YOUR BEAUTIFUL HOME

After Margaret Bouland’s two sons and their wives painted her home’s interior walls for her, the North Side resident was ready for something different. Instead of hanging her decorations back up on the white walls, she asked her granddaughter, Jennifer Schofield, for help.

Bouland had read about decorative painting. Schofield, a student of fashion design, loves art. Together they pored over magazines for inspiration, and then Bouland set her granddaughter free to create.

Schofield painted leafy green palm trees on the dining room walls. The fronds appear to bend and wave in a tropical breeze. Bouland added a couple of decorative parrots to accentuate the island feel.

“It’s very relaxing and light,” she said.

Next Schofield created a sunflower garden in the main hallway. Without using a template she painted bright yellow blossoms and whimsical birdhouses. Charming birds and bees add flair to the once plain hall.

A Bonsai tree with textured leaves that look lifelike enough to invite a touch gives the living room an Oriental feel. Schofield used the Donna Dewberry “One Stroke” style of painting. She placed two colors of paint on the brush, blending them as she painted, which gives depth to the Bonsai leaves.

Bouland saw a metallic wall hanging in a catalog and showed it to her granddaughter. Schofield recreated the artwork in metallic gold and dark brown paints on the wall above the sofa.

An avid gardener, Bouland bought decorative steppingstones shaped like roses. She thought they were too pretty to go outside and hung them in her bedroom. Schofield painted green stems with delicate buds on the wall beneath the ivory roses. She painted two unfinished birdhouses and hung them on the wall as well.

A pine forest on the downstairs wall greets guests. Bouland added some carved bears and moose to further the forest feeling her granddaughter had created.

Bouland enjoys her unique decorative painting and is glad she tried something different. “I always think of Jennifer. There are reminders of her all over the house,” she said.

Thanks to her gifted granddaughter, instead of plain, white walls, Margaret Bouland has precious memories.