Back to Where The Sidewalk Ends

There's a lot of dope shit to be found where the sidewalk ends. Just because you can afford to buy something that's brand new doesn't mean you should. If you slide a credit card to get everything you want in life, you're so far from Back to A we don't even know who you are anymore. Go on an adventure. Create a project so ass crazy even your doorman blinks a couple times and shakes his head. 

Here's what Harold, Louhizz, and I found one fine night. . . it reminded us a little of. . . well, us. It wanted to go Back to A, so we decided to wheel it in there. 

Painting random pieces of furniture is probably one of our favorite activities. It's a little Tom Sawyer, a little Daniel Son circa Mr. Miyagi wax on wax off style, and we dig it. The paint you need is the Hollandlac paint from Janovic Plaza - it goes on shiny, thick, and in that delicious, bright, lacquer-y yum brilliance you envision. 

Here's the thing, though. Going big with a color like yellow, Back to A has discovered, is never a good idea. It feels like a GREAT idea at the time, and even when some dim sense within you half-way through the project starts pointing out that this ISN'T going quite the way you envisioned, you may push through because black and white seemed so boring. We've learned that sticking with anything, or anyone, a minute longer past when your heart tells you it's not right is a mistake. The heart always knows. But it's a difficult lesson to master, and sometimes you keep pushing on with the mistake because finishing feels like an accomplishment, while stopping and then starting all over again feels like a waste of time.

It's not. Always, always, always stop when your heart says stop. That very second. Anyone can get to the finish line. But that's just the end, isn't it? Here's to realizing it's far more important to laugh and love and be happy along the way. It's the running. The race itself. The blue ribbon has never been the prize. 

Making mistakes is okay. Back to A is a profound believer in the adage to err is human. Living with a mistake is laziness. Black and white isn't always boring. We are learning a lot about simplicity and restraint these days, and some black and white lacquer paint, while perhaps not as exciting as the yellow purchase, will create a look far more striking than yellow ever could. Repainting wasn't that bad, even. We played a little music, and enjoyed seeing the project come to life in the way it was meant to. 

We're still painting and playing and discovering our way. Back to being okay with the mistakes, muddling through the errors, and searching for joy against all odds. Where the sidewalk ends, our world begins. We think all endings are really just beautiful beginnings. We think sometimes, when you hit that chord just right, even shih tzus can fly. Back to anything is possible.

Back to clicking "Older Posts" below. . . because part of the story is never the whole story. Journey with me back to the beginning. . . 

Back To Wallpaper

I have always wanted to wallpaper a wall, but fear of messing up kept me from venturing into the unknown. Better and easier to hire a professional was always the mantra - until I decided on a lazy summer Saturday that playing it safe is boring. There are so many things we never try for fear of messing up, but Back to A asks simply, "So what?" Mess up. Create a gigantic, fantastic mess. Have fun, take risks, try the things you have always wanted to try. Why not? The accent walls featured on DecorPad (see below) have had me drooling for a long time - I wanted one of my own!

I went with Harold and girlfriend Kristin Klonoski, the fabulous designer of custom clothing line Astrophel and Stella, to Janovic Plaza on 67th and Lexington Avenue. Kristin's zodiac sign is also Cancer, and her line is named after Sir Philip Sidney's romantic sonnet sequence. In Latin, stella means 'star,' while the Greek 'aster' and 'phil' combined mean star lover. I studied the sonnets in a Renaissance class I took at Columbia, and I was immediately captivated by Astrophel's unrequited love for Stella - the sonnets are full of yearning and anguish, but are also witty and sexy and eloquent - they are the first of their kind in English literature. Sidney boldly revolutionized the Petrachan sonnet form by releasing the need for rhyme. I'm not a fan of poetry that rhymes - I think expression is compromised when words are restricted by rules. Here's a poem I wrote a couple weeks ago after Kristin's line inspired me to read the sonnets again. We Cancer Moon children are suckers for poetry and fabric and creating messes. . . and digressing. Back to Wallpaper!

