31 Days {Day 21} Living with your Projects

If you were to come in our house, you would quickly notice some pieces that don't quite fit.  They may look out of place right now, but I am a big believer in living with your projects and I am a woman with many projects.

Sure, I could wait to use this dresser until I paint it, but living with it let's me know if it works for my  family.   Having the item continually in front of me rather than stuck in a closet motivates me to get it done.

Here are a few more of our works in progress....

Shad got this tv stand at a yard sale for free.  It's a great tv stand, and eventually I'd love to paint it.  For now though, it's still a great tv stand.

Shad and I got this rough work table at Crumpton for $10.  I have plans to sand the top and put wheels on it, but I wanted to live with it first.  We love it, and it is a big statement piece in our kitchen.

We found these side tables on the curb.  I don't know if I am going to paint them and use them as side tables or cut the legs and make a coffee table out of two of them.

Living with my projects lets me know if they will work for my family before I go through the trouble of working on it.

 

31 Days {Day 20} Gallery Plate Wall

One last item I like to have on my wall is plates!  Do you remember the plate wall I put up in our old house.   If not, here it is.

As soon as I painted our dining room, I could not wait to hang up my plate wall.  Only this time, my plate wall was going to be a little different.  I was going to use all lace edge plates.  I have been collecting them here and there for two years, and I just found a big one to be the centerpiece of the display.

I started to hang it up, and I quickly realized, I didn't like it.  What?!? Months of collecting, and I didn't like it? I was only half way done, but I have left the plates up for a few weeks, trying to figure out what could be the problem.  Here is what it might be....

1. I just hung it up quickly without measuring.  I had good intentions, but not the patience.

2. The lines on the paneling are throwing me off.

3. The buffet lamps make it difficult to judge.  Maybe they need to go.

4.  The wall color is wrong and everything just washes out on the wall.

As much as I hate it, I'm really leaning towards #4.  This paint color that I put so much work into, I don't think I like.  I haven't made up my mind yet, but I have a gallon of paint left over from painting my living room.  I loved that color and it just might get used in the dining room.

Right now, I think I am going to make a sign with our monogram on it, and put some lace edge plates around the sign.  I'll let you know when I get it done.  As to repainting the entire room, we'll see.

Sometimes in your home, your best plans just don't work out. Sometimes things look good in your head, but they look different in real life.  Sometimes you have to move to plan B.

 

31 Days {Day 19} Chalkboards

One of my favorite wall decorations is chalkboards.  With a little quart of chalkboard paint, you can make almost anything a chalkboard.

Shad rolls his eyes every time I pull this can out, and says, "Not another chalkboard."  He thinks I like chalkboards a little too much.

Here are a few of the chalkboards in my home....

The chalkboard doors on this wardrobe really make a statement.

I love chalkboards so much I painted one from floor to ceiling in my pantry.....okay. Maybe Shad is a little right.

Chalkboards allow me to change out my artwork with the seasons and my mood.  Here is how I've used a mirror that I painted with chalkboard paint throughout the seasons.

If you are loving these looks check out this pinterest board for chalk art inspiration, and this board and this board for chalkboard paint ideas.

One can of chalkboard paint costs about $10, but the possibilities are endless. Your husband will get sick of chalkboards before you run out of chalkboard paint. Trust me!

 

31 Days {Day 18} Gallery Wall

When I first started loving on my house, one of the areas that was struggling in my home was the walls.  They were bare and sad.  In my mind, I had to go to the store and buy some expensive picture of a leaf or flower and hang it up on my wall.  However, I soon discovered that I could dress my walls and not spend a fortune when I discovered the gallery wall.

I had attempted the gallery wall a few times, but I never got it right.  A couple of weeks ago, I tried the gallery wall again after I painted our living room walls.

Suddenly, I realized why I couldn't get it right before.  I had been trying to have a cool random looking gallery wall, but my brain is not random.  My brain is mathematical and appreciates symmetry.  To me symmetry is beautiful.

I gathered up different elements that I had on the walls at our old house and laid them out on the floor.  I loved the layout! After giving everything a good coat of white spray paint, I hung them on the wall.

I love the way the gallery wall looks, but I love that each piece has meaning to our family.

1. family definition - The frame was one of the frames we found in the trash a few years ago.  I found the vinyl quote at Jo Anne's on clearance a couple of years ago.

2. I've had the L from Kirkland's for four or five years, but a new coat of spray paint made it fit right in.

3. This is one of our favorite verses.  I got this from Dayspring. 

4. I found the little white frames at Goodwill.  Here is the before....

A little spray paint and a different background, and I love them.  Eventually, I want to put some numbers or sillouettes in them.

