WK5 ORC Updates

WK5 of the ORC link up is here and I am going to keep this one short because I am not even close to finishing Project Chinoisy Safari Chic aka my master bedroom.  Crikey.  While everyone else is busy styling, accessorizing, and putting the finishing zhush on their spaces, I am busy re-enacting an episode of Hoarders.  Can’t bring one thing into this bedroom until paint is completed.  We are priming and priming and priming those super smooth walls.  The dark, glossy walls of my dreams are now my daily nightmare.  Seriously.  I would have put paint up in WK1 and called it good but this is where we were...

Sand City, sweetheart

the mr. acting as braun

And here I am on Monday officially OVER it.  This is the part where I am cleaning the sanded walls.  I won't bore you with details but it involved many wipe downs, both dry and damp and dry again, many, many times to get rid of the dust on the surface.  F* these walls is the long and short of what I was thinking at this point.

Finally, some form of paint is going up on the walls!  Praise be to wine.  The mr. got the first coat of primer up last night.  Progress is progress, no matter how small.

By the way, if you have no idea what I am talking about then you need to catch up:  WK1, WK2, WK3, WK4.  The pros continue to make this ORC thing look easy, but this is what I have learned.  Doing a space in 6 wks on a tight budget is HARD.  My already healthy wine regimen is quickly becoming triathlon worthy and is helping me to power through or at least cope with the massive pile of stuff building up on and around my kitchen table.  So yes, back to Hoarders.

Keeping it real real over here

Not being able to bring things into the room, because of paintmaggedon, has led to a pile up of furniture and accessories everywhere.  And even for a naturally predisposed hoarder such as myself, this chaos is seriously cramping my style.  But enough with the sob story already.  I am seeing this thing through - so aside from basically living at Lowe’s and Home Depot, I have been finalizing art and getting my DIY swerve on while I wait for paint to dry.  Literally.  I am also well aware of the fact that I have yet to show any real progress shots of the room.  As I said folks, it will be a hair pulling, down to the wire right kinda show.  These snippets will have to suffice as evidence that I am, in fact, doing shit.  I also encourage you to follow me on Instagram for up to the minute reality tv.

this right here is EVERYTHING

etchings for the headboard wall

love the detail in each one - a total of 4 are going up - they will flank the round sunburst mirror over the headboard

gold frames to pop against the dark walls

the mr. went to hang the chandy last night and we realized we didn't have a cap
off I rushed to Lowes but no brass options - so I got a white one and zapped it

I added a little chinoiserie flair to the shams late last night

Let’s take a look at what has been accomplished since last week:

Now I am off for a family jaunt this wknd, leaving the mr. behind with a rather long Honey Do list and then he is leaving me high and dry on Monday going into reveal week.  This is significant for many reasons, the primary one being that I will see the actual paint color for the first time on the walls when I get back on Sunday.  There is a chance that I may totally hate it.  Then what?!  Then there is the issue of moving everything back into the room on my own.  So basically, those super smooth walls that we have busted our asses on for 5 wks will be promptly destroyed by this crazed lady moving heavy furniture and wielding a hammer and drill frantically trying to hang pictures, hardware, mirrors, and baseboards.  Crikey is right!

As always, do not forget to check in with my fellow participants!

kisses,  mrs. V

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

LA Plates Giveaway

By now I think we all know how much I adore a great monogram.  Something sits still long enough in this house and I’m likely to slap a monogram on it.  As I indicated yesterday, one of my favsies ladies, the genius behind La Plates, is having a fabulous giveaway and a great 10% discount on ALL appliqued items here.  I, for one, am in love with literally everything on offer as La Plates is THE place for all things monogrammed.  I know a certain little girl in mi casa that would adore one of those gingham applique pillows.  And I know this girl would love this or this.

Go here to enter.  During this giveaway week, use discount code PILLOW10 by 9/29/13 to get 10% off your appliqued pieces.  So many great gift ideas.

BTWs, Can't say enough great things about owner Lara Shelton.  Not only is she a dear friend and sorority sister but she has been a great mentor to me and an all around 'you go girl' cheerleader of Chez V from the very beginning.  Love ya, La!!!!

Tell her mrs. V sent ya!

kisses,  mrs. V

Where the Heck Have I Been?

Oh hey.  Hi.  Where was I?  Smack dab in the middle of Summer is where and then whammo – off the grid without so much as a c’est la vie or by your leave or see ya on the flip, drip... Sorry.  It has not been a complete undocumented mess over in Chez V land as I am never too far from my phoney phone and an Insta trail tends to leave clues about where I have been and what sorts of shenanigans are occupying my time.  Our Chez V code of conduct these days as evidenced by IG:  

Then I sent my little off to kindergarten.  On a bus.  In a uniform.  Feck.

Tomorrow, I return with news of a fab monogram giveaway from one of my favorite ladies and a story about how a company managed to successfully lose my business for life and longer.

kisses,  mrs. V