A long, long time ago (2007) in a land far, far away (Birchington, on the Kent coast), the monochrome look was going strong and I decided to go with a softer version of that trend – cream and black.Β Despite the lack of any budget whatsoever, I found a few bits and pieces to dress up the room and added wallpaper (my first venture into wallpaper actually!) in the alcoves and called it done.Β Despite my tastes evolving and changing over the last few years, I enjoyed it at the time.Β This is what it looked like:
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| Note the rather large television sticking out from the corner. Nice. |
Now one of the things I purchased during this time were two vases in cream & black at the local Cancer Research charity.Β I think I paid Β£6 for the two of them.Β Bargain.Β You’ll see them in the picture above – one is on the mantle and the other is on bookshelf (ignore the picture of me and my ex… ahem).
This room, however, along with the over-saturation of browns and creams in the UK home decorating market place over the last 10 years, has led me to ban the magnolia (a warm cream that’s a firm builder’s favourite for it’s non-offending properties) from my new abode.Β It’s not that I don’t like cream and it’s not that I think it’s horrible or ugly or anything remotely like that… In fact, in a lot of interiors it can be absolutely stunning and wonderfully calming.Β It’s just, well, I looked at that room and my kitchen (which was also cream, seen through the doorway in the first picture) for a long time and then when I moved from that flat, it was all over my new place too… and then I moved to W’s and he had it everywhere too… ya know, a girl can only take so much cream (and so much moving house).
So as you may know, I have decided my base colour pallet will be black, greys and whites.Β Cream just won’t do as I love the pop of white especially against the grey.Β I was considering taking these vases to my local charity (ya know, pay it back and all) but then I remembered the pledge I made when I moved into the new house.Β Anything that I consider throwing or giving away has to be reconsidered – if it has ‘decent bones’ or is practical in some way, I need to ask myself whether I can use it again, if it could be repurposed in some way – if it can be PAINTED.Β Silly, girl, a bit of spray paint and I’m all set.Β After all, I did like the height of these and the shapes are nice too.
There was only one problem.Β I had white spray paint but I wanted to paint these in the accent colours of the living room – namely, mustard and olive green.Β Unfortunately, the local Homebase does not carry these sorts of colours in their spray paint range (although they do carry 4 shades of cream and 3 shades of brown).Β That’s when I decided to let my fingers do the walking by doing a little online investigation to see if I could find a broader range of colours available in spray paints than my local DIY superstores.
And a broader range I did find.Β Enter Artyfect – an online store that sells a product called Montana Gold.Β This is a paint range really geared for the graffitti artists out there and the range of colours you can get is pretty impressive.Β I took a picture of the brochure just so you can see but if you visit their website you can download the brochure as well:
The prices are reasonable as well.Β Under a fiver per tin and each tin is full sized at 400ml.Β It’s also incredibly quick drying.Β Brilliant.Β So I ordered my colours (it was difficult to narrow it down to two – I want the entire collection) and within a couple of days they arrived.
I didn’t waste any time in working with what I had…
Now my vases have a lovely updated look to them and are currently residing in the strange ‘hole’ where the fireplace in the living room should be.
Now, I realise I’m going off on a tangent here but I’m still unsure what to do with this space – at the moment, I have a vingette in there but not sure if it’s too much?Β Too twee maybe?Β *sigh*Β I’ve probably changed this particular spot about 10 times since we moved in and I’m still unsure what works best.Β I’m completely open to suggestions though.Β While we’d love to reinstate the fireplace, the money just isn’t in the budget at the moment.Β Any ideas?Β Should I paint it black (at the moment it is the same colour as the walls)?Β Should I tile it with mirrored tiles (one idea I had)?Β I’ve seen too many unused fireplaces filled with candles… I just want to get away from that.Β I would genuinely love to hear if anyone has any suggestions.
Because I am still holding back showing off the entire room, you can see the weird space better if you look at this picture:
For now, my vases have a home and for Montana Gold, I am grateful.
Any weird areas in your house thatΒ completely stump you?Β Go on and share…Β
You can use red brick tiles (available at Home Depot)and make this space look like a real fireplace. It'll warm up the space and will look perfect with your beautiful wooden floors. Btw, those owls are adorable!
Thanks for chiming in, My Owl Barn :) It's a nice idea, I'll have to think about it. The only thing I would worry about is making the space a bit too dark with the dark floors and a dark brick? Maybe I'll do a bit of photoshopping and see how it looks ;) The owls were found at a car boot sale and spray painted white, they are cuties aren't they!
I think that hole in the wall would look great with an old 'fire basket' and a jumble of glittering 'fairy lights'<br />Btw, the vases look great!
Oh Carole, you clever lady you! I like that idea. The texture of a fire basket and the glitter of fairy lights… hmmm! Yes that's a definite consideration! Thank you :)
Fill with cut wood, all the way up!