step into my gallery

The glory of a small cottage is that every room has a distinct purpose. There is no guesswork. No extra rooms that you struggle with how to use. We use every inch of our house and we use it well. With one exception...our 'whatever you call it' space.

It isn't really long enough to be considered a hallway, and its not a vestibule or an alcove. Its just a weird purgatory place that has no purpose.

It has been three different colors and had countless pieces of furniture in it - bookcases, dressers, arm chairs, tables you name it. For such a small space, it's had more changes that any other room in the house. I'm afraid I've made it a bit schizophrenic. Poor little 'whatever you call it' space.

empty, except for the time-out chair

After its latest iteration I cleared the space and figured I would leave it blank until it talked to me and told me what it wanted. It is schizophrenic after all, so talking to me isn't such a crazy idea.

And this is how it sat for some time. And for those that know me, you know how difficult it is for me to live with blank walls. But with my new moto 'slow and deliberate' comes patience. Begruding patience.

It may be a nothing area but Eve finds it a good crawling path

Then, finally. What? What's that you say walls? You want to become a gallery? Ahhhh (that's the choirs singing in praise) Finally! A decision, a direction. No problemo, a gallery it is. Personally I think it was Pinterest seeping out again as I pin quite a number of gallery walls, like these...

 

via Young House Love 

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

But whatever, I let the space think it chose. I'm a team player.

I've had gallery walls in the past, but most were pretty organized and followed the 'rules'. You know, all the same type of frame, all the same finish (b&w OR color - heaven forbid both) blah blah.

However this time I wanted more quirky, a bit messy, and color. Luckily, due to my addiction to wall coverage of all types, I had plenty of frames to choose from. Wahoo, a $0 project. My favorite!

I also thought this would be the perfect time to test out a tutorial I see on blogs and in magazines all the time - creating templates of your frames to organize your wall before hanging. If nothing else, my plaster walls would thank me.

To be honest I was skeptical at first that it would be too much time for not much of a difference than the old eyeball method I've honed over the years. But I am an official convert. This is the best way to hang pictures...ever! Period. (and a great way to get some additional use out of the Sunday paper) I'm gonna become a picture handing fool now. Watch out.

I'm sure you've read these before, but to recap in a few simple steps:

Trace each frame onto a piece of newspaper/craft paper (luckily several of my frames were the same so this step didn't take very long).

Cut out each template, marking with a pen where the hook will be, and start to play with the layout.

measure twice, nail once

Once the layout is looking good tape those suckers onto the wall.

'suckers taped to the wall'

After taping, stand back, move templates around as needed and stand back again. Repeat several times.

Use that trusty mark you made earlier on your template to nail thru the template and onto the wall.

Thank to some help from my husband, the whole process only took about an hour from start to finish. And now our little 'whatever you call it' space has purpose!

Doesn't it look so happy?

With two beautiful girls it wasn't hard at all to find pictures. I also included the chair prints I've been dying to use from Danielle Oakey. You'll notice her lovely red Chinese Chippendale in the top left and the blue Shield Back Chair in the bottom right.

Artwork by the lovely Amelia.

The silhouette is Amelia from a few years back. The black and white is a favorite picture of my great-grandfather holding my newborn mom. And yes, that is a pipe in his mouth.

Now there is some good eye candy for anyone who has to do time in the timeout chair.

So there you have it. An easy way to add some jazz and purpose to an otherwise unused space. Have any of you tried the Gallery Wall tutorials out there? Have any tricks for hanging things on plaster walls? Anyone else LOVE getting fresh flowers from Trader Joe's?

gallery wall update courtesy of BirdAve

Hey all! The gallery wall has gotten a spruce.

I was lucky enough to win a print from BirdAve Studio via Pawleys Island Posh right before my vacation and I finally got around to hanging it up.

It was hard to pick just one, and I'll definitely be getting more, but out of all the cities from all over the world I decided on Des Moines. Because of it's world class nightlife and excellent shopping of course. Actually it's where the hubs and I met (college) and it is a very happy place with very happy memories.

A great addition to the corner and one of the many perks of a gallery wall - the more the merrier. There is always room to add another special piece.

So how about you? Did you get to gettin' on any projects this weekend? Did you see the RHONJ reunion?  There aren't words for those ladies.

