ART CRUSH: Daisy Faith
In the middle of 2018, an artist reached out to me from sunny LA. We shared a couple of phone calls and I loved her, and when I looked through her art, I loved it too!! Meet today’s art crush, Daisy Faith:
She’s an actress, dog mom (of course, my fave), and she has a very popular paint and pour business in her California home of Redondo Beach; first and foremost, though, she’s an artist.
Daisy paints a ton of things- if you spend any time on instagram or pinterest, you’ve probably seen this camel:
…But she was busy in 2018 with beaches, fruits, and so much more! I’m a stripe lover, so when I saw that she was starting to incorporate stripes into her pieces I was thrilled. I love the striped skies in her beach scenes, and all of the fun color. I could so see one of these in a huge format in a beach house somewhere in Florida! or Cali- tons of beaches there.
I asked Daisy some questions and I’m transferring them below- I always love getting to read where people came from and why they do what they do!
Tell me about the acting- how long did you do it, or are you still doing it?
I've been acting since I was a kid and did a lot of musical theater growing up even though I can't sing that well but I loved being part of a group of artistic folks putting on a show (jazz hands). My professional acting career lasted about 10 years. I pursued acting in North Carolina (where I grew up) first but found that most actors were being cast from L.A. so I made the move and after about 5 years of blood, sweat and lots of tears I had some success on such shows as: How I Met Your Mother, Nashville, Pretty Little Liars, Days of Our Lives and Conan. About 2 years ago I started to realize that if I ever wanted to live a life of less stress that acting might not be my dream career, so I started to think about how I could make my lifelong passion of painting into a career. I still love to perform and perform improv when I have time.
When did you start painting? Where do you paint?
I feel like I was born with a paint brush in hand, but I'd say I seriously got interested in high school. I used to paint funky furniture and sell it back then. Once I went to college and learned the skills it became a passion. I paint at my home studio- aka we don't have a dining room anymore. I also have a 'paint and sip' studio where I teach folks to paint but I tend to keep my personal paintings at the home studio.
Did you go to school for art or acting, or art? Or neither?
I went to school for Interior Design and Art and studied at Meredith College in NC. I almost studied acting but thought design and art was more practical. (haha) I think most of my painting since school has been trying to un-learn what I learned there. I don't mean this in a bad way because I am grateful I learned how to paint a photorealistic image but it's not the kind of art I admire, so it's taken me many years (and I'm still learning) to let go and get looser with my painting and 'break the rules.' I still have a hard time with this as recovering type-A personality.
What is the best part about being an artist in the LA area? The worst part?
Best part is the weather and the beaches! No lack of inspiration here! I just took a trip to Laguna Beach which has a large artist community and it was beautiful. I also live about 2 miles from the beach and so Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Manhattan Beach give me constant inspiration for my work.
The worst part is the expense, hence me painting in my dining room! This is the main reason why my fiance and I want to move. Real estate in California is SO expensive that it's just not possible for us to by a home here so after a lot of weighing the pros and cons we've decided to move to Wilmington, NC. It’s also a beach town so I think we will be painting more beach scenes in no time!
Which leads me to my next question: What's happening in 2019? Any big plans or goals?
Yes! Big plan for 2019 is to move back to North Carolina and (fingers crossed) buy a home. I'm also getting married in an awesome rustic barn in Wilmington, NC in October of 2019 so it's going to be a big year. And, of course, I plan to keep painting!
Tell me about your dog!
Henry is the cutest. We rescued him about 3 years ago and he's a beagle mix. He's super unique because he's short and long at only 25 pounds. He has red hair and green eyes and everybody who meets him falls in love with him!
And that’s a wrap! I think the acting part of Daisy’s colorful career is so interesting. She’s talented in a ton of things! (I’m literally about to go watch her HIMYM episode now.) If you want to shop some great prints or paintings, check out Daisy’s website— she’s also got work on Adore Your Walls that you can peruse!
A Guide to San Francisco
One of my goals for this year is to post on the blog more, and the first one came to my head on the plane home from Christmas. A guide to SF! My husband, Andrew, grew up in the Bay Area of California with his parents and 3 siblings, and they know a ton about the area. I polled the fam, threw in my favorite things I’ve done over the last 4 years, and voila! Here it is: many of these are parks and lookout points, so use google to help find your way and if you need help, feel free to get in touch! I’m happy to help!
December 2018: Andrew’s parents, uncle, aunt, cousins, Andrew, and his sister Sophia and me on the beach at the 17-Mile Drive!
To Do: got time to kill? Love the views? Need to walk off some of the delicious food you’ve eaten? Want to see it all?
