decorated alcoves

So while I am waiting for the dear old geezer to find a smaller radiator for the hall, I have been playing in the lounge. I wanted to do something in the two alcoves beside the fireplace and also to look at my home the way I would look at a client's house, and see if I could do some sort of paint effect.

Also - me dear old geezer has been asking me, to bring a little of what I do professionally, into our home. And he has been asking me for years (literally years).

This is the before, with my 'fish' photocopies, stuck on the old canvases, to see how they would look.

As you can see, there needs to be a bit of decorating here, even if it is just white. And sorry about the picture quality.

The first two stages are now finished, and I am super pleased !!!

I did a colourwashed background and stencilled a repeat pattern, then got some frames for the fish and extra mounts and put a little colour on them as well.

While I was doing this, I also painted 'the beast' - the big lack spidery wonky chandelier that I didn't used to like, looks alot better now (although I'm still going to give it more of a funky finish, like I posted here).

So, this is what I did. First, the colourwash - scumble glaze mixed with universal stainers to give a warm background to my stencilling.

The uneveness is due to the walls, that have had years of different wallpapers, patching up, re-painted, filled etc. It is all due to how porous the walls are. But this is exactly what I needed to create the effect I was after. I just dragged the glaze vertically, and didn't brush in any other direction. Normally I would work in all directions - see the pictures on the left side bar.

The next step was to draw up a stencil. I was inspired by all the coral I see everywhere in blogland, and thought it would go with the fish. I needed it to repeat easily, so I drew it in a diamond. Then spent an hour cutting it out from a sheet of acetate.

Then I mixed up a darker glaze and marked a central line with a level, under the light, and

started with the first 'piece of coral'.

 I used torn up pieces of a very cheap sponge to do the stencilling - so that I got a mottled effect, and used different pressure, to get a variety of tones.

I then used matt white emulsion and went over each 'piece of coral' again, leaving some of the darker areas to come through, especially around the edges. 

On each 'piece of coral' I added more white, (after I had removed the acetate stencil), to give more body and because the nature of stencilling is to have 'joints' which I wanted to hide.

I'm loving how the background comes through the pattern and sort of gives it a faded silk feel.

I got large cheap frames with a white mount and found another double mount, to crop the pictures neatly.

I painted the middle mount ( between the black inner mount and large white outer mount)

in the same colour as the first layer of the walls, and used a little technique I know.

I think I will do a post on this one day, as it's quite fun.

Just so you know - the walls cost me next to nothing. I had all the paint etc. I just needed a sheet of acetate, about 40p. The fish prints were 75p each. The biggest cost were the frames and mounts, which were £13.00 each, but I would have had a hard job finding a pair of matching frames at a charity shop.

Plus, I'm going for the eclectic look, and wanted some clean lines against the stencilling.

So, there it is for now - my ugly fish ain't so ugly any more, and I've named them (just between you and me folks ok). You need to read their names whilst chanelling Cap'n Jack Sparrow from The Pirates of the Carribean or Miss Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady !!!

We 'ave - Jim, 'Enry, Jack and Fred,

then - George, 'Arry and Geoff.

'N now you know their names, ya shouldn't be so scared of 'em.

Tomorrow the shelves, and later the radiator covers.

I know - you're thinking, TOO MUCH, but there definately ain't no minimalist here, and you know the saying 'less is more', well in my book, 'more is more' lol.

Bye for now xxx

 linking up with

Debbiedoos Newbie Party @ Debbiedoos

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesdays Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm

Show me what ya got @ Not Just a Housewife

Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Inspiration Friday @ At the Picket Fence
Fridays Unfolded @ Stuff and Nonsense