casapinka

The wall progresses

I bought this original little painting from Pamelam's Etsy store for $12. It just captures the moment for me and I love the colors she used.

This original acrylic painting from her store is only $30!

This is a tile I bought in Tunisia in the nineties. I waited until today to hang it!

This is what the tile stores looked like. Poor husband was dragged to fifteen thousand of them but he really loved every minute.

I got this Lorena Siminovich picture last year from Velocity. It was the first piece of art I ever bought.

So, using my Bitaday philosphy I've really got a wall of art started. Every day this week I hung a picture or two. If I put a nail hole in the wrong place I made sure it could be covered up easily. I made 5 wrong nail holes but none is visible. Thank all of you who commented on my little girl's painting - if you look carefully you can see that I framed it; it gives me such joy to see it there.

This is Vivienne Westcat who was orphaned in Dublin eight years ago. She is no help when hanging pictures. I'm sure if I opened that window screen she would roll out of it.

Shoes as Art

Isn't this the most perfect glass slipper? Forget footwear, if I owned these sweethearts I would display them in my pink room and drool over them at every passing. Occasionally, I would parade myself in front of the mirror, maybe after a pedicure, then perch on the side of a chaise sipping a cup of tea and crossing my ankles delicately.

Shadow box? Displayed on a shelf? It's always fun to think about it. Open up your closet and look for something unconventional that makes you smile and you can bring into the open as an art installation. Today, I am going to do just that.

Dining Room Ideas

Come with me on a little journey so you can try to understand where our dining room is going, and where it has been. Last December with our toilet in the middle (makes potty training easier - good access.)

This brass chandelier just wouldn't do. I've seen ones like this spray painted white but I'll just hold onto it until it becomes de rigeur again in fifteen years. Aren't those walls just beautiful? We bought the house because they were so inspiring (not.)

I found this chandy at the flea market for a hundred dollars. Needed a quick polish but other than that Jimmy hung it in a jiffy. I'm begining to get a vision...

The hardwoods are wet with sealant here but it looks so much nicer than the dirty white carpet. This place has potential!

The chandelier in situ.

Now, I've had a number of ideas for this dining room and a number of them knocked down by certain males in the house. What I THINK I've convinced him of (and don't write in to say that it sounds hideous because I love it)...magenta. A deep gorgeous magenta (like the color of this guy Hugh's couch, on my monitor at least) with white trim (Anna's idea - she thinks white trim will look best.) I'm picturing some Sinatra or jazz in the background, my glitzy chandy and (Anna's idea again) a suzani on the wall with perhaps a mirror reflecting it off the opposite side. No idea what color suzani, I just nabbed one off Ebay for this.

Silk curtains, perhaps striped (not big on stripes but Anna is getting me to come around like she did with white) or solid, nice and billowy and drapey like these. I've never seen a magenta dining room but I think it's going to BEG us to have dinner and cocktail parties. I can picture a fabulous cocktail cart in the corner.

Those of you who know me know there is a certain little hotel that I'm in love with.

This is Phillip Treacy, who designed the hotel. When I visit it in Galway I'll take loads of photos for you (early May.) Husband said NO WAY IN HELL is not a fan of the bright pink but he thinks the deep magenta of the couch might be ok (work it, Pink, work it!) See how beautiful the white looks against it?

Well, these are just ideas we are bouncing back and forth. I could go on and on but I'll leave that for another day!

A window, a dress, a kitchen

Here is the fabric I've chosen for my window in the pink studio. It is from Liberty of London via PurlSoho. I bought the last 2.5 yards (whew!) Thank you, Kim, for the fabric help!

Here is the window where it will go. I was lying on my brand new, apparently out of style, flokat rug when I took this. It's sure not out of style if you have a little baby who can swim around in it while you are hanging pictures! So much nicer than plain wood floors. I know, I know, wait until he hurls in it.

This is a dress I had made on my honemoon in Thailand. Although I really I had no idea I was creative, when I found out you could DRAW whatever you wanted, choose the silk and they would make it for you in 2 days for $57, I became a fashion designer! I wore it to my medical school graduation with the most glorious lavender shoes from Shellys. Oh no, I just realize I've modeled my kitchen on that outfit. Maybe I'm in a ten year rut! Oh yeah, the point of this photo is that I would like to hang it somewhere in the room. It has such special memories of the two carefree weeks husband and I visited in a place that would later be obliterated by a tsunami.

The walls will be painted white soon, don't worry. If it's the lavender you're worried about, come over and have a cup of tea and you will realize how wonderful it truly is!

Art up!

Nancy Drew is hung, as is Kamla! Kamla is a Rajathani woman waiting for her suitor to come for a visit. Rukshana Hood is the artist. She is a mother of grown children who lives in Mumbai, India. She discovered late in life that she had a talent for painting. Deeply affected by the untimely deaths of both her parents during childhood, her colors shimmer with longing and beauty. She was a stay at home mom who taught craft and calligraphy classes at a nearby orphanage for fourteen years and while she was ill with malaria, her son saw a sketch she had done and made her buy charcoals and thick cartridge. Two years later she had her first show at the Oasis art gallery! An incredibly inspiring story for anyone who feels that art is in her soul, isn't it? I asked her to help me name this painting and she suggested Kamla, which is derived from "kamal", which is Hindi for "lotus."

