close up of the stripes, but it is the best shot I was able to get.  The color is very off! The other photos are much closer to being true to color.

 

 

 

I am glad the homeowners trusted me enough to do this finish on this wall.  As you can see in this close up picture, the fabric abuts the wall at in the corner, with some beautifully self- covered cording.  This room is really quite exquisite and when I return in two weeks to start the Four Seasons Room, I will take new photos of the room all put together, for you to see.  Yes... I did get invited back, in spite of my antics! 

Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Much to my relief, there were only some very minor touch ups once all of the tape was removed from this wall!  The Pulling of the Tape is always a nerve wracking process for me.  Then, trying to put all that sticky tape in a bag is hilarious.  It sticks to the bag itself, sticks to my hands, sticks to everything it comes in contact with.  Now where was all this tack when I wanted it to stick to the wall??? It's a good thing no one is video taping me while I am doing this.  No one IS video taping me, right?!  I did find an empty box to put the tape in, in the end.  Much easier than trying to get it in a plastic bag.

So, now you think I'd be done, right?  Not quite.  My client decides she wants me to add a layer of gold over the orange striae stripes.  I try this with three of the far right end stripes.  It looks horrible.  I wipe it off quickly.  But not quite quickly enough.  I have to touch up two of the stripes. I decide to get a coat of sealer on all of the stripes before I do any more damage.  I go for my roller set up and discover I do not have a mohair roller sleeve, but instead have a foam roller sleeve... not what I want to use to apply this sealer.  I'm in my car, one more trip to the paint store. With the sealer left to dry, I go home to debate how I will bring in a little gold on the orange stripes without re-taping and without destroying what I've done so far.

Oh, I guess I will share this with you too.  It was not bad enough that I ruined 3 of my stripes.  I also clogged their toilet in the powder room!  I was in there, just to pee, and when I flushed... the water came right up to the brim of the toilet bowl!  Frantically, I ran around the house looking in the obvious places for a plunger, with none to be found (the homeowners were both out).  Luckily, the water slowly subsided.  When one of the homeowners returned, I had to explain what had transpired... the failed attempt of adding the gold on the stripes and the clogged toilet!  Ugh... it's amazing people let me in their homes at all.  I'm scheduled to do 3 more rooms in this house, so we'll see if I still get invited back once this one wall is finished!

I was so frazzled today with the Pulling of the Tape, the ruining of 3 of my stripes, and the toilet scenario, I did not take one picture for this post. :-(

 

 

 

Yikes, Stripes!

I am just finishing up my week in Stripe Purgatory, so will begin chronicling that experience with this post.  I do always love the end result/look of a striped wall, but the process can be a bit stressful.  Things to worry about, like will the tape pull of the base coat?; will there be any bleed unders when the tape is removed?; did I paint the correct stripe?; is it really level?... are all concerns that can be unpredictable.  When the stripes are all taped out, it can drive your eyes crazy!

To start, my clients have THE best painter! Look how nicely he pushed all the furniture to one side of the room and completely wrapped and taped it all up!  I am only doing one accent wall in this room, so none of this furniture will have to be moved around to access other walls.

 

 

Here is the wall I will be working on.  The three other walls are padded fabric, exquisitely done! Warren, the painter, put plastic up on those adjacent walls and taped it all out for .  My wall to stripe is about 30' long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the approved sample board.  It's a green metallic striae stripe that alternates with 1 1/2" stripes that have a light gold background with burnt orange and gold thin stripes. 

 

To start, I put on 2 thin layers of a soft, metallic gold. Btw... I took this this photo with my new iPhone.  I am loving this phone, but must admit, as I knew would happen, I am spending way too much time playing with it!  I let the layers dry overnight, so come back tomorrow to see what happens next.