How to Make a Striped Wall in Your Kitchen

When you think of your kitchen, does the word 'FUN' come to mind?  Probably not.  Well why not?  Try a wall treatment like this easy horizontal stripe and bring something special to the table!

This works especially well in small kitchens because it brings your eye in and people will notice the wall over the small size of the space.  This kitchen that I re-designed below was a tight space.

Kitchen looked like this:

Here is how we added the stripes----

ONE measure the wall length and height;

TWO choose paint colors.  For this wall I used Sherwin William "Analytical Gray", "Nebulous White", "Pool House" and "Cityscape";

THREE plan out on paper like this:

FOUR Paint the wall using the lightest color first, then using painter's masking tape, tape off the other stripes per your design (tip: on the painters tape, above each stripe, write the name of that stripe color to stay organized).

Now one side of this kitchen makes the meals and the other side enjoys them in style! says '----

                    left side                                                                      right side                                         

Animal Heads & A Residential Project

Hello home decor lovers!!  

I am rhino'd out today.  Why?? Well a new intern started this morning and she is fab!  Then my twitter account was hacked and that was not fab!  I am now updating all of my accounts online.  So if you received a tweet about how to lose weight fast or regarding someone spreading rumors about you, it is bogus!  

Things are getting hot and heavy in the office.  We have serious projects happening and I am trying, but haven't been able yet, to update my portfolio and blog about projects I have recently completed.  I have some great photos of before and afters, and fun ideas, but I am having a hard time keeping up with it all right now.  I have even taken a vacation from writing for Houzz for a bit until I get back to my normal schedule.  

Here is one project I am finally blogging about.  To see the 'before and afters' just click on the link below.   

See our recent BEFORE AND AFTER photos of a residential project we completed in PA. CLICK HERE.


Also, if your are looking for some cute wall decor, these animal heads might be just the thing to add that funky fun factor.  They have been out there for a while but maybe you have been on the fence about what they really look like.  Well I just received some I am using at a clients' home, and they are so cute!  These are the small versions from West Elm Paper Mache Animal Sculptures.

A Man's Master Bedroom Re-design

I was hired to re-design a master bedroom for a gentleman in Allentown PA.  This was the first man's bedroom I had done and I did not want it to be overly monochromatic, and NO BROWN! I asked him "What inspires you?"  and he mentioned the Scottish painter Jack Vettriano.  Perfect jumping off board.  The great contemporary artist Vettriano (born Jack Hoggan) is also an inspiration to me for the romance he creates in his work, and for his belief in himself and his art.  He chose art; it didn't choose him.  

Jack Vettriano left school at sixteen to become a mining engineer. For his twenty-first birthday, a girlfriend gave him a set of water color paints and, from then on, he spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint. He put his artwork out there, and it paid off!!

-For those who dream of taking a different path in life, think of Vettriano and go for it!

MY DESIGN PLAN AND FLAWS:

I didn't let the traditionally mission style furniture he already had stop our plan for a contemporary feel. We 'contempo'd' it up with steel grey walls, lots of chrome, including three new framed Vettriano's, deep 'manly' eggplant window treatments, and of course a bit of zebra and mink.  I also added a wall tattoo to cut the squareness of all the hard edges and add 'whimsy' and interest (the decal was bigger than me).  

When I presented my ideas to my manly client, he said 'Shosh, that's not eggplant, it is purple."  I said 'eggplant is the new purple'.  Then he said "Shosh, animal print?" I said "Grrrr...don't get me mad."  And he shook his head and rolled his eyes when I showed him the decal idea.  Design should be fun; there is no right or wrong-just opinions.  He gave me the green light and I went to work.

Here is the before and after:

BEFORE

AFTER

These drapery rods were a splurge but so worth it!!  To bring the budget back down I found the pillows on sale.  Changing the doors and door hardware made a HUGE difference.

BEFORE

Bye bye blue walls and doily sheers.....

AFTER

BEFORE

"Is that the sun rising from that faux stucco sconce?

AFTER

 

A sleek Zylinder satin black with chrome wall sconce fits in like a long lost friend.

 BEFORE

This dresser was actually against the closet wall first. I recommend placing a high piece of furniture under a high window to conceal the awkwardness, then ditch the doily window treatments!  Also what you can't see is an unorganized closet that we quickly addressed. And are those doors or shutters?

AFTER

Roman shades are more functional on a high window.  And for this long and narrow window, they add height and fullness.

Bring on more glitz with this mirror and chair from Pier 1.

I found this decal at www.walltat.com and thought it was beautiful.  It is called‘Graphic Floral 3-Wall Decal’ and is 63" x 40".  I played with the positioning of it using painters tape, and I have to say, it was easy to put up (just took an hour to make sure I didn't rip it and to get all the bubbles out).

So how is my manly client enjoying his bedroom?  He chuckles and nods which is his way of saying 'he digs his new 'diggs'.  Actually we just made changes to his upstairs bathroom and he was all for more purple-

How to Make a Striped Wall in Your Kitchen

When you think of your kitchen, does the word 'FUN' come to mind?  Probably not.  Well why not?  Try a wall treatment like this easy horizontal stripe and bring something special to the table!

This works especially well in small kitchens because it brings your eye in and people will notice the wall over the small size of the space.  This kitchen that I re-designed below was a tight space.

Kitchen looked like this:

Here is how we added the stripes----

ONE measure the wall length and height;

TWO choose paint colors.  For this wall I used Sherwin William "Analytical Gray", "Nebulous White", "Pool House" and "Cityscape";

THREE plan out on paper like this:

FOUR Paint the wall using the lightest color first, then using painter's masking tape, tape off the other stripes per your design (tip: on the painters tape, above each stripe, write the name of that stripe color to stay organized).

Now one side of this kitchen makes the meals and the other side enjoys them in style!

                    left side                                                                      right side