Spain in The House

If you know me, you know my love of Spain. 

La lengua, la tierra, la comida...so it would only be fitting to put a little Espana in my cocina, no?

Here's where we last left off:

Desperately needing something on those walls. 

After recently painting our first floor white and months of slowly giving our kitchen a makeover, it is obvious how much we NEED ART ON THE WALLS.  So Steve and I raided our stash of posters and prints that have been waiting patiently for attention.

We found a winner, got it framed and waited until the right time to hang it. 

That was yesterday.

Places, everyone.

Behold our plan. 

George, too.

And my helper (who refused to nap).

You know what that means.  Throw things at him so I can work.

Current Preferred Snacks

Hey, they're better than hot dogs or french fries.  (which he LOVES, by the way)

Tools & Materials Required

I had a few Togglers left, which I love to use.  I ended up going with two of them, not because one wouldn't hold the weight (it would, even with the poster having been framed with glass), but I thought the 27" width would be better supported by two screws. 

So I measured:

Then I drilled:

And got really scared.  The wall is lath & plaster over wood slats.  So when I drilled, the bit moved around a bit and slid slightly towards the ceiling...probably a seam between slats.  I crossed my fingers that the frame would hang straight even if the screws were off a bit.

George Likes It

And it did! 

Here's another view.

Toros En Sevilla

It is a poster we bought in Sevilla on our honeymoon.  We took a tour of the bullfighting ring there and couldn't leave without buying a poster.  Every year, in every major city, there is an official poster announcing the fights of the bullfighting season. 

This is the one from 2003.  The year isn't special, we just liked the artwork.

Bullfighter

And because I've had the honor of visiting my friend Maria in Spain so many times, I've actually seen some of the bullfighters listed on the poster, like Enrique Ponce.

Bulls

And some of the bulls, too, like Miura.  Because Maria's family is involved heavily in bullfighting, I once got to go behind the scenes at a ring to see the Miura bulls in their pens.  They are enormous and deadly.  Literally.

Speaking of deadly, so is having this hanging in my kitchen.  Everytime I look at it, I just want to go back to Spain.  And given its size, it's kinda hard not to look at it...

Before

After

But I love it.  So it's definitely a winner.

As for those other placeholders on the wall...

View From the Dining Room

They are soon to be replaced with these...

Frame Fun

I think I'm going to try painting the frames a red-brown color from the bull poster.  How's that for a punch of much needed color on the walls?  Most likely, kid artwork will fill the frames...once it passes inspection. 

That bull needs some company.  Stay tuned!