Get Organized in 2012 with Framed White Boards and Horizontal Stripes

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White Boards by angela roberts

This is my first post of 2012. I want to take a moment to say thank you for stopping by and wish you a Happy and Blessed New Year. Your visits, comments and emails mean more than you could know. It’s the juice that keeps Spinach Tiger running.

 After all the holiday cooking and baking, I needed to take a moment to get myself renewed, refreshed and organized. You can look forward to many healthy, nutritious recipes, and a lot more pie, sweet and savory. I’m not done cooking in cast iron or eating purple food. I want to get back to more Italian classics from Marcella Hazan and other great Italian legacies. I plan to cook some things from my bucket list to stretch my skills, but I mostly want to bring you everyday, whole, frsh, good food that is approachable, delicious, comforting, and nutritious. I’ve managed to lose 8 pounds this past year eating my food, and I plan to share more about that. I also plan to share more about Nashville local restaurants, from dives to fancy.

I know some friends who have chosen one word to define 2012 for them. Prosper, be, enjoyment, contentment, create. I have chosen the word  focus. I have things I want to create. I have places I want to enjoy. I certainly want to prosper. But, I have a right brain/left brain battle going on all the time. I’m not sure how I ever accomplish anything. Somehow things seem to get done, but there are always more unfinished projects and blog posts than finished ones.

To get Spinach Tiger focused, I spent this past weekend redoing a wall in my upstairs loft.  I was a professional faux finisher for ten years, and decorating is as big a part of me as food, so I thought I would share a different kind of recipe with you.

I painted the focus wall  a crisp white on white horizontal stripe and hung four framed white boards, purchased at Office Depot.

I started with a  dark, dreary wall that needed several nail holes filled and a new look. This is the wall I face when I leave my bedroom in the morning. It’s the first thing I see and I wanted it to be clean, modern, and inspiring.

It took two coats and approximately one hour total to tape and paint the first color with Behr’s semi-gloss paint with primer.

Stripe #1: Color, Falling Snow. The color was much cooler than I wanted, so I chose a very warm white for the second stripe: Behr, flat enamel, paint with primer.

Stripe #2: Color, Cotton Fluff.  Behr enamel flat, a washable paint Using a cool white and a warm white gave the exact contrast I was hoping for.

It took two hours to tape the stripes. The painting of the second stripe took five minutes.

Most of that time was figuring out how big we wanted them. We played around a lot and decided the cooler White would be 11 inches high and the warmer white  would be 12 inches high. I think it’s visually more appealing to not have the stripes be exactly the same size, but it’s probably easier to tape same size stripes.

We hung framed white boards from Office Depot. The walls look a different shade of white because the sun is coming in from both sides.

I have a huge white board in my office that lists everything I want to cook for the blog, or restaurants I want to eat at. That can be overwhelming, so I’m going to use one board to list a few “to cook” items and one board for the next few restaurants. The Catbird Seat in Nashville is on the short list. Something in Rome is on the long list.

I’m not sure exactly how I’ll use the other two boards. One will probably be for house projects. One will probably be a dream board of sorts.

Tell me, if you had one word to drive you to your best year, what would it be?

Recipe for Painting Tone on Tone Horizontal Stripe

Use good quality paint. My preference is paint that has the primer in it such as the Behr brand. Dry the first coat of paint for two days prior to using any tape.

Use Frog Tape (green paint found at all hardware and paint stores) for multi-surfaces.

Use a Level.

Choosing Color, Choosing Sheen

You can do this many ways. You can pick your favorite white (or any other color) in two different sheens. One flat and one Satin. Or you can pick similar colors. I did opposing tones of white because I started with what I had on hand. It was a very cool bluish white. To offset this, I chose a very warm sunny white for my second color. Do a sample board with each color to make sure they are visually appealing. If you like the warm white as I do, you can choose it in flat, and paint the whole wall. Next buy enough for the second stripe in a glossier sheen, such as satin or semigloss. Paints come in flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss and high gloss. If you do buy a flat, buy a flat enamel which is washable. After painting for ten years, I stand by Home Depot’s Behr paint with primer. Pay the extra money to get this high quality paint with primer. You can take your favorite color from other paint companies to Home Depot and they will make it with the Behr paint formula. They can even color match a swatch (I have no affiliation with Home Depot).

Measuring Your Stripes

Decide the height of each stripe. Make two perfectly measured matching templates. The best thing to do is cut a template in half and cut   another piece for the middle.

Cooler White: 11 inches high. Warmer White: 12 inches high.

Make two template sets. One set is 9 inches high. One set is 12 inches high.

I used a heavy construction paper and used a paper cutter to cut 9 inch template to make 11 inch stripes. The inch on either side of the tape accounts for another inch of that color. I taped each template to wall and then with a partner ran the tape across. I crossed this section off with a tape, because this was the stripe not getting painted. For next stripe, use 11 inch template and tape. For next stripe, use the 9 inch template. This will result in 11 inch, 12 inch sequence of stripes. No matter what size you decide, you must take into account the size of the tape.

Tape off ALL stripes before painting. Check each stripe with the level. Use tape to X off each stripe that is not getting painted. Trust me on this. Once you’re painting, you can get lost. Prior to painting, go down each stripe and make sure you have taken into account the tape that is on the wall and will be increasing the size of the stripe. Do a check down each stripe. Don’t worry if your stripes are not perfectly fitting onto the wall. You almost never end with a perfect height on bottom. It won’t matter. It’s up to you decide whether to start measuring from the bottom or the top.

Wrapping Horizontal Stripes:  This is tricky. I suggest using a laser that can wrap corners.

One Day I plan to write a second blog. I bought a domain name for when that day comes. And, in a future life, maybe I could have nicer hand writing!

 

 

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14 Comments

  1. This is a really great idea! Brava!! I am sure you will manage to cook more – now you have a bit of a break after Christmas. I can’t believe it is over already in a way! So much planning and then…gone!

    Happy New Year!

    Francesca

  2. Spectacular! I love the visual effect of the different finishes and shades!

    Love what you’re planning to cook! I’ve done a croquembouche, but Wellington is still on my “bucket list,” but I’m strangely not at all interested in whoopie pies…don’t know why…

    Have a fabulous 2012!! My word is “faith…”

  3. I love the wall treatment and horizontal stripes. Could I entice you to come to South Florida and redo a wall or two…food and board would be included, of course!

    I already posted my word on FB. It’s “forward”…to keep moving forward toward enlightenment, enrichment and things that matter to me…obstacles be damned!

  4. I have been brainstorming about different ways to incorporate some white boards into my decoration but it’s difficult to find classy white boards that fit with my style. This is a great idea and has really sparked my imagination!

  5. My one word for 2012 would be Participate. This means participate in healthy eating and exercise, more time with friends, vacations and whatever else I can find to participate in and enjoy life. Thanks also for sharing your decorating ideas Anglea. This is obviously a passion of yours and I hope to see more.

  6. Very nice! Love the stripes AND the idea boards. That’s a good way to stay focused and motivated. I’ve had to take a little blogging break myself and could use some of that (focus and motivation) too.

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