We have a small space above our garage that I’m converting to a design and sewing studio as I continue on my textile design journey, and I scored a credenza at a thrift store for $40 a few weeks ago (the one I mentioned here). It was the perfect size and I loved the raised detail on the fronts, but it was scratched and dinged in a lot of places so the perfect candidate for a new paint treatment.

It was too dark and drab before so I gave it a new look with pale gray paint and gold trim.

It sits in my little studio between two windows – I painted this one wall a vivid coral because I’m crushing on this color right now.

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This year, I’m challenging myself to bring more color into my home beyond my favorite blues which are everywhere around the house. Coral is my latest color crush and a natural complement to blue so it’s showing up in doses, most recently the living room.

The local stores have had several varieties of tulips in recent weeks, and these beauties were impossible to resist. I collect blue glass vessels, so it made sense to gather them up in a group on the mantel this season and fill them with the tulips.

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Well at last at last at last we’ve finally finished up the backsplash in the hall bathroom.  This remodel has been in progress for over a year, we procrastinated, but now we’re on the way to a nearly complete bathroom remodel. Here’s a look at the vanity wall where we installed a new backsplash, added new sconces, and also a brushed silver finish mirror.

Here’s what it looked like a year ago. It had an old fashioned overhead light, a huge builder mirror, honey wood cabinetry, and cultured marble countertops. Not my favorite.

The sink vanity wall looks much different today!

I call this the “lucky backsplash” for two reasons. First, I ended up skipping the blue brick pattern glass tile I mentioned awhile back because when I did the math it turned out to be way over my budget at $20+ a square foot and to tile up to the ceiling I needed 36 square feet. I was leaning toward something more neutral anyway. 

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Sometimes I need to listen to my own advice.  I was crushing on colorful mullions and trim a few weeks ago and wishing I could go that route and then I smacked my head and realized I could so add color to my house if I just painted my interior French doors.  So I did.

They’ve been white for five years and I decided to have some fun – I chose a medium shade of teal blue by Glidden called ‘Still Waters’ and it gives the entry and the living room a dose of fresh color.

Painting divided light French doors isn’t difficult, you can even paint them in place, you just need these supplies.  A tarp, a foam roller, deglosser, an angled paintbrush, a utility knife or box cutter, a razor blade scraper and painter’s tray (not shown),  painter’s tape, rubber gloves, and a screwdriver or drill.

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