Studio!
I have a serious update brewing, and I will probably be scarce over the weekend because it's time for Conestoga, but for now, I must share news. News and pictures!
The studio is done!
The whole thing has been a load of work. Remember that this room was the one with the pink shag carpeting and the Pepto-pink walls under a single coat of white paint.
That's the door to the hall and the door into the bathroom.
Moving clockwise, the edge of the mirror. I just really like that you can see the whole room twice. It's not a big room, but it feels really huge inside because of the mirrors.
My poinsettia plant and my retro radio.
A view from inside the door as you enter. The plant is not actually hanging from the fan.
The ferns were so much fun to paint. I used the same glaze I used on the rest of the walls, I just didn't wipe it off. I dabbed it a little here and there, but that's all.
The south wall with the window.
I am so glad this idea turned out so well. I originally only meant to put a few here and there, but it looked so good I went a little crazy with it.
The floor. We used gold oak for most of it, but threw in a few tiles of natural oak for variation, so it looks almost like a real wood floor. It's vinyl tile.
A closeup of the finish on the doors. The walls are textured, and I had to do something to make the doors match, so I brushed glaze on and ragged it off. It looks really, really similar to the walls from even a little distance.
This just makes me happy.
The chair rail. Three coats of Behr Luminoso in gold, and then a coat of green glaze over the top, wiped off for an antique finish that matches the green of the walls.
My happy little plant.
Sargon deserves major cred for helping me with this. He cut the molding and helped me lay the floor and moved the ladder around for me occasionally. He also put up with me taking a two-month vacation in the middle because I "didn't feel like" painting. Sorry.
Okay, now here's the part where I go all infomercial on you. The walls in my house are knockdown plaster, which severely limits my choices when it comes to paint techniques. I finally settled on a kit from Murals and Faux Painting Inc. Specifically, the Poofy Pad. I could not have done this without it. Going up on the ladder to paint the high spots, the foam palette was indispensable. I did the entire greatroom, I did the master bedroom, I did the studio. It is fast, it is super easy, and it's pretty damn cheap. If you are stuck with butt-ugly knockdown and want to add some depth to it, this is not a bad choice at all.
I also used Sherwin-Williams paint because I could not get the darker greens in Olympic, which I prefer (S-W is better, but it's also way expensive.) Stay away from Valspar if you can, at least in the deeper colors. The smell of formaldehyde is truly profound, and unlike the cat pee smell of the S-W, it doesn't go away in an hour or so.
The studio is done!
The whole thing has been a load of work. Remember that this room was the one with the pink shag carpeting and the Pepto-pink walls under a single coat of white paint.
That's the door to the hall and the door into the bathroom.
Moving clockwise, the edge of the mirror. I just really like that you can see the whole room twice. It's not a big room, but it feels really huge inside because of the mirrors.
My poinsettia plant and my retro radio.
A view from inside the door as you enter. The plant is not actually hanging from the fan.
The ferns were so much fun to paint. I used the same glaze I used on the rest of the walls, I just didn't wipe it off. I dabbed it a little here and there, but that's all.
The south wall with the window.
I am so glad this idea turned out so well. I originally only meant to put a few here and there, but it looked so good I went a little crazy with it.
The floor. We used gold oak for most of it, but threw in a few tiles of natural oak for variation, so it looks almost like a real wood floor. It's vinyl tile.
A closeup of the finish on the doors. The walls are textured, and I had to do something to make the doors match, so I brushed glaze on and ragged it off. It looks really, really similar to the walls from even a little distance.
This just makes me happy.
The chair rail. Three coats of Behr Luminoso in gold, and then a coat of green glaze over the top, wiped off for an antique finish that matches the green of the walls.
My happy little plant.
Sargon deserves major cred for helping me with this. He cut the molding and helped me lay the floor and moved the ladder around for me occasionally. He also put up with me taking a two-month vacation in the middle because I "didn't feel like" painting. Sorry.
Okay, now here's the part where I go all infomercial on you. The walls in my house are knockdown plaster, which severely limits my choices when it comes to paint techniques. I finally settled on a kit from Murals and Faux Painting Inc. Specifically, the Poofy Pad. I could not have done this without it. Going up on the ladder to paint the high spots, the foam palette was indispensable. I did the entire greatroom, I did the master bedroom, I did the studio. It is fast, it is super easy, and it's pretty damn cheap. If you are stuck with butt-ugly knockdown and want to add some depth to it, this is not a bad choice at all.
I also used Sherwin-Williams paint because I could not get the darker greens in Olympic, which I prefer (S-W is better, but it's also way expensive.) Stay away from Valspar if you can, at least in the deeper colors. The smell of formaldehyde is truly profound, and unlike the cat pee smell of the S-W, it doesn't go away in an hour or so.