Modern Humor for Your Dining Room

Raise Your Glass Lower Your Standards by Thom Filicia

I spotted this piece by interior designer Thom Filicia on Gilt this morning, and while I love the piece $439 on Gilt is still waay more then I can afford. But looking at it gave me a great idea to get the look plus take it up a notch for someone on a budget, as long as you have empty wall space in your dining area which I do not. If you are one of those people that have the space and are looking for a fun modern way to decorate the walls this could be the idea for you. I think it would look best in a dining area, since that is where most people do their entertaining, but any area will do.

Start by painting the wall you would like for your feature wall a dark black to get the exact look of the piece, leave the other walls white for a minimalistic look.  Of course you can choose any color combo you'd like if you want to change it up a bit.

For the next step, practice perfecting your handwriting or enlist a friend to do it for you. Since it is a little more difficult to write with a paint brush then it is a pen try the cross between cursive and print that the piece has to keep the look interesting and legible. Also, be sure to incorporate the tall l and t to complete the look.

Once you have it mastered on paper it's time to put it on the wall with white paint. You want the phrase to take up a good majority of the wall so depending on your wall size you will either want to start just below or a foot or so down from the ceiling and end just above the floor. Measure out how far across the wall the want each line to go and mark it with painters tape being sure to keep the left aligned diagonal going. Start each word or phrase from the painters tape and don't worry about writing in a straight line. As long as you are not writing with a huge down or up slope it will add character to the look. And if you mess up you can just paint over it and start again.

To get the black and white look of the text from the piece make sure each word is completely white with no black showing through. You can fill in sparse space with a smaller brush. Then dip a medium sized brush into the black paint and brush it onto a scrap piece of paper to get off the excess paint until you get a dull swipe of color. Lightly run the brush diagonally down the phrase to leave a light accent of black brushstrokes. And viola! now you have a great modern looking wall of art that will provide a great conversation piece and a little bit of laughter for your guests at a great price.