Gallery Wall Concept

Oh I love Etsy & Pinterest... With all these discounted, one day sale, e-commerce stores popping up (Fab, Joss & Main, Gilt, etc...) I almost forgot about my love for Etsy. Since I decided to start on this "gallery" wall for the living room, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for me to revisit my old sweetheart, Etsy.

Coming up with a theme was easy. Since Jes & I have decided to create a home of... stuff we love + cabin wishes + urban pioneer realities. I thought why not have all that (whatever "that" really is) summed up in this gallery wall.

Since Pinterest has really become the home decor encyclopedia, I will allow you to search though thousands of inspiration pictures and how-to guides regarding gallery walls. You'll note that there are not any rules when it comes to creating one of these. You can have what I call the "Type A" or the "Type B" looks. Since our old apartment had a collection of black and white photos gathered in to a very straight rectangle (*cough*... very Type A), I figured would do something a little bit different.

I searched Etsy up and down using keywords like, philadelphia, cabin, hipster, rural, etc... and came up with a TON of stuff. While I would love to purchase everything and see how this puzzle of the gallery wall fits together - I can't do that without going broke! Since I am starting from scratch with this collection, I needed a way to plan my Etsy purchases. Therefore, I decided to use MS Powerpoint (Side note: I would love Illustrator and Photoshop, but for my truly basic needs I can make powerpoint work). 

I measured out a space where the gallery wall would go, created a scale, and then adjust the page size of the powerpoint slide. Using screenshots of all the art images, I sized down to scale and placed the item in powerpoint. This is where I ran in to my first road block. I had a hard time figuring out where to start in this collection. Therefore I allowed my obsessive tendencies kick in... I drew in lines to mark the center and then created a center oval to "direct" the collection shape. By using this technique I helped create a sense of balance with in the collection... well, I hope I did. Once I had the frame work completed, I was able to picked and plop items until I was happy with the collection.

This gallery wall was created with art from my personal collection & Etsy Sellers: MetalMelersllc, joystclaire, BrandiFitzgerald, LisaRussoFineArt, allsonostertag, embiscuitpics. Click here for listings.

Now how do I sell this collection (and expense) to Jesse...

By showing him the whole picture!

I still laugh at my so-called scaled creations on powerpoint! LOL! They work and they help me explain my "internal thought process" to Jesse.

x, Shan

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Where to go now?

"Wouldn't this look great here?"

"Oh, what are your thoughts on this!?!" 

"Oohh it's soo soft!" 

I am completely struggling with this whole "finish one room at a time" mandate Jesse has dictated. I see the logic behind his reasoning. It's just a bit painful because we are not moving as fast as my brain comes up with concepts. 

We are still working on the painting on the first floor. Here is our current progress...

The doors and trim in the dining room (Jes is currently painting the living room) have been painted using Benjamin Moore White Dove. About half of the walls above the chair rail have been painted Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. The wall space below the chair rail will be another awesome Cole & Son wallpaper.

I think I need to focus on a "small" task that helps me feel like we are making progress. Therefore, I have decided to embark on creating a "gallery" wall in the living room. Our old apartment had a collection of black and white photos, however I'm feeling the need for something different. Something that combines everything that we find completely awesome.... well... really... what I find completely awesome. 

x, Shan

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Project: Powder Room

Finally, I am throwing in the towel! The powder room is done (well, for now)!

Some people are born with a fantastic skill set that allows them to create wonderful things... Our skill set doesn't include carpentry. While YouTube and HGTV makes everything look easy and fantastic. I have to keep in mind they are professionals and this is not my day job. Overall, I love the concept of our powder room. It's when you start looking at the fine details and you can see our blunders. As I stated, we are not professionals and we are learning as we go... You have to crawl before you walk, right?

I've omitted the picture of me in my sweatpants.... you'll thank me later! The wallpaper makes me giggle with delight every time I see it! It's from Cole & Son, the Fornasetti II Collection, Teatro 97/14043.

x, Shan

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Making some progress

I think we are trying to do too much. Every time I turn around, there is something that we need to accomplish. O'well, it will all be done in time... right!?!

Last weekend, we managed to fix the damage we created in the basement and fix a mouse hole in the kitchen.

If you remember, we took out a large section of the wall in the basement to maneuver our washer and dryer downstairs. Rather than building the wall exactly as it was, we decided to cap off the hole. Just in case we have more items we need to move down to the basement. Did I mention I need a new couch down there!?!

Here is the unfinished outcome:

We still have to: pick a paint color, fill in the top gap with plaster, and fix the stairs.

However we have also discovered a mouse issue... um... yuck!

Look, I live in an urban environment and mice happen. That doesn't mean I have to like it! I found a mouse snooping through my fancy simple human trash can, yep he crawled right up in there! Therefore we had to take immediate action. I'm sorry, but when you lift lid of your trash can and there is a pair of eyes staring back at you... I'm not sure about you, but my first reaction was to scream. Our dog ran upstairs and hid under the bed. Once I calmed down, we started a mouse hole hunting mission.

Since we purchased a brand new rehab, at the time of our sale, we didn't think to check behind appliances for holes. However, our prior apartment living experience has trained us to always look behind the stove, dishwasher, and fridge for mouse holes! Sure enough, we found them.

We discovered exposed outlets behind our stove (not good) and a giant hole behind the dishwasher. It looks like the contractor accidentally damaged the drywall and didn't fix it because they knew a dishwasher was going to block it.

Lesson learned - check behind the appliances in your home inspection.

x, Shan

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