More spruces to come!

anatomy of a gallery wall

Happy Monday! I trust that y'all had a splendid weekend. We got pummeled with more snow than we should have for the whole month of December, never mind the fact that it is almost April. Mamma ain't happy. I've got some flip flops burning a hole in my closet. I need spring!

I want to thank all of you for your kind words about the girls' room and all of your great questions. You know how to make a girl blush! There were lots of questions about things on the gallery wall so I thought I would tackle those today.

Here are the specifics on what I included and why.

1. Keep it personal. This is a 'commissioned original'. I wanted something vertical so I asked my uber talented graphic designer bestie to take some lyrics and make them pretty. This is from a song, I Will, by a little band called The Beatles. I sing this each night to the girls (Eve sings along). They are the only ones allowed to hear me sing unless cocktails are involved.

2. Add something with dimension. A craft I did with the girls for Valentine's Day. It is their handy work and they are very proud of it.

3. Humor is important. Let me introduce you to Herb. 'Herbie' to his friends. The hubs got the ceramic dear head for Christmas and as soon as he opened it the girls were smitten. It was Amelia's idea to put Herbie in their room and the hubs was gracious enough to share him. Right now he wears some forsythia for this season I hear we are supposed to get someday called 'spring', but Amelia is on the hunt for the perfect antlers (aka branches) that we can make glittery. Because when you think of a mounted deer head, you think of glitter. At least I do.

4. Art is in the eye of the beholder. An unsolicited piece by Amelia herself. She came into the kitchen one day over the moon to show this off. My favorite is a toss up between the swing on the tree and the paver walk. The girl is a genius obviously.

5. Include something that includes all the colors of your scheme. One of my favorite watercolors from MaiAutumn.

6. More pretty watercolors my parent's gave Eve for her 1st birthday. And yes, the one on the right is in there sideways.

7. You need an 'awww' factor. I keep several pieces of clothes from the early baby days (no matter what my mom might tell you about my sentimentality) and this is one of the few items that both of them wore. This is the hat that both girls had on when they came home from the hospital. How I wish I had better handwriting.

And good gracious, have you ever tried to take a picture of something behind glass?! It isn't pretty, and neither are the pictures.

8. History. The girls' birth announcements. Memories.

9. Add a bit of life. Mean I know as they are no longer alive, but the girls love butterflies. And the yellow ties into the colors of the room. Any random group of things can become cohesive thru color.

10. Break the routine. A vintage oval gold frame from my stash. Something nice and round...or oval, helps to break up all the squares and straight lines.

11. Words to live by. Kate Spade has spoken. Amen Kate.

12. Lessons Learned. I believe I wrote this in sixth grade. There is also an accompanying illustration that severely dates me. Let's just say Benetton was one of the stores featured. They did have great rugbys. I'll keep that little drawing for myself.

13. B. Baumgartner. No expanding on that really.

And yes, I used my tried and true template hanging method and it worked like a charm. Take that plaster.

So that is how I go about picking what little nuggets make it up on the wall. How do you pick what goes on your wall?

guest post - my crafty home life

Hello Little Black Door Readers! I'm Linda, from the blog My Crafty Home Life.  Elizabeth is at the beach, as you all may know...so she asked me to help fill the blank pages while she is gone. Yes, I know, I call that RPP (Rich People Problems). 
Nevertheless, I'm always game to play on someone else's blog. Recently I did a gallery wall with my collection of Chinoiserie Paint-By-Numbers.

As loyal readers of LBD, I know you are familiar with the fact that Elizabeth knows how to rock a gallery wall.

In fact, when I was working on mine I emailed her for help. Hours went by, then...finally, she emailed me back saying she was sorry....she was at the pool...YUP RPP!
I'm over it...I did it without her. Today, I would like to give you some tips for buying Paint-By-Number prints...and a perdition on an upcoming trend. Let's start with the trend

Apartment Therapy

Eric Roth Photography via Canadian House & Home

See it? No, I am not suggesting that the Equestrian Chic trend is a prediction. It has already made the rounds on many blogs. Here is my prediction

When you put Equestrian Chic together with Paint-By-Numbers...what do you get?

Country Living

Yes! That is my prediction...OK, Country Living may have caught on a tad bit before me...but they didn't do a galley wall with horses.

Now that we know what we are hunting for, here are my tips....

