This is the front of our little store.If you zoom in on this picture, you will see the beginning of our Spring display.
Our 1 year anniversary of the store opening is May 1st!!!! (can't believe it has been a year already!!)
Needless to say, I would love everything to look wonderful.
Now, the problem areas:
There is one area of the store that has been a bother in my creative mind since we opened.
(this is not the big problem area, just some things to play with later.)
This is to the right of the pic you just saw.
THIS is the problem area!
This is to the left of the nice area in the front of the store from the first pic.I have had a vision for this since we opened the store, but something is just not quite right about it, so there it sits. We have had plenty of other things to keep us busy, but now, because of the celebration I would like to have something done with it.
My vision was to put up the picket fence, put some old windows up, a shelf behind the fence to put things on, hang wreaths in winter, maybe some shutters etc. I would probably only decorate the right side of the wall.
Feedback I have so far:
-don't do anything to draw attention to it. (when we are busier no one will even notice it).
- do both sides if i do anything.
-paint it gray so it does not stand out too much. (would rather not do that as we just added the wall and painted it last year). And, it is too cold to paint yet)
- My latest idea, is to just cover it with old windows, rakes, hanging what evers for the season....
You can see some of the pieces of things on the right side of the building, and there are more old windows etc.
One problem is, that because of the dust that gathers there from the road, i can't really put anything but outdoor stuff that it won't hurt if it gets dirty.
OK, your turn. Any great ideas?
Thanks,
Off to sales, and then the store. =0)
Blessings,
Barbara Jean
11 comments:
Dear Barb,
A couple ideas as I looked at what you have.
A mural with a country garden as a backdrop, or
espaliered trees (see pictures 10 & 11 from http://auntieswithadvice.blogspot.com/
but less formal.)
Growing Hollyhocks all along that side. (if water is available there).
Lots of possibilities with that nice clean white wall....
Have a Lovely Day~
Alicia
Oh, I also forgot. There is a quilt store in Salt Lake that grows Hollyhocks along the parkway and the building and then they harvest the seeds each fall and sell little packets of seeds.
Hi Barb,
Coming to you from another blog from Kelli's blog train... but when I saw your name was Barbara Jean, AND you make cards AND you teach/like art... why I simply HAD to come and say hello, cause MY name is Barbara Jean, I make cards and I teach/like art TOO - LOL! How amazing and wonderful.
Your store looks like it has a TON of potential! I would love to see GIANT sunflower plants painted on the side, then plant REAL ones there too? Your shop name in the middle. Make the background a sunny day - blue sky, clouds and birds even ... who could resist, especially in winter or off weather! Just suggestions, mind you!
I've bookmarked you for a future visit - so nice to meet you!
Barb
(Mrs. Miles)
http://www.lalalime.blogspot.com
I think it would great if you painted a mural there; it's something that could really add pop to the store, and you could have windows, flowers, doors, whatever painted on it. A local high school or college would be a great place to look for an artist; they wouldn't charge too much and you would have a selection too choose from (most likely). This way, all you would have to do is wash off the building, and you could even add decorative touches; rakes for the summer, wreaths for the winter, etc. You could even build out window boxes in front of the 'windows' and add a picket fence to make it more realistic and give you a place to display additional festive touches.
Hi sis, Stick with my motto of "Keep it simple!" Hang or nail some birdhouses at various heights and then put some sections of picket fence along the bottom and/or lean some old rusty yard tools against it or let them hang from it. An old window or two would look good too. A few splashes of color from potted plants(real or fake) would be good too or a potted tall skinny evergreen of some sort.YOu won't have to add too much to make it look better. YOu need to keep it simple as you will get tired of it after awhile and will want to change it. For that reason I do not suggest any murals.Do you ahve any old signs you don't mind hanging out there? Hey, maybe an old door would look good too.I don't think painting of any type will be needed to make it look good. I like the idea of the picket fence and then some potted petunias or geraniums behind the fence but poking through a little. If you don't want to mess with watering them all summer then you can plant them in the ground after your anniversary is over. Sure wish I was there to help you out with it.. Do keep it simple though as you will want to change it before too long. Anything you do will look really cool so don't fret over it too much. Love you, R
Also, how about some sort of painted or fake cat sitting along the top of the fence looking up at one of the birdhouses or something. I would pu tthe fence along there first and then go from there.Us ethe ones leaning along the side fence behind the tree and then that area would be cleaned up a little too.R
Do you have another GIFTS sign like you have attached to the roof that you could put on that wall? It may just be the picture but I don't think the sign on the roof is very visible. Most people driving by wouldn't be looking that high.R
Hi Little Brother,
You know me too well! =0)
Yes, I probably would want to change it later, and yes, keep it simple, for lack of time.
Would you use the picket sections that are weathered? I only painted one white, and do not have time, or weather permit, to paint another 2 sections.
Would you Decorate just the right garage wall and divide it off from the other with a lattice panel or something? Or do them both? That post down the middle makes it harder to decorate.
I'm torn between rustic, and nice, or cute, like i always am. =0
I do have another
'gifts' sign, and originally that right door is where i wanted to put it. Some advised that i not draw attention to that area and that the sign would be better seen from up high, but it does not show up very well.
Made sense till we got it up there. ( a lot of work for Scott).
OK, still pondering everyone's ideas.
hugs and love, Sis
I would decorate both sides and I would most definitely go with rustic for the first go-round.No need to paint the fence but if weather permits and Camille is interested maybe she could slap a coat of paint on it before May 1st,otherwise it will look fine unpainted. Afterall it will be rustic.The fence will hide a good portion of that post and then if you hang a bird house from the post you won't even notice it. Well, YOU will, but no one else will even think twice about that post. Their attention will be on the things not and they won't even realize the post is there.Don't you have a tallish bunny holding some carrots that could stand up in behind the fence(or in front of it) and would stick up high enough to be seen and hice more of the post. I think you really need your GIFT sign up there too on the right where you want it. You definitely need sth down closer to eye level to catch peoples attention. Oh,Do you have a cool old door that you could nail onto the post to hide it. (Maybe an old lamp post.)There are so many options) And you know that you will always fret over that wall and how to decorate or redecorate it. Don't think so much about it. If you decorate it now you'll probably want to change it by May 1st cause you will be tired of it.I think you are pretty limited to what you can put out and leave out for fear that it may disappear. Love you, R
Well, now you've got me! Flowers are always so welcoming......even when they're not blooming.
My gardener vision is coming out because I *see* three half barrels, each planted with a climbing rose, which can climb the trellises that are attached to the wall behind them. (That would solve the "no soil" issue at the base of the building). You have such wonderful temperate Summers, I think you would have blooms nearly all season long. What do you think? Yellow? Pink? or Red?
Someone in my town did that and they flowered beautifully with minimal maintenance, just water and some fertilizer. I was quite disappointed when she uprooted her business *and* her roses and moved away.
My goodness, you've gotten a lot of advice. Good luck choosing what to do.
((hugs)) C.
Thanks for visiting my blog! For something simpler for your open house, you may want to evaluate which items you have that are washable and set up a display with those. For example, in front of my home I have an old weathered white-wash table that I display a huge wire basket with flowers that I change out for each season. I also use the old glass insulators for accents. Bring out a bench or two and you could even hang up older vintage tablecloths on a line tacked to the wall- use ones that can easily be washed or are already stained. Additionally, I always hang out an American flag- you could put one up that angles out from the building at the very corner. Good luck!
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