Painting with a smaller brush

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Look what I made.

Painting of four ladies dancing

I haven’t painted in a very long time. I mean, aside from walls, ceilings, furniture.

My friends set up a girls night at a painting class.

Girls night at painting class

These paint and sips–wine is on offer along with paint–have become very popular in our area. Everyone paints the same painting as the artist talks you through the process.

This is the painting we were copying.

Painting class

The artist talked us through the background and then adding the bodies–paint a heart, add arms and very long legs.

Painting class

Add necks and heads and then dress them with swooshes of pink and blue and yellow and red. Accent it with white. And know when to stop before the colours all blend together–that was the most valuable part of the class. The instruction to put down my brush and walk away.

Painting class

I felt a bit like Degas.

Painting class

As the paintings took shape, it was neat to see how they were each slightly different, depending on the colours we chose and our own approaches.

Painting class

I deviated from the plan when it came to the very end. The ladies are dancing on grass, so the curtains in the original painting didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I added some tree branches instead.

Painting class

I can’t say that dancing ladies are my usual style when it comes to art, but I’m thrilled with how this painting turned out. In fact, I think I might give this another try on my own.

This painting high on a wall at the artist’s studio makes me think I might be able to do a rendition of my favourite furry fellow.

Shaggy dog painting

It was fun to be creative in a different way than usual.

Are you a painter? I mean, of actual paintings? Have you ever been to an art class? Or a paint and sip?

Country style guest room details

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Robin's egg blue country guest room

Today I’m diving deeper into the guest room makeover to share the details behind some of the pretty pictures you saw last week.

Pretty much every project we do here at the farm is a budget challenge. But this guest room is budget to the extreme. Hand-me-down, redo, thrift and even scavenge were the name of the game. The only things I bought new were picture frames, window treatments, a blanket and towels. Even the paint was reused from the mudroom.

Designers talk about jumping off points. For me the jumping off point in this room was the fake wood paneling on the walls–not the most favoured design feature. It may not be shiplap, but it was definitely country, so I decided to play up the farm factor with pine, white paint, rustic elements and pretty robin’s egg blue paint.

The colour is Wythe Blue from Benjamin Moore. Because the walls are paneling and not drywall, there are little trim pieces in each of the corners and against the ceiling. I decided to play these up–like in my inspiration image–with white paint (Cloud White also from BM–our standard trim colour at the farm). Precision taping paid off with really, really crisp lines, and the white corners add some neat interest to the room.

Robin's egg blue country guest room

Matt helped me scrape the ceiling, and now it’s beautifully smooth to showcase the thrifted chandelier I found. I think this had been painted black at some point in its past life. The only change I made was to remove the glass shades and shorten the chain (our most frequent guest, Matt’s brother, is 6’4″).

Rustic black chandelier

The pine comes courtesy of the armoire and desk from Matt’s childhood bedroom. I’d like to style the top of the cabinet somehow someday. Maybe a small collection of books and magazines for guests?

Robin's egg blue country guest room

The trunk in the corner is my scavenged find. My parent’s neighbours put this out for garbage. My Dad and I carried it home–approximately 20 years ago.

This trunk is an example of choose what you love and you’ll make it work. At first, the trunk played a nightstand role in my teenage bedroom. Then it was a very handy side table in the living room at Matt’s and my first house.

Now it’s returned to its nightstand function in the guest room. The clock, lamp, water bottle and drinking glasses are all thrifted from Value Village.

Vintage trunk as a nightstand

Above the trunk is my favourite feature in the guest room, vintage family and country photos.

The top photo came from the city archives collection. It’s the blacksmith shop that is still standing in the little town that’s closest to the farm. Below that is a photo from my family archives. It’s my great grandfather on a sleigh loaded with huge logs. The neat story shown in the photo is that the sleigh is so heavy it has actually broken through the ice that my grandfather and the horses are crossing.

Vintage family photos displayed in the guest room

On the other side of the window, the top photo is the general store where Matt worked as a teenager. However, it’s another archive shot with a horse and buggy outside the store–not the common conveyance when he worked there. Below that is a photo from Matt’s family archives. His great-grandfather with a team of horses and a wagon loaded with hay.

You know I’m all about personalizing my spaces, and these old pictures are a really meaningful way to do that.

The rustic frames that look almost like barn wood are a score from Ikea. I brightened the mats with a coat of Cloud White paint.

