My New Vintage Ceramic Lamp

This is my fabulous new desk lamp I won on Ebay this week. I received it yesterday and quickly ran out and found the lampshade and finial. It's even newly rewired by yours truly.

It makes my desktop a happier place.

Refacing Old Fireplaces

Not sure what to do with your outdated fireplace? No reason to fill up the landfill. This fireplace was originally wood with architectural elements. Our plaster treatment was applied right over the original mantel and surround.


Below is the fireplace before the plaster was applied.

Before

Worried about dust? Our mess is minimal when we use the ZipWall. We just need enough room to set up the apparatus and all your furnishings are protected. We come out covered in dust, but not your entire home.

With a project like this, you can brag to your friends and neighbors that you've gone 'green'. This lime-based material has zero-VOC. No drywall or building materials were purchased. We've saved the client money by plastering over the existing mantel and surround, reducing demo and remodeling costs. Best of all, the mantel and surround aren't lying in a landfill.

Glamorous Lusterstone Dining Room

Finally I get to show you after pictures of a project I worked on last May. Seeing this finished room took my breath away. This dining room turned out so amazing!

I used a contemporary Lusterstone finish on the walls. The bronze and gold are a nice compliment and change as the light moves through the room. In some areas the gold is highlighted, in others the bronze really stands out. All-in-all its a subtle metallic effect which is one of the reasons I love Lusterstone. The designer didn't forget the fifth wall (the ceiling) which was painted a blue-gray to pull it all together.

The original chandelier was moved to the entry, and the new chandelier was installed a couple of months after I finished the room. It is divine... and available at Horchow

What do you think of the transformation?

Before

I think the Elise chandelier looks far better in my client's home than it does in the Horchow catalog.


I couldn't resist taking pictures of the living room. Throughout the house the client and Garrison, the designer did a fantastic job mixing sophisticated glamor with masculine pieces. A successful transformation in all the rooms. How can you not love a cashmere couch with a velvet revolver pillow?!? This client's aesthetic is so similar to mine, I could move in tomorrow.

Darth Vadar Stamp

My guy did his taxes last weekend and was giggling. No better use for this collectible stamp.

Painted Furniture - Jimmie Martin

Looking to have some decorative painting in your home, but your recession budget can't afford an entire room of custom finishes? Why not try a few painted furniture pieces.

I recently stumbled upon Jimmie Martin out of the UK. The pieces shown below are a few samples of Jimmie Martin's one-off pieces of furniture. The style combines the traditional and decadent with a quirky, tongue-in-cheek, urban flair. I love the results.

Any client of mine is welcome to bring me a traditional furniture piece to turn into a sophisticated, urban creation.

Which of these are your favorites?

Painted Pet Portraits - Continued.

In today's mail I received the most gracious gift. Lisa Chase of Odder By Art sent me this watercolor of Kali. Thank you so much Lisa. I'm glad you were inspired by her. We will treasure this portrait.

Painted Pet Portraits

A week today Miss Kali passed away. I've been missing her terribly and thinking about painting her portrait.

Over the last few years I have been bookmarking and adding various artists to my Etsy favorites. Right now there is no time to paint, but some time to peruse my favorite pet portraits to gather ideas. My goal is to paint two portraits of Kali. One for our home and one on a rock that will reside in the garden of her final resting place.

In the meantime I thought I would share some fabulous talent I have found. I adore all of these pet portraits! Keep in mind this is list of only a few talented artists. We could spend all day talking about the masters that painted pet portraits, but today I'm bringing you a few favorite contemporary painters.

Pet Portraits in Oils by Puci

Art, housewares & furniture by Ariane Bartosh
I love Ariane's use of contemporary designs for the backgrounds.

FLYoung Studio - paintings & illustrations by Heather L. Young
Heather's animal portraits are so fantastic. Her clever use of washes on patterned paper is inspiring. Heather also has a great blog which I try to follow often.

DogArtStudio
Ron Krajewski is a prolific self-taught artist. I love his use of watercolor and acrylics resulting in very contemporary portraits.

Deanoart - Paintings by Dean Haven. Dean's paintings have a lot of movement with bright palettes. It's a small world when you find another CCAD student on Etsy - six degrees of separation at work.

Christine E. Hancock
Like all of the artists I've chosen she points out that her pieces are painted not digitally manipulated.

Stray Dog Arts - Jessie Marianello
Jessie's work shows that she pours her heart and soul into every painting. Jessie also has a fantastic blog

Odder By Art - Lisa Chase
A talented watercolor artist.

Ninnerfish Art
This talented formally trained artist with a BFA is hoping to get accepted into vet school. I love Ninnerfish's graphic style which still captures the personality of the pet.

So many artists, so little time. I hope you enjoy this short list of my favorites.

My beloved cat - Kali

Yesterday was a sad and difficult day. My 13 year old cat, Kali was put to rest. Her illness came on so suddenly, February 18th. It may have not been sudden, but her symptoms were sudden. She was battling lymphoma, and gave a good fight, but I could not let her suffer. I wanted her to live in the moment as pets do, and have that moment not be of sadness or suffering.

I am grateful to have had such a good pet and I was glad I could offer her a good life. I am grateful that I have such a wonderful man in my life who loved my cat as much as I did. I knew he was a good man the moment he and Kali met, she purred immediately. Over four years later she was still delighted when he would arrive home from work, often sitting in front of his chair staring at him in awe and waiting for pets.

Kali was worldly. She lived in Chicago, Seattle and Portland. My gardens were always her favorite spot to hang out and enjoy life. Our current home doesn't have much of a garden so I was delighted and moved when a friend called last week and offered to lay her to rest in their garden. The place where we buried her is in the peaceful country and surrounded by plants and trees and other beloved pets.

We had much cat love come to greet us yesterday after we buried her... as if they knew we were in need of pets and purrs.

Thank you Lorie and Roger for providing a nice resting place for our kitten.