Warning ;-), this was a full week with large projects so I don't have the same pretty 'finished' photos for you but we'll get those for the reveal :-)!
Thanks so much for coming back for week 6!!! Please be sure to hop over and check out the featured designers and the other guests like me :-)! To start at the beginning of my project; week 1,week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5. Also to see all the riveting behind the scenes, will she ever paint the final coat on those bedside tables????? follow me on Instagram!!
Sooooo way back when we moved into this house in the Spring of 2019 the twins and I were reading "Curious George takes a job", in the book George is washing windows in a tall NY apartment building and see painters working in a living room. Once opportunity allows he steals into the room and paints up a jungle; with the aid of drop cloths and some ingenuity the furniture becomes a zebra, cheetahs and a giraffe and the walls he covers in trees. And so a plan was born to bring that vibe into the boys room but with a slightly more refined twist.
Around this times I was also starting to see more and more applied moulding in interiors. It is a beautiful look and one I love having grown up in a Victorian home. However applied moulding just didn't seem to be the right vibe for the boys room, I mean 3 boys what could go wrong.....yes I am envisioning them pulling it off the walls for weapons! Anyway, I started thinking about a way to get that look a another way and for a lower price point. Initially I envisioned it as a project the kids would help me with.....there was a lot of sleep deprivation in those early days! Only 30% has been done so we will see if they want to pitch in. But I digress, I knew I wanted something graphic, after lots of mulling and visualizing I decided to go with the plant du moment - Monstera! Monstera leaves are so beautiful and actually much easier to trace than my initial idea of palm fronds!!!
Finally I settled on my method, after a lot of back and forth I decided to paint the base of the panels a lighter version of the ceiling, I knew this would give me the panel look without having to paint a border which I wasn't sure I wanted. Then I played around with different greens using the fabrics already in the room to decide on which colours to paint the leaves. I made monstera 'shapes' and voila!
Colours I used were; base 1 part Behr Winterscape to 2 parts Behr Polar White, leaves all Behr; Botanical Green, Soapstone, Planet Green, SW Electric Lime colour matched in Behr, FB Bancha colour matched in Behr, all in eggshell.
Painted panelling DIY - a tutorial;
Paint your walls your chosen base colour, mine was Behr Polar White?
Decide how to divide up your walls, I chose to line up the top of the panels with the top moulding of the window and then played around with the math, my panels are 4" apart. Alissa at A Glass of Bovino gives all the info you need on figuring out the math as well as a blow by blow for installing her drop dead gorgeous applied moulding.
Use either a laser level or level and measuring tape to measure out your panelling and pencil it onto the wall.
Tape off the panelling with the tape on the outside of the panel so that the rectangle on the inside is the entire panel.
5. Paint the edges of the tape on the inside rectangle in the base wall paint. I learned this trick from Rachel at Banyan Bridges and it is the fail safe for crisp lines! Then paint the entire panel rectangle in the base colour of choice.
6. Choose a motif, something graphic and simple and blow it up as large as you can. There are really no limits here! Things that come to mind are definitely leaves and flowers, I could see airplanes, trains etc being great for a not overly themed theme room. Simple shapes like circles and stars, I keep seeing a simple seagull type shape in my head. So many options!
7. Make your shapes and hold or tape lightly to the wall and trace. I think the key is a variety of colours and sizes and overlapping them slightly and varying the spacing.
8. Paint you shapes. Once you get going it is easiest to paint one colour at a time. At the beginning I did a few colours first to see how it all hung together.
9. Remove the panelling tape and enjoy!!!
All That Art
Then it was time to tackle a practical issue in the room. What to do with all that art? You know what I'm talking about All. That. Art! I love all the things that come home from school but our art wall in the play room is maxed out and there are other things the boys want displayed on their walls. Then it came to me! I was planning on using Athena's tutorial on Eyeswoon for bulletin boards in my office. That gave me the idea to use her tutorial making boards the same width as the panels and installing them just above the mattress height for each child. Then I pained them is the same way as the panels! I am super excited to get these installed and filled with all their favourite things!
NB in Canada we can't get Homasote board so I used Sonopan instead. Because it is soooo fibrous I coated the back with a layer of paint before I attached the canvas, I was trying to avoid our home being covered with green 'fur'. For the canvas I used a drop cloth I picked up at the same time :-)!
So that wraps up week 6! That means we are down to 1 more posts before the big reveal. I have 1 important project left and lots of little things to do before we photograph but we'll get there!
Paint Trim
Finish taping off & Painting wall panels
Upholster/slipcover Lloyd's bed
Install reading lights
Decide on bed coverings/duvets
Make curtain to replace closet door
Make cushions
Touch up bedside table paint
Upholster Slipper chair??
DIY light fixture
Style
Book photographer
Photograph
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