Give Your Old Shed A Make-Over

The shed project continues as the heat climbs in the mountains of Northern Idaho. 98 degrees in the afternoons means I can only work an hour or two in the mornings so the progress is slow, but a huge difference has already been made.

The old shed began as a hovel suitable only for the resident chipmunk who got evicted along with all of her nesting debris.

Sanding, priming and a new coat of paint made the surface of the shed look much better. No, I didn't want to replace anything. I need a new deck first!

I added 1x4" pine trim and with a little primer and the same custom paint color I used on the trim on my house, the shed began to take on a much more lively look. Notice the difference on the door? Who even built that shed did a crappy job. With new trim on the top and bottom of the door, it now appears completely straight! Tah Dah!

See all that pine debris on the roof? I'm waiting on sweetie to drag out the huge ladder so I can remove it. At just 5'3" and under 100 lbs, that ladder is bigger and heavier than I am. So muscles are the solution!

I decided to paint the very center of the door pure white to match the white garage doors. This, dear friends, becomes the canvas for my art.

Now....here it comes.....The fun part!

I decided that since the shed sits right against a 100 foot tall pine tree, that I would use a pine theme for the door decoration.

I decided to create raised pine branches on the door.

But guess what I created the branches with? Brown exterior caulk! What a hoot! I simply put the tube in my handy calk gun, cut off the tip and went to town creating cool pine branches angling from the sides of the white interior frame.
Where did I get this fabulous idea to use caulk? From Gloria Uhler, The Domestic Diva, who used my
Raised Plaster Aspen Trees Stencil in her living room using caulk instead of joint compound. What a creative gal! And she gave me a new medium for raised designs that I'd never thought of.

Stay tuned as you watch me apply pine needles and a surprise element to these great pine branches.

(c) Victoria Larsen 2012

Raised Plaster Stenciling in the Master Bedroom

Have you ever been faced with re-decorating a room and struggling with just what to do? What color do I paint? What pattern do I use? How will I bring it all together?


 Re-decorating becomes much easier if you choose a favorite piece or painting in your room to work around. (Or set out to find a new one!).


For my master bedroom decorating, I decided to take the colors out of my favorite print. It hangs above my bed and I show it off with a decorative curtain rod and sheer swag.

This print has soothing, yet dramatic colors of pale gray/brown and deeper brown. So in my decorating, I decided to work with those colors to coordinate with this lovely focal point.

The resulting ornamental plaster ceiling frame that I wrote about earlier, has these exact colors in it. 


I then needed to incorporate the same colors  in to the other architectural elements in the room.


Years ago, I crafted ceiling to floor wall columns that were once marbled with light, warm brown colors. They no longer coordinated with my new color scheme. 


Notice how they now have been faux finished with the deeper brown within the print and ceiling frame. I kept the existing Raised Plaster Vertical Leaf Frieze Stencil design from our stencil however. It's vertical design works perfectly on these columns.

The room is really coming together! Now just to get that crappy, dark blue carpeting changed out and I'll be a happy artist!


Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website for more exciting decorating projects, stencils and plaster molds to help you get the job done in a beautiful way!

Ornamental plaster in the Master Bedroom

Wow, it's been nearly a year since I moved in to my forest home in the mountains of Idaho. I can't believe it! And I've spent plenty of time working on it. 




The master bedroom is large but because there is so much wall space, it was also very plain. Not any more!

I decided to add ornamental plaster to the ceiling with painted frames, a Raised Plaster Stencil and plaster pieces from our plaster molds.

I first painted a large rectangle in pale brown then created an outer border that I faux finished with simple dark brown paint over the top of the light brown color I used for the center.


I then applied our Raised Plaster Floral Central Stencil in the center, repeated 4 times in to a large medallion.


 I cast all the pieces I needed then painted them pewter.

I applied each piece to the edge of the painted ceiling frames by spreading pre-tinted joint compound over the back of each piece which serves as the adhesive.

Applying the pieces is a cinch! Simply hold in place for 60 seconds, let go and it becomes permanent (though actually removable someday is need be...by why would you want to?)

The master bedroom took on a very elegant, high end look with the addition of the plaster ceiling frame. I love it and now wake up to it each morning with a smile on my face. The cool thing is that it also increases the value of my home (quite literally, since it's known as "custom plaster" to appraisers!).

Now, think about your own home. Would it benefit with the addition of a ceiling frame or medallion? You can simply do something simple around a light fixture then paint it the same color as the ceiling for understated beauty!


In my next post, I'll show you how I brought the whole room together with accessories and further faux finishes.


Visit the VictoriaLarsen.com website for more decorating projects just like this one.