Shopping for Paint-By-Number horse prints on EBAY

1. Know how to word search. Remember we want prints already painted.

A quick search under "used paint by number horse" brought up a total of (23) prints. Here is a sample of the search.

Sold here $7.99 + Free Shipping!


This Pair

Sold Here $29.99 + Free Shipping


This Pair

Sold Here $45.95 + $15.95 Shipping
Which brings me to tip number 2
2. Set a price limit...and stick to it!!
Let's face it, the third option from above is way out of line. I would suspect that after horse prints become hot, that seller would stand a better chance. Remember, it never feels good to pay too much for anything.
A word search under "vintage horse paint by number" resulted in (36) prints.
One of the auctions that did not show up with the first search is this one

Sold Here $9.99 + $5.35 Shipping
To me, this is by far the best deal and choice so far. Three paintings that are all vintage and in original black frames.
My final tip 3. Be patient and check back. A collection takes time. Trust me, whatever you see....it will come again if you miss it this time. Sometimes, the next option is better than the one that got away.
Now just for fun, I thought I would show you this one

Sold Here The price? Are you sitting down? $99.99 + $18.15 for Shipping
As Elizabeth would say, "Does that include the crack you are smoking, or is that separate?" 
Those are my secrets for collecting Paint-By-Number prints. If you are currently collecting horse prints...sorry! This probably gave you a bit of competition. 
Thanks for having me, Elizabeth. I hope you come back with a few new cocktail recipes.

humpty dumpty - piano styling

Sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders for your imagination. That, and a friend with great ideas.

Before my vacation, I mentioned my problems figuring out how to get this little honey to play well with others in my living room.

I loved all of your ideas and comments, as I always do, but Meg's suggestion really made me think. (thanks Meg!!)

That piano is sure purdy, and I love the story that goes along with it. I really like the first photo, with the whimsical, quirky accessories. Maybe an interesting sign, or word over the piano - or a gallery wall. You should definitely find some accessory that has to do with eggs, I think. A nest? A chicken crate shelf?

To be honest, the first image was my favorite as well. I was drawn to the 'tension' (to use a Million Dollar Decorators term) it created. A very old and classic piano paired with a mod piece of art that wasn't even ment to go inside a home, let alone above a piano. I'm all for going the 'not supposed to' route. And I thought it was a great way to honor my grandma and her hard work but also make it my own.

But I was having trouble figuring out what exactly that 'my own' thing would be. I scoured Etsy for something fun/funny that had to do with chickens, eggs etc. But everything was either too country or just didn't speak to me.

Fast forward to the beach. That sea air does wonders for my psyche. We did lots of great shopping and exploring (more on that later) and made our annual trip to my favorite architectural salvage place where I found two pieces I thought would work.

Work great actually, I was getting excited. But two wasn't going to be enough, and that is all they had. I bought them anyway and hoped I'd find the rest somewhere between Florida and Missouri. That place turned out to be Atlanta. (more on that later too)

Now I'm happy to report my piano is no longer lonely.

This hanging process was not without some minor drama though. My first thought was to use 3M strips to not create any holes in my newly patched, sanded and painted walls. We stuck them everywhere, hung them up and admired modern sticking technology.

But note to self - don't stick breakable things up on the wall, and then leave the house for at least 12 hours. Because when we got back from dinner, I found this on the floor.

Damn.

Two days of super gluing section by section and waiting for them to dry and she was good as vintage. You can still see a bit of the big crack, but that's character. At least that's what I'm telling anyone who asks.

I reverted back to my good ol' template method and made three small holes into my wall.

Now those babies are up for good and I'm happy.

I love that it means something to me. And for those that don't know the story, they can just think I'm a lobbyist for the egg board. It also adds great depth (literally) to an otherwise flat wall (OK, all walls are flat, but you know what I mean). And an unintended perk is the word works perfectly with the rule of threes. I'd thought about adding an S, but I'm thinking 3 letters look better than 4.

And a shout out to June for saving her pennys and selling eggs, rather than salmon or chicken livers or something that would be gross spelled out on my wall. June, you foresee-er you!

I love it when a head scratcher is solved in a way you never though of. That's just good fun people.

So another item is crossed off the living room to-do list. (minor victory) And this also kicks off vacation week. I'm going to share my finds and eye candy galore. You'll love it and I will cry as I'll wish I was still on vacation.