The Lion Steps: I had my first encounter with the Lion steps shortly after we got engaged in 2015. The houses in this area are beautiful, and when (if? jk you will) you make it to the top, you’ve got a great view of the bay. There were sailboats out on the water the day we were there, and we loved it.
The Presidio: We did this the same day as the Lion Steps! Walk along the Presidio towards the Marina/bridge is a great photo op, too! This is one of the state parks, and it is really cool.
Dolores Park
Lookout on Twin Peaks
Land’s End/Sufro Baths: This is where Andrew wanted to propose to me, but he got nervous because of all of the tourists that day! This area has GORGEOUS views and it’s a lovely hike. we ended up getting engaged at…
China Beach: a lovely beach with an incredible view of the hills and the bridge. We love it and we try to go when we’re in California!
China Beach: Andrew and I got engaged here! The day was a lot grayer, but we visited in December and it was a beautiful day. Look at it! I’ve also heard good things about Baker Beach!
7. Point Cavallo: Drive over the bridge, and keep going. Right after the view point, you’ll turn right and follow a road down to the spot where we parked and took the photo below right after sunset. The traffic was pretty bad that day, but it gave us a ton of time to enjoy the sunset on the bridge.
8. Japan Town! It’s a mall with restaurants, taiyaki, and Japanese paper stores and book stores galore. The “dollar store” we visited was incredible. It was like Ikea, but with such cute kitchenware and really nice bowls and plates. I loved it. 10/10 will go back!
9. The Museum of Ice Cream: What’s not to love? It is really well put together on the inside, the gift shop is great, and there is a sprinkle pool! I love it. Get your tickets ahead of time- they sell out!
10. Chinatown: Dim Sum and steamed/baked buns are some of my favorite things in the world. We like to walk around, get some baked goodies, and we usually stop by the fortune cookie factory. It’s so fun to watch them being folded!
11. Is it raining? There are some great museums: DeYoung Museum, The California Academy of Sciences, MoMa, Legion of Honor Museum, and the Asian Art Museum.
12. Golden Gate Park: This is a HUGE park with lovely trees and tons of activity. The Tea Garden in this park is beautiful, and there is a bison conservatory here too!
13. Palace of Fine Arts: this is a stunning building and there is a lovely park around it. My brother in law, Marc, graduated high school in this spot.
14. Painted Ladies: Some of the most iconic painted homes in San Francisco! There are some other great houses right around here, too.
15. Shopping in the Haight: These are notable faves from Marc and Daniel, Andrew’s brothers: Decades of Fashion, Relic Vintage, Static, and Afterlife.
16. Farmer’s Market at Ferry Plaza
17. Heath Ceramics
To Eat:
(Marnee’s Thai)
Robin: Omakase sushi, loud hip-hop, and tons of special touches. A trip here was my Christmas gift from Andrew last year! I can’t say enough about how good it is.
Marnee’s Thai: Love it. Everything we had there was delish! If you have a large group, call ahead.
Kevin’s Noodle House: if you love pho, this place is pho you!
Plow: I’ve been for breakfast, but everyone in the Armitano family loves this spot! Casual comfort food.
Tartine: When Andrew came to my apartment for the first time, I had just purchased the Tartine recipe book from Anthropologie. I didn’t believe him when he told me his family bought their bread there all the time! It really is so good.
Tartine Manufactory: We’ve never been, but it is a sibling favorite for lunch!
La Taqueria: One of Andrew’s picks and some of his friends confirmed! It’s in the mission and they make a mean burrito.
Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market
City View Dim Sum: My favorite thing that I can only get in California!
B Patisserie: The best. and there is a Kiehl’s nearby! That’s fun!
Robin
There’s so much more, but these are the favorites! (For now!)
Happy new year!
The 2018 Armitano Holiday Card:
Since I can’t send a card to every single internet friend who means so much to me, and since I loved this made from scratch card so much: I now present our 2018 greetings!
It’s a simple front and back card with a photo of us from our favorite trip yet, Barcelona, and my favorite project of the year, the one room challenge. The star of the show is Effie, of course, because she’s always the star!
We really enjoyed 2018. There were rough moments- we kicked off the year with a surgery and many medical complications for Effie, and we’ve ended it with some more. We housed bats and their babies in our attic and promptly saw them to a new home as soon as we could. But we also traveled to a snowy Virginia, Barcelona in the fall, and California for Christmas. We got to go to the beach with my family, and Palmetto Bluff with Andrew’s. We ate and drank and saw and enjoyed. Andrew got a new job that he loves, and rounded out the year with a promotion. I painted more than ever and found inspiration everywhere! We bought our house and saw Beyoncé and Jay-Z live and in the flesh. And it was all wonderful.
Thank you, to everyone, for making it a banner year! We can’t wait for 2019 and all that it brings. I’m using this week to brainstorm and scheme, and I am loving it!
cheers to a new year!
