gallery wall...

Ever since I repainted the school room, I had a blank stairway wall. I knew I wanted to do a gallery of some sort but didn't quite know where to start.



So this weekend when a pile of frames fell on my feet, I had the idea to just do it. I didn't feel like going shopping so I worked with the frames/pictures I already had. Which turns out is a lot.

My first attempt I didn't get any pictures of. You should be glad. Second attempt.


No thank you. Not really the look I was going for. So I added and subtracted more frames:



I like it better but am still not totally happy with it. I think I need to swap some artwork out and some frames but I don't have anything at the present that will work. I'm going to try to be patient. I'm just glad it's not blank anymore.

schoolroom makeover...day: i have no idea

The computer arrived and is already claimed by Maddie. I guess I should have cleaned up the pencil shavings off the floor. Oops.


My new rug arrived and looks great at the back door.


It mimics the green on the accent wall in the schoolroom. Hey there's Maddie on the new computer. Hi Maddie, you had better be working on something important and not playing solitaire.


The chalkboard door is a big hit. I think it's funny that I ended up in the picture (can you spot me?)

I see Galactus, the rainbow bridge from Thor, Silver Surfer and Johnny Storm (Human Torch). Yes we are comic book nerds.

schoolroom makeover...day 2

On to day 2 of the makeover. These pictures are already somewhat out of date. I'll tell you why soon.

Hallway repainted to Pale Oak from Rice Grain. The kitchen is still Rice Grain and I like it there. A new green outdoor rug is coming for the back door. And I'll remember to re-install the switch plates (I'm so bad at remembering to do that)


I'm going to work on a new gallery stairway wall as soon as I can round up the million frames that are in the closet. I'm also going to recover that chair in something to match the green wall. And maybe paint some green on the mirror hanging over our copy machine/sewing table. I wish I could hide the copy machine but we use it all the time and there is no other place for it.


We'll be putting moulding around that built in and then I need to organize it. It holds our server and our printer as well as paper. I'm sure I can get it to look better. The giant floor air conditioner will go as soon as it's cool again.


We have a new computer coming to sit on the left side of the desk, hopefully new Ikea rolling chairs (to replace our $1.00 each broken Goodwill chairs) and I'm painting the outside of the green shelf white. (you can see painter's tape already up) The green shelf looks too heavy for the room so hopefully white will lighten it up. The inside will remain green though because I'm lazy.


So that's day 2.

schoolroom makeover...day 1

Today I've begun a schoolroom makeover. This is what it looked like a couple of years ago. It has changed since to incorporate a long desk and we sold some of the bookshelves but the paint color was the same( which I love but is all beat up).

Sort of before except most things had been moved out.






So I decided to paint the schoolroom Benjamin Moore's Pale Oak OC-20 like the living room and dining room. But I wanted an accent wall so I painted it Green Energy by Behr (the same as I painted the frames in the dining room). I like how it contrasts with the yellow curtains but I'm not 100% committed to it yet so it may go Pale Oak :)



I have more things coming to tie the green color in.


The black door is actually painted with chalkboard paint. I thought it would be fun to have in the schoolroom.


So that is it for day 1. Next I need to repaint the stairway hallway in Pale Oak. Then finish painting some furniture and make a trip out to Ikea for some storage stuff! It's going to look so nice in there.

Linking:
Thrifty Decor Chick, My Uncommon Life of Suburbia, POPP

the schoolroom

*September 2011 update! I'm redoing the schoolroom. You can see the progress here!*

We cleaned up the schoolroom today so I could finally get pictures. Of course it doesn't look like this now. ;)

Here is the view from the stairs.


And from the otherside in the hallway.




And standing in front of the sliding glass door.


The chair I recovered in Michael Miller Dick and Jane fabric.


I love these curtains. I took yellow polka dot quilters fabric and bleached it to a mellow yellow and then used the back side to further mellow it out.


The kitchen that Brian built for Ellie and Grae. Molly plays with it everyday.


View going up the stairs. This is the kids gallery. It's just clipboards that we covered with decorative paper.


And there you go.