...because home doesn't happen overnight.
08.25.10 / A Tree Grows In It

A few days ago, I let you in on my wild and crazy Saturday night with Handy Hubby.  On something of a whim, Handy Hubby traced the outline of a cherry blossom branch onto our foyer wall.  Give that man a blank wall, a pencil and some paint and he can work wonders.

It only took him a few days (it’d take you much less time if you didn’t have to work, take care of kids or hold the fort down while your spouse worked) to draw, paint and touch up the graphic branch.  I’m not gonna lie…at one point I couldn’t watch because I was so sure he was going to fall off the ladder and spill paint everywhere.  But then I thought, “Heck, then we could just rip up the carpet on the steps and install a cool runner.”  I always try to look on the bright side.

Luckily (or unluckily, however you want to see it), Handy Hubby did NOT fall or spill any paint.  What he did do was make me very happy!  He sure knows the way to my heart…with a paintbrush.  Really, though, I think he likes the final product more than me.

It’s art.  It’s nature.  It’s something to look at while sitting on the living room couch besides an empty stairwell.  It’s a tree that I don’t have to water (i.e. kill).  And best of all, it was free.  We were able to borrow the projector and make a transparency for free because we know people.  Important people.  With projectors and transparencies.  We already had the paint on hand.  (Hint: You will see this paint color again in a future post.)  I guess now would be the time to mention it is Lowe’s Valspar Elkhorn Cactus.

So, wadda ya think?  It’s a pretty big statement for such a small price tag.  Right up our alley.  But maybe you disagree (like our 5-year-old) and ask, “Um, why is there a tree on that wall?”  And like most projects around here, this one has conjured up ideas for more projects.  As in painting the back of the front door and banister.  This modern wall art has our builder white door and orange-y oak railing looking a tad out of place. 

I like the green color of this door…

(courtesy of DesignMom)

I like the black and white of this railing…

(courtesy of Decorate and Renovate)

Totally DIYable.  Now, I just have to find the time.  Or stay up crazy late for a few nights.

13 Comments

25.August.2010

Looks great!! I want one!!

Beautiful, you can’t beat that huge amount of impact for zero dollars!!

25.August.2010

lovely, lovely, lovely…

have you noticed that cherry blossoms are popping up in a lot of “transitional” (mix of modern/trad) home decor? Check out West Elm’s Sakura rug, for example…I love how you can incorporate nature into a modern space to make it more inviting!

26.August.2010

It looks great! What a perfect way to fill up an empty wall!

26.August.2010

That’s so cool.

27.August.2010

Was wondering what color is the wall that you painted the branch on? And where did you find the branch art? This is very inspiring and I think I will do a project like this for my sister who has a huge foyer and her walls are really bare leading up to her 2nd floor. Great job and wow your so lucky your hubby did this for you! Mine would just laugh at me and say “yeah right”. LOL

27.August.2010

Nelly – The wall color on which the branch motif is painted is Valspar (Lowe’s) Bonsai… same as the majority of walls in our home. We love it. It’s a great neutral backdrop for many different color schemes. We found the branch art online after searching Google images for “cherry blossom”. We looked through A LOT of branch pictures before picking this one. We were almost sick of ’em! I’ll post specifics on the exact image that we emplyed next week, so stay tuned…

[…] Many of you have contacted me wanting to know where Handy Hubby and I found the image used for our cherry blossom tree wall art. […]

09.September.2010

I came to your blog through the decor8 course I’m taking. Your blog is beautiful!! I LOVE your cherry blossom wall decor. It must have been a lot of work to get it done! You have a great taste and good eyes. I can’t wait to read more of your blog posts!!

13.February.2011

You’ve mentioned throughout your blog that most things get painted white in your house….can you tell me what white paint color you use? There are so many different shades of white!! Thanks. Love your blog!

14.February.2011

Stephanie – Most secondhand or thrift finds are painted with plain ol’ gloss white straight off the shelf at Lowe’s. No mixing required. Our kitchen cabinets were painted with Sherwin Williams Greek Villa.

I’m commenting late again… I love it! I recently painted birch trees on our wall and couldn’t be happier with them!

17.March.2011

Cait – Your birch trees are amazing!!