Saffron Room Artwork

Saffron Room

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for joining me again as we start the New Year. I am so excited for what the coming months will hold, I hope you are too. I’m planning ideas to start work on my living room and have purchased a few pieces in the last few weeks. I’ll share these with you soon.

This weeks post is rather short. As promised, I did a little DIY art project for the Kitchen. I had an idea with wooden spoons which I didn’t go ahead with as I wanted to do something relevant to my space. Saffron Yellow is the colour of my kitchen, so I did a watercolour pencil sketch of Crocus Sativus; commonly known as Saffron Crocus. When the drawing was complete it was brushed over with water to blend the colours. The sketch was drawn onto a canvas textured board rather than watercolour paper, as I didn’t want it to be texture heavy.

Let me know what you think of the art piece, I look forward to seeing you again next time.

Nik-Cre – ‘Making life-less rooms into living rooms.’

Kitchen Idea’s

Hey, good to see you again. I hope you’ve had a great week. I started a new job on Monday, so I’m feeling very hopeful about the future.

As you’ve probably figured from the last post ‘Pinterest Tile Painting,’ the room I’m working on at the moment is my Kitchen. I got serious with decorating over the Summer, and I’m hoping to finish this room by the end of December. The Aesthetic for my Kitchen isn’t one style, it’s a cross of Bohemian, Rustic and Mid Century. I’m not the kind of girl who fits the pre-made mold. I’m unique, so I’ll need a Bespoke one.

Several ideas came to mind for the Kitchen, due to it being renovated before I moved in. I thought about keeping the walls in the pale latte colour that I already had, and giving it a fresh coat of paint; but my desire was to have a Yellow Kitchen. Yellow for me means warmth and motivation on a cold Winter’s day, despite the chill in the air; having the zeal to pursue the day.

The paint in the image on the right is Saffron Yellow from Wickes (2 for £14.99 as they were on special.) I had a few friends over who helped me paint the walls. It’s amazing how much a colour can transform a space. I didn’t realise how bland my kitchen looked until it met Saffron yellow. The grey and white vinyl is from Carpetright, the name of the pattern is ‘Mardi Gras 91 Magli Vinyl,’ with fitting the flooring came to £228.82.

In terms of what I have done so far, it has been painting the walls, tiles, and the cupboard panels. I had cream panels on the Walnut cupboards, and I painted these white to blend in with the tiles and the floor. I have also changed the vinyl. What’s left? Well…I’ve purchased the Wicker light shades above in the Pinboard, 2 for £15.00 eBay. I’m planning to dye these as they’re actually a lot lighter than they look in the photograph. I currently have an LED strip light in my kitchen, I absolutely dislike it. I’m going to change these out for pendant lights with the wicker shades running horizontally across the kitchen, rather than vertically which is the direction they currently run. An Electrician will be needed for this job.

Having a seating area in the Kitchen is important as I’m not certain about having a dining table as yet. I’ve been making a breakfast bar out of a pallet crate I picked up in Leamington Spa, which should be ready in the next couple of weeks. This will also need to be dyed. I found the perfect stools on Facebook Marketplace for £60, they’re Rattan and cast iron. They match the light shades but are also very Mid Century. I need to retouch the paintwork on the cast iron. The Kitchen taps I currently have are singular pillar taps. The plan is to get a bridge mixer tap, which will require a Plumber.

Lastly, to dress the room and to give it texture; Plants and DIY Art . I love the macrame plant holders that are currently on trend. At first, I was thinking of off-white macrame; but it’s a Kitchen and I don’t want the cooking to discolour the thread. I’ve seen lots of fabric threads in Tiger, so instead of macrame, I’ll make grey fabric plant holders. To pot the plants I’ll be using large Mason jars. The DIY Art will be a surprise for you guys so I’m not going to tell you now… For a hint, I’ll be using wood.

So that’s the plan. Let me know what you think of my ideas, and let me know what you’ve done/ are doing to your kitchen. If you want to check out my Pinterest to get a better view of my ideas, feel free to. I’ll see you next time when I’ll be ‘Dyeing Light Shades.’

Nik-Cre – ‘Making life-less rooms into living rooms.’

Watercolour Baby

Hey, welcome back to Nik-Cre. I hope you’ve had a great week so far…

This weeks project isn’t for my home, but instead for my friend’s. I promised a gentler theme this time around, and I think I have delivered.

‘It’s their first child, I want to give them something meaningful.‘ My beautiful married friends, Francis and Luisa were pregnant and I didn’t want to buy them the typical things. I wanted something that would remain a memory forever and not get thrown away.

I’ve known Luisa since Secondary school. She is one of my dearest friends. Whenever I was in one of my states crying in the school toilets, she was always there to ask if I was ok. We went on our first holiday together, without parents; cycling the streets of Palma. I watched her fall in love and marry her sweetheart Francis. I’m so proud of her. She is confident and brave, unafraid and unashamed to speak her mind. She is a wonderful Mother to her baby girl and a beautiful Wife to her husband.

Initially, I wanted to paint something similar to the gifts you see on Etsy. My colleague came across it when buying gifts for her expectant sister. I thought it was great but, it wasn’t personal enough. I checked out Luisa’s Facebook to see if I could get ideas. She had posted a picture of her scan, and also of her baby bump at third trimester. I decided I would paint a colour version of the scan, with her baby bump. My medium was watercolours, painted quite thickly.

I started with a basic sketch and began painting the baby as I wanted to start with lighter colours. Then followed by the darker tones.

When I gave Luisa and Francis this painting, I have to say I was rather nervous. I had mainly positive reviews from friends and colleagues saying that they would love something like this when they have a baby. As always there is the negative/ strange. One of my friends said it looked like a burnt baby, and another said it looked like a chicken. Well, it’s Art so we all perceive it differently, but Francis and Luisa loved it. They even hung it on their wall.

If you like the painting, feel free to comment and let me know what you think of it. If not, I welcome the criticism; it is one of the ways we are able to make improvements in life. Join me next time for ‘Pinterest Tile Painting.’

Nik-Cre – ‘Making life-less rooms into living rooms.’