Since returning from life in Italy I have taken on a big project: convereting a barn to a house…while living in it! It didn't seem like such a bad idea when we moved in in the summertime, but now that the cold and damp is here (we're in the redwoods) I realize just how difficult it is to do simple things, like painting the rooms. The temperature is so low in this barn that the paint takes ages to dry. Just the same it's been a fun creative process, taking an empty shell and getting to decide which part will be the kitchen, which will be the bedrooms and so on. It reminds me so much of building forts in the yard when I was little, making something out of what's at hand: salvage, found objects and hand-me-downs.
My bedroom area was just sort of thrown together when we moved in and I put most of my effort into making the kitchen and office functional. Yesterday while I was having my morning coffee it occurred to me that part of the reason I was feeling so cold in here is that most of the walls are white. That can work in a space filled with sun and natural light. This place is not. I stared at the wall behind my bed trying to decide what color I'd like it to be. I decided that even though it's too cold to paint right now I desperately needed to warm-up that sleeping 'nook' temporarily.
Before:
After:
Wooden boxes from Florence, India & Greece; 1940s handpainted silk lampshade:
On the bed: vintage India print spread & vintage chinoiserie pillow; on the wall: 1920s silk brocade spread & my original embroidery art:
I'll be documneting the process here: Barn Project
Now, when Marcel is an adult and someone asks him, "Were you raised in a barn?" He can say, "Yes!"
So Sylvie 
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