There’s this wall. She’s kind of cool in an artsy, fun way. Her maker had great ideas and good intentions. She was well thought out and totally awesome in her day. I love her but I had to let her go. It’s okay, though… there’s a happy ending.
Finally a weekend to get back to work in the back “studio” of our house. My goal was to work on this little corner of the hallway. The picture above is what it looked like when we closed on the house. I know it doesn’t look half bad but just trust me when I say it needed some help.
I have had a few nightmares about this crazy blue and white wall. I think it’s awesome but I also knew that it wouldn’t go with ANYTHING. Can you imagine trying to hang a piece of art on it? HA HA! That’s hilarious! There was only one thing to do. I had to fix this situation and fix it so it looked like the rest of the walls in the studio. Uhhh, yeah that sounds easy, doesn’t it? Except not only did the previous owner get creative with the design, they also went crazy with some heavy texture.
My first thought was to tear this wall out and hang fresh new sheetrock. When I brought this idea up to my sweet husband he quickly nixed that and gave me a “have you lost our mind” look. I guess that meant NO! I’m sure he didn’t like that because it meant work for him. CRANKY! So I decided to just dig in and tackle this. Let the MESS (oh, I mean the FUN) begin!
The picture on the left shows the beginnings. I mixed up a bleach water solution and sprayed the walls down because they were very discolored. I wasn’t sure if it was nicotine (yuck) or mold (double yuck). Either way I knew a good spray would help both. Once I got it wet I went ahead and scraped the wall with a sharp scraper to knock down all the “high” texture. I wanted to get it down as far as I could before floating out the wall with sheet rock mud. It actually went pretty fast but it was a messy, disgusting hour. Having it wet also held the dust to a minimum. Always better for the lungs!
It took two coats of mud to float out the wall to something usable. It is by no means perfect but considering what I started with I couldn’t have been happier.
Trying to capture pictures of a white wall seems like it would be easy. Clearly I had trouble. You get the idea, though. Things were going “smoothly”. :-)
The walls in the studio, which include my workout room, our office space, this hallway, and Richie’s art room have or will have a crows foot texture on the walls. So after the final smoothing coat went down I textured the walls to match.
It’s pretty wet in these pictures but you can see the crows foot stamp on the wall. You can also see the mess I have to clean up on all the wood work and floors. A smart woman would put tape on everything but I love torturing myself with extra work. It’s so me. Also, I hate the idea of wasting that much tape.
When it finally dried, I applied a coat of primer and two coats of paint. The wood trim was all sanded and cleaned. Then came the staining of the wood. It’s at this point that you start to feel like you’re getting somewhere. When the paint/stain goes on I always feel rewarded!
Check out that caulk line. (hell yeah!) I’m always thrilled when I get to use caulk! Once I start it’s hard to stop. No crack or joint is safe. (man that sounded like I have serious drug problem). NOPE, just an addiction to caulk. ha ha!
One of the things I was excited to do was to bring home a piece of art that I had hanging in my office at work. Many many years ago I bought this lithograph at an art auction but ended up not having anywhere to hang it. It has been hanging in my office at the station for the last 7 or 8 years. Finally a place to put it. This might be the perfect wall. We’ll try it and see.
It’s an authentic, certified Alexander Calder lithograph from his flying colors collection. These limited edition lithographs were commissioned by Braniff International Airlines. Calder did several designs for the airline. You can read more about it HERE.
Richie and I both have a true love and appreciation for Calder’s art and this was my way of owning a little something. Obviously it would be our dream to own one of his mobiles. It’s always good to dream.
So I’m happy to say that this little corner of the hallway is now done. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with it but for now it’s finished and looks sort of nice so it’s ON TO THE OTHER END of this hallway. There’s always more to do. I tend to work in small manageable sections because I get overwhelmed and I never know when life will explode on me and take me away from it for weeks. A small torn up section is always better than a big torn up one. Especially when you’re living in it!
The door is going to be replaced with a nice new one that has glass panels. It will allow more light into the hallway. The paneling on the left wall will eventually get sheetrock. I’m at the mercy of my sheetrock hanging husband for that job. It could be this weekend.. or it could be this time next year. I’ll be patient.
The picture below shows how much better the wall looks with a very light texture and fresh paint. Big improvement. At least for me, it is.
As you stand outside the door you’re looking into the studio. You can see the office area and the door ahead is Richie’s studio. My workout room is on the other side on the left. It’s our fun space. As usual, ignore the floors. They’ll be the last thing to get done.
Oh my. What a lot of work. I kind of like your blue/white piece, but not really that much. I like where it all ended up much better. I appreciated your thought on just picking something small to work on at a time. Sometimes, I blow up a big section of the house and then WANT TO KILL MYSELF. Seriously.
You’re hilarious, Rebecca! “I kind of like it… but not really that much”. BLAHHH HAHA HA HA HA! I couldn’t agree more, my friend. It had to go. I seriously have to give the guy a nod for trying to do something different and creative but it just wouldn’t work for us. I think a wall like that works if you’re not going to do anything with it.
Oh yes, small areas of destruction are better for me. I’ve learned my lesson. The chaos makes ME want to kill myself. So small is good. Thanks for making my smile. You’re the best.
The hall looks so fresh and bright now! You guys have some amazing art. And I want to hire you to come caulk around our sink. Caulking makes me nervous because I used to see my ex mess it up time after time. Of course, Eric won’t do that!!! I need to practice on something less critical.
