At the beginning of February we tore down the plaster on one wall in my living room so I could frame some gorgeous wallpaper. My husband and I knew that we needed to finish converting the other 2 walls in the room to drywall, but pushed it off because its such a messy job! 
Personally, what drives me to do a project (especially one that’s not so fun) is the vision of the final project. Well, I finally got the vision and that very weekend we started tearing out the plaster in the living room.
demo
Here’s how the living room looked before demo. The walls had a textured wallpaper painted beige. The wallpaper was over paneling and that covered the plaster. We chose to replace the plaster with drywall so we could change the look and have more energy efficiency.
The paneling came off and we actually loved the color of the plaster! Too bad it was cracked and covered in glue marks ;).
The lath and plaster came down to expose the bricks that were originally used to insulate the walls (called nogging). We added in new insulation and covered that with drywall. Sadly, this was the project that was on the back burner so it took awhile to complete. Ready to see the inspiration that drove this project and the weeks of dust?!
inspiration- floating art in front of curtains
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This is the image that stopped me in my tracks- that floating art in front of the drapes is SO gorgeous!!! In my living room, I have original trim from when the house was first built in 1905. But, when my drapes are open, they completely cover the window trim. I figured that I could hang the drapes wider, float the art, and still show off the trim.
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If you’re new to the idea of floating art in front of drapes, this is a look I’ve been seeing designers do on homes lately. It’s a great way to be able to have drapes on a large wall of windows and still be able to display art. The curtains give a beautiful textural and soft background to the art.
After studying (and obsessing) over these photos, I decided that there are a few ways to float the art. First, you can connect cables to the ceiling and hang the art that way. Second, you can attach a large block or something wide to the wall to push out the art far enough to hang in front of the drapes.
how to float art in front of drapes
Now that you’ve seen my inspiration, here is how how I figured out how to float the art. This is so easy, but I Googled and googled instructions and couldn’t find any. So I’m sharing this in case any one else wants to get this look!
We used what we had on hand and installed two extra curtain brackets. The art hangs from a wire on the top curtain bracket and the bottom curtain bracket stabilizes the art so it doesn’t sway. Here’s a better look-
If you don’t have curtain brackets at home, these are $7.99 on Amazon. It’s such an affordable way to get a high end look!
after
Here’s the art all hung up! If I were to do this again, I’d hang the rods touching. Still, I LOVE the look!
sofa (no longer available) / rainbow wall art / pink chair / acrylic record cart / pink rug / white paint / gold curtain rods / pink velvet curtains with orange tassels / mini chandelier / gold planters / floor lamp / gold table lamp / white end tables / brass flamingo / round marble and gold tray / linen pink pillows / felt flowers on coffee table / record player / rainbow stitch pillow
When the drapes are open, every ounce of light streams in and makes this the happiest room in the house! Plus that trim shows and looks so pretty (even if it is hard to photograph).
Isn’t the drape behind the art such a pretty look?! I think it is so classy looking. It’s definitely better than having the art barely showing between the open drapes like it was before.
This room is really becoming a beautiful place. It genuinely makes me happy to walk in this space. And that’s what it is all about!
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