Vintage family photos displayed in the guest room

This side of the room has two more hand-me-downs from Matt’s childhood bedroom: the painted dresser and the pine desk. The painted glass vase and the hydrangea are from my MIL and work perfectly in this spot.

Robin's egg blue country guest room

The dresser is super cute. Each drawer is decorated with an illustration of a nursery rhyme scene. (The wicker waste basket was another thrifted find).

Vintage dresser with nursery rhyme illustrations

Jack and Jill nursery rhyme illustration

Our welcoming crew of Bax and Ralph are on duty on the desk along with a thrifted organizer (that I repainted) that holds pens and notepads.

Guest room desk

My distressed chair was a freebie courtesy of past owners. Its red stain was splotched with mauve and mint green paint. Adding a coat of white paint was a big improvement, and I think the distressed look works here. The log cabin pattern pillow is a made-by-me from way back when I was a teenager. I was surprised how well the pink and blue tones in the pillow cover work with the quilt I chose for the bed.

Distressed painted chair in front of a pine desk

I bought the quilt when we first moved into the farm. It was about the only thing I did to establish a comfortable guest room back then. Fortunately, it works well with the blue-green paint, so I’m keeping it.

The curtains and curtain rods are new–although the curtains are a DIY, so I’m not sure they entirely qualify. The rods are my go-to Hugads from Ikea. The curtains are my go-to dropcloths from Home Depot (see my tips for making dropcloth curtains). Maybe because it’s my second time around, these curtains weren’t as tedious as the last set I made. Still not my favourite thing to sew, but not quite as painful as before.

This final corner beside the desk was the one spot I wasn’t sure about. My original vision was to hang a vintage painting by Matt’s grandpa and below to have a weathered little ladder where I could drape extra blankets. However, this corner was the best place for a mirror, and I felt that the mirror would be more appreciated by guests than the painting.

Robin's egg blue country guest room

Plus, when I saw this unusual mirror in the thrift store on Friday night and spent all weekend thinking about it and when it was still there on Monday afternoon, I knew it was meant to be. A coat of white paint freshened it up, and I still have a place for extra blankets and towels in a large thrifted wicker basket set on the floor (the towels are the other new purchase in the room).

Robin's egg blue country guest room

There’s one thing that’s missing from the room, and that’s the bedframe. I have a great metal headboard and footboard from my bedroom at our old family cottage. Matt and I repainted it before we moved into our first house. However, the paint has since chipped, and it really needs to be stripped.

The bedframe has been living in the barn since we swapped rooms in our master bedroom switcheroo last spring. If the weather ever warms up, I’m planning to bring it outside and remove the old paint. Once it’s stripped (and potentially repainted), I’ll set it up in the guest room.

Even without the bedframe, I think we have a beautiful room that’s welcoming for guests. It was really fun to pull all of the details together for this space, and I feel like we ended up with a room that’s perfect for our farm setting, our family and our guests. This was the first item on my home goals 2016 list, and I’m crossing it off.

Robin's egg blue country guest room

How do you save money when you’re decorating? Who else is reusing childhood furniture? Do you have a vintage family photo collection? What have you picked out of the garbage and reused?

Keeping score

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I feel like I’ve crossed a new milestone in blogger-dom. I used chalkboard paint.

I know. It’s like nearly four years in, I’m finally a serious blogger.

Tall chalkboard for score-keeping in the games room

I’ve been wanting to add a chalkboard to the long room in the basement for awhile now. This is the room that holds our pingpong table and dartboard.

I figured a chalkboard would give us a place to write down the score, and it could also play the role of “art”–one of my home goals for 2016 being to decorate the basement.

I used rough cut 1x3s for the frame and screwed them together with my Kreg Jig. Lesson learned, lumber this thin will split if you screw into it sideways. Cut a new piece, redrill the pocket holes, screw into the end grain, all is well.

Pocket holes with the kreg jig

The frame is stained with a mix of Minwax Classic Grey and Provincial. I find as I proceed with decorating this house, my style is getting more and more rustic–hence the rough cut lumber and the grey stain.

The chalkboard itself is a piece of hardboard coated with chalkboard paint. With chalkboard paint (for those that aren’t in the know), you have to “season” it before you use it. That means you rub it all over with chalk and then erase it. If you don’t do this, your writing won’t erase properly. However, this eliminates the beautiful black finish and makes your board very grey. I was a bit disappointed by this, but I think I can live with it. I’m not prepared to buy a big piece of actual chalkboard to fix it.