Thanks D’Arcy! You can believe that if I lived close by I’d run over to your house with caulk gun in hand… ready to caulk that pretty sink up so good! HA HA! Don’t get me wrong, it makes me crazy because once you mess up the “flow” it’s all down here from there. I hold my breath the whole time. Richie and I both love art. I enjoy all the pieces we’ve collected over the years and I’m always looking for new stuff. Thanks for that. It’s an important part of “us”.
That made so much difference!!! It’s really beautiful. Did you move the slat bench from the bedroom, or is that another one? That Calder is magnificent, and the caulking ain’t too shabby either. ;)
WOMAN WITH A GOOD EYE! I can’t get anything past you, lady. Yep, you guessed it. That’s the bench from the bedroom. I wish it was another one. I have this little DIY project for a bench and I was testing it out there. I think I like it. Maybe I can get my DIY done before Christmas. I’m happy I got the Calder. Richie is an art snob and didn’t want me to get it because it was a lithograph but I just ignored his cranky ass.
I love it. Thanks, Dana.
Much better! I like how you hung the Calder in the top right corner instead of centering it on the wall, which is what I would probably have done. It gives it more interest.
It’s good to hear that you are leaving Instagram. I have been feeling guilty that I didn’t join, but I can’t do everything!
Much better, indeed. Thanks, Jessica! I did hang it sort of off and wondered if anyone would notice. (love that you did) I wanted to make room for a couple other things for that wall on the other side but who knows… I may not hang anything else. We’ll see.
Oh, don’t feel guilty about Instagram. I’ve had some really serious thoughts lately about how much time all this “social media” stuff takes away from your real life. I need to spend time paying attention to my real life instead of the digital one. The blog is really my main focus and always will be. I think that’s enough. Life’s too short, ya know. Time should be spent well, so I’m rearranging. xo
Again, you’ve worked magic. So nice! And I agree, caulk makes me happy, too! (haha) but I just suck at it (this is going downhill fast). Sorry! Seriously, I just finished every crack & joint in our bathroom a few weeks ago and I probably had to remove as many beads in failed attempts as I successfully put down. I went through a lot of caulk getting it right. It looks so much neater and fresh but I can’t lay a straight line to save my life.
Love, love, love your hallway. It looks very inviting.
No No, not going downhill. I love hearing about anyone other than myself. MORE ABOUT YOUR STUFF!!! I love that you’re a fellow caulker. We girls have to keep the world crack free. (I swear every time I type that I think of drugs and bums) HILARIOUS! What does that say about me? I bet you do a superb job of caulking. I’m not good at the silicone caulk but I do okay if it’s a mixture.
I’m happy that little section is done and I’m going to the other end now. I’m hoping I can convince Richie to help me with some built-in shelves on the other end. Send me some good vibes! Thanks, Cindy!
how many nooks do you have in this damn house?! everytime i think “she can’t introduce one more thing!”…YOU DO!
i am 100% with you. at first i hoped you wouldn’t paint over the blue design (because it’s awesome!), but i can see how living with it would get old quickly. and of couse you went the extra mile and didn’t just paint over it. it looks AMAZING and fresh and, like always, a magazine cover! and a quick comment about the artwork. LOVE IT. i was not familiar with calder’s work. i googled him and OMG i love those mobiles!!! so, so great!
IT’S THE HOUSE OF NOOKS! As long as it’s not the house of horrors, right? Although there are plenty of horrifying nooks left to go, Tamara. YIKES! Thanks for the thumbs up on getting rid of it altogether. I just knew it would never work for me. OH YES, Calder is amazing. I’m so glad you googled him. Right… Right.. .those freakin’ mobiles are AMAZING! I need one. I need two. I need to win the lottery! HA HA!
Thanks for checking out my progress. You’re my cheerleader and I love ya for it. Will we be getting an October dress update soon? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, I hope so. I’m excited. :-)
That Calder is amazing! The wall looks fantastic – love the texture. I am in awe of what you can accomplish. But please don’t get too caulk-y. (hee hee, caulky) :)
I needed a Jocelyn pun! You’re my kind of girl. It’s too late though. I’m so caulky, it’s ridiculous. When I walk into Home Depot that’s the first thing the staff says… “here comes that caulky chick. I wonder how many tubes she’ll be buying today” (laughing). What a show off! If you know how many years it took me to get this caulky you’d know I deserve it. It’s the one thing around the house that I can finally say “I MASTERED THAT”. I’m a caulking professional! Glad you like the Calder. I’m happy I have it. Bidding on art at auctions is exciting. Especially when you WIN! xo
Beautiful job. I loved the way it turned out and I, like you, LOVE caulk. It make such a big difference when you use it while painting.
Hey Karen! Thank you, dear. I’m slow and I take on small projects… but I’m still hanging in there. Richie actually said to me while I was doing this section of the hallway “It’s nice but you’re really not accomplishing that much”. I do believe fire actually (truly.. for real) came out of my eyes and I grew fangs. WHAT!!!! WHAT!!!! I politely disagreed and went on with my caulking. I’m a professional, you know.
Later I put his toothbrush in the toilet and felt much better. (laughing) Thanks for the sweet words and always stopping buy. Love to hear from you! (fellow caulker)
I am continually impressed with your mudding skills! The new wall looks flawless… like it’s exactly as it always should’ve been. It is very fun to see what was there before though and have a record of the blue wall here. Can’t wait to see as the hall continues to evolve.
You are so right! Having a record with this blog is the best part. Sometimes I forget all the crazy stuff we’ve done. I’m sure this time next year I’ll look at that post and remember that blue wall fondly.
And then celebrate that it’s no longer there. Ha Ha Ha! Thanks, friend. Love hearing from you!