Striped Hallway Tutorial / DIY + Atlanta Art

My husband says I am notorious for volunteering our house for parties and get togethers and at the last minute running around acting 50 shades of crazy.  I think I like torturing myself this way because it motivates me to finish projects around my house.

This last week was no different with my 10 year high school reunion on Saturday. Not only did I have a house full of guest but I also invited about 20 people over to my house beforehand since the reunion took place nearby.

One project that I've been working on since November is striping my hallway.  I literally taped the edges in November and haven't done a darn thing since.  Over memorial day when we visited Ryan's parents we took home a car load of things from their storage units that they were getting rid of.  Most of our hand-me-downs were football memorabilia and this stuff was taking over my basement storage.  Why not get it on the walls to clear some space?

Striping a small 2 story hallway, easy! Yeah right, that's what I thought but I was surprised to find out that striping a room with angled floors and ceilings is quite the challenge, not for the faint of heart! This is how it went down...

Started by painting the edges and then filled it in, Benjamin Moore Cotton Ball was my white.  This white is a bright white but it definitely lightened up this hallway and I love the starkness of it with the stripes.

 

Things got a little weird when I couldn't reach certain parts of the ceiling and our ladder didn't work either.  Clearly this is when you pull out cheerleading moves and do a shoulder sit to paint tall, awkward spots. 

I then taped the stripes 10.5" apart, my main wall with the window there was 105 inches tall so I figured this was a good width, whynot?
*Remember when taping that they will appear uneven.  The original coat of paint will be the smaller space since it is already painted and the larger space will be the 2nd contrasting color.

After this I painted the tape with the Cotton Ball white again. This ensures that if any paint leaks through the tape (which we know happens) it is the white leaking onto white and seals it before the darker color is applied...taa daaa... 

Now it is ready for the contrasting color.  I was planning to use a light grey but had trouble picking a shade of grey... there really are 50 Shades of Grey, pun intended...
I used Porter Paint's Ostrich Feather, we had over half a gallon left over and it's the color that runs through my hallways on my main floor and upstairs. It's a really great tan with a touch of clay-ish grey (I know I'm really good at describing these colors). 

At this point it was 4:30 in the morning, I watched Design Star during dinner (Team Britany) and I think it motivated me to get this thing done!  So next I ripped the tape off and waa-laaa...

Here's a few of the fun pics we have for Ryan's Grandad and FSU.

 Some for his Dad at Clemson....

And Ryan's favorite Auburn picture mixed with a little bit of things from the Clemson v. Tennessee game (UT=my team!).

My mom bought me this sign in Rosemary Beach and it says: "There are four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, & Football"

 

Ryan has moved 8 times in his life, 6 of those were growing up (Tallahassee, Durham, Lexington, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, New Orleans, and Clemson, phew...) so here's a "hat tribute" to some of the schools his dad has coached at or some of the big games they've played in.

We have a lot more items that still need to be framed and hung but I'm pretty pleased with how this has turned out for now.  I think striping a room full of man-stuff is a great way to prep it up. 

The last project I'll share on today's post is about this awesome print I bought from Sarah Watts, an Atlanta artist.  I bought it a while back and couldn't figure out how to hang, luckily Amazon.com has everything you could ever need, including Barnwood frames. 

This frame was awesome because it's A) cheap and B) comes with glass (a lot of barnwood frames online do not). 

I really love how it turned out so far.  I'm hoping to get her print "Atlanta, from Belles to Thugs and everything in between" next.  I think it might be the perfect addition sitting next to my Coca Cola crate and Atlanta books on my bookshelves.  I'm not a themey person but I love some good quirky conversation pieces thrown into a home.

I fully intended to post more pictures and updates of the house but this post is long enough so I'll save that for tomorrow... Ya'll stay tuned!...

Hot Dang Deals HomeGoods!

Ok, so if you know me well, you know that I am a Homegoods snob.  Not only do I freakin love Homegoods but I know exactly which ones are the great, ok, and don't waste your time locations.

In Atlanta the one closest to me is in Buckhead at Sidney Marcus.   Let's just say on a scale of 1-10, I'd rate this Homegoods 5.5.  It usually sucks and is picked over but every now and then it'll surprise you. This last 10 days must have been a huge surprise to me because this location was rockin' it!

There were so many pretty things I had to snap pictures, even other customers in the store (including a couple designers) were commenting on how great the stock was this week.

This little $99 round table was really cool because it had some bling, not in a cheap look either.  It almost looked like sparkly rocks crushed up, however, the finish was smooth.  Great for a Hollywood Regency/glam-chic look.