Tall chalkboard for score-keeping in the games room

The chalk and eraser sit on the floor in a wood bowl that my Dad made.

Chalk and erase in a wood bowl

Now we just have to clear Matt’s box collection off the pingpong table so we can actually use the chalkboard (darts is not my sport). Keeping it real for you.

Tall chalkboard for score-keeping in the games room

Speaking of sports, are you watching the Superbowl this weekend? Have you ever used chalkboard paint? Any darts tips to share?

Looking back at Home Goals 2015

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

There are all kinds of retrospectives and reflections happening in the blogosphere right now. My look back will not be nearly as emotional or deep as some of the ones going around.

I feel like 2015 was a pretty good year for this blog and our projects at the farm. Last January, I said I wanted to be flexible and not knock myself out renovating all the time. I definitely feel like I managed that. I also had a few more personal posts mixed in over the course of the year, and I’ve made some progress on that front too.

For now, it’s time for the annual report on how we did on Home Goals 2015.

1. Master bedroom Check!

Thanks to the One Room Challenge, we have a beautiful master bedroom. I love having another room completely done.

Dropcloth curtains in a navy master bedroom

2. Basement art No check.

The smallest task on the list–and the one I was most enthused about at the start of last year–was the one where I made no progress. This one will carry over to 2016.

3. Furniture Partial check.

Looking back over the year, I was a bit surprised at how much furniture we bought, made or made-over. We did better than I thought. However, there’s always more on the list, hence the partial check.

Found 2 bookcases that I’m going to make into a china cabinet for the dining room. They still need their makeover, but they’re working okay for now.
Found a set of 8 dining room chairs that match our table nearly perfectly. They’ll need to be reupholstered and refinished someday, but once again, they’ll do for now.
Found a ladder/step-stool/chair that reminded me of my grandmother–and a lot of you of yours.
Made a headboard and painted a dresser as part of the master bedroom makeover.

Dining chairs and table

4. Vegetable garden Big fat check.

My one and only outdoor goal for the year was a huge success. It started when I decided to build the garden in Matt’s “goat ring.” To get rid of the weeds, our nephew and I lit it on fire, I spread out the world’s biggest tarp, and then Matt rototilled the whole thing. We planted and watered and then we harvested… and harvested… and harvested. Along the way, I built a gate, and Matt and I put up chainlink all the way around. And then at the end of the season, I spread manure over the whole thing.

Tomatoes ripening in the garden

There’s still more work to be done. It’s a garden, which I’ve learned is synonymous with work. However, it’s established. It produced food. We’re still eating our harvest. And I’m so enthused about this year’s plans.

But that’s the stuff of home goals 2016. Those will be coming up next week.

How did you do on your goals in 2015? What was your big accomplishment?

Once upon a time, I went insane

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Back in September, I lost my mind. It was just for a moment, but it was a definite psychotic break. And it’s taken me until now to talk about it.

In my normal state, I don’t

Shop online
Make impulse purchases, especially not over $20
Buy much decor

These aren’t formal rules. I’m just very frugal and tend to avoid purchases that I view as “frivolous.”

Well, in a moment of insanity, I whipped out my credit card and bought something that is the very definition of frivolous.

Behold my papier-maché goose head.

Goose Faux Taxidermy wall decor by Macheanimal

I first saw it on Lindsay’s blog, and it was pretty much love at first sight. Although, in all fairness, the goose wasn’t a complete impulse. I did think about this purchase for 24 hours before I finally pulled out my credit card and logged in to Etsy.

When the box came, I couldn’t even tell Matt what was in the package. And once I opened it, he still didn’t understand why I had to buy it (and Matt knows my history).

And I think it’s time you know this bit of my history too. Next week, I’ll share the story of Bill.

Two new feet

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

A neat thing about having a blog is that people know a lot of what’s going on in my life. Sometimes it weirds me out when people start talking to me seemingly out of the blue about something that I mention on the blog. Most of the time though it’s a neat way to stay connected with people I don’t get to see all that often. When Matt’s aunt came to our house for our annual month-before-Christmas party, she brought a perfect gift for us: some fun additions for the laundry room–these wooden sock forms. Matt’s aunt is an avid vintage and antique shopper. Fortunately for us, she’s also a regular blog reader. So when she saw these wooden sock forms, she thought of our laundry room makeover and decided to give them to us for Christmas. They fit in perfectly with the rest of the eclectic art in the laundry room and echo the wood accents we have elsewhere. Something else I like is that these feet aren’t a pair. One is a bit bigger than the other, so there’s basically one for Matt and one for me.