Have you tried anything lately that is out of your box? Broken anything? Had anyone throw up directly on your face? Just me? Having kids is so glamourous.

fess up friday - mimosa lane

Today for Fess Up Friday we have the beautiful and talented Albertina from Mimosa Lane. My friend Albertina really needs no introduction, but in case you've been living under a rock, Albertina has more style in her pinkie than most of us have put together. She's a painter, photographer and designs her own fabric which she sells in the form of pillows and pouches on her Etsy shop. And our mutual love of color has made this fellow blogger a friend. Now let's see what she has to fess up...

I'm so happy Elizabeth asked me to participate in this fun 'Fess Up' series.  I love following The Little Black Door because I think Elizabeth is so talented and creative.  There is always something new and exciting happening here.  As I look around my house I wonder how much the blogs I read have influenced my decor and even my home accessory purchases.  There has been plenty of influence for sure. But, at the same time, I want my home to be original and don't want to compromise my aesthetic in order to stay true to what I love and feel represents 'me'.  I mean really, how many times have you seen something on the Internet that you don't like, but after the 100th time you see it you start warming up to it.  So, is your true taste that first impression of something where you love it or hate it right away? or is it that which you have learned to love or hate through time?  This is what I'm trying to come to terms with lately.  So, for today, I'm presenting you with unscripted, unstyled, and impromptu iPhotos of different vignettes around my house that scream "she is a blogger.....and she has been influenced". Here is the tour-

I got this poster when I started reading blogs.  It was my first 'blog influenced' purchase.  I didn't even have a blog back then or even knew I wanted to write one!

I also got my brass pencil holder before I knew I wanted to blog.  You see it in all the blogger's desks...I know....but I really love this one.  Boy do I need to sharpen those pencils.

I adore this marblelized tray.  My sweet friend gave it to me because she saw it on my blog so she knew I would love it.  This is a nice perk of having a blog- friends who read it will always give you the perfect gift!  And, of course, added to this vignette is the Nate Berkus for Target sea urchin (sold out, exactly, because who doesn't have it?).

The infamous Ikea sheepskin.  This is one trend I didn't like. At all. The Nordic decorating style is not much to my taste.  But it kept growing on me after seeing it over, and over, and over again. And now....I adore it.  We fight for this chair because it is so cozy to have breakfast in with that nice wool warming your back.

More Nate Berkus for Target (the brass bowl and the snake box).  I wasn't into snakes before and now I can't get enough of them.  They were too edgy for me....but I have started embracing that darker side.  The box is just so good and for the price it was a no-brainer.  And of course there are hundreds of DIYs now around my house...like those faux malachite boxes inspired by The Aestate.  Love them as if they were real.  Being inspired by a blog usually ends up with me DYing something or cooking something.  So, yes more blog influence here.

What blogger does not have some sort of gallery wall?  I think we all do.  This one above is on a bookshelf and the one below is in my daughter's room. It's rare we see a home nowadays in magazines and decor blogs that does not have a gallery wall.  It's almost a requirement.

Through my blog reading I am constantly being to introduced wonderful artists, a positive thing for sure.   As a result, there are many 'blogger' pieces in my home so you can say these are blog influenced as well.  Above you will see an example with prints from The Aestate and the Pink Pagoda.

Here is another DIY inspired by Jamie from Furbish.  Cute for a kid's playroom.  It's so great to be inspired by others.  You take an idea and then make-it your own.  I have some friends who saw my little creation and went off to do theirs.  This is exciting stuff.

See? more marblelized things....I bet you all have seen these boxes....well I was obsessed with them so my husband surprised me with them for Valentine's.  I love the color, the texture...EVERYTHING about them.

And can you believe I never knew what Staffordshire dogs were before I started blogging?  I had no idea.  The more I saw them the more in love I would fall.  So I asked for these for my last birthday.  They look like my husband which makes me so happy.  They are perfect.

I'm so happy to be introduced to so many wonderful and beautiful new things, fabulous trends and genius ideas and solutions through my blog reading, but at the same time, I don't want to fall prey to the lemming syndrome. It's quite a balance we need to strike- being 'of the time' without losing our identity. So, fess up- Are you influenced by what you see on blogs and pinterest?  Or do you hold your own strongly and whistle your own tune?  or is it a mix like me?