In yesterday's post, I showed you a bedroom I just finished.

 
 
There were quite a few steps that led up to the wall full of artwork. Almost all of the PBN's {paint by
numbers} were purchased on ebay and etsy. Surprisingly, I only found 1 or 2 in an antique store
{and I go to a lot of antique stores}. I had a few 'rules' which I tried to adhere to: only buy framed
pieces, don't spend more than $25/pc, and the theme of each painting needed to relate to the
 mountains. All in all, these were fairly easy rules to follow.    

At first, I was going to white-wash all the frames. But after experimenting with one, I didn't like it 
with the wall paint. Because the frames arrived in everything from deep cherry to white, I wanted 
them to all have a more medium wood tone. I wanted the variety of different tones, but as they
 were--it was a bit too distracting with all the colors in the canvas.

So, on the lightest ones, I rubbed on several layers of Tudor Brown Briwax. While the 'orangey oak'
frames got  painted with watered down brown paint.      



This was a series of 4. They arrived like this.



After a little paint, they ended up like this.

Then came the task of planning where to hang what. I made a paper template of every picture. I used
what I had: kraft paper, black sign paper, and newspaper. I made sure to write a brief description of 
the artwork on each template {otherwise there was no doubt that I would get something mixed up!} 



With painters tape, I began placing them on the wall. Fingers were crossed that I had enough to fill
 the space tightly. After I had a configuration on the wall that I liked, I wanted to lay the real prints
 out on the floor, in this pattern, just to make sure that they looked good. 



The floor in another room had the space to do this. I liked how it looked and then began taking one
print at a time to hang. I literally felt like I was in the 'puzzle round' of Survivor--finding the description
and shape on the template, going back into the other room to find the correct one and then
 bringing it back to match it to it's correct location.     



Most of the hardware on the back of these needed to be reinforced. After all, they are all 50-60
 years old! And many needed some extra nails or painters tape to hold the edges of the canvases down. 






I had a couple of round frames I wanted to use on the window trim. I opted to leave them 'as is' in their 
chippy mellowed gold frames. I like the way the color tied into the dull brass on the wall sconces.  



Because I didn't have any extra small PBN's, I cheated...I went on ebay and found some
images of PBN's that I liked. I printed them off and cut them out to fit my frames.


Sshhh...don't tell anyone ;)

I love all the history that this wall now possesses. Think of all the many, many people that had
a hand--literally--in bringing this wall to fruition! Some are signed, some are dated, while
 others share the the city where the artist lived. They really are beautiful little pieces of
americana and in my opinion, priced far below the time that took to create them.

Today I am sharing a guest bedroom that I just completed. This is my client's mountain home. She
flew in this weekend to see it for the first time.  

This was a really fun room to complete. This family loves color and trusts in the 'design process' so
working with them is such a treat.

I have been bidding on these vintage paint-by-numbers on ebay for months. They arrived in all kinds of
painted and stained frames. Originally, I thought I would white wash them all, but when I experimented
with one, I didn't like it. So, instead I painted them with a watered down brown paint and/or used Tudor
 Brown Briwax to create a cohesive 'brown tone' .   



These paint-by-number pillows were my jumping off point. These, along with the vintage inspired
 crocheted throws {I love these so much!} were the inspiration for the room.

The beds were custom made locally. I had them painted in Robins Egg Blue, glazed and waxed.



This is the dresser that I showed you in this post. It is the perfect fit between the beds.

The homeowners have a bull dog, so imagine my excitement when I scored a pair of bull dog
paint-by-numbers!  I love to incorporate personal accessories into a family's design. 

We did a stained concrete floor using browns and rusts in the downstairs level. Here it is
layered with a Chocolate Tartan plaid Dash & Albert rug.



As you walk in the room, there is a little nook that is now the background for an old shutter that I
attached the other 'portrait' of Bubba which is held in place with upholstery tacks.



A collection of vintage anagrams that I scored on ebay years ago were used to personalize the shutter.






I'll share more details of the room throughout the week.

{Today is a little design detour--sorry if this disappoints!} 

There are a lot of awful things that we hear in the media related to the problems of the current school
systems throughout the country. But, I will say that our high school, Smoky Mountain High, is just
about as good as it gets. There are tons of reasons why this is-- fabulous teachers, the most
 wonderful talented students, and parents who care so much about all the kids, just to name a few. 
And we have the awards and the accolades to prove it.
 
Our little mountain valley has no malls and not a lot of kid-targeted businesses. 



Does this force our kids to spend their free time on the ball fields, in dance classes 
or in theatre performances? Perhaps.



 And lucky for us, this weekend, we get to take advantage of our high school students 
talents as they perform Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

 And not only are the performances and the costumes stellar, but the venue, is equally
 fantastic--the Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.


{UNC's upcoming basketball star Jackson Simmons!}




You won't believe these are high school kids--they are sooo good. And the voices -- incredible!



I spent many years in theatre growing up. There really is nothing better, in my opinion. 
The diverse friendships that are created, the encouragement from the cast and crew,
 the feeling of accomplishment when that curtain is lowered and all of the hours and hours
 of rehearsals are appreciated through the sound of the applause.

If you will be in my neck of the woods this weekend, you really should come out and enjoy
the musical that Linda Haggard so masterfully directs. You will leave extremely entertained. 



Can you tell I am a proud mama?

Performances are Friday, May 13 at 7:30 pm, Saturday 3:00 and 7:30 and Sunday at 3:00
Shows sell out fast--if you want to reserve your ticket call 828-586-2177 ext 285.

All photos by the super talented photographer Nick Breedlove. Great job, Nick!  

{oh and fyi--the tallest, curliest knife...yea she's mine!}  

The new Serena and Lily catalog arrived yesterday. They have changed their logo to better
represent their ever expanding brand. Lucky us-- their offerings are only getting bigger and better.

I was struck by this image {pg 5} of a crisp navy and white bedroom.


{serena and lily}

See that denim wallhanging behind the bed? Interestingly enough, when I was searching for
 my clients dresser this past weekend, I came across quite a bit of denim and americana art.  



This impressively large {6 feet long and 4 feet tall} is framed in a {HEAVY} steel frame.
These are bigger than a twin mattress!! They are BIG!


 
If you get really close you can see the stitches that hold every 'state' together.
Probably not a weekend project ;)

 

Hello, North Carolina!

   

This equally large piece was constructed with the waistbands attached end to end.
 The entire edge was then finished with little rivets--like the ones on your jeans.



When we think denim, in decorating, we tend to think 'country' or 'cottage', but I love that the
scale and the steel frame on these pieces actually lends itself to be used beautifully in a 
contemporary space. These would be fantastic in a loft!     



I went to another store and discovered these pretty pieces. Although these are in 2 different
locations, I can only assume that these were made by the same artist.




If the 6ft piece is a little too large for your liking, then here is a smaller 4ft piece framed in a
simple white distressed frame. In contrast to the above examples, this is more of a traditional
 presentation due to the size and framing

 

You know how strong denim is, so it actually works quite well as the seat and back on this rocker.



And what a fun way to breathe new life into a simple white chair. These were done with star stencils
and painters tape. I'm not sure if she used regular spray paint or fabric spray paint. Cute, right?

So what do you think? Are you on board for the americana trend?