What are some favourite vintage pieces you’ve used in your decorating? Do you decorate your laundry room? Who else has relatives who shop for them?

Smokey Hollow

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

This year’s birthday present is one of the most special gifts I’ve ever been given. Matt, my family and his parents all went in together to buy me a painting.

The painting is of a waterfall in the town where I grew up.

I hiked the trails around this waterfall and waded in this creek so many times. The waterfall doesn’t really have a name, but the whole gorge around it is called Smokey Hollow (which is also the name of the painting). I’ve heard a couple of explanations for the name Smokey Hollow. One is the mist from the waterfall made the hollow “smokey.” The second is literal smoke which came from all of the mills that used to be throughout the valley. In fact, the creek that runs over this waterfall is called Grindstone Creek.

Wherever the name came from, this is a beautiful spot that’s very special to me, and to have it memorialized in a painting was something that I couldn’t resist.

This was painted by a local artist named Brian Darcy. He paints nature and farms and the countryside. I could buy pretty much every one of his paintings.

This particular painting, I’ve wanted since I was in high school. It means so much that my family came together to give this to me.

Since we painted the living room and set up the bookcases on the opposite side of the room, we had a perfect wall for it.

Matt made all of the arrangements to buy the painting, but what made this extra special was that we actually got to meet Brian. We saw some of his works in progress and learned about his painting process and heard some of the story behind the Smokey Hollow painting.

He even gave us copies of a little study he did from the painting. Down in the bottom right corner on the shore of the creek, there’s a little cluster of pink wildflowers. Flitting around the flowers is a Swallowtail butterfly. Well, Brian took that scene and did a separate small little painting.

My family has known for a long time that I wanted this painting. Last year, my Mom went down to Smokey Hollow and took a picture for me. She had it printed and framed and gave it to me for my last birthday.

I still need to find the perfect place to hang this one. Since Smokey Hollow is such a special spot for me, I think I’m allowed to have two pictures of it.

Anyone else have a story of finally getting something you’ve waited a long time have? Do you have any mementos of where you grew up? Even though this was a gift, this is Matt’s and my first time spending any significant amount of money on art. I have to say I’m feeling pretty grown up about it. Have you invested in art?

The artist in the family

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Back in January when I posted about the special painting by Matt’s grandpa that we received for Christmas, a couple of people expressed interest in seeing more of his artwork. You caught a little glimpse of the paintings when I shared the hallway reveal. Today I’m going to give you a closer look.

Matt’s grandpa was a draughtsman. He worked on the Avro Arrow, which in the 1950s was Canada’s most-advanced (and most expensive) jet aircraft.

Painting was his greatest hobby. He painted portraits, still lifes and landscapes.

The four pieces that we’ve hung on the main floor are landscapes featuring rustic buildings.

There’s the two barns that Matt’s parents had framed for us for Christmas. We hung this painting in the foyer. When we were searching for our farm, a lot of the properties we toured had pictures, paintings or aerial shots of the farms hanging inside the entryways. Since this painting looks like it might as well have been painted at our farm, it was the perfect choice for a welcoming image right inside the front door.

Along the hall, the two smaller images are of Matt’s aunts’ former cottages. Matt remembers spending time at the green cottage as a child. His aunt has since sold it, and I never had a chance to visit.

The red cottage has been knocked down and a new cottage built in its place. Matt’s aunt and uncle still have the property. In fact, this is the cottage that we visit every fall. It’s special to have this very personal record of two memorable family places.

The large painting at the end of the hall shows the garage at Matt’s grandpa’s house. Surprisingly, this painting was stored away and unframed for decades. The sunlight in this picture is beautiful. It’s my favourite painting out of all of Matt’s grandpa’s pieces.

I’ve always said that I’d like to own some original art. I realized as I was writing this post that I do. Most artists make art because they love it, not as a “job.” As far as I know, Matt’s grandpa never tried to sell his paintings. He was prolific, and he painted because he loved it. He was most definitely an artist, and I’m very proud to display his paintings in our house.

Reading nook details

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

There are so many elements that I love in my new reading nook that I had to write a separate post where I can share all of the details.

