I just checked my email library; since I’ve started writing these newsletters, I’ve shared pictures of work in my own home only once and in November, 2011,featured a screen I painted for my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding.
There was no way I could not share this project with you.
Most importantly, my granddaughter was born on August 27, 2013. Harper Marie Leichsenring arrived at 8:08pm, weighing 8 lbs.4 oz and measuring 20 ½”. Momma and baby are home now, doing well.
Work started in Harper’s nursery months earlier. My daughter-in-law Annie had decided on a simply lovely palette to work with, pale pink and soft grey. Let me show you a pair of pictures first and then I’ll walk you through it.
Once the delicate chandelier had been hung, there was no getting away from this was going to be a pink confection! My son requested some of the gray color to be added to keep the pink from swallowing up the room. You’ll see I added a wide, 12″ border with rounded ensign-cut corners to one wall. It helps interrupt the pink in a manner easy on the eyes. We first tried just making the wall a solid gray, but it just seemed too abrupt. Not a tremendous amount of gray used in the border, but it gets the job done. The plush and textured gray carpet adds good balance.
You’ll see a painting on the wall. It measures 36″ x 48″. Using a painted canvas for artwork in a nursery, instead of painting directly on the wall, is more practical as the room’s furniture will be re-arranged when Harper’s crib becomes a bed. I was my own worst client ever trying to determine the canvas’s subject. I needed to stay within the palette, and keep a measure of whimsy in my composition. After many discussions and sketches shared back and forth with Annie and Ryan, I was ready to paint.
Here is a closeup of the mural.
Also of note, take a look at the window treatments. Annie found the delicate, shirred and ruffled valences. I found a damask stencil that complemented the damask pattern Annie chose for the crib’s bedding. I used the soft gray (Benjamin Moore’s “Bunny gray”) to stencil on the roller shades.
Ryan had found a pair of illustrations with fairies in the forest. The coloring was perfect, the frames a soft silver. The only problem was that hung on the wall, they were just a tad too small for the area.
Problem solved with hand-painted ribbons to “hang” the pictures on
This is trompe l’oeil (French for “to fool the eye”) at its most simple use.
I don’t think I’ve ever been happier painting than the time I spent helping get this sweet nursery for Harper. A pinch is in order these days to get me back to work—I am walking on air! I never thought being a grandmother would bring such joy.
From time to time, I get asked if I “do” children’s rooms.
I do, I do I do! And it’s something I simply love doing. I hope Harper’s nursery has shown there are many versatile painting solutions that can be used in a child’s room.
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