Hello friends! It’s been pretty busy around The Striped House. In a couple weeks, a landscaping crew will be out to rework my front yard and I am BEYOND EXCITED. This means yours truly is outside digging up old plants and moving a couple tons of river rock to my back yard. WHAT was I thinking? I was thinking I want to save a lot of money on labor and spend it on pretty plants. So this means I don’t have much DIY time on my hands. Sad face.
I did find some time on Saturday morning to head over to Benjamin Moore and buy paint for my door project. I made friends with their paint expert. It was nice to meet someone else who also says things like “that paint is the sh*t”. Long lost soulmates? Perhaps? I trotted out of the store with a gallon in each hand ready to try out my good friend’s paint sprayer when I got home. I tried it out, and it was loads of fun, but I’m not so sure on the finish. I did the other side of the doors on Sunday and I’m still undecided. The temp is back up into the mid 90’s here, so painting is on hold until it cools off in my garage/paint studio. More sad face.
Another project in the works is FINISHING my front entry. It’s always been a place I’ve avoided because personally, I don’t like entering the house in the middle of my stairs. I live in a split level, so the entry is tight to say the least. I got rid of my bench and the big metal “T” to make more room. I’ve purchased some brass coat hooks for the wall, and decided on new paint colors for the wall (Decorator’s White) and the door (going from dark grey to black). I’ve decided to do a gallery wall going up the stairs on the one side.
My first stop for artwork is Etsy. The greatest thing about Etsy is that I can buy the digital version of a print for a couple bucks and get it printed myself at the local mom & pop print shop near my house for way less than buying it already printed. Here is what I “favorited” in my Art folder on Etsy. I picked some that have a bit of a winter-homey-cozy feel. I have some others favorited for summer, thinking it would be fun to change them out for spring and summer. And let’s be honest, it’s 95 degrees here now, but it can snow here in two weeks. Gotta love the midwest.
Colonial House / Green & Gold / Hibiscus
Two Horses / Valkommen / Evergreens / Winter in Sweden
Here are some of my favorite past Etsy art purchases:
Black and white peonies print for my guest bedroom:
This print had me laughing pretty hard when I saw it. If you know me, you know I can let the four letter words fly when the mood strikes. I don’t intend to keep this in my living room, it’s more or less hanging here until I figure out where it’s permanent home will be.
How can you not bust out laughing when you read this? 
There are a handful of Etsy art on my gallery shelves: Sushi print (link to shop), Llama print, Ninja cat print (link to shop). At this point you can probably tell that I like art that makes me smile. Laughter is the best medicine.
I will be sure to post pictures of the wall when it’s done. I’ll be scouting out frames in the meantime. Thank goodness for 40% coupons at Hobby Lobby and text coupons from Michael’s! Hope you’re all working on a fun project in your home right now. Fall always makes me want to nest to make my home look nice and feel complete. Happy Fall y’all!
Leave a Reply