Friday, January 27, 2012

Artwork close to my heart

The year I painted my living room and dining Black - I searched and searched for anything white to hang on the walls - and could never find exactly what I was looking for -


just a note in looking at these pictures again, when we bought the building the dining room was a bedroom - we had the wall knocked down for entertaining purposes ( by a contractor close to our heart - one of my best friends husband - shout out to Daniel!!! if anyone is looking for a contractor in the Montreal area pls let me know ) anyways, we decided to go with french doors - and we ended up buying oak - very expensive - and it was one of my biggest regrets - John would positively not let me paint them because they cost so much - and then there is the man-thing of not painting wood - I usually get my way with anything to do with the house but in this case he was positively adamant - and I came to HATE them - 2 sets of double french doors and one single one is a lot of wood to look at - I wanted to paint them white so badly.
SOOOOO - if you have my sickness and need to change things up often - pls do yourself a favour and buy pine - even jointed pine which is the cheapest you can buy - and paint them to your hearts content. When you look at the photos couldn't you just weep for me lol?


Ok - back to the artwork - ( all over the place again Suzan, FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS - )

I love words - books - posters - signs - I cannot get enough of them and so I bought white frames from IKEA - and printed out famous quotations and had them dispersed throughout the " blackness "
I can't find a photo of the 2 gallery walls I created with these so here is just a little example - sorry but you have to use your imagination on this one!

but for those of you that can't it looked something like this - except much larger - and they were truly a brilliant white - they look kind of beige in these pics.......



ok - so now I am going to share some of my favorite words, lol, as framed and treasured by me.

Sundown, yellow moon, I replay the past
I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast
Bob Dylan ( Tangiers )

We can't all be heroes because somebody has to
sit on the curb and clap as they go by
Will Rogers

Go not where the path may lead, go instead where
there is no path and leave a trail
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Take care to get what  you like
or you will be forced to like what you get
George Bernard Shaw

I get by with a little help from my friends
( do I have to say John Lennon? )

It has been my experience that folks
who have no vices have very few virtues
Abraham Lincoln ( wise man )

Live in such a way that you would not be
ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip
Will Rogers ( I would have to have the poor birds vocal chords removed )

If you can't get rid of the family skeleton
you may as well make it dance ( love )
George Bernard Shaw

Remember not only to say the right thing at the right moment
but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at
the tempting moment........... ( God I wish I could learn to do that )
Benjamin Franklin

We make a living out of what we get,
we make a life out of what we give,
Sir Winston Churchill  ( these words I try to live by )

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by
and that has made all the difference
Robert Frost ( sigh )

JUST WATCH ME
Pierre Elliot Trudeau ( beloved Canadian Prime Minister - although he was talking about a particular event in Quebec history - the FLQ to be precise - when I think of him I think of those words - he was unconventional,
defiant, charming and one of the best prime minister we ever had, and the world did watch him............

But like the song says - they're only words - and words are all I have
for my little blog today.

xxx

P/S - Stacey from http://www.conspicuousstyle.com/ ( pls visit her site - she has amazing taste )
posted this pc today

wow - thinking black walls, white frames, in this scenario - too much for me to take - wouldn't that be gorgeous ( it already is I know, just saying............)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Privacy Window Treatment

I live in a row house - in the center of the city - so privacy is a very big issue - I could basically lean over and take milk out of my neighbour's fridge when I run out, lol - a slight exaggeration, but only slight - we are very very close - there is not even enough distance between us to make a yard ( just a very narrow courtyard )
Also - because it's a row house there's not a lot of light ( not an issue 100 years ago? ) so window treatment becomes quite a challange.
I tried film, but I felt closed in by it, silly I know - but I did..................and they do not have so many options out there that I could live with. Blinds are just too confining all together for me - so  Dilemma, right?
This summer I staged my mothers duplex for sale - this was a major major overhaul that took a long time - and issues came up that we were not prepared for ( like mold in the bathroom and basement of the lower unit - tres expensive fix ) so budget was tight for decoration - enter the Dollar Store.

I found these plastic ( tiles? ) that connect to each other - hoping to do a window treatment but they did not have enough - so................they ended up on the wall - here and there, this is just one example.

Last week I found them again!
And decided I would try them out for the office window - I like them!  They let whatever little light I get, still come in - but create a little bit of privacy.


they were 2 dollars for 2 in the pack - so 1 dollar each ( wow I am incredible at math ) total cost 10.00
for a pretty unique window treatment - me like it....................I have them attached to an IKEA track system that I already had - so I could slide them over when I want to open the window but you could simply use eyelet screws ( although it would be a pain in the ass to move them over that way - but perfect if you want
to keep them stationary )







you just attach them with the rings - and I suppose  you could get really creative with this - partitions - curtains - wall displays - they could be as large as  you wanted to make them.

They have the same ones at STUDIO SPECIALTY ( Montreal, Toronto and L.A. google it - they have amazing christmas decorations - tons of sparkle) for 45.00 and 30.00 I believe for 4 of them - I paid 4.00 for 4 of them ( again my math skills come in handy ha ha )

Mission accomplished ...........................

For now anyway.

xxx

Sharing with
Funky Junk Interiors
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/2012/09/sn-152-unique-window-treatments.html