Monthly Archives: August 2010

trailer colour scheme, fergus becomes a farm cat, and coyotes…

Tracey3 Tracey1 Tracey4

I meant to include my colour scheme in my last post, but completely forgot about it until a friend (also my former art prof) asked me about it (and gave me some very wise advice – thanks Claire!).

The themes I’m hoping to communicate through my trailer decor are pretty compatible with the rural lifestyle I’ll be living while in it: peaceful, calm, natural, relaxed, fresh, airy, light and cozy. The images I’ve compiled here represent the feel and colours I’m hoping to achieve. All photos are taken by my favorite photographer and friend, Tracey Falk (her flickr site).

The interior of the trailer is pretty much head-to-toe-and-under-and-over wood panelling. I actually really like it. Could be overwhelming if the decor was dark and if it felt really closed in inside it, but the trailer is almost entirely wrapped with big windows so it receives a lot of natural light which is fantastic. And to give that light something to bounce off of, I’m planning on using a lot of pale, natural hues where I can. The U-shaped bench area cushions will be covered in cream and light brown wools, my comfy reading nook chair is upholstered in a soft, silvery blue, and my bedding will be white. The curtains around the U-shaped bench area will be white and airy and transparent(ish), while the curtains around my sleeping nook area will be made out of a material that is a mix of seascape-ish blue, green, and silver. I picked up a sweet silver antelope head that will grace a wall and a lot of my smaller pieces will include things I’ve collected from nature: big seed pods, dried poppy pods, driftwood, old glass bottles, great pottery pieces, etc. 

Actually, as I’m typing this (in Chris and Julie’s living room on the farm), I’m realizing that I’m pretty much describing their colour and decorating scheme. Ha! Apparently best friends think alike. I LOVE what they’ve done to their place and I’ll be really satisfied if I can create such an inviting space to spend time in in my trailer.

PS – I have so many other things to post about!  So much goes on here – there’s not enough time to document it all! Posts still coming: the moving of the trailer (with video and pics and a trailer motor hero), the bedframe my dad built, the muffins I baked using farm berries…

PPS – Yesterday Fergus (my cat) caught a shrew (we think that’s what it was) INSIDE the house. The poor little thing was still alive when I found it. Fergus didn’t know what to do when he caught it so he just pawed it occassionally making the little guy squeak. I took him outside and put him in a safe place for him to catch his breath and make his getaway, but apparently Fergus injured him because he couldn’t move fast enough to avoid the slimy killer slugs (I’m seriously not joking). The whole episode (particularly the slug part) horrified me. I knew the whole ‘natural cycle of life and death’ of animals out here would be a challenge for me – I just didn’t think I’d be faced with it so soon! Poor little shrew.

PPPS – I saw a coyote on our road today, about 4 houses down, in the middle of the afternoon. Yikes!  Fergus and Lola – I hope you liked your freedom while you had it because that was my wake-up call. No more romping around outside. I don’t want to experience the ‘natural cycle of life and death’ of my cats if I don’t have to.

trailer decor: cushion covers

Img_3607 Img_3613 Img_3611 Img_3617 Img_3624 Trailer_bench

So, the interior of my trailer is a pretty nice blank canvas in a lot of ways. At some point in it’s former life, it received a pretty substantial (from the looks of thin

gs) gutting and reno-ing, resulting in a wood panelled, open, airy space. The only built in ‘furniture’ in it is the U-shaped bench at the back (where my dad is sitting in one of the photos above). The last couple that lived in the trailer had their bed in that space, but I’m opting to make that the sitting, eating, boardgame playing area. Obviously though, it needs a boost of softness and comfort if people are going to want to hang out back there, so one of the first projects my parents and I have taken on is making sitting cushions for the bench.

A couple months ago, I scored some awesome, beautiful, expensive, Italian wool fabric from the Inform Warehouse Sale. My sister works at Inform and gave me the heads-up that a bunch of left over fabric from Bensen furniture designs was sitting around in boxes and being offered for $5 per colour. I ended up getting a huge box full of this seriously gorgeous fabric for under $50. I’m using it to cover the sitting cushions in the trailer. Talk about an upscale boardgame playing zone :)

My parents, being the super awesome supportive people that they are, hunted down some affordable foam, cut it to fit and are sewing the cushion covers for me. I’m not sure how I lucked out and became the colour coordinator/ director while they do all the grunt work, but like I said, they’re super awesome supportive.

The plan is to have the cushions done and in the trailer by the end of this week – stay tuned for ‘after’ photos!

PHOTOS: my morning walk

Img_3627 Img_3628

Thought I’d throw up a couple shots from my early morning walk today. While Chris and Julie are off on their Alaskan sailing adventure, I’m taking care of their dog Jackson, who, like all dogs, appreciates a good walk. So, every morning this month, I’ll be starting off my day with a morning walk with Jackson, which so far has turned out to be a lovely way to start the day. Photos: Jackson running ahead of me and a GIANT slug that came out to say hello to us…