by studiotullia | Nov 7, 2018 | DIY, INTERIOR DESIGN
At last we have made it to Week 6! I’m excited to share some pictures with you below. When you have a chance, there is a plethora of fabulous ORC Rooms by Guest Participants and Featured Designers (click on the two boxes below to get there). Now that I am done with this dining room, I plan to spend some time there myself…
So, here goes. This dining room has proven to be a great challenge. The sun was spotty today in Portland so I did my best to capture the natural light in the room.
SKY MURAL
There is one accent wall where (with the help of my daughter and husband),I have painted a decorative sky painting.
My dear friend and floral designer Joann Andriese helped me to go for the large scale branches which I trimmed from my backyard. I reupholstered our existing dining chairs in Miles Redd Tumbling Blocks by Schumacher.
The chalkboard was created using a Portland flea market find (the carved frame), that I placed a chalkboard inside. I am not sure what it was before, but it seemed to have been built into a wall and was apparently salvaged and sold at an auction, per antique dealer, LOOKS & BOOKS, from Milwaukee, OR. The carving looked old world and reminded me of Italy. My daughter has been wanting a chalkboard for awhile. It has to cure for a couple more days when I initially posted this.
Here is a shot of the built-in which was painted a pale aqua paint to compliment the sky wall. It is full of various heirloom and contemporary dishes as well as crystal, vintage paintings and vases, an old clock and books.The chandelier is from FEISS. The plant from PORTLAND NURSERY.
Here is a more panoramic shot and you can see that I have panels flanking the bay window. They are custom made out of linen blend fabric called BUTE in Ivory from Cowtan and Tout, which is super wide and so gorgeous. The two pleats on the leading edge are striped cotton called ULLAKARIN from IKEA. The woven jute rug is also from IKEA.
This heirloom rocking chair I had reupholstered when I had twins out of a leopard velvet (like Jamil Natural). It was my great grandfather’s. The blanket is from salvaged PENDLETON.
I’ve been playing around with table placement so here you can see that I moved the table and chairs so they are horizontal to the bay window. It works both ways.
The abstract artwork is from TARGET. The heirloom loveseat was also my great grandparents that I had reupholstered in striped ticking.
Here’s a close up of the vintage dinner plates I found at an estate sale. The runner is also from IKEA.
The little lumbar pillow is FANTASY FOREST by SCHUMACHER , made by STUDIO TULLIA.
A detail of the curtains, also made by STUDIO TULLIA.
Here’s another shot of my kids’ favorite spot along with fabric Sonora by SCHUMACHER and a custom faux snow leopard throw which is also a favorite in the house.
The kids aren’t the only ones who like this spot.
If you look above the door there is another found painting that was framed locally by I’VE BEEN FRAMED, my go to local art store and framer. They frame most of my found art and prints as well as family art, photographs, etc.
Here is a detail shot of the rug and chairs.
And accessories.
And a shot of the table with candles lit earlier in the day when I had no sun.
I thought this brass napkin holder and napkins from IKEA were fun to add to the mix.
Here are a few before shots just so you can appreciate how far we have come from the original orange dining room.
Here the kids are priming the chalkboard for the first time with white chalk after it cured for three days.
The kids have been having fun writing menus and such on the chalkboard:
So, that is a wrap. The sources with links are listed at the end of this post.
I could not have pulled this off without my highly skilled husband, Shiloh. I am so grateful for all his electrical, construction and installation work.
Thanks so much for following along!
SOURCES
BENJAMIN MOORE – chalkboard paint
COWTAN & TOUT – Bute in Ivory for curtains
FEISS LIGHTING – Chandelier
IKEA – Lonholt jute rug
IKEA – black linen and Goddag woven table runners
IKEA – Tillstallning brass napkin holder & napkins
IKEA – Ullakarian Striped Fabric on lead edge of curtain panels
I’VE BEEN FRAMED – frames for vintage paintings
MILLER – gray paint by Joanna Gaines
METRO PAINT – Mountain Snow for custom paint mixing and base coats
PENDLETON WOOLEN MILLS – salvaged Pendleton wool for throw
PORTLAND FLEA – antique carved frame
PORTLAND NURSERY – houseplant
SCHUMACHER -Miles Redd Tumbling Blocks on Chairs
SCHUMACHER – Sonora white fringe fabric on pillow
SCHUMACHER – Fantasy Forest on accent pillow
STUDIO TULLIA – throw pillows
WS HOME – black candlesticks
by studiotullia | Oct 17, 2018 | DIY, INTERIOR DESIGN
Here we are at week 3 and I have made some design decisions. The lighting and upholstery fabric have been ordered. But most importantly, I have started the mural! It’s like getting into a swimming pool; its a little hard at first and then you get more comfortable.
Be sure to check out what’s happening with the other ORC guest participants (tap the image above).
