Zoffany Wallpaper



Photo:  Zoffany.com



Ever since I saw a post on Willow Decor about adding patina to your walls, I've wanted to strip the paint off the curved base moldings on my steps, I hope they look like just this.  I'd also be happy to have this Zoffany wallpaper.  The pattern is called Gustavus which I found curious because I associate the laurel wreath pattern with Napoleon and neoclassical design.  But, it turns out, Gustav spent a great deal of time in France so Gustavian design is highly inspired by the french neoclassical movement.  Who knew?  I guess that's what you learn in design school. 

But I've also become infatuated with this wallpaper called Medevi.  When I did the facelift in my master bedroom, I chose a gray and white damask wallpaper which I love to this day. It's completely vinyl and was about $8 a roll which was my budget after just buying the house.  When I renovate the master bathroom, I also plan to gut the master bedroom so I can insulate all of the walls and above the ceiling and I'd love to upgrade to something nicer like this. 

I think many of these Zoffany wallpapers are perfect for an old house.   Can't you almost see Thomas Jefferson sitting on one of these chairs putting on his boots....or his wig.

Or Martha Washington soaking in this tub knowing that the British would soon be coming.

Zoffany wallpaper is apparently only to the trade but I did find it on Wallpaper Direct out of the UK.  Just don't buy it all up, okay?  I'm saving my pennies.

But I think the room would look more like this.

I'd probably pair it up with some great chests from Lone Ranger Antiques like these.  I guess I should be saving nickels.



Here are few other interesting wallpapers.  This one is called Facade.



This one is called Rome.  I think these really busy patterns are best used in small spaces where there's just a little bit of it.  I think a powder room that had cream or gray wainscotting on the bottom half would be a perfect place to use it.







This one is called Pillar.  It appears like the column bases and capitals come in different pieces which makes sense.  The fluted part of the column is then cut to fit your wall.  I think it would be fun to cut the columns out and just put them, say, flanking a doorway. 



Zoffany also has some great fabrics.  This is an ocelot print in cut velvet.  It would go great with your Mary McDonald leopard drapes, right?

It seems like wallpaper is making a huge comeback.  What are your thoughts on it?

Love it?

Hate it?

Would try it but you don't know how to hang it?

Love it but you don't want to take it down in a few years when you're tired of it?

I have an announcement.

I'm dropping in for a rare mid-week post today because this news is too exciting to hold in until next Sunday:

I'm going to be featured in West Elm!!!! WEST ELM. As in, the West Elm.

Back in May I was contacted by the marketing folks at Etsy who were working with West Elm to find handmade pieces for their 2011 Holiday Catalog. West Elm spotted my shop and asked me to send them some of my items to be photographed. It wasn't guaranteed at that point because anything can happen during the editing process, but they just confirmed to me that my print made the final cut, so now I can finally share the news!

I sent them several of my city maps and I'm not sure exactly which one was featured, but I can't wait to find out! I'll also be featured on their website and in their Etsy profile as a featured seller. The holiday catalog hits stores October 4th... I'll be anxiously/excitedly/impatiently waiting until then to get my copy! And of course, I'll post everything to the blog once it's in my hands.

Ok, back to work! Just had to share :)

Tomato Season | Heirloom Tomato Recipes

Heirloom Tomatoes... Finally

I think I'm probably behind the curve a bit on this, but we finally have a ripe tomato to pick from our tomato plants!   Two ripe tomatoes, actually.  I've been thinking of what I'm going to do with these special tomatoes, so I thought I'd put together all of my heirloom tomato recipes from this year for inspiration!

Panzanella - Bread salad with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and fresh basil.  

Grilled Garlic Bread with Heirloom Tomatoes



BAT - Bacon Avocado & Tomato Sandwich

Angel Hair Pasta with Pesto & Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom Tomatoes with Green Goddess Dressing

Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce

The Recipe Box | A Visual Index of all of My Recipes!

I've been hard at work putting all of my recipes from the last year+ in one easy to navigate spot.  Introducing... The Recipe Box!  I hope this visual index makes your life a little bit easier as you scan the site looking for inspiration. 

As you can see from the image above,  the link to Recipe Index is found on the right hand side of each page.  There is also a link "Recipe Index" in the navigation bar found at the top of each page.

Let me know what you think!

All's Well

All is well at the Urban Cottage.  The storm is gone and the sun is shining.  It was a windy, rainy day with little more than a few extended, howling gusts that had me flinching...waiting for a crack of a limb, or crash of something but my house and big old tree fared well.  We're left with little more than limbs down in the streets and leaves everywhere. While hundreds of thousands were left without power around the state, I was able to iron my shirts for the week.  It's a good thing; some us called in "sick" because, without power, we can't do our hair.  

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.  Please divert those to the people who suffered real damage, especially the people from New Jersey up through Vermont (and others) who weren't so lucky. 

Guest Bath Reveal, Old Window Frame & Giveaway

First order of business: The "final" guest bath reveal!