 This big 'ole mirror was really rustic with distressed wood, iron corner brackets, and iron rings.  You could do so much with this and only $79! 

This capiz pendant was only $299 and a really nice size, I've seen these a lot lately on blogs.

They had 3 garden stools, unfortunately all white but if that's what you're looking for the price was only $39!!!! Such a steal, I sat in the store googling "painting a glazed garden stool" and ended up passing.  I need a garden stool for my living room but white won't do and I don't want to risk ruining it.  Sidenote: I have seen these also at Ross Dress for Less for $49 in the past (random, yes I know).

I couldn't decide if I liked this lamp, it's a tad retro but I think in the right space it could work. The lampshade colors were kind of cool, navy, orange, and tan... perfect for an Auburn themed mancave if you ask me!

This long carved mirror was in the store's "India" section and it was beautiful! $349

Every now and then I'll see one of these bone inlay chest, I think they are the perfect statement piece in a room.  Wisteria and some other places carry similar ones for thousands of $dollars$.  Homegoods has your knock-off for under $999.

Not too long ago I started seeing these creepy heads popping up in stores, at Scott's Antique, and on blogs.  Well, these are called "busts" and apparently they are really in style.  I can't decide how I feel about them but I think I like them if used in the right way.

If lamps are your thing then Homegoods has definitely had some great finds lately.  The other day I saw some white ceramic gourd lamps with an apple green and white chevron lamp shade.  Unfortunately they only had 1 left and I needed 2 and I also didn't take a picture.

Yesterday when I went they had these clear blu-ish green glass lamps with burlap shade and I must say, the picture doesn't do them justice and neither does the price tag $49 each.

This mirrored chest was a lot cooler than their usual mirrored chest.  The trim isn't quite black, it's more of an iron color, very neat and only $299.  I was trying to think of a place to put this in my house I loved it so much!

Ok, swoon... I'm not super traditional in my style but I LOVE ME SOME BLUE AND WHITE CHINA.  I think it's timeless, classic, and will never go out of styles as long as you use it right. My mother in law has a bunch in her house and she has some similar lamps (see below).  These Ralph Lauren lamps were only $99 each and I think hers were quadruple that, I was so sad I didn't have a place for these either.  I even texted a picture to my husband to see if even he could think of a place in the house for them.

 I'm cheesin' it here with her lamps because my dress matched them (sorry about the bad instagram quality).

Feelin' even more blue I ran into these blue industrial nesting tables. Aren't they cool? You don't see nesting tables like this often either ($99).

I found so many wonderful things that would work or fit into someone else's home but not mine.  I did walk away with these mercury glass pedestal-foot decanturs at $19 each. I was planning to put them above my kitchen cabinets but unfortunately they are too tall.... super sad face :( so I am trying to find them a new home in my house.

This mirror was cool and for only $39 it was a great price.  If the color isn't your thing, you could easily paint this too. (Excuse my picture, I was looking rufff yesterday!)

The last and final picture, a mirrored chest wins my heart anyday but a mirrored chest with glossy, white overlay and only $199 will really do the trick. Amazeballs....

That's all for my Homegoods post, I wanted to get this posted ASAP in case it inspired ya'll to run out the door to your nearest Homegoods (FYI: Wed, Thurs, Friday are the best days to go).

I have a bunch of house updates but I'll post that next week.  My 10 Year High School Reunion is this weekend so I should also have some fun stuff to post from that too.  :)

Me Oh My...

This summer is flying by and unfortunately so is the time between my last blog post.

We just came back from 10 days down in Seaside, Florida which we do once a month every summer for my husband's family reunion.

Here's a quick run-down on how we spent our time:

Kayakin...

Dancin'...

Cornholin'...

Tannin'...

4th of Julyin'...

Eatin'...

Relaxin'...

 

All in all a great trip and a nice break from reality! We all need those every now and then, I've decided 10 days is the perfect amount of time to do so. 

I've been on a bit of a decorating brain freeze lately, however, I am suddenly feeling really inspired.  Maybe it's because of vacation? Or maybe it's from those decorating magazines I've caught up on? Either way I'm gettin' on a roll...

This weekend is of course my favorite weekend of the month, Scott's Antique.  Hoping to get there earlier in the week so I can dedicate my weekend to projects.  

The weekend after is my 10 year high school reunion and anytime I have friends coming over I always feel super inspired to finish projects or get things going.  I've already got a checklist a mile long! While we were away on vacay I also ordered some little things to help me check off a few marks.  Fingers crossed I'll get everything done and in the next 2 weeks I'll have lots of updates. Until then here's a little sneak peak from the artist of one of my projects, the lovely Atlantan Sarah Watts:

 

:)