And to see some of the the featured designers at week 3 (tap the image below): 
There are so many talented folks who do this – you should grab a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine) and spend some time checking things out.
So, onward we go. I settled on a chandelier:
LIGHTING
This was what we had before:
And this is what I selected:
$297.45
Originally $729.35
There are a few chandeliers out there that I love (that cost a lot more) but ultimately to find something my husband and I both agreed on, and with the price being so right on this one, we went for it. I like that the shades are hand blown glass rather than fabric shades that gather dust. And I like the more modern look and black silhouette. I can take my time and wait to find a really amazing chandelier down the road.
UPHOLSTERY for CHAIRS:
I was going to go with a leopard velvet kind of like the rocker pictured below.
I needed something somewhat neutral that works with the black and white in the room on the loveseat and the sideboard.
STRIPED BLACK & WHITE LOVESEAT
BLACK/BROWN PERIOD SIDEBOARD:
I ultimately chose:
RED MILES TUMBLING BLOCKS by SCHUMACHER
It will breathe some new life into the room, I am hoping.
So, the inevitable needed to happen. The mural needed to begin and I have never done a mural before.
MURAL INSPO
JOHN DERIAN’s SWALLOW WALLPAPER:
and this lovely wallpaper mural by:
So began the custom mixing:
And the beginning application of paint with the roller:
And the brush (see our lovely temporary light fixture below):
My 11 year old daughter was helping me quite a bit with the sky and clouds. She has always been an artist…
By the end of the second day, it was looking more like Van Gogh’s Starry Night than what I had in mind.
I made the mistake of thinking that I could bang this out in a couple of 3 hour sessions and after two days, that is what it looked like.
I told my daughter I wasn’t happy with it and that I wanted to paint it over. She asked if she could play with it for a bit if I was planning to scrap it anyway. So she did. I swallowed my ego and admitted that I liked what she did with the clouds. She softened them and blended them better so they weren’t so animated. Then I realized that, as usual, I needed to slow down and take my time if I wanted to create something worth keeping. She is always telling me to slow down.
So needless to say the mural is still in the works.
We are in full swing now and I look forward to sharing my progress with you next week. In the meantime, you can follow me on INSTAGRAM
Let me know what you think and thank you for following along!
by studiotullia | Oct 3, 2018 | DIY, INTERIOR DESIGN
It’s impossible to stay on top of all the featured designers and guest participants, but click on the image below to go to the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE headquarters where all participants link in once a week for the next six weeks. Pick some favorites and follow along. There is a lot of talent and drama out there.
TREPIDATION
With some trepidation, here I am six months later, still trying to renovate the dining room. For those of you who don’t remember, I attempted to address the dining room last Spring with the SPRING 2018 ORC and ended up putting this project on hold. A trip to San Francisco, the twins’ birthdays, illness, and a major hitch lead us down a dark path of incompletion. The major hitch being that we decided to redo the ceiling rather than paint over the nasty asbestos tiles. I was trying to do a quick fix and my husband Shiloh got me to slow down and take the time to do it right. I really had no idea what we were getting into.
RECAP
Here is a quick recap of our storied dining room. When we moved into the house the dining room was a deep orange and has remained that way for over a decade. You know why? Twins. Charlotte and Arthur came along and needless to say, the dining room had to stay that way for awhile.
When we first moved in, we found the brass light fixture at THE REBUILDING CENTER in Portland. it was supposed to be a $40 temporary fix. I have banged my head on that solid brass fixtures more times than I can count. I relished carrying it to the curb this Summer where it was promptly claimed by some poor innocent passerby who has no idea how hard that thing is when you walk into it.
The curtains will also be replaced.
The chairs will be reupholstered.
MOUNTAIN WHITE
To get rid of the orange, I did a few base coats in MOUNTAIN WHITE by METRO PAINT which is my go to white. I’ve used it all over the house – in my office, in the upstairs hallway. Its recycled, quality paint that is extremely affordable ($40 dollars or so for a 5 gallon tub) and it is a beautiful white for bluish Portland light.
See the ugly ceiling? It looked even worse after the white went up. That’s when we decided we couldn’t bare to look at it every evening over dinner. It would bother us. We’d ask, why didn’t we replace it when we had the chance??? 
THE DEMO
This is the ceiling without the wooden trim covering the seams.
Then he cut into the ceiling to replace old wires and add new ones for the wifi and smoke detector.
Then he bought dry wall to install over the tiles since we were only going to lose 1/2 inch if we took them down and that would have been a nightmare.
He had to build these wooden braces to hold up the dry wall during installation.
And there’s this lovely grate that my father in law and a few others have fallen through when a chair leg finds its way into the holes.
So, 6 months later, clean slate.White walls, white ceiling. Let the fun begin.
