Best Laid Plans

What I planned to do this weekend was take "before" photos of my whole house to give you a better idea of what I'm working with, but then Shawn & I got called away to do this....

A bathroom rescue for a client; complete with scraping, sanding, spackling, & sealing.  What was supposed to be a simple, "I'll just throw a fresh coat of paint on the walls before my daughter's Birthday party" turned into an S.O.S. of epic proportions (nothing like the sight of blistering, peeling paint to send you running for the professionals).  So instead,  I will leave you with a very simple Before & After.

When we first moved into our apartment I decided it was best to wait before I hung any artwork on the wall.  I wanted to get a feel of the space and dreaded the idea of turning my walls into Swiss cheese from moving pictures around.  That brings us to today's "before".  There is this tiny little wall in the kitchen that I felt has been begging for SOMETHING, but what?  I wanted to  find a super cool vintage frame and fill it with cork to make a family message station, kind of like this:

House and Home

The reality is, I have absolutely NO time to take on yet another project (and should probably focus on finishing the ones I already started) so the wall has looked more like this for the past year:

Such a waste of space!!  While helping the hubby organize the garage I rediscovered my boxed-up paintings and pictures.  I had almost forgotten that I had all those wonderful treasures hiding right under my nose.  One of the paintings incorporated all the colors from my kitchen & dining room and would tie the two rooms together nicely while filling the space out perfectly!  I had purchased this piece from a local artist when we lived at our last house and never could find "the perfect place" for it, so I carefully boxed it up until I could find one.  The artist called it "Affluence", but something about it made the man look so sad to me.

I love how he's dressed well but is missing his shoes, like it was all a facade of wealth.  It brings to mind the phrase, "keeping up appearances."  Anyways, I digress. *ahem*  So I dragged it out from the garage and put the hubby to work (he's very handy like that).  Perfection!!

It's amazing to me how such a small change can make a big impact.  On a larger wall, this painting would have gotten lost, but the scale fits perfectly and allows the painting to command attention.  Best of all?  This makeover was F-R-E-E (quite possibly one of my favorite words)!!  Maybe you have something hiding away in your attic/garage that can breath new life into a neglected space in your house.

Side Note:
I'm a big fan of supporting local artists.  "Affluence" was painted by a young artist name Leroy Shaw who is a self-taught artist.  I especially like his more expressionist works.  You can check out some of his work on his MySpace page, or if you are in Columbia you can catch him at the Barnyard.

Self-Portrait, Leroy Shaw