At the core of the nook is obviously my much-loved Strandmon from Ikea. This is a seriously comfy chair. However, I like to lounge with my feet up, so I needed a footstool. Strandmon is not a tiny chair, so I wanted something that was a decent size and perhaps even could double as additional seating if we have people over. The bird ottoman fit the bill. It’s a complete DIY that ended up being super easy. You won’t believe what’s underneath that pretty fabric that so many of you liked. Stay tuned for a how-to post coming up next.

The stump side table is my rustic touch for the nook. It’s another DIY, this time completed with the help of my father-in-law. Most of the stump tables I’ve seen tend to be pretty short–and super expensive. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t prepared to spend $200+ on a log when I have hunks of wood just lying around outside.

The nice thing about DIYing the table is that I could make it exactly the height I wanted. I don’t like to have to work too hard to pick up my drink–reaching kind of defeats the purpose of relaxing. So we cut the log so that the top of the table matches up with the top of Strandmon’s arm.

I’ve actually been saving this particular log just for this project for a little while now. I intentionally chose a log that had lots of knots and bumps and personality. After lots and lots of sanding, I coated it with three coats of varathane to seal it and glued a piece of cork to the bottom just to protect the carpet.

When it came to choosing art for the nook, the decision was easy. This monkey print hung in Matt’s grandpa’s house (not painter grandpa, other grandpa), and when his grandpa passed away Matt asked for the picture. Its bright colours and fun theme fit in perfectly with the feel I’m going for in the basement.

While Matt loves the picture more for its connection to his grandfather than for the subject matter itself, this picture has led to a bit of a monkey collection for Matt. He has a see-no-evil, speak-no-evil, hear-no-evil figure on the windowsill and another trio of monkeys stuck into the ivy.

Speaking of the ivy, you saw my yellow pot awhile ago. Somehow I’ve managed not to kill the ivy, and it’s actually thriving. The oversize games piece was made by my dad who is a wood turner and happily takes commissions from his oldest daughter.

I’m not quite satisfied with my windowsill vignette, but I’m not sure how to fix it. I think I might need something that’s a little more horizontal? Or something that sits on top of the books? In the comments on Monday, Margaret suggested lowering the monkey picture might help to bring everything together. Any other input would be most appreciated.

While the window gives us great natural light–a huge benefit considering we’re in a basement–during the reno we added an overhead light in the centre of the nook. I liked the idea of a pendant rather than a flush mount or a lamp. However, it had to be mostly glass so that it didn’t obstruct the view out the window, and we had to hang it pretty high so that I don’t konk my head when I stand up. After weeks of searching, this simple pendant ended up being just what I wanted and just $50. Score!

The newest addition to the nook is our fleece Hudson’s Bay point blanket that Matt’s aunt gave us for Christmas. I love the point blanket pattern, and the pop of white plus the brightly coloured stripes work really, really well with everything else that’s going on in this nook.

It’s so nice to have a quiet corner to curl up. Matt can be playing a game or watching a movie over on the sectional, and I can be in the same room, but doing my own thing. All of the little details come together to make it a very special, cozy space.

I’d love to hear what is your favourite part of the nook?

Source list:
Wall paint: A custom grey somewhere around Bunny Gray from Benjamin Moore
Trim paint: Cloud White from Benjamin Moore
Wing chair: Strandmon from Ikea
Stump side table: Made by me with an assist from my FIL
Bird ottoman: Made by me (how-to is coming), fabric is Crazy Ol Bird Midnight by Swavelle/Mill Creek
Light fixture: Catalina Bella 1-light pendant from Rona
Yellow plant pot: Rona
Monkey statues: Gifts
Oversize games piece: Made by my dad, painted Seaport Blue from Benjamin Moore
Monkey print: Family heirloom
Hudson’s Bay fleece point blanket: Gift (from The Bay… I mean, it’s from Matt’s aunt, but you can buy your own at The Bay)

A painter’s premonition

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Matt’s grandpa was a painter. It was his hobby, and he was very skilled and prolific. Everyone in the family has a few of his works. This summer, Matt’s Dad came across a piece, and he immediately gave it to us. For our Christmas present, Matt’s parents had the painting framed.

It looks like it could have been painted at our farm.

What makes this a truly uncanny back to the future moment is that there’s a stump right at the edge of the driveway where the big centre tree stands in the painting. The small evergreens behind the barn ramp in the painting have now grown into our towering stand of pines.