Last week Brad installed a dimmer switch for some much needed mood lighting control. At that point we were 95% completed last weekend, so this weekend all that needed to be done was hanging art, finishing the recessed cubby, and swapping out the knobs on the vanity.

I knew I wanted to add a shelf to the cubby for extra storage, so we went to Lowe's to get a piece of glass cut to size (FYI, our local Home Depot said they don't cut glass—just a heads up to anyone wondering).

So we came back with our shelf and a few plastic mirror hangers to prop it up. They broke as soon as the screw tightened, so those were out. Brad suggested we just use the bare screws and paint them white.

And so I did. And it worked excellently.

Next up was accessorizing (the funnest part, of course). I went to Hobby Lobby, for the first time in my life, on Friday evening and it was a similar experience to my first time at Garden Ridge.... pretty close to heaven. I don't know how I managed to go 26 years without stepping foot into one, but now that I know I live 5 miles from one, it's going to get dangerous.

Luckily, everything I purchased was 50% off so I scored some amazing deals. Like these mason jars for just 75 cents each!

To help them coordinate better with the rest of the finishes in the bathroom, I whipped out the ORB and gave the lids a new look:

Much better!

I fell in love with these brownish-grey tinted glass knobs, $4 for both (after 50% off)

Finally, I framed a couple of my prints in Ikea frames I had leftover and hung them above the loo:

Prints can be purchased in any size here

A couple more finishing touches and the bathroom is D-O-N-E! (Until we tackle what's behind the shower curtain.... just pretend that part doesn't exist for now)

Let's get a quick before & after shot to make it more official.

Before:

After:

And there you have it! And since I actually remembered to record most of this, here is a rough price breakdown:

Toilet - 125
Vanity/Mirror - 177
Baseboards - 17
Faucet - 55
Vanity light - 110
Dimmer switch - 20
Bead board/trim & supplies - 100
Trash can & paint - 22
Oil rubbed bronze hardware - 37
Recessed cabinet trim, lighting & glass shelf - 30
Accessories (standing mirror, mason jars, knobs, soap dispenser) - 30
Paint - already had
Art - made/already had

The only thing left off this list was tile and installation... because we don't have an exact figure since it was quoted with and installed at the same time as the foyer and kitchen. If I have to guesstimate based on square footage and tile/labor cost... I'll go with $80 for tile (27 sq. ft @ $3/sf tile), and another 150 for labor. That sounds about right. So,

Tile - 230

Grand total: $950, give or take a few. So it's safe to say it cost under a grand for this:

Not too bad, right? Stay tuned for the shower re-do... coming soon. Or maybe not.

In other news, I was browsing Craigslist and found someone selling an old window pane (no glass) near my work and decided to stop by to check it out. He said it was from some 150 year old house in Pennsylvania and belonged to his mother who passed away. I thought it was perfect, and walked away with it for just $12! Happy Dance.

Here it is at home, waiting to be prepped:

It was painted a light beige, but there were layers of paint underneath it from years of use.

I took out our new electric sander and got to work. We picked up this sander a couple weeks ago at a yard sale for just $10.... best $10 EVER, let me tell you. It took about 15 minutes to turn years of paint to this:

Can you imagine if I tried to do that by hand? It would take weeks. Everyone go buy one of these, now.

After it was sanded with heavy grit, I put a finer sheet of sandpaper on to smooth the surface a bit. Then I brushed on a coat of turquoise, let it dry, and then put a coat of white on. Sorry, no pics of this process...  I was working on like 5 things at once and had no time!

After both paint colors dried, I went over it with the fine sandpaper to get some of the turquoise, wood, and original paint colors to show through. Here's the final product:

I know, it's hard to see the detail with this crap lens. Working on getting a better one!

To hang it, I picked up a french cleat, which is my absolute favorite way to hang heavier pieces. I used it on my dining room mirror and it was the simplest thing ever. This time was no exception.

And the window now lives happily on this previously empty bedroom wall:

I may dress it up later with hooks or something... but for now it can just sit there and look pretty :)


And finally... I made a small update to our living room. See if you can spot the difference.

Before:

Yes... Mr Octopus and Miss Seahorse are no longer with us. They have been replaced with this:

These are bus rolls I made of all the special places in our lives...places we've lived, visited, special vacations, etc. It was time for a change.

As for these guys....

Well, it's time for them to move on to become part of someone else's family. Therefore, I'm going to give them a second chance at life in one of your homes.

Here's the technical specs: the prints are 11.5x11.5" (shown here in Ikea's Virserum frames, also fits in Ribba).

They are from my Ocean Animal Collection, valued at $20/ea.

All you need to do is leave a comment on the blog if you're interested in adopting them, and next Sunday (9/4) I'll randomly choose a winner and ship the prints right away. Sound good?

To make it interesting... tell me what your favorite project has been so far from this blog. It can be something as big as the bathroom reno we just did, or as small as painting all our handles ORB. I'd love to hear what inspires you most.

And with that, I'm off to get some work done in the shop... be sure to check back Sunday to see if there's an octopus and seahorse with your name on it :)