There are countless books in the basement featuring nearly every wallpaper imaginable, but I love that Janovic also has a host of rolls that you can buy immediately. Ordering is boring.

We rolled out my favorites, and ultimately decided the black was too hectic, the yellow might be too much yellow in my apartment, and the white, while very subtle, might be absolutely beautiful. We purchased a few rolls (it's $40 bucks and two rolls will easily cover a long, 10 feet high wall), and then a couple paint brushes, a tub of glue (the one pictured below is the best - it's $20 and dries clear so you can  get it on the front of the paper and it won't show) and that plastic thing next to it (it's $2 and should be $2 million for the difference it makes when you're smoothing the wallpaper over the wall - don't forget it).

Here is a fairly decent instructional video on how to do wallpaper:

How to Wallpaper from FermLivingShop on Vimeo.

We measured the wall, then laid down the first strip. As per the video we applied the glue to the wall directly. Unsurprisingly, Harold gave me one of his "This is going to end badly" looks. Ah, Harold, ye of little faith.

Applying glue to the walls directly is a TERRIBLE idea. The wallpaper bubbled alarmingly, so we took it off, scraped the glue off the wall, and then applied it directly to the wallpaper. It went up like butter and that plastic scrape thing was a godsend - it smoothed everything out. That first strip was a landmark at Back to A.

The subsequent strips are a bit trickier because you have to match the pattern. It's not hard - if you match a flower or a pattern at one point, the rest fall into place. What's hugely irritating about this, however, is that you end up having to waste a lot of paper because you have to start the next strip where the pattern matches. I have a ton of oddly shaped pieces of this wallpaper now, but I'm going to hold on to them - they'll be great as drawer liners or some future project I cook up. Design Sponge is a great source for DIY projects - I added it to my Aspiration Roll today - and this idea might be worth exploring - wallpapering filing cabinets - genius!

Kristin grew up watching her mother make changes around the house (her mother's favorite color is yellow, too) and was especially good at lining up the paper. Like I mentioned, the glue is awesome because even if it smears out of the cracks onto the front, there is zero stain. The wallpaper is still wet so you can keep shifting and adjusting the strip on the wall until you get it right. It was a surprisingly forgiving process.

But it does take forever. Kristin left hours later, but I continued well into the night - once I get a bee in my bonnet I simply will not stop. In the picture below you will see that extra paper that gets wasted because you have to line up the pattern to match - oh, and I advise getting an X-acto knife so you can easily cut the excess in a straight line. It's indispensable when it comes to cutting out little squares so the electricity sockets and light switches remain exposed.

Finally, I had my beautiful accent wall - it's the first thing you see when you come into my apartment and the mirrored console looks so much chicer now. I'm glad I went with the subtle white - it's shimmery and soft and I could look at it for hours - it's also a nice, feminine contrast to the geometric strips in the living room rug.

If you want wallpaper installed professionally, you can contact Haus Interior here and they will refer you to the AMAZING Jordan - his team just put up wallpaper in my bedroom (a future post - I'll show it to you when the bedroom is fully complete) and I won't lie, mine looks great but there are a couple bubbles here and there - Jordan's work is flawless.

But walking into your home and being greeted by a wall you papered yourself is priceless. Gracie's had the Yellow Star Tiger Lily for sale today - I rarely buy flowers and when I do I always get my favorite, gardenias - but there's something about a tiger lily that just matched my mood today - the emblem of summer and abundance, the holy flower of the Assyrians. Princess Tiger Lily. . .

The Indian princess Peter Pan saved.

It's Sunday - I firmly believe that everyone should create an accent wall today - boys, you too - take out the glue and the scissors, make a mess, go back to Neverland. Life is one long art project.

