Very elegant, oceanna.

Thanks, everyone! Aw shucks.

It sure feels good to have at least ONE area of the house shipshape. Flyleft, you're right, now other areas need to be brought up to snuff. Isn't that the way? :o/

Question:
I'm hignly tempted to take the beadboard down the hall, which will put it on the halltree wall in the living room. What do you think? Then should I paint those walls the same color as the entry? When you look up the stairs from the entry, you see the entry beige walls, the yellow hall wall that extends to the LR, and the green kitchen walls. Would it be better to just see the beige and the green?

The Window:
To those of you who admire the window, you all can do these windows! Michaels has lots of patterns for windows you can use, with instructions, and they have the paint and the leading lines. The window in my entry I did on plexiglas so I could work it on the living room floor, instead of on a ladder. The thing is 65" wide by 36" tall!

So you can do them on an existing window like these:

(This is in my master bath)

(This I did for my son, next to his front door)

... or, you can do them on a separate piece of glass, or plexiglas, as I did the one above the door. I chose plexi because I was afraid of breaking the window and/or being cut. The plexi worked out great because I kneeled right on it during the making of that window.

Joanna,
Don't you think split entries are challenging from a decorating standpoint? Gosh, you open the front door and all you see is stairs up and stairs down and that huge blank wall above the down stairs. Now I want to see what you did with yours.

I still have this picture on the huge wall above the basement stairs. It really does fill the wall better than this awkward photo indicates. The colors in it help to tie in the green kitchen and yellow hall walls at the top of the stairs. This pic was taken before I painted, though...

Problems & challenges:

Reno, yes I sure had a devil of a time arriving at this point! First, I sanded the texture off the walls, well, fairly well. Then I put up the chair rail. Lots of fancy measuring/cutting for the angles. I learned how to do that.

Then I did the whole upper staircase in Craftsman wainscoting. And caulked. And painted. It was finished. That took me about 4-5 days where I had to run up and down the stairs probably three times for every darn board I cut, making sure the angles fit right. I did an under-chair rail board, an over-baseboard board, and the uprights. It *should* have been great and I was sure proud of myself for all the fancy cutting/fitting.

Only I used masonite to save money. BIG mistake! Everywhere it was sanded on the surface it reflected the light differently, so stuck out like a sore thumb. It also contoured too easily to the large bumps in the walls, accentuating them. And the edges where it had been cut and sanded looked a little swolen/fuzzy. Sanding makes it fuzzy and there's nothing you can do to smooth it again.

So I ripped out the masonite, which left huge gouges in the wall no matter how careful I was, because I'd done what the hardware store guy told me and used Liquid Nails. Another big mistake. The walls were ruined!

So I mudded the walls and sanded them. When I turned that electric sander (another BIG mistake) on it was like baby powder flying all through my house and settling on everything I owned. Hated that! I'm still finding places it coated. grrr!

For some stupid reason at that point I assumed I could do picture molding wainscotting. So I bought the lumber, and measured and cut out three boxes for the first wall. The fourth was going to be shaped differently.

At that point my son loaned me his pneumatic nail gun. I put up the first box and it was so easy! I loved that gun! Then it decided it was not going to give me any more nails and that was that.

The next day I chased down a special oil for my son's nail gun all over town and never found the right thing.

So the next day I went to the tool store and bought my own nail gun. Only the package had been previously opened, and when I got it home it had no oil, no tool, and worst, no way to attach it to my compressor. I still need to take it back. I'm so mad about that.

So at that point I figured I'd just nail the trim up the old fashioned way they've done for years. I nailed up the first two boards and the third one split on me. The meant I would have to drill holes for all the nails. Gimmie a break! grrr!

At that point, rather than crying, I lost my normally placid but considerable Taurus temper and ripped all the boards off the wall, and ordered the beadboard wallpaper.

The beadboard wallpaper saved the day.

BUT I would caution any of you who think it will cover up lumps and bumps. It won't. I can still see the large lumps in my wall and any tiny ones too. I am hoping nobody else notices them, but I sure see them. And, I never saw them for almost four years in this house until I sanded off the textured stuff. The builders know that textured stuff hides a multitude of sins, so they don't tape and mud as carefully as they would if they had to make smooth walls. Hust so all you DIY folks know that.

So my advice would be to sand off the texture, mud if you need to (then hand sand, no power sander), then use the beadboard wallpaper. Or use real beadboard if you're not doing stairs, maybe. And don't expect perfection.

