ORC Challenge - Project Chinoisy Safari Chic Master

It’s D-Day for us amateurs.  Today kicks off the 6-week ORC link up.  Hello and welcome to those of you who are new to Chez V.  Feel free to poke around and make yourselves at home.  You will find that I am a momma, a frustrated baker, an accidental DIYer, a lover of all things vintage particularly chinoiserie, an avid cook, a reluctant gardener, an obnoxiously loud laugher, and a boogie down queen.  Other than that, I divide my time obsessing over all things design related, entertaining at home, reading anything with print, watching one too many Bravo shows, and occasionally (read most evenings) enjoying a cocktail on my patio.  Welcome. Without further ado, I give you the scary larry BEFOREs of my much neglected master bedroom.

BEFORE
- a little too granny french country -

BEFORE
- shot from doorway showing other side of room with terrible, horrible, no good, very bad fan that
the mr. refuses to part with - silly him, it's donzo! -

BEFORE
- a minor attempt at zhushing the turd until makeover starts - pillow swap from other
rooms in the house and a 'borrowed' piece of art I commissioned from
MFAMB for my 5 yr old -

So I mentioned yesterday that I already tried to tackle the room I have chosen - my master bedroom.  I declared a self-imposed ORC in June.  I made a plan and even made some critical design decisions like paint, lighting, artwork, and rugs.  I committed myself to 6-weeks with a teeny budget.  All systems go.  Paint arrives and I announce, with gusto, to the mr. that I will be painting said bedroom the dark, dreamy, shiny color of my dreams.  To which he replied, ‘that will look like shit.’  Say what?!   As is the case with all of my best laid plans, the mr. is always the voice of reason and squasher of dreams.  He informed me that our plaster-ish pebbly walls with x-layers of paint would show every nook and cranny of a dark, shiny paint.  He said that we would need to sand the walls prior to painting.  Who sands walls before painting except when patching holes?!  I told him he was crazy talking. Whatevs, I said.  And promptly began painting some sample squares to prove him wrong.  See?!  Shit.  I just need to add a few more coats and NOBODY will notice.  Double shit.  What's with all these dimples? So fine, we need to sand.  I start with a block and heavy grit sand paper only to realize after 5 minutes that my arm has officially fallen off and landed in Australia.  I have covered approximately one square foot.  By this point the smug mr. is laughing and introducing me to various power tools of the sanding variety.  All of which sounds like blah, blah, blah, messy, messy, messy, blah to me.  After 3 hours with power tools, we had still only sanded one corner and inhaled our weight in dust.  At which point the mr. suggests that we should probably test for lead paint.  And boom, wheels are off the design train in week 2.

headboard | bedding | paint | chandelier | sconces | jute rug |persian rug | leopard pillow | floral pillow | mirror

So here I am again taking another whack at this master bedroom that has gone virtually untouched since I moved into this house 8 yrs ago.  EIGHT yrs ago.  Sads.  The plan is still sort of the same Out of Africa colonial vibe.  These items are wishlist items, most of which I can’t afford at the moment due to some extenuating circumstances that are too private and boring to discuss.  No matter.  I will be attempting a few DIYs and scouting is one of my favorite pastimes, so I will find affordable options even if I have to beg, borrow, or steal from family.  No shame in my game.

This is the plan I put together in June and I am sticking pretty close to the vibe of the original plan.  I do hope you will join me each Thursday over the next 6 weeks as this makeover progresses.  A huge thank you to Linda for extending the challenge!  Here’s hoping I at least get the damn room painted.

kisses,  mrs. V

Kitchen Confidential

This is the plan anyway.  A starting point, really.  Stretch your imagination to envision an L – shaped banquette, half of which you see here.  Next, pretend that the black faux leather cushions with green welting, that you can just make out if you squinchy up your eyesballs, are totally complete.  If you can do those two things, then you are well on your way to understanding the foundations of the eat-in portion of my kitchen.  

Perhaps you remember when I said I was going in a different direction with Chez V.  In terms of the kitchen, that means finally finishing this banquette and hopefully (when the mr. isn't looking) covering the back wall in a great patterned wallpaper.  My love affair with Martinique has not ended, but I am thinking perhaps this paisly from York could be a contenda!  My kitchen has had many incarnations, the remnants of which you see with the random things still hanging on the walls.

Currently we are using an old farm/work table that was my mother’s.  Love that thing but it is too unwieldy for the space.  In order for folks to get comfortably into and out of the banquette without exposing their nether parts, an oval shape table (preferably a pedestal) is a must.  Not to mention that cleaning under it and accessing the storage under the banquette is a total pain.  For that reason an oval marble topped Saarinen tulip table has been on my wishlist for years but I am thinking of pairing an old Duncan Phyfe with modern-ish chairs.  I think the contrast of the dark, traditional table against the modern white banquette and chairs will create some nice tension in the room.

I currently have the pagoda mirror, the Duncan Phyfe table, the Ikea chairs, painting, chandelier, woven shades, the hide rug, and the wide green wide stripe fabric.  Everything else is a place holders of sorts.  A similar runner will go in between my butcher block island and the sink side of the kitchen.  Will needs lots of pillows for the banquette - Furbish and AriannaBelle are great sources for them.  Because here's the deal, this is one of my favorite spots in the house.  It gets great sunlight during the day (where I like to drink coffee and read my magazines) and when I am entertaining, people are always in the kitchen anyway.  So this huge banquette will offer lots of comfy seating.  I want to do some sort of statement piece in the opposite corner where the plant is now and ever since seeing Lindsay Reid's house in House Beautiful I have been hankering to put a vivid lamp on a pedestal.  Looking for a comfortable yet smallish upholstered host chair.  And you know I am gonna slam a monogram  and some animal print on it.  

All layouts by mrs. V

kisses,  mrs. V