5. A map of our favorite city Charleston.

6. I made this display for some of our Instagram pictures.  I love our Instagram pictures, and I'm so happy to have them displayed.  I just strung some wire across the back. I put brads in the two corners of the picture and just hung them over the wire.  I can add and change out the pictures when I want.

And in an attempt to keep it real, I'll just zoom out and let you see the whole wall.

"Hey, Mom! Are you taking a picture? I haven't photo bombed you in a while!"

"Boom. Photo Bombed."

Yep, that's my ratty love seat underneath.  Eventually, I want two chairs on that wall with a small table between them, but my ratty love seat if fine for now.  My home is a work in progress, and I'm loving the progress I'm making!

 

31 Days {Day 17} Fear

The past few days in 31 Days to Love Your Home have been all about painting.  For some reason, when it comes to paint, many people feel the same emotion....fear.

A few months ago, I decided it was time to change my dining room table. (I blogged about it before here.)

I had finally had enough.  The table didn't match my style anymore, and it was time for a change.  There is no sense being unhappy with something when it's in your power to change it.

In May, we found some great chairs at Goodwill.  They were originally $5 a piece, but Shad asked if they would take $3.  We paid $15 for 5 chairs!

Once I got the chairs home, I stuck them under my table, and lived with them for a couple of months. I loved the mismatched look, and I started searching for pictures of black tables with white chairs.

Excited for a change, I painted the four Goodwill chairs with no trouble, but then I got scared.  Fear gripped me when it came time to paint this chair.

Why did I need to paint this chair? This wasn't a $3 Goodwill chair.  This dining room chair was perfectly good. However, I didn't like it.  It wasn't good for me anymore.

 I tried to live with four white chairs and two black chairs for a few days, but I didn't like it.

Finally, I asked myself, "What's the worst thing that could happen?" Answer: I could absolutely hate the look and ruin two perfectly good chairs.  Then I realized, I had four more chairs upstairs just like these.  

What was stopping me? Why was I afraid?

With new resolve, I went for it, but I did gulp when I painted that first streak of white paint.   After I painted the first chair, I realized I loved the look.

 I painted a chair a day for about a week.  By the time I was done, I was so sick of painting chairs, but it was worth it.  Here is the table now.  I love how much lighter it made the room!

Again, I just snapped this picture this morning so just ignore the giant furniture in the background and the toys on the floor.

This picture will forever and all time be one of my favorite pictures. I was terrified the weekend before I went skydiving.  This wasn't just a "little nervous," I was nauseous every time I thought about skydiving.

 I asked myself, "What's the worst that could happen," and I did not like that answer. When I got on the plane though, I made a big scary decision. I told myself, "What's going to happen is going to happen.  I have to do this.  I might as well smile and have fun while I'm doing it."

This picture, this moment is one of absolute joy for me.  When I flew out that door, I let my fear fly with it, and I loved every second of it.

I'm so glad I didn't let fear stop me from doing something I really wanted to do.  Next time you find yourself afraid of painting or making a bold decorating choice just ask yourself, "What is the worst that can happen?"

Are the home decor police going to come and arrest you if you make a bad color choice? No!

Will Home Depot ban you for life from picking another paint color? No!

Will your husband make fun of your bad color choice? Maybe!

Most of the time, the worst that can happen is you might have to repaint. So go ahead.  Let your fear fly out the door and make the bold choice.  Who knows? You might just love it.


 

31 Days {Day 16} Spray Paint Your New Best Friend

A few years ago, before I started loving my house, I went to a friends house.  She had a beautiful collection of white vases on top of her cabinets.  When I complimented her on them, she said, "Oh those are just cheap vases spray painted white."  I couldn't believe it.  I guess I only thought of using spray paint for graffiti.  I never thought to use spray paint on things in my home.

Since that day, spray paint has become my best friend.  Here are some of the projects I have used spray paint on.

A few years ago, we found a bunch of frames that someone was throwing away.  They were brown, but with a little white spray paint they are perfect now.

I've had this L for several years.  It was black, but I spray painted it white just a few weeks ago to fit in with a new look.

Those pumpkins were originally brownish, but I spray painted them orange.  (You can see the before here.)  I also spray painted the sticks white.



My "hi" planters were originally brown, but I love them in black.

A little black spray paint made these hanging baskets and wire go from this...

To this....

I wish I had the before shot of these rockers, but they were brown, but a few cans of spray paint later and they are bright white.  The table in the center was also spray painted.

This stool in my pantry was originally green, but it fits right in after I sprayed it light blue.  (Collin uses it to get in the sugar bowl.)

Spray paint opens up an entire world.  When you shop second hand, there is a good chance the piece won't be exactly like you want it, but a little spray paint can make it perfect.   
 