As to how to cut angles for staircases, make a paper pattern exactly the same width as your lumber. Tape it on the wall. Where two pieces of paper cross, make a line with a ruler and pencil from the inside "vee" to the outside "vee" on each piece of paper. Now that is your pattern to take over to your saw. Also, angles for staircases are sharper than you can cut with a chopsaw or a miter box. I used my chopsaw but punted.

If you want to do molding instead, DO have a good working nail gun.

Next Problem:

I'm having a hard time wanting to sell my old dining room table because I love it. All I wanted in the beginning was pressback chairs to go with it. I seriously am trying to decide whether to sell the old ibe or the new. The new one is so big it takes up too much room and makes my DR and its rug look too little. Meanwhile, I have an extra table and its base, and four chairs cluttering my living room. augh

It never ends, does it?

beautiful job!!!! a perfect front entrance and highlight for your beautiful stained glass!

thank you for the info on the kits as michaels!! think i'll start a new hobby!

Daisyadair, only one neighbor has seen it so far, and it wasn't finished yet.

Christina, I think you'll really enjoy this craft and I'm so glad you're trying it. You can buy patterns, or make your own. If you make a pattern on your computer, you can get Staples to print it at full size for you suprisingly inepensively. For the long stright lines, I used the instant leading tape. For the curved lines, I piped it from the bottle... but you want to use a small bottle. I use an empty one to fill from the larger leading bottle. You might want to do some window clings first, to practice. Here is a window cling I did and it was lots of fun. No kit; I just printed something I liked off my computer and traced it. Sorry, it's pretty hard to get a good photo of a window...

Here is a pic of my big window lit up at night (please forgive ladder in entry)...

Oh! I also love the paints at windowbutterflies.com. They are more expensive than Michaels, but they spread out better and dry smoother, and they're easier to work with (but only on the horizontal, not on the vertical). She has a little video there to show you how, too.

I have done two other windows for my kids, but I need to get them to take pictures for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Window Butterflies

Great job Oceanna! It is a wonderful transformation. I really love the horse painting/print at the bottom of your stairs, and of course your stained glass is just amazing.

Oceanna, what a transformation! Congrats on work well done--love the paneling that you added! And kudos to you for the stain glass work--I love artsy folks like you and sure appreciate your talents.

I love "Ta-da" posts. That new entryway looks fabulous. You put in a lot of hard work and really transformed it into a great space. Thanks for the "how-to" tips. I've been tossing the idea around to do beadboard wallpaper for quite some time and I should just jump in with both feet and do it.

You art glass is amazing. I've been curious about those stained glass kits I've seen at the craft stores and never saw any finished pieces. Yours are beautiful.

Wow! That's a big change and a very nice improvement (although I do like that flower border going up the stairs). I really like the wainscot and carpeting, not to mention the stained glass.

Oceana,

I had no clue the beadboard was wallpaper! WOW! It is just scrumptious! Now you've got me thinking to myself.....where oh where could I put some of that? Thanks for sharing!

Wow! Wow! Wow! Awesome job! What a transformation! Take a bow, and a rest! LOL

What a story, oceanna! I admire your dogged persistence. It's inspiring.

I love everything you did although I was sad to see that your hand painted flowers are gone. Now though, your stained glass really gets a chance to steal the show, and boy does it!

"It never ends, does it?" Ha ha, isn't that the fun of it :)

I love everything you did although I was sad to see that your hand painted flowers are gone. Now though, your stained glass really gets a chance to steal the show, and boy does it!

"It never ends, does it?" Ha ha, isn't that the fun of it :)

Very nice and your windows are the perfect finishing touch! I love stained glass, but, usually have my own colors in mind, now you have me hooked, got to try this!!!!! Thank you again for Even MORE Inspiration!

Texashottie thanks, and good to see you back! I missed you!

Teeda, I've always loved that horse painting too. I can't remember who the artist is. Someone around here knows. I looked up horse painting and found this. These people charge 75 cents per person to paint their horse with safe tempra paint. Couldn't resist sharing this! A bunch of kids had fun with this and what a great idea, with a CALM old horse. (http://www.graystoneranch.com/horse-painting.htm if anyone wants to see more.)

Dilly Dally I have never tried any of the window painting kits, though I think that might be a fun way to start. I really hope you will try it.

If you do the wallpaper, remember it has a wider stripe on one side and a narrower on the other, so you need to make sure the paper is "right side up" or it won't space properly at the edges. You'll see.

N2cooking, yep, it's wallpaper. It is a little tender, so I don't think I'd put it in a high-bang area. I used to toss stuff down the stairs, but I think I won't do that any more. You can dent it with a fingernail if you're not careful. I'm hoping it holds up on my stairs. I think it would be perfect for an adult bathroom or bedroom, or any low-bang area. I'm debating if I dare put it down my hall. I wish I could talk with someone who has had it for a while.