Back to Tom Sawyer

Aunt Polly was an idiot.  And that little brat Tom Sawyer missed out, too - he was far too concerned with manipulating the other kids to paint the fence.  I think the year painting becomes a scary thing is when art is no longer a required class, but rather an elective you have to elect to take.  Which is okay if you are an elitist theater geek, but the rest of us who kinda loved it but weren't very good at it, or didn't want to admit a secret proclivity for pastels, or were arduously pursuing Ph.d's in conformity just witnessed its sudden death.  We grew up to become the buyers of art, the attenders of galleries, the - well I suppose I could have just said patrons.  Brevity is a challenge for me, what can I say.  So when I saw this terrific coffee table for $120 bucks (yes, you know where) I found myself oddly captivated, but helpless.  "Help me," the table whispered knowingly, but also a little creepily, like Field of Dreams style.

I had a vision, but it was too bold.  "If you build it they will come," the table responded.  Who, hot baseball players?  I wish. At any other time in my life I would have kept on walking. Hell, I wouldn't have been caught dead in a flea market.  There was no time.  Coffee tables were procured at William Sonoma Home or Pottery Barn, not on the street. And then of course, there I was. . .

Thrust it into a cab and smushed it into the elevator, all the while knowing that the brown would simply not work. Which is why it was particularly rude when Harold announced, "This absolutely does not work." He rather liked the white couch, and yes now you know which Madeline Weinrib rug I went with.

I had a vision, and if it worked I knew that Back to A would transition from its medieval years and enter a new renaissance. Hello Anishangelo, to Janovic Plaza on 67th and Lexington you go! I got sandpaper, a couple brushes, and the correct white paint to get is Hollandlac Brilliant because it goes on like shiny white lacquer.  Oh, and a little pink pot of paint for a surprise touch.  Oh, and some tunes because when people who are Back to A who are true Jersey girls at heart paint, sometimes they listen to Pearl Jam radio and Bruce Springsteen radio on Pandora and wonder if this wasn't just the secret to serenity all along?  Pandora is a new discovery for me, although I have a sneaking suspicion there may be one or two of you that still have no clue - click away - it really is like opening a box of secrets.  It's a free radio station for your computer that plays only the songs you like - it just knows - try my favorite:  America Radio.  Tom Petty radio is great as well.  Back to the paint.

I was saying earlier that this is the best kind - Hollandlac in Brilliant White - it goes on easy, you really only need one coat, and I might be back to an elemental stage in my life but I'm still the rip-the-wrapping-paper-to-get-to-the-present type of girl; those I'm-saving-the-paper-and-going-to-spend-five-hours-opening-each-gift kids just sucked.  Ruined perfectly good birthday parties. I still harbor rage. I was so excited to begin that newspapers were not procured, and I probably sanded the table down for all of ten seconds.  If I was going to paint, it was going to happen now.  Pearl Jam's Black came on, the windows were open (yeah, fumes, but really not too bad) and outside it was about to rain.  What were you doing at 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon?

If Aunt Polly had painted while Pearl Jam played via Pandora, maybe she wouldn't have yelled as much.

The cane? Paint right over it.  Edges, sides, curved legs? Just paint away.  Only rule we have at Back to A about this project is listen to great music and fall in love with the way the brush glides over dark, brown wood and transforms it into brilliant white. This is my world and I am its creator, and a few missed spots and rough edges along the way are its charm.  The only kind of processed I like these days is at McDonalds. As for the little brass knobs. . .

. . . just paint straight on the brass.  Fine, buy primer if you are extremely anal, but truly it does not matter. Just match it to your rug, or to whatever color is making you especially happy at the moment.

For an uncomfortably long time Harold just sat silently, judging.  Then he turned and looked at me.

"It's amazing," he confessed, eyes wide and absolutely stunned.  The table was right all along.  If you build it, the most magical thing that exists in life will come.  Eddie Vedder knew all about it. . .

I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star.

Possibility.

Painted one white stroke at a time.