Xx
THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: before and afters! It's reveal time!
I know my favorite thing is a before and after- I LIVE FOR THEM. Usually, I send them to my sister-in-law too, whether she has asked for them or not. So consider yourselves my sisters-in-law, and get ready: I am pumped to show off the after photos for this project. Real quick, the pictures in this post are mostly from the amazing Mac Jones , and some from my less amazing iPhone; the design in this room was dreamed up by my new internet best friend and professional interior designer, Teri Moore. The portrait is by me, and you can contact me here with questions on how to get your own!
Let’s see those before pictures again:
All in all, this wasn’t a terrible room. It was very average! It housed all of my first apartment wares and the most comfortable mattress in the world. (And obviously in these photos it was a mess.) The furniture suite is from my grandmother- it’s a lovely, solid cherry. I’ve used it for years, and it’s really special to me, so I knew it was staying no matter what. As I looked around, I struggled with what I could do in the room that would tie my style in with the furniture.
Also, I hated the closet doors. They just weren’t functional!
Let’s get to the reveal!
tassel throw \\ bedding \\ planters \\ lamp \\ curtains
Not the same room, right? What the heck? Moving the furniture into this configuration changed everything. There is so much more space! Also, from a functional standpoint, the only a/c vent in the room was covered by the bed, making it extra cold in the winter or extra warm in the summer. Now, it’s free to raise and lower the temperature way more easily!
The new wall color is Benjamin Moore Oxford White. I love it- It’s a pure ecru white, and it feels so crisp and clean.
I’ve always wanted a jumbo tassel throw from Kip and Co., so I was too excited when Teri agreed that it would look cool in the space. The planters are amazing, too- I love plants all over a room!
There she is, the obvious showstopper: a 48x48” portrait of Effie, by me. I thought for days (weeks) on what I wanted to do, and then I finally decided to just do it. The painting took a really long time, but I am so happy with it. I added in butterflies, because Effie loves them, and bamboo because it’s Andrew’s favorite. For me, snakes, because I’m really into them right now, and king protea flowers since they were in my wedding bouquet. Most of Effie’s fur in the piece is metallic gold, which adds a ton of warmth and glow, and if you look extra close, you can see that I’ve added a tooth jewel. She’s hip on the trends.
She’s pleased with the portrait, too.
Bed: so clean, so fresh. I love this throw pillow- the gold and browns in the calf hair do a great job of tying the mustard and Effie’s portrait in together. The oversized lumbar was also a great sale find- it feels so plush and the tassels are giving cool vibes. I also removed the box spring in favor of a board and it changed the look of the bed completely. Being an antique, it’s just not made for a full box spring.
Next: The bedside tables. On one side, I repurposed this tray from 2014 Target to add a space for water and glasses. Don’t worry, if you come to our house we have sparkling or still for our guests! This vase is one of my favorite things. It’s HUGE! I found it for $10 at an antique store. I’m also planning on stocking the drawers with extra toiletries and candy, because guests love candy. (Also, you might notice a white cord in the photo- I’ve placed two extension cords behind the bed for easy phone charging, hair dryers, curling irons, etc.!)
I told you, I’m into snakes!
The dresser stayed in the exact same spot, but I changed the orientation of the cherry mirror and added another. I feel like it adds so much!
I decided to keep the dresser as minimal as possible, aside from this candle- I wanted guests to have plenty of space to store jewelry, makeup, or anything else! I’ve also cleared most of the drawers, so that they’re available. On the opposite side of the room, we did what may be my favorite thing:
NEW CLOSET DOORS!
Easy to open, easy to close. And with some very stylish knobs from Anthropologie! This was a project that really motivated the whole ORC for me- in a cleaning spree, I got frustrated with the former doors and pulled them down, and took them to the curb. For about a month, there were no doors on one of the largest closets in the house! Not what a guest needs. Not one bit.
We removed the old tv in favor of this vintage cross stitch from Parker Kennedy Living that I think is so quirky, and we added in (you guessed it) another plant and faux fiddle leaf fig. I was SO LUCKY to get this hunk of black tourmaline from a sweet friend’s vast mineral collection - yes, a mineral collection! It adds a really cool touch. Lastly, I thought this was a perfect spot to display one of our Armitano books; Andrew’s grandfather was an editor and publisher in Venezuela, and this is one of his coffee table art books. (We have a couple sprinkled throughout the house. It’s really cool for our last name to be on books. I like that.)
Ready for a panoramic shot?