Cooper, I'm glad you said that as I've been resting yesterday and today and feeling guilty!

Flyleft, I'm impressed you even read the story. Look at the picture that looks down at the black cabinet at the bottom of the stairs. See on the beige painted wall on the left where there is a big ol' lump from where the wallboard seams meet (I guess)? That's the kind of thing that can give you fits when doing molding-type wainscotting. I think the dogged part was I didn't cry. I went through days where nothing worked out, though. Good thing the wallpaper worked, as I was out of plans.

Paintchips, you can say that again! (Just kidding ya).

Oldhouseluvr and Paintchips, I really appreciate your comments about my flower painting. I think I'll paint a little birdie up near the top, though, maybe. I need to determine if the chair rail will be too in my way and drive me nuts. I'm a little tempted to just decoupage it for that reason.

**If anyone wants to try the Gallery Glass, I'd be happy to help so let me know.

**Anyone... can you decoupage a print off your computer? Or does the ink run or something? Or does it look crummy?

Great job oceanna. Glad it worked for you.

I tried to decoupage a print from computer; I couldn't get it to work. I even lightly sprayed it with sealer first.

Oceanna, it looks great! You are a trooper - bless your heart!

Smiles:)

It turned out beautiful! You persisted and it paid off. Great job :-) I'm in the process of putting up wainscoting in my foyer (no stairs involved!). Someone gave me the raised panels, so I only had to get the rails and stiles. We only got a 6 foot section done this weekend (I was hoping for more), but I think we know what we're doing and the rest should go a little quicker. I'll post some pictures when I'm finished.

It looks fantastic. I thought what a lot of work installing all that bead board and then reading that it was wallpaper. It fooled me. Your stained glass over the door is gorgeous. I had given up on trying to do stained glass. Now you have inspired me to try again.

Beautiful, beautiful! What else can I say!! I love the stained glass window, too. Wish I had your talent.

oceanna... isn't that always the way of projects? so many times i wonder why the heck i start em ;)

thank you for the link!

Wow, Oceanna - awesome results! Thanks to your experience, I scraped the ideas of mdf beadboarding my eldest daughter's room, and also went with wallpaper beadboard. What a joy to install! And like you, discovered that chair rail is interesting on bowed walls :)

Gracie, thanks about the computer print. Darn, huh?

Lafonda, I look forward to your thread about your wainscotting. It sounds lovely.

Mistybear, remember it's not really stained glass; it's Gallery Glass and Mirabeau paint. Much easier. I hope you try it.

Nanny2a, thanks for helping to inspire me on the beadboard wallpaper with the lovely job you did and posted! You helped convince me to do what ultimately saved this project and my sanity. Well, that last part might be questionable. hehe

Christina, yes so many projects are one step forward, two steps back, and a lot more work than we thought they would be. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that I'm kind of an eternal optimist. That gets me in a lot of trouble.

Chloe's mom, are you going to post a thread with before and after pics? I hope so! Yeah, darn those bowed walls. Picture molding and Craftsman wainscotting are even worse. I don't believe we can sand those big bows out of the walls, either. Were craftsman back in the Victorian era that much more meticulous? I think yes?

Thanks, all!

It looks SO nice! What a transformation. Enjoy the results of all your hard work :)

Beautiful job Oceanna, what a great dress up for a plain window, it gives lovely color with the sun and privacy if you come down the stairs in pjs.
Did you also paint the Isabella painting?
I used the gallery glass paints before actually on 3 windows, I love it too. I am thinking of trying it again with the plexi. It looks like you did a crackled glass, was that on the plexi? Also how did you afix the plexiglass to the window?

Thanks, Jlc. Actually, the north wall of the basement stairs there is not finished. I ran out of wallpaper. I just got more so need to do that but it won't take too long.

Polyanna, thanks. Yes, it does give me some privacy. I can still see out pretty well but it makes it quite hard for people to see in, which was part of the reason I did that. No, I didn't paint Isabella. She is a print. I've looked and she must not be made any more. Please do a thread where you show your GG windows! I would love to see them. Nope, no crackled glass. The GG is on plexi. The plexi isn't attached. It's just sitting on the window sill leaning up there. My son said he'd attach it, but he hasn't. It won't come down if you slam the door, but I'm not sure if it would hold up there through an earthquake.

Id love to show what I did, it was in a cabin we had in 1980's, we sold it long ago. I am not even sure where I got the stain glass paint back then, they didnt offer the straight threads back then, just the bottled lead, then you used the buff on shine when it dried. It was soo long ago.

