Alpacas, sequins, and fur, oh my!

I'm beyond excited to share this room with you today.  We planned it all out and then when my client went on a trip with her grandparents, we did the installation.  

She was turning 10 and this room redo was her birthday present!

I'll begin with a few befores and then show you around the finished room.  At the end I'll give you more design details, and tomorrow (click here to see!) I'll share all the furniture rehabs--let's just say nothing was left untouched!

This space includes so many of my favorite things: white linen bedding, hanging rattan chair, walls the color of water, an alpaca, fur, sequins, a canopy, bamboo, natural wood, collaborative abstract art... I could go on, but how about I show you?!

A couple of before pictures:  you can see it's a fun room, but the client wanted a fresh new space.

Here is our final design board.  After meeting in the girl's room, I typically give 2-4 design board options, we tweak them a bit and then land on one.  

I chose Tidewater by Sherwin Williams for the walls.  

Here we are having no fun at all...shopping, Starbucks, talking...it's actually one of my favorite things about designing girls' rooms.  

After deciding on the design, I always give the client the option to shop together for some of the key pieces.  I either find the other items online or continue the hunt for the perfect thing!...or make it myself as you'll see below. 

Ok, I'll quit talking for a minute so you can look around.  Make sure to scroll all the way through so you can see an inexpensive plant hack idea!

Can we please have a moment of silence for this cute alpaca.  I smile every time I look at him!

I also give my client the option of painting an abstract with me to hang in the room.  It's so important to encourage these girls in their creativity and show them they can create something beautiful!

When brushes don't do the trick we use flashcards...

...or our hands....

Here's the finished art!  

This canopy was an idea I had, and my client said go for it! I'm thrilled to report that it worked!  I used bamboo for the two rods.  

   

Using several different textures on the bed is always a good idea.

I love the non-presumptuous look of this white linen.

Ok, how about a few more details---

I bought this pom pom beaded garland before we started on the room design but I knew it would be a great inspiration.  The wood beads relate nicely to the other wood tones around the room--the headboard, bamboo rods with the canopy, lamps, and rattan chair.  

Once again, these battery operated candles saved the day--you can put them on "timer" so they only stay on for 5 hours and won't destroy the battery life. 

coasters...

a sloth, naturally...

rose gold...

If you follow me on instagram  @thenotsoblankcanvas you've already seen this plant.  

My client had the gold pail and the faux twig/branch/plant (what do you call this thing??) was half off.

Thanks for stopping in today.  Tomorrow I will share all the furniture rehabs we did for this room, including my favorite headboard redo ever! 

etsy & a coupon code

thenotsoblankcanvas.etsy.com

Happy Wednesday friends!  I've reopened my etsy shop with just a few pieces that I have on hand.  I'm hoping to get a chance to paint this weekend so stay tuned for more pieces next week!

Use coupon code: HAPPY2016 and save 10% 

marbelized art

The DIY I'm sharing with you today is easy, inexpensive, and colorful.  I'm always looking for colorful art for my walls. 

 

 

I loved Oh happy day's tutorial on how to marbleize ribbon (isn't that the coolest!) so I thought I would try it on a few small canvases I had.  If it turned out, great, and if not I would just paint over them.  This is the attitude I have to have with all diys because goodness knows I've had lots of fails.

What you need:
shallow pan that you won't mind tossing when you're done
3-5 colors of fingernail polish--get the cheap kind
skewer or tongs, I used popsicle sticks because I bought a package in 1988 and still have so many
canvas or whatever you are wanting to marbleize
cover your surface because this can be messy
Since this is way smellier than you would think, open windows or do this outside.

Fill pan with a few inches of water

You'll want to do the next few steps super fast because the fingernail polish dries quickly when it's in the water--this is why there are no photos of dipping the canvases in the water.

Open the polishes and pour them into water, use skewer to drag paint around a little.

Dip the surface of your canvas in the water.  It really just needs to touch the surface, don't plunge it deep. The canvas will grabbed the paint instantly. 

Raise it up but leave it facedown for a few seconds to allow it to drip.  Turn your canvas over (do this move quickly so the paint stays in its original place) and put on covered surface to dry. 

I also did the same thing for the edges, but you could leave them white if you want.

It's always nice to have the help of a buddy when you're doing a project!

After we finished all of them , we put them in the garage to dry overnight because we didn't want them to dry outside but also didn't want our entire family to get loopy from the fumes.  Using a flattened box as a drop cloth makes carrying them easy.

I hung my favorite three together on a narrow wall space.  You could use larger canvases but you'd need to have a large enough container for the water and polish that you wouldn't mind throwing away when you're finished.  

new listings

Sharing some new listings with you today...

Happy Wednesday, friends!

c o l o r & a giveaway

 

I'm working on some new pieces this week and I'd love to know

 

what's your favorite home decor color right now?



Answer in the comments for a chance to win this piece in your preferred color.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/77533801/welcome-to-ourhome-in-your-preferred?ref=shop_home_active



 Winner will be announced May 10th.  Good luck!