Simple Sunday - Architectural Style

As someone who studies, enjoys and appreciates most architectural styles I find that out of the hundreds out there I find myself always coming back around to the same one as my favorite. 

I love raw cut wood, warm colors and natural solid surfaces.  I have been in the process of designing my dream home for a good 25 years now.  Over time as I have learned more and gathered more ideas my dream has evolved into something not short of spectacular.

I don't know when or if this dream will ever solidify but when it does it will be a collection of 1/4 century of sculpting and imagining.  What is so much fun now is incorporating Critter's dreams as well.  His shabby/rustic hunting lodge style and my antique ranch hacienda style are a perfect blend to creating something simply us and perfectly unique.

The photo is a picture courtesy of Architectural Digest of actor Gerard Butler's home.  I cannot get his amazing home out of my mind.  I love the rustic feel along with punches of glamorous elegance to highlight the rugged rawness of the materials and gives just the perfect 'feminine touch.'  This picture simply inspires the direction I want to take our dream.  Maybe someday Gerard will take me for a tour of his amazing abode... a girl can always dream right...



(Photo: Architectural Digest. Home of Gerard Butler)



Why not paint them?

I bought these little white display shelves about 5 or 6 years ago when I was living in Phoenix.  I had them in my Phoenix bedroom the entire time I lived there.  When I moved back to my house in Washington I ended up putting them in my guest/front bathroom.  I have them hung one above the other on the wall near the sink and one day I lit a candle on the lower one thinking they were far enough apart to do so; I was wrong.  

(Shelves Painted)

For the longest time after the little burn mark/candle incident I just left them.  I didn't know what I would replace them with or what to do with them at that point.  Finally one day it just came to me, why not paint them?  So here is a little project I did last week while Critter was up at Elk Camp (he gets home today, can't wait to see what he thinks of them now.)   See below for the simple steps I took to accomplish this shabby, rustic style look I got that looks even better in my modern rustic styled home than they ever did painted in their original white finish.                                     



(Finished Shelves)

I took the shelves down and then laid out the old shower curtain that I had just replaced with a new one and put them on it in the garage after giving them a light sanding on all of the surfaces.  I purchased a can of flat brown spray paint when I was at Wal-Mart and gave them a full but light coat and let them dry for about 3 hours.  I went back out and sanded the paint off with 240 grit sandpaper until I achieved the weathered/worn look that I was happy with and hung them back on the wall and put the stuff back on them.  Notice I put the candle back in the same place. 





Note to self: don't light candle and let it burn while on shelf.  (Unless of course you are ready to reinvent the look of your decor again.)