31 Days {Day 15} A Mom's Guide to Painting

One of the biggest changes you can make in a room is painting the walls.  We are renters, but in the four houses we have rented, 2 landlords let us paint and 2 didn't.  In our current house, I can paint, and I love it!

In the past year, I have painted our pantry, living room, dining room, mud room, side porch and back porch.  Nothing makes a bigger impact in a room than nice clean painted walls.

I'm not a great painter, but I do know a thing or to about painting with kids.  Today, I'd like to bring you.....

1. Timing is Everything

Choose the right time to paint when your kids are sleeping, when they first wake up, when they are napping, or when they are watching their favorite show.  Kids can sense when you are distracted, and that's when they choose to get in the most trouble.

2. Have Reasonable Expectations

Remember you are not on normal time, you are on Mommy Time, and Mommy time works much slower. When I start painting a room, I know I won't get it all done in a day.  Each day I paint, I always set my goal to get just one wall done.

When I painted our dining room that was covered in paneling, it took me six weeks, and I still have one piece of trim and a door left to do.  I would paint a couple of hours a day for a few days a week.  It took a while, but now the job is (pretty much) done.  Just take the job in little bites. It took me six weeks to paint the paneling in my dining room, but I took my time and kept my sanity, and now I love the look.

3. Use Satin not Flat

Most paints in a flat finish are not very wipe able. A satin finish is not too shiny and it is WiPe AbLe! I worked hard to get the room painted, but I don't want to have a coronary if....when my boys wipe their dirty hands on the wall. Using a satin finish allows me to keep my cool, wipe off the dirty little prints, and love the two little boys who left them there.

4.  Tape, Tape, Tape

It's annoying, it's time consuming, but tape.  I know you read on Pinterest that you can edge without taping, but Mom's have too many distractions to have a steady hand.  If this is the first room you have painted...tape, tape, tape.  

Also, don't go cheap on painter's tape.  Cheap painter's tape will only make you mad.  I use Scotch edge lock tape, and have had no trouble with it.

5. Have a Pair of Paint Clothes

I picked out a pair of clothes that I didn't mind ruining and designated them as my paint clothes.  If I get paint on my hands, I don't have to stop painting, and try not to get paint all over my house as I get a paper towel.  Since I'm wearing my paint clothes, I just wipe the paint off on them.  After several projects, I'm very proud of my paint pants and every new paint color I add to them.

6.  Sherwin Williams

I really like Sherwin Williams paint. When I painted my dining room, I was very impressed with their Super Paint.  The staff in the store is very helpful and can give great advice and help.  If you are a "preferred customer" they keep all your colors on file, and that is one less thing for me to remember. However, if you are curious I've used mindful grey in my living room, and repose grey in my dining room. I also used Glidden's pebble grey in my pantry and mud room (I like grey. Can you tell?)

 Sherwin Williams is definitely more expensive than other stores, but I signed up for their e-mails.  In the past month, they have had a 40% sale, 30% sale, and 25% sale.  All that in one month! I wait around for a 40% sale, and get good paint for a good deal.

7.  Brown Paper Rolls

When I looked for something to protect my floors as I painted, I wanted to buy the cheap plastic drop cloths because I'm cheap. Then I worried about the boys and having basically a giant plastic bag in the floor.  That's when I found the roll of brown paper that is also in the painters section.  When I start painting on a wall, I roll the paper out.  I don't tape it to the baseboards because it lays flat and stays close enough to the base board for me.  When I'm done for the day, I can just roll it up and reuse it for tomorrow.  Plus, I use the brown paper for gift wrap (I told you I was cheap).

8. Accidents Happen

 One of the shelves in my pantry has tiny baby footsteps on it because Collin walked through as they were drying in the kitchen.  I went to paint over them, but I decided to keep them there.  I knew I would like to see those feet again someday.

When I stained my porch, Collin struck again.  This time I had to paint over the tiny feet, but not until I took a picture.

No matter how you time it or how well you plan it, accidents are going to happen.  When I painted the dining room, Collin had a big streak of paint right down his face for a few days, but it was okay.  I would rather try and risk a little mess than stay unhappy with my house.

Here is the impact a little paint can make.  Here is a wall in my dining room before I painted.

Here is the after.  It's a bad shot I took this morning.  Notice, all I've done is paint the walls.  

Here's another angle.

After! Just ignore the blue tape.  That's the piece of trim I need to paint. Oh! And ignore the two giant dressers.  I just snapped this picture this morning, and I have two pieces in my dining room that I'm working on for a friend.

Do you see the power of paint? It's definitely worth the mess and effort!