Well shucky darn, Pollyanna. Then you'll just have to do some new ones to show us now, won't you? And this time take lots of pics.

I would love to see several of you make your own "stained glass" windows. It's fun and you get complete creative control, if you want it.

Oceanna, I've always loved the stain glass windows that you make and this new window is another beauty. But I think what you have done in your entry hall stairs is so smart and fresh looking. I'm so glad I popped on and saw the final results.

Sky

Oceanna,
Your work is always impressive & inspirational. The entryway looks elegant and inviting. Did you take a class to learn to do that?
The stained glass window, even on the computer, caught my DH's eye. The bright colors & detail are beautiful. I bet your neighbors enjoy looking too. I enjoy going around my neighborhood & looking at the different homes. Yours would one I'd walk by often.

Oceanna, everything looks just lovely! The stained glass is breathtaking! You are very talented. :)

Sky, thanks, that's sweet of you to say.

Mistihayes, how about making one yourself? Nope, I didn't take a class. I was SO scared to get started! But then I did it and found out it's really not hard. Making some clings is a fun, way to start.

Amazing job! Looks like it was done by "This Old House" caliber professionals. Then again, it's you we're talking about. Having seen photos of some of your "projects" before, I wouldn't have expected anything less. ;^)

Oh my, you've done a lovely job with all the beadboard and painting mouldings. It looked nice before--just very dated, but now, WOWZA!

Oceanna,
I'll have to see if that's something I could do. I think some people have a true gift/talent & some people gifted with motivation. I'm blessed with alot of motivation but obviously you are blessed with both.
I remember seeing the cathedrals in Boston & St Augustine & the stained glass was breathtaking.
This is my entryway & I'm going to do something different. I'm afraid to go with white trim as I have 3 toddler sons. Otherwise, the clean light colors you chose would be my preference. Makes it more open, classy, & clean. I still have the dark color trim on the doors & banister. I really want a change, just not sure of the colors & you have opened up all new ideas for me now(beadboarding). The windows in the split-entry home are a plus of that style. And instead of me disliking my entry-way now, I'm like this is really nice & has potential. It sets the mood for the rest of the home because it's the first thing you see.
Take the positives & turn the negatives into positive is my goal. I'm really starting to love my home by making it more me. I'm definetly going to research what you have done. I love it & I love your work.

Wow, Oceanna -- now that's an amazing transformation! The space looks so crisp and fresh now, and your beautiful stained glass window just shines! I'm intrigued by the Gallery Glass and would definitely be interested in learning more about how to get started with it ...

Adding another "WOW!!!" to the party! :)

A brillant and hard-won victory -- and an amzing transformation! Really elegant!

Well done -- and your whole story is truly inspiring -- your persistence, imagination and hard work really paid off! :)

Jan (who has the patience of a lit firecracker! LOL!)

And yet another bit WOW!

oceanna, what a wonderful & amazing transformation! I haven't been around much lately (life, you know....) so I'm happy that I logged in today & saw this, especially since I have an inkling of empathy for what you went through. Aren't you pleased that you stuck with it, now that you have such beautiful results?

I need to recoup my energy so that I can get back to working on my office & stairs, but one of these days, I'm using you for inspiration to tackle a gallery glass project :)

Oceanna, first of all, let me say again, that everything is beautiful! You and I have similar tastes. Is that a Mucha print on the basement wall?

I apologize if you have already answered this: How did you mount the gallery glass piece? Did you leave the original up there?

Oceanna, thanks again for putting me onto wallpaper beadboard. Now I need to learn more about gallery glass - thanks!

Here's a photo of Chloe's room - wallpaper top and bottom!

Here is a link that might be useful: thread on Chloe and vivian's rooms

Auntjen -- thanks! I do hope you'll try some GG. Did you see my comments/directions about it above? I hope they help.

Moonkat -- I'm delighted you showed up! I thought of you and Nanny often while doing this. Your ceiling and her walls were inspiration for this project. I'm very glad I stuck with it, but I wish I'd just done the BB wallpaper to begin with. It turned out much better than I expected, I think largely because of turning the railing shiny black. That made a huge difference. Glad I could inspire you back and can't wait to see what you do. I gave some instructions above and hope they help.

Artlover -- yes she is a Mucha above the stairs. The plexiglas "sg" window over the door is *not* mounted. Got any ideas how to mount it?

Chloe's mom -- I love what you did with the $5 clearance wallpaper! It looks just amazing. That wallpaper was perfect. The answer to your q. over there is yes, a coat of good paint will help your beadboard wallpaper be tougher against bumps and bangs. I'll be watching to see what you do with Vivian's room.

