Orla Kiely Wallpaper Art

I've always loved wallpaper.
My Mother also loves wallpaper. She always wallpapered walls in the homes that we grew up in.
Lots of the walls in our house on The Farm are wallpapered.
The first time we looked at the bungalow, I kept saying to Greg, "That wall is just waiting to be wallpapered."
Fortunately Greg flows right along with my funky, far-out decorating ideas. Unless I'm wanting to paint his favorite BROWN piece of furniture that is.
After we purchased the bungalow,  I spent hours looking at wallpaper. Searching for wallpaper is one of my favorite things to do. I especially fell in love with this Orla Kiely wallpaper! Oh my goodness! Talk about cute and funky and happy and totally ME! I've decided to use this Multi Stem Orla Kiely wallpaer in the Bloom studio. There are several Orla Kiely wallpapers I would love to use in our new home. Just like with fabirc, when you're shopping for wallpaper, you can order samples.  Jennifer Garvey at the Seattle Design Center mailed me all the wallpaper samples I needed to pick and choose designs for the house. Mary Terry, at Furnish Bainbridge, will be assisting with measuring and ordering the wallpaper. Talk about adorable! Mary Terry is a dream designer to work with. I'll be posting more about Mary, and Terri, and the design services offered at Furnish Bainbridge.
So as you know, I've been staging our home now to sell.
I needed a pop of color in the laundry room.
That's when I decided to whip up some Wallpaper Art!
It's so easy!
This project seriously takes less than 10 minutes and ta-dah!
You are done!
Obviously you need wallpaper.
And a large frame. Clean the glass in the frame with Windex. Take the mat out of the frame. Lay the mat on the back of the wallpaper sample.
Mark & trim off excess wallpaper on both ends. Lay the wallpaper face down on the glass of frame. Lay mat on top of wallpaper. Tape mat to the wallpaper to secure the wallpaper from sliding. Secure the frame on the back. And there you have it!
How easy is that!
How cute is that!
Adorable!
That's what I say!
The perfect little modern splash of WOW!
Makes me happy every time I open the laundry room door!
How bout' you?
Do you like wallpaper?
I've got the feeling you either LOVE it or you don't.
Wallpaper has a bad-rep if you ask me. I think it's because so many people have found themselves having to scrape and peel wallpaper off of walls before painting.
Most of the time I just paint right over a wallpapered wall. But that's just me.
I just can't resist the punch of design wallpaper adds to a room.
Can't wait to share the designs I've selected for the new house.
Happy Week my Friends!
ENJOY every minute.
Life is short.
Too short.
Have FUN & LOVE & PLAY & SMILE!
Don't let anyone or anything bring you down!
SHINE on!
xo
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Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Can I just say.
Let the BEFORE & AFTER's begin!
Thanks so much for the love, enthusiasm, congrats & sweet wishes!
We're so excited to share our beachy bungalow with you!
Before life begins in our new home we must first sell the home we're in now.
A big part of selling a home is staging it for potential buyers.
You may not know this but there's been a BIG BROWN piece of furniture in our master bedroom over the past few years. It's been the topic of many heated discussions.
It's like a big BROWN deal in our marriage.
It looks like this.

When we began staging to sell our home, I was determined to lighten up the room by painting this piece of furniture.
Greg likes it BROWN.
I wanted it white.
This one piece of furniture has been a major source of TENSION between us. Like we can be happy and hiking on a trail. If I just happen to bring up the BROWN piece of furniture, the tone of conversation between us totally changes.
It's almost like it's Greg last hope of having something in the home that represents his style. I've told him over and over and over again that BROWN fancy furniture is just not cool.
It's not hip.
It's not what's in style. It doesn't lend itself to the casual, coastal, shabby way that we live.
I've also tried to explain to Greg that I've only ever seen BROWN furniture in "Before" pictures.
I mean am I right?
Or are you one of those rare peeps out there that prefers the original, fancy finish on old brown furniture?
It's okay if you are.
I still love you.
I still love Greg.
I just want WHITE shabby furniture in our home. That's not too much to ask.
A month or so ago I finally purchased my first can of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Annie Sloan Wax. My sister and several friends have been raving about it! Like it's the best thing that's ever happened! I kid you not. Everyone I know that uses Annie Sloan paint is wild about it! My sister paints all kinds of things with Annie Sloan paint. I was thrilled when I found a stockist not too far from Bainbridge Island. If you live near Bainbridge Island, you can find the Annie Sloan paint at Ole & Inga. Molly is the owner of the precious vintage shop and she will help you get started.
The beauty of Annie Sloan paint for me, is that it suits my personality. You don't have to prime whatever you're painting. You just dive in and start painting! I like that!
Also you can be messy! Take a peek at Annie Sloan slapping the paint on in all kinds of directions. I love how she just picks up whatever brush is available and starts painting every which way. There's nothing formal about using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I like that.
There are lots of techniques you can use.
I'll be featuring "Before & After's" of pieces that I'm painting for the new house. I'll also be featuring a step-by-step tutorial of some of the painting & waxing techniques and tips I've learned.
Let me just say this.
One thing I really really really love about Annie Sloan paint is that I'm GOOD AT IT!
That's one reason I fell instantly in love with it.
I could honestly transform a piece of furniture into a WOW piece! Like something out of a magazine. That made me feel good.
I always thought my sister was the only one in the family that could transform a piece of furniture. With Annie Sloan paint I discovered that I too could do a pretty good job!
It also caught Greg's eye. That's a biggie!
Like he was seeing me in a whole, new light.
I kid you not.
It wasn't until I began painting pieces of furniture with Annie Sloan that he finalllllllllllllllllly gave in and let me transform the BROWN piece of furniture to a WHITE shabby, beachy more casual look!
Ta-Dah!
How do you like it?
I used Annie Sloan Pure White on this piece but I have plans to paint over the white with Annie Sloan Napoleonic when I move this piece to the guest bedroom in the bungalow.
Have you tried Annie Sloan Chalk Paint?
What have you painted?

Do you have any pieces of furniture your man refuses to let you paint?
Happy Weekend my FRIENDS!
If you live in the Northwest....ENJOY the SUNSHINE! Yeah for sunny days!
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