How to Glamorize Taxidermy

You probably weren't terribly surprised to see the faux taxidermy in our powder room. I all but ruined the surprise in this post.

But, I do hope I surprised you with the finish on our little guy.

Can you tell he has little gold antlers? 

Well, he does. 

It's pretty subtle, I know. But, that's what I like about it.

Rustic glam. 

He didn't start out this way though.

I gave him a little lovin' via a small jar of Liquid Leaf in Classic Gold. 

Honestly, I found the antelope head at HomeGoods for under $25 and I passed it up. I loved the shape and the architecture of the antlers, but the finish just wasn't right for our dark powder room with brass accents. That's when it dawned on me…with just an extra bit of attention I could get the look I was after at a very reasonable price, not to mention instant gratification in taking him home with me that day. Yeah, for small victories.

Here's a close up of one of the antlers - see, it is all sparkly, beautiful and glamorous. 

I wouldn't lie to 'ya!

Maybe one day I'll figure out how to get a proper picture of this glamorized guy in our dark powder room. But, for now, you'll just have to trust me when I tell you he really pops with his gold accents against the navy wall. 

So much so that I left the wall clear of all other accouterment, which is a rarity for me, but that's how much I love me some glammed up taxidermy. 

until next time, 

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Dark and Hairy Progress {Powder Room Reveal}

It's no secret that I'm feeling super inspired by the dark room movement at the moment {I posted about it here and here}. So, we took to the walls to make it a reality in our own home. 

Welcome to the newly navy {BM Hale Navy to be exact} powder room. 

Can I just stop for a moment to say how incredibly hard it is to photograph a tiny space with no natural light and dark walls while not using a flash. Zoinks, these are some tough photos. Sorry 'bout that!

Anywho…

We are loving all that drama! The color is much richer in person, a navy with a hint of a deep purple undertone. 

As if you couldn't have guessed, I did manage to score and incorporate a bit of faux taxidermy to the space. More on how I glamorized this little guy later in the week...

Although our powder room is not large, I was able to carve out a corner for this sweet, little accordion table filled with some powder room essentials. 

The stargazer lily adds a wonderful pop of color in here - almost inspiring me to add a hot pink towel. 

Perhaps...

For the moment, I've added a tonal towel in a shade of teal blue that contrasts nicely again the navy walls while not standing out entirely to steal the show in this sparsely decorated room. 

A new light fixture and a fun soap dispenser is on the wish list, but for now, this bold statement of a wall color is making me more than happy.

Hope you had a great weekend! And tell me, how do you feel about dark walls?

linking in with:

Between Naps on the Porch

until next time, 

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Dark, Hairy, Glamorous {Powder Room Inspiration}

Ah, the powder room. We've got one. As I am sure you do, too. Ours is small with no natural light, nestled behind the stairs on the first floor. Perfect for a big statement. 

That's what I thought … and thought … and thought while I searched endlessly for the perfect paper to make such a statement. But, after months of endless searching, I've changed my tune and decided that paint can also make a bold statement.

source

Check out this dark, bold wall color. If this doesn't make a statement, I don't know what does. No need for wallpaper here. 

I love the natural wood tones in this space as well, a great contradiction to a lighter painted piece that you would expect to see paired with a darker wall. 

But, have you ever heard that old design rule about NOT painting a small, natural-light-less room a dark color? Yeah, me too. 

Who plays by those rules anyway?

It's going to be warm, cozy and super dramatic. Everything you want your powder room to be.

source

So, that's decided: paint the walls a dark, bold color.

But, what about accessories?

Of course, I am going brass. Just look how that gilded mirror really pops against the dark walls. Remember the vintage mirror I gold-leafed for our Chicago powder room (here)? 

It's coming back. 

The Nester

Moving on...

Taxidermy, faux or real. What are your thoughts?

It's a huge trend right now and if you don't believe me check out these images I pulled from three of the biggest bloggers out there. 

Whether you go the natural route,

Young House Love

or the more modern white ceramic route,

Miss Mustard Seed

or the rustic route - taxidermy isn't just for mountain cottages or country farmhouses anymore. 

Dark, hairy and glamorous.

Isn't that what everyone wants for their powder room?

 Stay tuned to see how it comes together.

until next time, 

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Powder Room Reveal

You've seen the stencil and the mirror, but you haven't seen them together...until now!

Welcome to our newly glamorized powder room.

The new scheme has proved to be pretty tonal, but I'm liking it. {White and cream together has always been a favorite.} In fact, the slightly wilted roses are the only bold color in the space, and clearly, they aren't a permanent feature.

I've kept the rustic hanging shelf, because along with white and cream, casual elegance is also one of my favorite things. Nothing crazy here on the shelves: soaps, scented candle and extra TP. It's not rocket science. 

But not everything in this space is new. In fact, the beautiful brass towel bar was here when we moved in.  I'm so happy we didn't trash it when we remodeled this room in the early days. 

The crystal and brass light fixture is also original to this room. I knew immediately, we'd keep this piece; a good cleaning was all it needed to really shine. And of course, it adds that bit of glamor that I really wanted in this space.

So, there you have it. An updated bath with a casually elegant feel. I may, very well, be in love. How about you?

Linking in with:

Met Monday

Until next time, 

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Gold Leafed Mirror

Our newly stenciled powder room was crying out for an updated mirror, something to match our new glammed up look. Initially, I started trolling craigslist and our local discount shops, but I kept coming up empty handed. 

