DIY: Ombré stairs!

Ok my friends... It's been a long time coming- but I'm ready to share.  

Behold! The first DIY post from our crazy home remodel project...  Emphasis on the crazy.

Here's Elliott modeling the wreck we were left with after ripping out that nasty carpet. 

My dad was kind enough to drive up from San Diego and lend a little experience and expertise to our otherwise fly by the seat of our pants/make it up as we go - construction philosophy.

It was his idea to trim the overhang (a painstaking job) and add a rounded, finished trim piece to the edge.  When I questioned the extra work and additional cost he said: "Uhhh... I'd have a hard time putting my name on it with that big gap you've got on there now."  Touché, dad...  Touché.

I'll spare you the sweaty guys sawing and bending over bit and move straight on to the pretty part.  :)

Ok, so this is where I took over the job.  I had really been wanting to try an ombré staircase, and decided to tackle it yesterday while Elliott napped.  HA!  Wishful thinking on my part.  This project was about 10,000x more intense than I expected.  Plus you can always count on me to be impatient and ill-prepared, but... ONWARD HOOOO!!!

After debating my color options right down to the moment I put brush to board, I decided on a pinkish/coral gradient.  I went from dark at the bottom to light at the top to give it an enhanced ascending effect.  The skylight at the top of the stairs was kind of the cherry on the cake for this effect- providing a great, bright white quality as your eyes go up.  Hey, did you know that each and every stair in our house is a unique and special snowflake with totally irregular dimensions, bumps, and divets?  Yeah, we didn't either.  Jeff and my dad measured each one individually, cut them, ground them, filed them, and cut a corresponding face board, marked with a number (my idea) to make things easier when matching them up.

   

After a lot of mixing trial and error, I went the Dixie cup route.  13 faces, 13 Dixie cups.  Beginning with a deep, vibrant coral red which fades to a barely-there shade of pink at the very top step.  I used our white house paint as a base in each cup and added a true red in varying amounts.  I laid the boards flat, and went about painting them in sequence.  The first result was a little too clean and looked more like a color-block than the subtle ombré fade that I was going for.

  

It took me a good hour and a half (and Elliott waking up and walking over the wet boards twice), to figure out that I needed to ignore the individual boards and treat them as one big canvas.  

Painting over the gaps and letting each one mix and fade a bit into the next really made all the difference.  I got the exact vision I had for these stairs in my head.  If you try it, keep a cup of water handy for dipping and blending.  

The end result.  I'm in love.  James thinks it looks like a sunset, and I think that's a huge compliment.  

Aaaand this is what it's all about... The before and after!  

                     

WOO HOO! *cheerleader jump*

Good as gold...

*Photo via. Design Love Fest

But way better, actually!  I'm having a full-blown love affair with copper right now.  In fact, my very first purchases for the new house include this beeeeautiful copper chair by Blu Dot.  It's available locally at Brick House Goods.

and vintage copper planters found on eBay...

I'm also really excited to finally try DIY'ing these pretty rose gold polka dots out of contact paper!  I actually found the contact paper over a year ago, but hid it away until we had just the right space for it.  I think we'll try the dots in 2" diameter circles for a more subtle version.  This is a perfect project for Evy to tackle in her room.  Every day we get closer and closer to our big move, and things have become totally crazy.  We're eating a lot of take out, and tripping over mountains of boxes... but the end is in sight, and IT. WILL. BE. SO. GOOD.  ♥ 

Let the pinning commence!

Ok my friends... I've finally organized and uploaded all of my home inspiration photos on pinterest!  YAY!!!  Every day that we get closer and closer to our new home, makes us more and more excited.  I  can't wait to get in there and start working on it.  We're really hoping for a breezy, open, and serene feeling in the house, and these inspiration photos I've been collecting totally nail the look.  I think they're the perfect combination of modern and comfortable.  Clean and fresh, but not too fussy, and just the right amount of quirk.  You know, I'm all about the quirk.  If you have a minute, pop on over to my pinterest page and take a look at the Home Decor board.  I'd love to know what you think.  ♥

P.S. Here's a sneak peek of the board: 

Jeff's feeding my pillow addiction...

