Mansion Mission: Living Room is Now Livable

Welcome to the update in the mansion mission. I moved into this apartment in the back of a dusty, old, historic mansion a month ago now and boy oh boy do we love it! (well, we love it now that we've done so much work to it!) So please keep in mind, this is still a work in progress but I think we have some clever and affordable solutions that you can take away. 

The living room before we moved in (don't mind my brother)

The living room today

As you can see there has been a transformation. A fresh coat of paint form the ceiling on down to the fat baseboards made a huge difference for not a huge price tage...just a huge labor of love. But so worth it to have the all the amazing molding pop.  

Before

Now

So I still have these big walls with nothing on them. Painting helped for sure, but I needed more so that it didn't look empty. I wasn't about to go drop a bunch of money on huge art that I'm not in love with so the solution I came up with was THE LIGHTING. The two pendents are the clear stars of this room for so many reasons. one- what I was just explaining with the huge empty walls...the shadows that the light cast on the walls fills them up and gives life and energy to the space. Its also the perfect amount of mood lighting for our regular evening activities; TV, dinner, fire (yes it works!) for task lighting there are two wall sconses and I'm on the hunt for a table lamp. And the other reason these lights are perfect for the space is because they are very modern and offer an unexpected element in the historic room...the juxtaposition of the modern with the historic takes the space to a new level of chic and offers a freshness to the room design. 

These lights can be purchased at good ol' IKEA! There are two sizes (mine are the smaller option) and they only cost $100 for the pair! You seriously cant beat it. People that don't have a modern style are always scared to shop Ikea but as you can see, combining styles works. I don't want to necessary live in an ikea showroom either, but you can find home decor for such a great price and then you make it your own. In the photo above, you can see my modern lights in my historic home with my vintage chairs and my crate and barrel side table (and soon the windows will have sheers)... it works and it feels like home to me!

This Mix-media Art Gives A Creative Spirt Wings

I have been CRAZY about the artwork of Amy Rice for months now, ever since she was introduced to me by a fan on facebook (of all things!) And the fact that her art is hanging in my store for the month of June is so amazing!      Sweet, delightfully unexpected, and whimsical; if this art dosen't bring a smile to your face you must be broken. She uses many different methods to produce these mix-media masterpiece, many of which I have dabbled with over the years myself, but the fact that she dose them all within one work- I am feeling SO inspired!! 

Amy will be teaching an informal printmaking class here at the shop one evening this month (date to be determined). I can't wait!

Amy Rice: 
Beginning with not-so-traditional print making methods (hand cut stencils and a Japanese Gocco printmaking toy) Minneapolis based mixed-media artist Amy Rice makes original, one-of-kind pieces by additionally employing acrylic, gouache, ink and collage. Her “canvases” range from weathered wood panels and found objects to antique envelopes, age-worn love letters, and found journal pages yellowed with time. 

Rice draws inspiration for her work from childhood memories, both real and imagined (or just slightly exaggerated with time), the urban community in which she lives, vintage botanical prints, her dog Ella, bicycles, street art, gardening, random found objects, collective endeavors that challenge hierarchy, acts of compassion, downright silliness and things with wings. 

Amy Rice has had group and solo exhibitions in galleries throughout the US, Canada and in the UK.