I am a subsriber, as you might know to "little and often." That is, continue to do little tasks to your home, your artwork, writing etc. and it will soon add up to a larger body of work. This wall will one day look like an adult's wall!

It is a beautiful day here and the pink of my studio changes dramatically as the day progresses. It is magic, as is this that I see while lying down on the floor, listening to the chirping of the birds.

It looks like I have another painting to hang, this one done by a little three year old who thought her voice should be represented on my wall. A great budget idea for art - ask a niece, nephew or friend's child to paint you a picture - you can even request colors. Nothing will make you smile more. All is good at Casapinka.

Unhappy with Scrappy

Well Jeez, you didn't have to out me, Scrap! We were talking about how paralyzed we were with this whole picture hanging thing. I don't know why I'm so afraid to make a mistake. Afraid of criticism? Well, not really...you guys are honest with me but always gentle. Afraid of holes in my pristine walls? Nah, nothing a bit of spackle and paint can't cure. I think it's the idea that I JUST CAN'T GET IT RIGHT. It's like those people who never try anything in life because they are afraid of failure. It's a self fulfilling prophecy, I guess, but since Scrap ratted me out I made myself go hang this painting and this vintage handbag. Not bad, eh? We've both committed to hanging at least one piece this weekend. Anyone care to join us for "Decorate your walls weekend?"

Simple Solutions

Problem: Keys always getting lost.

Solution: A beatiful cloisonne bowl which makes putting ones keys in it a delightful act, every time.

Do you have something that repeatedly bothers you - liquid laundry detergent that gets all over the bottle, socks that never have mates, a photo you've been wanting to enlarge and frame? I have millions that I am trying to attack one at a time, such as the lost keys. What small annoyances do you have in your life that in reality are easily fixed?

File cabinet tutorial posted at Pink Mohair.

Making a home

I have lived in temporary places for so much of my life I admit that I don't quite understand the value of hanging art or decorative items on a wall. Not only is it difficult to rid one's self of this mindset, it is also daunting to make a decision what to hang or display. I 'bit the bullet' and hung these needlepoint pieces with these vintage rug beaters that Anna found for me on Ebay.

Suddenly, the room appears to have three dimensions! I am enjoying the progress of Casapinka and the feeling that I am in a home where I shall stay for some time, where my husband and I can grow as a couple (although we've already been married eight years) and develop family traditions, such as our root beer tree.

Casapinka has given me the boot in the trousers that I need to keep going with the house, when sometimes all I want to do is sit and watch Dr. 90210 or Wife Swap (hee - said facetiously - some of you think I'm quite serious with my lame quips and I get emails about this.) I appreciate all of your comments, compliments and constructive criticism. Thanks to all of you for being a part of our home's metamorphosis.

I have received a number of emails about the tutorial for the file cabinet. Rest assured, it is on it's way. I've had a busy work week and between teething, Spring break...well, you get the picture!

For those of you who have emailed me about the color of my foyer, it is Benjamin Moore's Cumulus Cotton.

New painting

First, I want to let you know to go next door to Pink Mohair today for another Casapinka post.

Another great Ebay find was this three foot oil painting. Husband loves it but what I want to know is what those women are looking at! Husband was so excited to have a nice conservative piece of art over the fireplace, then I had the brilliant idea of placing ANOTHER piece of art to the left of the painting, something that these women might be staring at, or that is at least catching their attention. Something like THIS.

Books, Pictures, Lights

While puttering around the Studio today I decided to try my hand at arranging some books by color. This has been making the blogrounds recently and is probably the most logical way I can think of to organize one's books.

I've just hung my other Frida painting in the Hemingway room (Look at index to right to view more photos of the room.) For those of you who are new to Casapinka, let me recap the basis for the Hemingway room. In a nutshell, very conservative husband, very UN-conservative wife. Wife wants husband to have a room other than his study where he feels at home. He loves literature and the whole Hemingway look - plantation shutters, subtle barfy wall colors, dark floors and a conservative couch with MATCHING chair, dark tropical fan. Or, if you are more visual go here to visit a slideshow of the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. This is husband's mothership.

The readers of Casapinka have convinced husband that pillows should be done in a contrasting fabric but wife still feels she needs a small corner for herself in this room. Enter Frida. There won't be any more Frida heads, but this is my little art corner, since I sit in the chair off to the side. Husband can't even see the Fridas! I've left space to the right of the new Frida for some other pieces, and if you remember, I'm a bit scared to hang my own art so am moving slowly with it. I realize that the new Frida is a bit higher than the old but I think with the other pieces it won't really matter. Besides, when you're standing on a soft chair with a baby screaming in the background, your toddler trying to pour the gin you've disguised in a Coke can down the baby's throat, you just want to get the thing hung without anyone bleeding. Ya know?

After reading the March 2007 Domino (p. 90) I bought some eco friendly coiled flourescent bulbs for the green bird lamps. These are supposed to be "kind" fluorescents and truly, I don't feel like walking with my hands over my bum, as fluorescent lights in a dressing room cause me to do when trying on swimsuits. Good thing, too, because it would look strange to walk around my own house with my hands over my ass.

What are you doing to contribute to sustainable living? If you're at a loss, visit Ideal Bite for a simple "tip a day." If everybody does something small, it adds up to something large.