Wall Decor | Tying It All Together

Hey everyone!

Sorry it's been pretty quiet over here... but I'm happy to say that I'm BACK with a new post :-)

Justin and I have lived in our home for 3 YEARS now and slowly but surely I've finally hung some artwork.  Our living room, in particular, has been a challenge for me.  BIG BLANK WALLS!

Here's a BEFORE picture of our living room when we first bought the house:

The wall on the right is where I have our TV gallery wall that you've seen in a past post.  Soon I will do an updated post on how those frames are looking today (hint: they all actually have art in them-hooray!)  The wall on the left stayed blank for a very long time.  I have a little cove with a wet bar next to the entrance of the living room and I could never decide how to connect all of these spaces in a seamless and eye-pleasing way... but I think I've finally figured it out.

Here is a before shot of the wet bar:

Eeeeeek!  Don't worry, it is looking better these days :) but it is still a work in progress.

I immediately decided to paint the cabinets white and leaned a large mirror on the counter and this is how it looked for a couple years:

I always dreamed of a big statement mirror on the blank wall but I already had a big mirror over the wet bar!  I eventually decided to sell the wet bar mirror.  I had some grass-cloth installed on the back wall to add some texture and I plan to eventually put up some shelving.

 

Here is how the wet bar looks today:

 Obviously some of those items will go on the shelves once they are installed :)  And the ski leaning against the wall is a shotski my husband made me for my birthday last year (Big WWHL fan over here-duhhh!)  I also want to change the lighting situation.  It gets very dark in that little cove so a can light just won't cut it.  Still on the hunt, so let me know if you see anything fabulous!

To solve the blank wall situation, I decided to hang a grid of identical frames all the way down the wall.  And of course I had to have this gorgeous mirror be a part of it.

When I saw this mirror that the fabulous, Dina, from Honey & Fitz, used in a client's dining room I knew I had to have it.  I'd MAKE a place for it! (side-note:  I just saw that it is now sold out-boo!). 

Here are some wide shots so you can see how it flows:

 On the other end of the wall is the only area of our home where we get fantastic sunlight.  Therefore it is our plant zone!  Full of green:

Frames - Michaels | Inner Matting - Amazon | Brass Owl - Momoderne | Tray - Nate Berkus for Target

I found the bamboo console (along with my matching coffee table) on Craigslist.  I love the grid of frames over the console.  I did a double matting and sprayed the inside matting gold so it would POP!


I wanted to have a coordinating set of artwork in all 10 of the frames so I once again sought inspiration from a link I bookmarked on Dina's blog (you seriously need to follow her!)  It is a collection of over 96,000 F-R-E-E vintage illustrations.  There are tons of beautiful and colorful butterfly images that I quickly settled on as my theme.  Butterflies (or papillons- in French) remind me of my adorable little pup Wylie.  He is a papillon breed and they're named for their butterfly-like ears!!

He's so darn cute!  Thanks for the inspiration, buddy!

Here are some more shots!

I just love it!

I saved the images for the butterfly images I used in case you are interested in using them in your own home!

Aren't the colors great?  So what do you think?  Does it all tie together now?  I'd love to hear your comments or questions.  I will keep you updated as I continue to work on the wet bar.

Thanks for reading and HAPPY FRIDAY!
Emily

DIY Marble Print Artwork

Happy weekend everyone!

I have a quick and easy little DIY for you to try out - it seems very fitting since the pillow I used is on sale (+ free shipping) at West Elm all weekend!

I'm a big fan of marbled artwork and have been wanting to try it out in my home.  Luckily, I found these GORGEOUS pillow cases on sale about a month ago and knew I could turn them into beautiful artwork!  I actually ordered the green AND blue because I was hoping to use the blue in my bedroom eventually.

Unfortunately only the green is left, but I honestly think it is the most beautiful one!  So let's get started.  To complete this project you will need one Marble Silk Pillow case, pair of scissors, spray glue, and white cardstock (or any type of thick paper).

1.  Simply cut your paper and pillow case to size.
2.  LIGHTLY - I REPEAT, VERY LIGHTLY - spray the adhesive on your paper, lay the fabric on top and smooth with fingers.  If the paper is too saturated, it will bleed through the silk fabric and we don't want that!
3. Frame it up!

So simple!

And that's that!  I think the soft green really blends well with my blue/green color scheme - I'm loving it.  What do you think - am I crazy for cutting a perfectly beautiful silk pillow case????

P.S. - Sorry for the poor quality {iPhone} photos.  I'm starting a photography class soon so hopefully I will improve in the photo department!!

xo,

Emily