You’ll notice I kept the ceiling fan- listen. It gets hotter than hell in Columbia, SC, and we had to have a fan. I had some options from Teri, but we decided to keep it because with the changes in the room, we don’t mind it as much. Also, we started getting into the “if we decide to sell this house, is a very stylish ceiling fan or light fixture going to be a selling point?” debate. The answer was- in this area- that the fan we already have is great. Don’t get me wrong- I looked at a couple of chandeliers really hard. But sometimes you have to be practical, and think back to the summer, when you can’t look outside without sweating.
More details:
And I need to say it again- Mac Jones is right here in Columbia and she does an amazing job. Most of the photos from this post are from her! This is the SECOND time she’s gotten a camera full beautiful of pictures of a dog who does not listen- Effie is her own girl and she does as she pleases- when I didn’t even know I needed them!
What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment! Also, go follow Teri and Mac, they are my friends and they are good at what they do. Teri has a ORC in her own house that she’s revealing today!
I’m thrilled that I decided to participate in the ORC. It is so nice to have that done and finished, and not to have any piece of it hanging over my head. I’m already dreaming up which room I’m going to do next! (Andrew requests that we wait a full year first- something about me being a little stressed over the last three weeks?) If you want to read more about why I decided to do the One Room Challenge, why my updates were few and far between, and how Teri and I came up with the design, click here to read the post explaining it! And leave any questions, too! I’m happy to share anything I forgot to link. Also, tune into my stories/highlights over the next few days for more photos and videos! If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading and being here. You’re the real MVP.
note: this post contains some affiliate links. I was not sponsored or paid to use anything in this ORC!
THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: let's get caught up.
If you follow along on Instagram (or maybe even Facebook), you know that I decided to sign up for the One Room Challenge in mid-September in an effort to finally execute a beautiful design in our guest room by Teri Moore. There are so many things I want to explain, so I’ll start with why this is my first blog post about it even though it’s a 6-week challenge.
Teri’s amazing design.
It’s because we left for Spain one week after the challenge started! In my rush to get packed, get ahead on work, take pictures for Instagram just in case, and generally get our house ready for us to be gone for two weeks, I didn’t even LOOK at the guest room. (Well that’s a lie. I used it to pile all of our clean/unfolded laundry.) So there the room sat, untouched and the same, for weeks 1, 2, and 3.
The day after we got back from Barcelona, and much to Andrew’s surprise, we got started on the room. I was excited, but I was already on week 4. Week 4! We had so much to do. We moved furniture, took down everything on the walls, put in new closet doors, and repainted the room. Also, we had friends over to help us move the rug that was living in our master under our very heavy bed. I purchased all of the accessories I didn’t have yet, and really felt like we had made a ton of progress. But then I remembered: I still had to paint Effie! That was quite the project. (More on this in a future post.)
For week 5, it was a race. A total details game, and a waiting game for all of the accessories I had ordered the previous week. I was finishing a 48x48” painting of queen Effie, hanging and steaming curtains, steaming bedding, forgetting things and making multiple trips to the store, and constantly messaging Teri to make sure she was loving the as much as I was. Finally, it came together. 2 and a half weeks of pure insanity, and we pulled it off! Here are the before photos, for your viewing pleasure:
About the design, and my decision to work with Teri:
This guest room has been something I’ve avoided for the two years since we moved in. It was formerly a mix of leftovers- things that didn’t go anymore in other rooms, or didn’t fit. The mattress is amazing- if it wasn’t a double, we would sleep on it! The furniture is also amazing- it’s 1940’s antique, passed down from my Nanny, and very special to me. Those were basically the only amazing things about the room. All in all, it was very blah. The duvet was pretty great, and it has been with me since college, but paired with always mismatched sheets and all varying shades of whites all over the room, it wasn’t making a huge impact.
As much as I loved the furniture, it was hard for me to imagine how I wanted to room to look because the furniture isn’t what I would consider my style. I was struggling to choose curtains, bedding, accessories- I needed help if I was ever going to pull it together. I reached out to Teri and I was worried I would sound crazy: I have a full suite of 1940’s furniture, but I love the Jungalow- midcentury modern look, but also a little chinoiserie. I like color, but not too much, and I need hanging plants. Also, our budget is “as little as possible”. Guess what? I did sound crazy, even though she kindly told me I didn’t, and she came through with all of the things I love! I wish Nanny were here to see the final product. I think she would love it. I’m also so glad I took the leap and invested in Teri’s expertise- I never would have put this together in a million years, but I’m obsessed with it. (And literally a list of links to the products I would need? Yes.) I’ll give myself credit- the portrait was my idea- but I based it around the design, like I do in so many interior projects that aren’t in my house!
Long story short: edesign is worth it, Teri Moore is great at it, and the One Room Challenge is nuts. I can’t wait to show it all off tomorrow! (I’m already geared up for the next one, but Andrew says we’ll see- maybe it was a little more chaotic than I remember.)