Mistyhayes -- I hear you; wood is easier to upkeep than white paint. What if you paint your woodwork and the plant shelves shiny black? I put several coats of polyurethane over my railings, and the shiny black, with the satin white, and the flat beige looks just amazing in person. I took the railings and that little bookcase into the garage on a plastic tarp w the car in the driveway, roughed them up just a little with sandpaper and spray painted them black.

Misty, it could look amazing if you scrap the curtains and blinds and do GG in there. It's just tracing lines and filling in color - you can do it! Plus you'd get a lot more light in. You can make the GG so you keep your privacy, or leave clear places where you can look out. I can see out my big window, but from outside you just really can't see in well. Part of the reason for that might be because the GG is angled, leaning? Dunno, but I retained the light and view, and gained privacy. No curtains/blinds to wash, hooray! You can go snoop the web for designs you like. Then you can make them on your computer and have Staples/etc. print them, or you could draw them yourself on paper full size. Then pick your fave colors. You will enjoy doing yours on plexi, rather than directly on the window. Your choice, but you can work the plexi on your table, but the windows will have to be done on your feet/ladder.

Gallery Glass

For those of you wanting to do GG, I recommend the plexi. You can get it at Lowes and they will cut it whatever size you want. It comes 72" x 36". You don't have to worry about being cut or accidentally breaking your window, and it's very lightweight.

Or, just mess around with the clings, and that's a great way to get started, and you can cover your entire window with them if you like. The dragonfly window was part clings, and part done on the real window. I cemented the clings in with paint onto it's borders.

I did put jewels on my windows. Mostly I used the clear marbles you get at Michaels, but I also found some plastic jewels with no silvering on the back, and I love those. These add an extra dimension and more believability, I think. But they're a bit heavy for on clings.

Oceanna,
The plexi sounds better for me as I borrow the neighbors ladder for reaching that high. I also looked up the GG. Do you get the same size plexi as the windows & put it behind the glass? I'm going to Michaels today & going to look up clings. That might give me some convincing on whether or not I can do this. I'll also go visit your threads some more. I remember one thread has a bunch of your work. You wouldn't happen to remember that timeframe, would you? It takes me a long time when I guess & look for pages. Also, I live in WA & we get some cold weather. Does that have any impact on the colors? Thanks for all your help!

The new wallpaper looks wonderful in your entry hall, Oceanna! And, as always, it's wonderful to see your artwork.
Lynn

Oceanna,

Thanks for the inspiration post! I am using beadboard in our stairway bc I just adore the way yours turned out. Will post a pic when it is completed in a couple of weeks.

Thank you again!
Stacey =)

WOW!! What a great transformation!!!

It looks wonderful...love the paint colour & beadboard also!! Great job!!

Oceanna,

what is the name of your beadboard wall covering? I want to put some in a BR.

Wow - I love the stained glass! Congratulations on the transformation!

OCEANNA it's amazing!!! I love it! I would have never guessed that was wallpaper. it really looks like a different house - it must have given your house a whole new feel!

You are so talented with the glass! It's really beautiful. I have to say though, I'm in love with that print missing the face - so whimsical. I'd love something fun like that for my powder room - would you mind sharing where you got it?

Seriously, great job. You should be so proud. :-)

looks great. I think the change is attractive, cheerful and fresh looking. Amazing that the beadboard is wallpaper. I had no idea until I read it in your post. Wowza. I love black bannisters with white around them. My stairs are similar in that respect. I have a question about your stair rug: what made you over the whole tread? Eventually I will be putting a rug on my stairs but I was going to leave the edges uncovered so I'm curious why you went the other way. Maybe there's a reason I hadn't thought of yet.

Oceanna -Great transformation and clever details!

One more question about the GG - you have opened my eyes to what I can do with my indoor/outdoor bathroom. THe door to the outside is a glass french door with clear glass. I was going to commission a piece of art glass from a local artist. We bought a screen from her and I love her work. However, now that we are nearing the end of the remodel there is absolutely no room in the budget. I was a fine art major and have always been interested in stain glass. There is a local studio that you can sign-up and go in and make your glass piece - but I am afraid with the move and 2 small children it is unrealistic to think I can put in the time to finish an actual stained glass piece. They require that it be a minimum number of pieces - so a long range project!

I am so excited to see what you did because I think it would be perfect. Question about permanence - clings obviously are removable but is the paint and leading removable down the line?

I don't want to do something permanent to the door glass so my other thought was a plexi-panel I could somehow attach to the glass.

Where did you find the dragonfly? My bathroom has a dragonfly motif and I that design with some privacy tweeks would be perfect.

THanks in advance for any tips!