Debbie Travis' Facelift - Episodes - Cindy's Living/Dining Room

Brendan and Cindy met at university and have been married just over two years. They inherited a charming Victorian brick house, which they have stretched their budget to furnish and renovate together.

Cindy works in television, so while she's out-of-town on an assignment for a couple of days, Brendan and the Facelift team attempt a dazzling transformation of their living/dining room. Our riskiest yet! But will Cindy be mad at Brendan for making all the decorating decisions without her?

Before

The original ambience of Cindy and Brendan's living room and dining room was way too sedate for a young couple. The pale green walls did not do justice to their wonderful antique furnishings that Brendan had inherited from his family. The challenge was to modernize the two rooms but to enhance the great bones of the house.

After

Drama is what was needed for these spaces and there is nothing more dramatic than black and white. The dining room was painted jet black and the living room pure white. Brendan's framed portraits of his American ancestors were the inspiration behind the design. The idea was to add the opulence and elegance of a bygone era but to add the pizzazz and fun of today's decorating. The walls between the two rooms were stenciled with an oversized design, which is very hot in both wallpaper designs and stencils. We added slipcovers to their sofas in black and white, an amazing chandelier made from pieces of glass and much much more. As Cindy said 'very Gothic'.

Click on the small photographs on the right to view each of the different angles of the room.

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Chandelier

Several items for the completion of this fab project came from RONA. We got clear glass from them, as well as the glasscutters (#0286808), the wire pliers (#03052142), and the chain (#18891891). www.rona.ca.
Wearing heavy-duty gloves, cut pieces of differently patterned glass into strips, then sand the edges to blunt them. Cut thin wire strips into 1-inch pieces and then fold them over. Sandwich the wire between a glass strip and small second piece of glass using specialty glass glue (regular glue is not strong enough). The folded wire will now act as a hook for the glass. Hook the glass onto thin chain and add beads to it for decoration, then hang the chain from the chandelier. Quirky and original!

Cushions

The black and white cushions compliment the sofa and add a comfortable touch. From a selection at Caban. www.caban.com

Fireplace

Base coat	Para Paint #P1582-5 - Indigo Blue
Top coat	Para Paint #P7241 - Black Para Paint #P440-2 - Chocolate Kiss Para Paint #P1580-1 - China Blue Para Paint #P1516-1 - Buoyant Blue

The fireplace was basecoated with 2 coats of Indigo Blue, and left to dry thoroughly. Jim and Peter created a patina by wiping or brushing the four colors randomly over the surface, and then wiping them back. They played with the paint until they created a 'weathered' look. Once it had dried they went over it again, primarily with the brown and black, and allowed just a hint of the lower colors to peek through. Once dry, they varnished the entire fireplace to protect it.

Mirrors

The series of convex mirrors over the fireplace are highly original and from an unlikely source - they are the rearview mirrors from delivery trucks! Find them at your local auto parts store. And create your own original looking-glass!

Sofa

Colin Hynes of Four Season Slipcovers reinvented Cindy and Brendan's sofa with a thick white canvas slipcover piped in black - incredibly elegant! (450) 465-0650

Stenciled Wall

The wall was first painted white (P8090). Once dry, the large custom-made stencil was sprayed with spray glue on the backside and applied to the wall. The black paint (P7251) was applied to a 4-inch roller, and the excess was removed. The paint was rolled on to the wall lightly. Do not apply too much paint at once, because it will bleed underneath the stencil. Once completely filled in, the stencil was removed and placed in the next spot on the wall. If you find that the paint has bled, clean the smudges off. Do touch-ups once the first application has dried completely. Then admire your own handiwork!

Vases

Cindy and Brendan had a collection of inexpensive vases with interesting shapes. To capitalize on that, we put one line of 1/2-inch masking tape down the vertical of each vase, and then sprayed them with a flat white spray paint. Once dry we removed the tape to reveal just a hint of the colored pattern underneath. Very chic and real conversation pieces for the fireplace mantle!

Walls

Living Room - Para Paint #P8090 - White, Eggshell finish
Dining Room - Para Paint #P7241 - Black, Soft Gloss finish
www.para.com