Be Bold or Go Home

I think I made a break through tonight. Here’s what happened. 

A few weeks back, one of the neighboring communities was having a town-wide garage sale and during a run to our bank, we stumbled upon this event. We’ve only lived in this part of Ohio for 7 months, but most of the garages sales we’ve gone to are Lame.


As luck would have it, I happened upon an oval picture frame. 

Sweet!It’s 3′ long and half as wide and it was just the frame. It has a carved border of tulips and was done in the French Provincial style, which is to say that it was a dead white with tacky gold highlights. It was also plastic. 

The guy wanted 2 bucks for him, but I asked if he’d take 1 and he agreed. I was willing to pay 2, but it never hurts to ask!



My first thought was to bring this home and paint it my new favorite color…oil-rubbed bronze. I started out with a black base, but after I started looking at it all dark, I wasn’t happy. 

Meh.




Next, I turned to Heirloom White, which seems to be the go-to color in the blogosphere.  However, finding Heirloom White is another story. The website says I should be able to buy it at a number of stores in town. False! They lie. I settled for Valspar’s version of this color, which is a very creamy white. My plan was to put the cream on it and then rub a teal blue into the carving area to make it pop. Since I had the black under the cream, I figured I could sand down some edges and distress it if I want. 


I got to the part of putting in the teal and I wasn’t diggin’ it. Meh. 
I had a vision in my head of what I wanted, but sometimes translating those visions is tough. I’m sitting there painting, dab dab dabwipe wipe wipe, when the break through came.  I started painting the whole frame blue. It’s sort of a wash than a full-strength and I rubbed off the blue on the tops of the flowers and stems, so those are cream. 


I love the blue. As I was painting it on, I just kept thinking…Be Bold or Go Home. This is the breakthrough. I’m usually scared of color. I don’t like the commitment since I change my mind and tire of things easily. I’ve had a love affair with this teal blue for a long time now. It peaceful and serene and energentic and fun all at the same time. I’m still not certain that this is the final version of the frame, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

When I look at the home decor blogs, the ones I’m drawn to (those of you over there on the right side of my page) are the ones where people have been bold. They’ve figured out what they like and then they work to match that vision. I love going into someone’s house and seeing their home as a reflection of who they are. My friend Linda has created such a home, and I stand in awe of her. She is definitely bold, but in her own way. I hate going into homes that look like what people “think” their house is supposed to look like. If you like birds and want them in your house, go for it. If not, then by all means, back away from the birdies.

I am starting to figure out what I like. I’ve realized that I love the sea and the colors of the sea and the feel of the sea. It’s the Washington girl in me. I miss the water and so I definitely am going to have a beach-cottage feel to my decorating. I also like the junk style, which is where people take things that were originally meant to be one thing and turned them into another. I’m currently keeping my eyes open for the perfect bed-frame to turn into a garden bench. I’m also taking some old hand drills and making them into a coat rack. I like unique and industrialI love feminine shapes (curves) in my furniture. I love glass and light and bringing nature into my home. I like having pictures of the people I love and the places I’ve been around me to remind me of my history and who I am.

Slowly, but surely, I’m figuring this out. This is clearly a work in progress. Kind of like me.


Update:

After looking at the blue for a couple of days, I knew it was too much. I toned it down with some brown craft paint. Here is the final version.


Here it is on my piano. Sorry for the poor quality, but you get a feel for the size of this frame. This piano is another project waiting to happen. I’m thinking ORB…hmmm, we’ll have to wait and see.


A close up of the stuff. The sacrament trays are filled with rocks, fossils and shells from various adventures. The aged case is all natural. It came from Hubs’ parent’s house. The tall bottle says, “Dr. Neville’s Restorative Nervine” and it’s hard to tell from the picture, but it’s the same color as the frame. There’s a brick from Nauvoo, and an old typewriter ribbon tin. All the doilies come from Hubs’ grandmothers.



Cost Breakdown:
Frame – $1
Paint – $5 (ish)
Total Project: $6
Time: About 2+ hours, but only because I couldn’t make up my mind!

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