I wanted something with loads of detail and an antiqued look {kinda like this one}.

Then I remembered an old mirror that we picked up in London years ago for our nursery/guest room. It was pained a cute rosy pink with golden accents. I loved it when we bought it but never really found a great place for it in this house. 

{sorry this is a terrible before picture, but it makes the after look that much more spectacular, right?}

Solid wood with beautiful details, it's a perfect candidate for a little makeover. 

{this picture was taken after a coat of adhesive was added, hence the shine.}

To achieve my desired glamorous, antiqued finish, I decided to give gold leafing a try. 

I ordered two packs {25 sheets each} of gold leaf composite, adhesive, sealer and an antiquing glaze and got started.

Once the adhesive was dry, each gold leaf sheet was applied using a foam brush. I quickly realized that the foam brush wasn't allowing the gold leaf to get into all the little nooks and crannies so I moved forward using my hands. Needless to say, it started to get a bit messy.

Despite my best efforts, I still couldn't get every little bit covered. At this point, I grabbed my trusty Rub N' Buff in Antique Gold and used a craft brush to cover the bigger areas.

I assumed, in advance, that I'd want to add an antique glaze, and I'm so glad I did. I was really surprised by how bright the gold leaf was. 

I covered the mirror with several layers of glaze to achieve my desired look. And, of course, went back in with a craft brush to darken the nooks and crannies. 

After each layer, I wiped away the excess with a clean towel. 

And now, I have a brand new, much more glamorous, antiqued golden mirror. 

What do you think? 

Can't wait to show you the mirror paired with the stenciled wall. The powder room has a brand new look and I'm lovin' it!

Linking in with:

House of Grace

Wow us Wednesday

Until next time, 

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The Project that Almost Did Me In {aka stenciling my powder room}

In my February plan post, I mentioned I wanted to do some work in our powder room. I'd always thought I wanted to have a statement paper in my half bath, but papers are expensive and not for the commitment-phobic. 

The next best thing, I thought, would be to stencil it. I'm not talking about the little stencil borders, I'm talking about an all over bold, graphic pattern - something that might give the impression of wall paper. 

{Iron Gate All Over Stencil}

These types of stencils are all over blogland and true to form, I assumed my normal mantra: if I've seen it done, surely I can do it too. Well, let me just tell you, this is the project that nearly had me hang up my beloved DIY hat. Whoever said stenciling is easy, clearly never worked in a small space with lots of corners and moldings.

Here's the brief play by play: It started off easy enough,

Then started to get a bit trickier as I neared the corners,

And THEN became almost laughable when the corners met up with the moldings.

At this point, I realized that the stencil was NOT going to be perfect. Once I came to terms with that, the whole project became much more manageable. In the end, I had to cut the stencil to make smaller pieces that would fit my space. Whatever works, right? 

So, it's done. 

I thought it would only take me an afternoon. But, in reality, it was a two day project. Mostly because I had to keep walking away because it was SO frustrating, but also because my girls were not wanting to nap! {also very frustrating.}

Is it perfect? No. 

Did I go back through with a craft brush to fix some of the bigger areas? You bet I did. 

Did I get crazily obsessed over it? I tried not to.

Does it look like wallpaper? Maybe from a distance, but certainly not up close. 

Am I still happy with the outcome? Yes, I am. 

Linking in with: 

Met Monday

Home Stories AtoZ

Wow us Wednesday

Until next time, 

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Personalizing a Foot Stool

If you follow me on Facebook, you'll know that my planned craft for today was foiled. I had intended on making my own moss balls, but found them for sale at Michael's for a ridiculous $4.99 - no way to beat that, so it was time to fall back on Plan B for this week's craft.

Enter the $8 foot stool

This is one of those projects that has been on the back burner for quite some time.

I picked up the stool at a local antique market for $8 this past Fall - the plan was to paint, stencil and distress it.

First a coat of Valspar Jade.

20 minutes later, a ring of Valspar Bronze (left over from the golden pinecones).

20 more minutes, an allover coat of Valspar Sky Blue.

1 hour later, a light sanding around the edges to reveal some of the various colors.

Time to stencil (left over from the BGR, for a tutorial, click here).

At this point, I let it dry overnight then went back in for another light sanding.

Getting angled, zoomed in, shots of distressing is really hard! Here are a couple of attempts:

I think you get the idea!

And here she is all settled into her new home. I'm loving this pop of color in our powder room. And I have a sneaking suspicion that my daughter will help bring the distressing to a whole new level!

Not bad for a first time distresser - wouldn't you say?

Until next time,

PS. if you'd like to follow me on facebook, click here. Or just become a Google friends follower in my sidebar to the right.

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Playing with Scale, in the Bathroom

Remember my recently styled shelves, which featured this lovely little mirror?

Guest Suite Hallway

I stole it from here...

Powder Room (at Christmas)

Which left me with a minor spot to fill.

Truth be told, I had been wanting to switch out this mirror with our foyer mirror for quite some time,

so when opportunity called - I came a answerin!

What do you think?

Is it too big?

Mr. DD thought so.

But I love how much light it reflects around this small and somewhat dark space.

And for the record, he changed his opinion within an hour of it being hung.

Love when that happens.

This large scale piece makes a huge impact in a relatively small space - which, in my opinion, is a great thing in a powder room.

What do you think, is your powder room high on drama?

Until next time,

 
Linking in with Savvy Southern Style BTB party.

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