I've already ordered the black + white one for our couch.  

Which one would you pick?

Before + After... Marsh Street!

{click image above for a closer view}

Last night I ran across a folder on my desktop full of renovation photos of our Marsh St. space.

These make me feel SO proud of us!   I mean... seriously.  Sometimes I forget how grody things were and how much hard work went in to creating a place we really love.  This is of course, just a snippet of the work... but it's a good example of the overall improvements.  

Before + After DIY chair makeover...

Hello friends...  See that chair up there?  

Here's the backstory; I've been parking my butt on it for nearly 3 decades.  

My mom found it at a teacher's estate sale a long, long time ago along with a matching desk.  The desk/chair set lived in my room as a kid, and it's where I did homework, listened to Joni Mitchell for the first time, wrote and edited a zine, cried into my journal, and ate meals with my head buried in a book during my parent's fancy dinner parties.  

Quick!  Look away for a sec, mom...  

I also secretly carved my name into both pieces.  

Somewhere along the line the desk went rogue, but thankfully my mother had the foresight to load this chair into a Matson container and haul it over the ocean with her when she moved to California.  I still use this chair just about every day.  I love it.   

Needless to say, the chair deserved a little facelift.  The white paint had some pretty well-worn indigo stains from years of my denim-clad posterior sitting in it.  SO...

Step 1: A fresh coat of ivory paint (but only on top, b/c those distressed legs are where it's at).

Step 2: Squiggly branches with dark brown paint.

Step 3: Emerald green + golden brown leaves - 1 quick stroke w/ sideways brush that ends in a point.

Step 4: Messy pink abstract flowers - stamping motion in center w/ swirly edges.

Step 5: Stamp red paint just in center of flowers.  Use dry brush.

Now I love my favorite chair even more!  ♥

Free People, and gum wall'ing, and stuff...

I had so much fun today with Anissa.  Remember her from the bikini shoot?

Ambiance is celebrating Fall fashion from Free People this month (really pretty).

I can't believe we're talking about the Fall transition fashion already... wasn't the first day of Summer like, yesterday???  

But it all looks beautiful.  Lots of rich knits and embroidery, mustardy hues, and fun pattern play.  

So we did photos.  Around 700 of em.  I love taking pictures in this big room flooded with light.  

And did you know that there's a secret sliding glass door above the gum wall?  I totally spy on everyone from up there, and giggle at the endless exclamations of "EEEEWW, GROSS" coming from down below as they first encounter the wall.  This is promptly followed by a collective "Whoooa" as they take that first step into the alley.  They pop a piece of gum into their mouth, chew it just to the point of stickiness, and then ever so gingerly attempt to leave their mark- 

without ever making contact with the wall itself.  They also like to remark about the smell.

It's usually something like... "It smells so nasty!  But in a good way."

Hilarious, I tell ya...  ANYWAY.  Yes, photos...  Fun.  Super good day.  :)  

Isn't Anissa the cutest?  I love working with her.  And how great is that reclaimed wood wall?!

Ohmygosh.  I feel like I need one in my house.   

Behind-the-scenes... (thanks, Grant)

Home Inspiration, Oh you Swedes...

HELLO, GORGEOUS!

That's what runs through my head when I look at these photos.  Can you imagine waking up in that bed in the morning, trudging down the bright hallway, passing by the wall of books, and plopping down to enjoy the endless sunlight?  Seriously, is there a single spot in this entire home that isn't full of light?  This is the sort of place that helps the inhabitant paint better, write better, be kinder, healthier, and generally more amazing.  I'm so ready to move in.  

What do you think, Sahnzy?  Are we up for Sweden?