Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Stripes, Stripes, Stripes and.... More Stripes

Most of these projects have been done since before we actually moved in, but the last 2 were completed this week, one of them just a few hours ago. I could have posted the finished ones, but I thought it would be more fun to lump them all together, since they're all in the same family. Let's get right to it: I'm absolutely obsessed with stripes! My husband wasn't too sure about it when I initially let him in on my decorating plans, and it took lots of looks at my Pinterest boards to get him on board (pun intended) but he decided to trust me in the end, and it was a good move- because we both love the results. Let's do it in chronological order of completion...

Here is the inspiration for Averie's room: (Please forgive my phone screen shots- I have no idea how to use Photoshop)
 

We don't have vaulted ceilings, but I knew we planned to do dark hardwood and wanted something to brighten up the baby's room. I am also not a fan of orange (many years working at Home Depot will do that to you). You can tell these were done before we moved in because they still have the horrible brown carpet. (More on that later) Painting stripes is a lot easier than you would think...

 
 Basically, you measure the height of your wall and then divide by the # of stripes you want. I knew I needed an accent stripe to be surrounded by regular stripes so I made sure to pick an odd number. I marked the ones I intended to paint with tape, and added an extra piece to the one I wanted to be the accent stripe.

 
This photo shows why I decided to go a little bolder on the accent stripe. The 2nd one down is a lavender, but its too similar to the grey. So, I went back to the store and got inspired by an out of character color for me, and ended up with this:

 
I'm kinda obsessed with it! Normally I wouldn't pick pink willingly- but a lot of her bedding has a fuchsia-y purple to it, and it works out great with the grey. I liked it so much I decided to do this:

 

This is the wall directly opposite the striped wall. I know it's a little bold, but with all her chunky white furniture and some strategically picked art, I think it'll all balance out. Besides, kids rooms are supposed to be super fun and a little crazy right? I have big plans for curtains in this room...

I was going to post pics of our dining room- but it looks like my computer ate them... I'll have to re-take them and post them in the future... but guys... it's awesome! (Promise!!!!)

I bought a chevron stencil to use in the guest room. My original plan was to paint all the walls purple but do a grey, pink, purple variating chevron on the accent wall. The thing I failed to realize was how hard it would be to use a stencil on a textured wall. We think the guest room used to be a sun room that they converted into an extra bedroom. I didn't want to give up my dreams of a chevron striped accent wall so after a few weeks of living in our house I decided the best (and non-textured) spot would be our living room where we have French doors. It's such a focal point in that room, I thought it would make it extra special. So, on Sunday I handed the baby to my husband and got to work.

Just for the full effect on how cool this room is... here's the before:



 Yes, this room is painted the same grey that is in the baby's room. I am really into this color, I like that in some lights it looks a little purple, but I really like that it's a neutral and it goes with everything. Ignore the unfinished wall to the left... that's a whole other blog! Do you like how my ladder in is every before shot?

And here is the fabulous after:


I poured some white paint into the leftover grey that was already on the wall. I could have just used the white for the stripes, but I wanted it to be a little softer and subtler. I am so happy with the outcome, I can be found at any given time just standing and staring at this wall.

I will be 100% honest and say that despite my absolute love for this wall, I will never attempt a chevron stripe again. It. Was. SO. Hard!!!! That's why I don't have any during pics, or any good tips on doing it. It was so hard! Even on a smooth wall, with lots of tape and a level it was impossible to get them perfectly straight. I had to go back and hand paint the edges to fix all the places it didn't line up perfectly. The stencil I used (from Etsy) wasn't very good- it didn't account for the stripe above it, and it would smudge the point above it. Ugh... it took way longer than normal stencils would. But... I LOVE IT!

Lastly, we have our small silly little staircase. 3 steps is all i had to work with, and it's such a funny space in our house I wanted to do something to make it special. When I saw this photo, I knew it was what I was looking for:

 
 Here is what it looked like when we pulled the carpeting off the stairs...

 
 AND... here it is now! I played around with only doing the top and bottom (to make it look like the inspiration pic) but I ended up deciding to just go for it and do it on all 3. If the landing looks like it's a different color than the rest, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. After we tile the kitchen we will carry the hardwood onto the landing. I am still deciding what color to paint the hallways... maybe my trusty grey... but I'm pretty happy with the outcome. And so is the hubby... which is always a good thing with interior decorating!


I know what you're thinking. My house must look like a fun house as you walk through with all these different stripes (and i even have more ideas for accents in other rooms) but because the layout of our house is pretty spaced out, and not super open they don't all smack you in the face as you walk around. In fact, you can't see one while looking at the other... so it doesn't feel crazy as a whole. It feels more like little surprises that make each space special as you go through the house. We are pretty stoked about it, and we can't wait to share more!