Isn’t this dining area GORGEOUS! There is sooo much beauty in simplicity. Since I aim to design a love story for my clients of memories and objects that they love, we chose two meaningful moments in their lives – their wedding and birth of their beautiful daughter. Aren’t they stunning photos? Keep on reading to see my links to a few places where you can get your own canvas photo prints (economically!). HUGE THANKS to Stephanie + Bill for trusting my vision for them. Trusting a designer takes a leap of faith, and they did and and I am so happy that they love the outcome. Below are design plan details, the magnetized wall awesomeness, and my wrestling match with the world map decal (my lesson on why it didn’t work)
BEFORE PHOTO and the DESIGN PLAN:
IN THE DINING AREA WE:
- replaced the client dining table and chairs
- added a plug in ceiling lamp
- added canvas photos of precious moments
- created a centerpiece for the new table with items that the client already had in their home
By the right side of the dining area was a wall that was not being utilized to it fullest gorgeous potential.
I came up with the idea of making it a designated magnetic wall for fun crafts and cards when I saw my client’s Stephanie and Bill’s refrigerator covered with Kathryn, their toddler daughter’s pretty school crafts and photos. I wanted to give them a ‘clean sleek design’ for their kitchen so I relocated the school crafts + photos to a single wall, and added a world map wall art.
FOR THE ACCENT WALL
1) we used magnetic paint
2) install a world map wall art (in white + large size was a must!). Why a ‘must’? bec the color and size anchors the wall decoratively so no matter how many craft magnets & photos are added to the wall, the WHITE design stands out front and center to kind-of ‘tame’ the wall from looking cluttered.
I love the way the magnetized wall turned out. Isn’t the gray/black a handsome color?! Like, a fine tailor’s men’s suit!
Then it was time to install the #mapdecal. Oh, we chose a world map bec clients love to travel. Here’s a glimpse of the map before my THROW DOWN with it ensued.
It was a HUGE world map – a wide one, big enough to fit from one edge to the other. What happened when I installed it? This happened (and I say “this” as I give the photo an evil eye look). . . . .
. . . see the bubbling of the decal below? it started PEELING OFF the wall! Not a biggie, right! Just smooth it out, right?! Well, nooooooooooooooo! When I pressed one end down, another side (country, city, state) buckled.
And the wrestling match got heated.
My dialogue with the map was –> “ooh no you didn’t, … stay here, and … come here, and I hate you …”
Then the decal was like …tsssst, you are not the boss of me … I’ll drop to the floor from the wall if I want to.
And it did. URGH!
As the problem solvers that we interior decorators are … after slapping it around a few more times … I pondered … I have installed many decals before, so, why is this not sticking?
Then, BING (light bulb moment answer) …..
Oooooooh, yeah, it’s ON a magnetic wall not a standard wall paint. Duh, and oh crap. So before I tell my clients the “news” I gather info, called my vendor to brainstorm solutions:
(1) their solution – replace it with another stronger decal adhesive (at their cost)
(2) my solution – get the map decal as a reserve image (turn it into a stencil) and we would PAINT the map design (and avoid another ‘trial’ to see if it works)
I proposed the solutions (all at the vendors cost) to my clients and they loved the permanency of painting the reversed decal stencil. Yaaaay, and phew!
PHOTOS INTO CANVAS ART
Economical stores that can convert your photos into canvas prints:
Oh, extra tip -> ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS aim to get a proof emailed to you for approval before it gets produced and shipped. I had to go back 3 TIMES reviewing proofs and making corrections with Stephanie’s wedding photo to get it right. But worth it, bec it turned out STUNNING.