Here's more from the styling makeover I did on my friend Erin's living room. I hope you'll let me off the hook with using the word makeover (which I know implies before and after.) I didn't realize that we'd end up spray painting in her garage and Mod Podging in her living room when the weekend started. It was one of those things. We came back from thrifting and Erin started telling me about what she didn't like about her living room and what she wanted it to be. I started moving around furniture and then the next thing we know it's 1am and we have a shopping list to get at Michaels the following morning. But I'll describe what we did and some tips on what helps me give a room a facelift.
Erin has a gorgeous fireplace in her living room — it's the star of the room. She used to have a series of prints lining the mantel that were an Asian motif (that cut against the style she was shooting for), and they are quiet prints that blended with the blue of the walls and gave no pop to the room. Those were the first to go. On our thrifting hunt, Erin scored a roll of vintage toile wallpaper (for just $20!). It's a rather cheeky toile that's a more oversized pattern and black-and-white, which made it super cool in my book. I suggested we use the wallpaper to create art for her mantel. Working with frames Erin already owned, I immediately grabbed a vintage gilded frame (which I used on a horizontal to show one scene in the toile), and the only other large frame was this one above. This frame was the perfect size to highlight a vertical pattern in the toile, but it desperately needed a makeover with its sad, yellowed finish.
Spray paint to the rescue. I cheated and skipped on spray primer and used a different brand of spray paint — we were in a rush and Michaels was out of primer and Krylon's white gloss spray paint. I'm a big Krylon fan, and I have to say after using this other spray paint found at Michaels — I'm still a Krylon fan. It took more than the usual number of coats to get a solid finish, and I didn't get the same gloss that I've seen with Krylon. But it was still a dramatic makeover.
So much better in white! Here's how we mounted the wallpaper in the frames:
+ move empty frame around wallpaper until you find the part of the pattern you want to highlight in the frame
+ run pencil around the outsize of frame (for where to cut) and mark an x in each corner of the inside of the frame (where you want the pattern to line up)
+ using an exacto knife, cut wallpaper along your penciled lines
+ flip over wallpaper and Mod Podge the entire backside of your wallpaper
+ take wallpaper piece and line up two of your marked corners with corners of your foamcore board (foam board should already be cut to fit inside your frame)
+ carefully smooth down your wallpaper on foam board using a wallpaper brush
+ pile a few books on top and let your board sit for 20 minutes or so
+ once the wallpaper has dried, flip it over and snip off the wallpaper overage with an exacto knife
+ add to frame — instant art!
If we'd had one supersized frame, I probably would have hung the frame centered over the mantel. Classic look. I actually prefer what we ended up with: two frames that together make a statement. I like the frames leaning against the wall, because it feels less fussy. And fresh flowers always give a lift to a room.
