So I'm still painting leaves.....I think I may be painting leaves until the boys move out of the house but I stole some time this week to create something else to delight them!
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, week 6. Also to see all the riveting behind the scenes, will she ever upholster that third bed????? follow me on Instagram!!
I was very fortunate to grow up surrounded by art, well mainly paintings, and some really cool brass pieces from Turkey and wonderful carpets, so many things are art really. But in the commonly used meaning of the term the 'art' I grew up with was a lot of paintings. My Great Aunt was a painter and while I myself never thought I could draw or paint (no the irony is not lost on me) I have always loved/been obsessed with art. When I was 20ish I spent the summer in Europe and was introduced to modern art, in particular mobiles/installations for the first time. It was literally life changing for me. From that first solo visit to the Gugenheim in Venice I searched out modern art every chance I could get. It was like I had tasted chocolate for the first time and could not get enough!
Through the years I have continued this love affair with modern art and publicly installed art. As much as I love a traditional bronze statue (I'm looking at you Edinburgh James Clerk Maxwell) I find I engage much more with more modern public pieces and am a huge believer in making art accessible. I truly believe in art's ability to transport us to another place, to help us see things literally and figuratively from a different point of view.
As I considered participating in the One Room Challenge I knew the one thing I couldn't/wouldn't do was change the light fixture in the boys room. As I've mentioned before electrical in this house is a subject better left discussed with my future self who will need to address it during the inevitable kitchen renovation.
But as I schemed and imagined and visualised I kept coming back to that decrepit flush mount light! With the twins' beds so low to the ground and pretty high ceilings (for a kids bedroom) there was a lot of 'space' aka volume in the middle of the room that begged for something. Then one fateful day when Louis and I headed off for my first shot we came into this fantastic atrium (I also loooove atriums) and saw this! If you keep your eyes open it is amazing where inspiration can strike!
Lustre (Hémoglobine) by Nicolas BAIER
She (I feel like she's a she) is absolutely breathtaking, ephemeral and just lovely. Right away I thought of the round saucer type fixture in the boys room and thought 'Surely I can do something with this, not quite sure what but something...' And when I say right away I mean I schemed up the materials while we were still in line (thank you mom for letting me play with that molecule set as a kid) and while we waited for the 15 mins after the shot I quickly popped a few things into my amazon cart. But then I waited, waited for about 3 weeks.....I just wasn't sure I would have the time, I 100% wasn't sure it would work and well I was nervous it would just be really, really tacky.... And then the day I ordered the boys reading lights I just dropped one of these molecule sets into my cart and thought 'well lets just see'. That 1 set eventually turned into 3 and this is where we ended up. A stripped down, more colourful take that is just right for this lively room.
I'm sure some people are going to hate it (just like 'real' art) but I love it and more importantly the boys absolutely adore it! I would honestly love to add about another 2 sets worth of 'molecules' but I think the boys would prefer to be fed and have me be able to play with them so this is how she will stay. The boys are already jumping off their beds trying to hit it and have already started building molecular structures aka animals with the leftover pieces which I have promised to hang, in rotation, once we take pictures next week :-)!
My absolute favourite is how the light shines off the top pieces and of course I am loving how it fills that volume in the middle of the room.
Stay tuned, the next post will be the final reveal, only a few things left to do. I may not sleep this week!
Paint Trim
Finish painting wall panels & install
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
Frame art pieces
Style
Book photographer
Photograph
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