7 March 2009

Rooms With A View

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When we moved into this house, we inherited a very lurid, 1970's bathroom
(and I'm talking the bad 1970's, not the funky, retro look we all love now).
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It looked like a nasty victorian public toilet, with lots of hideous tiles.
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I was assured that it would only ever be a temporary bathroom and would be replaced in the near future.
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For a long time I have been fascinated with Tromp L'oeil paintings so I set about creating one of my own that we would only have to live with for a few years.
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That was 10 years ago.
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May I present to you my "temporary" bathroom decor :
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Everything you see is painted
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I chose a mosaic-type lino for the floor

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What I had in mind was a Roman Villa, sort of like this;
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But my artistic talents - as well as my boredom threshold - are quite limited.
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Then we created my workroom - it was originally intended to be a playroom, but, well, I kind of took over!
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There are no windows and I wanted a sense of a view, and I knew my painting talents weren't that great so I looked at wallpaper.
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We imported (at huge expense) this mural wallpaper from here.
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My next project was boy*jelly's bedroom.
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I wanted a room that would last him for a good few years and at the time he was big on trains.
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I ordered some more wallpaper from a British site which sadly no longer exists.
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He still has this bedroom - although bits of it have been ripped off the walls!
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Here are two of my favourite Trompe L'oeil artists.
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The first is this guy who created this fantastic artwork in a brewery.
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He also created this Niagara Falls scene at a shopping mall.
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(Why can't Tesco do this?)
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Please visit his website - his work is amazing!
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Then there is this brilliant pavement artist who creates stunning art that only works from the correct angle.
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See more of his work and explanations as to how it works on his website
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This talented lady creates gorgeous views in rooms:
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Including this Cornish scene through a fake window.
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And this fantastic painting on a blank wall to enlarge a dining room - wow!
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Visit her website


Some art can really mess with your head :

This lady is about to enter a public toilet on a street

It's made from one-way glass - people can't see in, but you can see out!

Could you comforatbly "go" ?!

Read more about Monica Bonvicini's loo outside the Tate Modern here

Two more toilet ones:

Could you walk into this bathroom?

Or how about this to put men off their stroke?

What if you walked down this street with a hangover?

And finally, would this make you think twice about lighting up?

10 comments:

Eclectic Chic Style said...

Love your bathroom!!!! You're amazing!!! The pictures you posted of the various paintings....totally rock!!!

Taz said...

Wow your bathroom is brilliant. What would you do with the avocado bathroom suite that we inherited 7 years ago and still have?

Love all the other pictures, the guy that does the pavement art is amazing and it such a shame to know that the rain just washes it away.

Jo said...

your bathroom is brilliant! and the pavement art pics are just great!
Josie x

Kitty said...

You can't beat a bit of Tromp L'oeil - it has always fascinated me. Good for you for making your home so artistic - it's fab! x

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

Love your bathroom makeover - just brilliant! The other images you have found are fascinating - there are certainly some talented artists out there.

Kathi D said...

Your bathroom looks WAY too good to be temporary!

Kathi D said...

P.S. I don't think I could get the stream started in that public bathroom.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic post. Going to show the children later on who are really fascinated by art.

Love EMma xxxxxx

Unknown said...

WOW it turned out so cute! I need to do that with my kids bathroom. They have a beach theme going on.

I don't believe i could use that restroom with the oneway glass. Nope. Not happening!

Our Hands For Hope said...

For a plane ticket I'll send Hubbie over. He does this all the time! Everyone in the Napa Valley wants a Tuscan scene on there wall!