INSPIRATION
The room that remains an inspiration is this room by San Francisco ABH Interiors:
I love the soft gray walls with the darker wooden tones and of course this incredible mural by GRACIE STUDIO. We plan to do an accent wall but with a more northwestern vibe. I like the lightness of the room with the warm sepia, aqua and white tones.
Swallows are a thing in Portland. And this John Derian Chimney Swallows Dawn Wallpaper available through Designers Guild is pretty wonderful:
So is this serene cloud wall by A NEWALL:
SO, the walls are where I am headed next.
Thanks for following along! I’d love to hear from you as we go along here…
![ONE ROOM CHALLENGE 2016 -WEEK 6 of CHARLOTTE’S ROOM FINAL REVEAL!]()
by studiotullia | May 13, 2016 | DESIGN TRENDS, HOME IMPROVEMENT, HOUSE TOUR: Traditional Spanish Style House near Pto. Vallarta, INTERIOR DESIGNERS THAT INSPIRE
Well, we managed to finish up just in time! Here are the results. We were lucky to have a bright sunny day for these last minute pictures, thanks to my amazing assistant, Amanda. Everything is smelling like roses and I am drinking a gin and tonic as I write this (it is after 5 pm West coast time, FYI).
FINAL REVEAL:
Below is a painting of our backyard fig tree that Charlotte and her friend Alex painted together last year. I floated it in one of IKEA’s shadow box frames.
As you can see we have a little woodland theme going on with the deers and bunny rabbit. I know the rose floral shade on the sconce and bed linens from IKEA are a departure from the neon splatter, but it was such a lovely pattern we bent the matchy matchy rules. Perhaps bold colors or solid colored linens would have worked better, but we wanted to make these work. They’re cozy and a little English or something. The framed deer art is hand cross stitched by a very patient Oregonian: a vintage find that was in perfect condition. The antique bed is an heirloom from my grandparents that my Mother stripped and refinished years ago.
The large splatter pillow was a trial run before the curtains and the hand drawn critter pillow Charlotte drew awhile back as a prototype for a school auction project. The cross pillow was from STUDIO TULLIA inventory and we liked it in the room.
You can see a little bit of the furry stool we created by covering an IKEA stool. It is the perfect little occasional stool for this tiny room and adds some much needed glamour.
I want to show you a close up of the white bunny painting by Oregonian artist ELIZABETH SEE because she is so talented.
We have come quite a ways in just a couple weeks. Here are a few before shots:
Getting that pink the right color took some work. Between BENJAMIN MOORE PAINT and METRO PAINT we got it done.
The IKEA curtains were perhaps the funnest part of this project and they really set the tone for the room.
This IKEA PS 2014 ceiling pendant is very cool in its design. The pull factor really is fun at night and gives you a diverse range of visual effects. Her twin brother Arthur is a little jealous when it comes to the light. Thank God they have lego building experience as they put this thing together all by themselves. Whereas that project might have put me right over the edge.
This is her bookshelf which I have staged for this shoot. The camellias ,roses and hydrangeas are from our garden. The amethyst cut crystal vase was her great grandmother’s and the other vase is a hand painted vintage vase as well. The flower etched globe light is from IKEA. And we all know that’s an AMERICAN DOLL in a wheelchair. The one thing in the catalog Arthur liked because it had wheels.
HARRY POTTER books without their covers aren’t so bad looking next to the collection of NANCY DREW books.
All of the pillows in this feature have been provided by my primary sponsor ~ STUDIO TULLIA! Vintage ones (like the cool beaded rose pillow above) as well as other vintage oddities are available through TULLIA MARKETPLACE, which is not fully off the ground, but should be by this Summer.
Here are a few more pictures of the flowers up close because they are just so pretty. The vase is by who else…IKEA. The little painting is by Charlotte.
A FEW MORE NOTES…
We decided last minute to switch out her side table form TARGET and it needed to be white. The finish was antique gold and it just fell flat in the corner. We almost painted the gold framed mirror, too, but decided it added some bling and was ok as is.
This room was a quite a challenge because in all honesty this room is a dog. The room is tiny, the ceiling is slanted, the windows and trim work are funky, and many more issues I don’t need to bore you with.
The good news is that this is the room she wants to be in and is a very happy girl. She could not fall asleep last night she was so excited. I hated to wake her up this morning. This room is her safe haven, compared to the larger guest room where she was temporarily staying during this project.
Sweet Dreams, my Sweet Charlotte.
I am excited to grab a cup of coffee tomorrow morning and indulge myself in the many final reveals as part of the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE, thanks to CALLING IT HOME.
This was a great challenge for me and 6 weeks was just about right. I am excited to do another room in the Fall.
Here is the link to twenty very talented designer bloggers’ final reveals HERE
And if that’s not enough, there are over 1,000 Guest Participant Final Reveals to view HERE:
Thanks so much for following along!
Best,
Suzanne
