Basement Gallery Wall, Check!

Summer vacations and activities have been fun and keeping us busy, but I was really itching to be back to blog about decor and styling. I am such a decor adrenaline junkie. As I was running out of major reno projects to work on, I started to procrastinate. This gallery wall over my fauxdenza in the basement hallway looks simple and straightforward enough, but it took me five months to complete! It was challenging finding the right artworks that are cohesive to a mid-century modern theme. 

These two prints from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice pushed me over the finishing line. On the left is the print of Rene Magritte's Empire of Light; and on the right Alberto Giacometti's Woman Walking. 

I played with different layouts on the floor until I found the most visually-balanced option. 

The rest was all math, a lot of measuring and hammering. 

While I was sorting out the artworks for the gallery, I also found an old acrylic painting of mine, a reproduction of Monet's Agapanthus. While the colours and style didn't work for the gallery wall, on a whim I had it framed anyways. 

Luckily I was able to find a spot in our kitchen dining room for it. I like the touch of colours it adds to the space. 

I had shared this picture on my Instagram last week, the black white and gold theme I had on my coffee table in the living room. I had an orchid plant there for the longest time, but it wasn't doing too well because there's not enough sunlight reaching the middle of my living room. Once I relocated the orchid, I was in desperate need of adding variations of heights to my tablescape. Then by chance I saw these vintage brass candlesticks right next to my TV, adorned them with plain white stick candles, and done! I really should try to shop at home more. :) 

I will be back to write about our trip to Dubrovnik in the next post. 

Project Fauxdenza and A Bust

I am so happy to report that project fauxdenza is a wrap! This past weekend we had our contractor Dmitriy back to cut down the extra 3/4 inch overhang. If you've been following me on my blog for a while, you would know this is probably my first mid-century modern corner in my house, and I am loving every bit of it. 

Those artworks and accessories are there temporarily until I collect enough pieces to create a gallery wall above the unit. 

This was the basement hallway before the fauxdenza. Those two Hollywood Regency Chippendale style faux bamboo chairs in the picture are on loan to a TV mini series called "Marilyn" (as in Marilyn Monroe). The show will be on ABC in the fall, and rest assured I will be vigorously looking for them in each and every scene. 

And this is the after. I will need to take better pictures when I have more time to play with the white balance. There is no window in my basement hallway so I always had to use the "Tungsten setting" to offset the warm (yellow) lighting. It would appear the setting has been overcompensating and consequently most of the pictures turned out to be too blue/cold. 

See how much difference 3/4 inch of the overhang made? This was the before with one inch overhang. 

This is now with less than 1/4 inch overhang. In hindsight, I wish I had pushed the envelope by making it completely flush in the front.

I opted for push-openers over pulls or knobs to complete the cleaner minimalist look. 

This past Friday after a meeting I wandered into a HomeSense nearby (Heartland). It was one of those random browsing trips as I had nothing in mind to buy, but guess what I found - the Apollo of Pantheon bust that's going for over $300 here and here. I've seen a smaller plaster version of it at HomeSense, but not this one. This handsome Greek fella stands 21" tall, and is as solid as a rock! 

Look how perfect he looks on my foyer chest? 

Project Fauxdenza Complete...Almost

This past weekend we finally got around to installing the fauxdenza. It was a pretty straightforward Ikea hack using Akurum cabinet frames and Applad doors. So here are a few work-in-progress pictures. 

Why a work-in-progress you may ask? Can you see the walnut top sticking out way too much over the cabinet? Ikea's web site says Akurum cabinet is 12 7/8" in depth; the thickness of the Applad door is 5/8". When I added them up I got 13.5" which led me to order the 14-inch wide wood top. Big mistake! It turned out that the total depth of the cabinet frame and door only added up to just under 13" or 12 7/8", so now I have over 1" overhang which spoiled the whole clean and modern look I was going for. So we are going to have to find a way to cut that extra 3/4 of an inch. I briefly finished the top with a water-based clear coat, but I am second guessing that decision now so back to the drawing board between dark and clear stains. I am leaning towards dark walnut which will likely look sharper with a long and massive white floating cabinet unit. Thoughts? 

I was all excited about styling it but I guess that has to wait until we fix the top. Patience is a virtue. Btw, it would appear Ikea has removed Akurum and Applad series from their web site to make room for the new Sektion series. Looks like I caught the last train. 

Fauxdenza Progress and An Award

Basement hallway floating cabinet, or project fauxdenza is well under way. The annoying bulkhead casting shadows on that wall sent me researching for various lighting options including:

• Recessed pot lights: this is a no go because there's no room inside the bulkhead for them.
• Spot lights: doable but most of them can only project light downwards, which means they wouldn't illuminate the wall anyway. 
• Track lighting: will definitely solve the problem but they don't look attractive to me.
• Sconces on the wall: would look great but they also break up the wall and limit the space for me to hang artworks.

I figured table lamps might be the only way to go, if I want to get rid of shadows on that wall. 

So we had our electrician relocate two power outlets such that they will be tucked underneath the floating cabinets and out of sight once the cabinet is installed. This gives us the flexibility of adding a table or floor lamp if we still want to. 

I think a pair of these gold and milk glass lamps would look sensational on the fauxdenza. 

Now onto the award part. Monday morning I woke up to this email in my inbox, a great way to start the week, right? 

Thank you Houzz community for the award! You can view the announcement here and the rest of the Best of Houzz awards. 

I kinda wish they had used a more up-to-date picture of my hallway like this. Sun-filled foyer is my favourite place to be in the afternoon. I would sit on that settee and take my coffee breaks when I work from home. 

In the art department, there's something amazing going on like this. Canvas prints from anewall are being framed by Edmond at YM Art. 

I've just started reading the Yes Please by Amy Poehler, and it's hilarious! Who doesn't love Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey, and Mindy Kaling, right? 

Fauxdenza - Picking the Wood Top

First of all, are you all traumatized by the news about Target pulling out of Canada? But can you say you were shocked? I wasn't. I could think of so many reasons why Target didn't prevail in Canada. This is a textbook example that a strong brand name could only take a company so far with poor execution. I am sad to see them go but anybody with retail 101 would probably know this was imminent. 

Nough said. Now onto some happier thoughts. Project fauxdenza has officially started. For the wood top, I would need a long piece of wood that's 110" x 14" in size. Not many mills carry that long piece of a lumber, so after many calls, I finally found it at Century Mill Lumber. 

They offer many hardwood options, including live edge table tops like this. 

For furniture-grade lumber, there aren't that many options when it comes to the length I need. I was given Mahogany or American Black Walnut. I opted for the Black Walnut because I wasn't too keen on the Mahogany's red undertones. 

The shopping experience at Century Mill Lumber was great: staff was friendly, knowledgeable and efficient - I was in and out with everything teed up within 30 minutes. They will need to cut, sand and clean it so it won't be ready for another week or two. Who knew picking a piece of lumber could be so much fun? Along the way I learnt the different grades of walnut - the more heartwood the better; and how one should dye and not stain the sapwood to achieve a more consistent color. 

Now onto the stain. I am torn between Dark Walnut and clear coat.

I think this is what clear-coated walnut would look like. What do you think? Dark Walnut stain or clear coat?