You see, this is one of my decorator daughters and she always has a new vision for her own home as well as her clients. Apparently, thoughts have been thrown out for a major kitchen re-model for a bit, but no real "meeting of the minds" has ever happened. Somehow, she thought because her husband had actually wanted this wall down when they gutted this space about 6 years ago, he would be happy it was finally happening-even though at this stage of the game, it will necessitate moving the gas stove and refrigerator and all new cabinets and flooring and countertops and faucets...again, I digress.
In any case, I agreed to help. I was so sorry to see her gorgeous, real wainscoting being pulled off of the walls along with the heavy egg & dart crown molding and the arch between the rooms. This is a well built house. I seriously don't think I have ever seen dry wall so thick. But, we persevered and, by the end of the day, we not only managed to get the wall down (I will say we left the studs for now because there are not only 5 or 6 electrical boxes but there is plumbing and a gas line) but all of the debris in trash cans (SOOO heavy because a lot of it was her marble back splash from the kitchen side), all of the furniture back in place (for now) and many, many coats of drywall dust off of the floors and everything else! The next step will be all new flooring throughout the 3 current separate rooms (soon to be one huge room) and we figured the contractor will deal with those things when he gets involved. Lucky for her, she deals with her contractor and all of the various vendors on a daily basis so this will probably come together rather quickly once they make their final decisions on finishes. I must say, her vision sounds gorgeous!
We were all betting what my SIL's reaction would be when he returned home and we pretty much nailed it-he was good with it as long as we didn't ask him to do it...and, we saved the $2000 demo fee!
Of course, somewhere along the day, Jen did realize that at one point when there is no floor, counters, cabinets, electric, water or gas, they may actually have to move out for a few weeks...and in with me. Good thing I have 3 guest rooms!
So, back to the turkey. Because each of his feathers is different and he has a few extra features, painting this guy freehand just wasn't going to work for me. I like symmetry and it wasn't happening until I made the mock up turkey. Today, all I had to do was take him apart, trace him on to the burlap and start painting.
When I went to buy this burlap at HL, they only had one bolt of the "burlap" colored burlap. I put it in the cart but realized that it was the loosest woven burlap I had ever seen. It was going to be a nightmare to paint to get all of the openings filled in. I took it to the counter and told the lady how different it was from all of the other burlaps I had bought there and she asked me if I had looked at all of the others. When I told her this was the only one of the color I needed she said, "No, I have lots of extra stock" and took me to the other side of the aisle where there were many bolts stuck under tables of printed cottons. I never even thought about looking there...but I definitely will from now on!. They were such a different quality-same manufacturer, color, width, etc. She said that happens often.
And so, I found the tightest woven one they had and as I am looking at the first coat of brown on the body, I am not at all sure that it will even require the usual second coat. I will wait for it to dry before I decide. But, "yay" if not. I will have him done in half the time. Guess I had better get deciding how I want to do the feathers!
I have decided on the colors I want on my turkey but still reserving judgment on whether I am going to add any patterns to them. All of my inspiration photos have patterns-one where every pattern is varied but white...the other two have varied and in color. I think it just might be too much for me. As my "kids" will tell you...I like to say I am a purist. It is almost impossible to paint straight lines on burlap because of the texture. The polka dots work best when painted with my "dabbers", but I don't think I want dots on all of them. I have noticed that a lot of my inspirations are not burlap door hangers but either painted on wood or canvas making it much easier to do the zig zags, stripes, etc. And, honestly, I'm still not sure I would want them even if I could paint them. And I have learned the hard way that once something is painted on the burlap, even if the new color covers the old, the "ghost" image of the original always remains. We'll see. Stay tuned.
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