Sunday 12 May 2013

Room Reveal: Upstairs Landing/Master Bedroom Entryway!

Hello All

Finally that day has come when I can reveal a 'done' section of our home!(Woot Woot!) Presenting…



The Before
It was pretty blah and boring before. There was an unfinished painting hanging on the wall for a very long time. I just never got around to finishing it. I don't have any pictures just this one taken one evening with my phone ages ago. 

The Before!
Every time I passed the entry way to go our bedroom or while climbing up the stairs, or on my way to the study, it just looked sadder and sadder… 
So finally, when I spotted a huge wooden frame at a flea market, I grabbed it!
The minute I saw it, I knew exactly where I was going to hang it. 

But there was a bit to do before I could admire it on the wall.


Challenge #1
It was a hideous orangey colour. No backing, just a wooden frame and very heavy. But the frame was in perfect condition. 



Washed off the dirt, sanded it down and sprayed it 3 times with White Knight gold metallic paint from Bunnings Warehouse


It looked lovely but just too shiny for me. It looked new.


I was looking for a vintage metal gold hue. So I sanded it lightly again, added a few dings on it and then dry brushed it with black acrylic paint from the Dollar Store. Sanded it back again to show off the dulled matte gold paint. 
Just Perfect! *Swoon-worthy*



Challenge #2 
There was no backing to the frame. It was just 4 pieces of wood nailed together. 
I thought of picking up a mdf backing from Bunnings, but I wanted something different. 

Lightbulb moment… drop cloth backing
I'm obsessed with drop cloth and always have some lying in the craft cupboard. I took out the canvas drop cloth, measured it up and stapled it to frame with an upholstery stapler. It looked amazing. Just by itself it looked like a work of art. 





Challenge #3
After admiring the blank canvas for a long while, it kinda looked a bit empty. So I scavenged around in my home and found a map of monuments located in Paris that I had bought ages ago from MagNation but never found a frame for it. So it gathered dust in a drawer. 
Well, not anymore, out came the map! 
But for some reason, the double sided sticky tape did not do the job, the map kept rolling off the canvas drop cloth. Tried some cardboard pins, did not work, neither did the upholstery tacks since there was no hard backing to push the pins into. Finally, it came to me, after I had given up and put the map away in its designated drawer. 
I could stitch it into place! 
Out came the needle and cream/off-white thread and I lightly tacked it into place. A Perfect solution!


From a distance you cannot see the thread and even up close, it's not obvious at all. The off-white thread happily merges into the off-white margins of the map.



Challenge #4 
Balancing precariously on a chair, with a frame that weighs a ton, trying to hang it with one hand and clutching for dear life with the other. 
Done! Next?




(My growing collection of Eiffel Towers)



Challenge #5
It looked lovely, but unfinished. Something was missing. It needed a dresser/table or some sort of a mantle underneath it. 
 But this corridor/master bedroom entry way is quite narrow and anything wide would just not work. I would also not be able to drag heavy furniture up the stairs single handedly and if I were to block the entry way to our bedroom with a big piece of furniture, I might have to run away from home without a forwarding address to escape my husband's extra 'grim' look.


So I walked around the house and the garage scouting. And I glanced upon the Pottery Barn inspired display unit in the dining room, it was narrow and the colours walnut and black would work perfectly with the faux vintage gold frame. Hauled it up the stairs (sometimes I amaze my husband when I rearrange furniture, he doesn't know where the strength to move furniture is stored in my 5 feet 1 inch and a half body!)  
I fiddled around with the display again with a few new antiques, like the binoculars with its very own original leather case on the last shelf. They are truly vintage and gorgeous. My husband's very prized possession.


Added some roses from my garden. I not a fan of picking flowers from the garden, I much rather enjoy them on the plants, but this area needed softening, a feminine touch with all that gold, wood, walnut and black.




Challenge #6
Sit on the stairs and enjoy the view! 
This was the best challenge of the lot! 

The After!

On the left is the Master Bedroom and the right is our Bathroom and Study.

On another note…I just realised that I don't like the carpet in our home and one day… I shall get my wooden floors! 
*Sigh*Day-Dream*Sigh*

Just to give you all an idea of where this space is located…




I added a garden stool (from the Reject Store, Thank you Kristine from The Painted Hive) on the side, but this space is tiny and narrow, I was afraid too much and it would start to look cluttered. 






And one more time…The Upstairs Landing/Master Bedroom Entryway! Not sure if it is magazine worthy, but it is definitely a much happier place to walk by!


Thanks so much for stopping by! 

A big Thank You to Andrea for featuring the display unit on her blog, The Cottage Market

And a big Shout Out to Katie from Creatively Living for featuring my Vintage Family Photo Gallery Wall!

I'm so flattered!

xox
Rani

3 comments:

  1. Looks great! I have the same print which is still rolled up. Lisa xo

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  2. I am glad you showed the split view - you did a great job of tying the colors and textures together. I especially love the way you framed the map - very ingenious!

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  3. Simply DIVINE!!!! You did an amazing job! TFS! hugs...

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