Anther great reader question this week, and one I’ve had a couple of times before.  My mantra has always been if you don’t like an old tired piece of furniture you own, then paint it!  Lots of people share that idea and want to reinvent their furniture with a coat paint but like Mina, they get stuck on deciding what color to choose. 

“I would like some advice on some pieces of furniture for my bedroom. I am new at this and really don’t know where to start.  For my bedroom I’d love some color mixed with black, grey, and white.  I want to mix in new pieces of furniture (like a headboard) with old/repainted night stands and an old chest.  What color do you think I should paint them?  Should I brush paint or spray paint? Any thoughts or ideas you have would be greatly appreciated.”  ~ Mina

The answer is completely subjective and depends on so many factors, your favorite colors, the space itself, and of course the style of the piece of furniture. I like to think of it this way.  If you’re looking for a piece that will harmonize with other players in the room then choose a classic or more neutral color, like cream, gray, or black, and then pull color into the space with your wall paint, textiles, and accessories.  But if you’re looking for a showstopper, or one that will be a focal point and be more dominant in the space, then by all means, choose a brighter color.

There’s a great source of inspiration for painted furniture and a site I absolutely love. I wrote about Somerset Bay two years ago, and I find their entire collection so inspiring, every color is spot on.  

Take a peek at a few of their classic neutrals …

Read the rest of this entry »

Hey there, thanks so much for linking up to the Paint Projects Party earlier this week, here are a few highlights I wanted to share!

Check out this media wall built by Yellow Brick Home, absolutely fantastic Kim & Scott! 

How lovely is this painted stair runner by Anna at Take the Side Street?  Consider me inspired! 

Read the rest of this entry »

This is a repost from last year, but updated with all the newest paint colors we’ve added to our home, just in case you’ve ever wondered about the colors on our walls . . .

______________________

I’ve received several emails lately inquiring about paint colors in my home.  Shelley recently wrote,

“Dear Kate,

I’m curious if you would mind sharing the paint colors on your walls in your dining room, stairs and entrance hall?  I so want to take my dated golden oak stair rail and replicate what you did with yours with the gel stain and glaze!  Thanks for the inspiration…now only if I can get a dose of courage as well.  I love your home!  Simply beautiful !  ~ Shelley”

Sure Shelley!  Some of the colors in my home are straight out of the paint can.  Others I’ve tweaked by blending my own color.   

In our living room is Benjamin Moore’s Affinity ’Tranquilty’ but I had the guys at the BM store tweak it by pulling two drops of blue out of the formula to make it a hint grayer, so we dubbed it ‘Tranquility Tweaked’. 

Here’s the formula for the Ben brand (which I highly recommend, it covers in one coat!)

S1  0x  3.0000; Y2  1x  1.5000; B1  0x  20.0000; O1  0x  19.0000

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m making my way around my four year old boy’s room, slooooowly attempting to spruce it up and give it some real style.   One day when it’s all done, I’ll show you the blah before and you’ll see just how drab it was.  His room, like all kids rooms, was in serious, and I mean serious, need of storage ~  I was stepping on all those Legos in the middle of the night.  For four, he’s usually pretty good at putting those toys away, but since he had no real storage, I really couldn’t get too upset.  But something had to be done ! 

Yet again, I shopped my house for the perfect solution.  We had a tall tower made up of stackable cabinets (purchased here five years ago) that used to sit in the playroom, but since I now want to find a desk in there for homework and art projects, I decided to repurpose these honey wood cabinets for the lad’s room instead. 

Their size couldn’t be more perfect ~ they now sit right next to his closet on a narrow patch of wall space.  Problem ?   They were all scuffed up and I couldn’t visualize the the honey stain look in his room.  And if I don’t get to paint something at least once a month, I start to twitch.   

Some primer, paint, and crown molding transformed these cabinets in a weekend, and gave his room the splash of color it needed, plus the tower provides fantastic storage for all those toys, books, and collected treasures.

Before & After:

Read the rest of this entry »

Hiya folks, hope you had a lovely weekend !  Today I’ll show you my step by step for the hand painted trellis pattern on our wall in our bedroom.

I wanted something elegant behind our headboard but also dramatic with a hint of shimmer.  My original idea was to use wallpaper with a subtle metallic pattern, but when I saw Kristen’s wall featured on YHL a few weeks ago, I decided to this was a much easier (and cheaper) way to add the large scale design I wanted without the expense of wallpaper.          

This 13’ x 9’ feature wall was not difficult, but it did take a lot of patience.  I created my own stencil, sketched the pattern on the wall, and then filled in the lines with acrylic craft paint, all in about six hours.  

Supplies: poster board; utility knife or sharp blade; silver colored pencil; level; painter’s tape; craft paint; artist’s Filbert paintbrush. 

Read the rest of this entry »