Some of you, no, a handful of you have been reading this site since the beginning when I started spray painting all sorts of things on the average of at least once a month and frequently mentioning my affection.  I jumped on the spray paint bandwagon several years ago, cracked the whip, and cried "Faster, faster, take us to a better place!"  I have an entire category dubbed "Spray Paint, My BFF" and I reckon I’ve done my part to keep RustOleum, Valspar, and Krylon in biz.

I’ve spray painted just about everything:  plastic, glass, wood, fiberglass, mirror, metal, ribbon, laminate, etcetera.  I’ll spray paint anything that stands still, mostly because it’s  cheap-n-easy, but also because my curiosity in this wonder product knows no end.  Most especially since I’ve witnessed first hand just how many gosh darn things seem to look better when dosed with Toluene and Xylene (the chemicals in spray paint which we never mention in the light of day, but secretly adore in the private solitude of our well ventilated garages).

Spray paint, when applied correctly, possesses the magical power to transform so many dated looks into a something fresh and modern, all in the course of an afternoon.  I think if I was stranded on a deserted island, a can of spray paint just might be on my wish list, not for the giant ‘SOS’ but to give my pathetic coconut mailbox attached to my hut that extra oomph it needed.

I’m sorry, where was I?  Oh yes. Take this sweet little French style solid wood nightstand I spied while gallivanting around the local thrift store last week.  Fab lines, lovely detail, but with yellowed spotty paint and chipped gold accents.  Facelift needed.

All’s well that ends well when you have a well shaken can of spray paint with which to solve the world’s problems.  The final paint is RustOleum’s ‘Canvas White’ found at True Value Hardware.

Before:

After:

‘Shipwrecked Pitcher’ from Anthropologie

I have used spray paint in so many ways I can’t even count them anymore.  Take a tour through my home and you won’t find a room with at least one spray painted thang.  Since I often get asked questions about spray paint, I reckon I’ll just put all those FAQs in one big post.  Bear with me.  I don’t know all the answers, but that’s where you come in at the end friends.

Away we go.    

1. What surfaces can I spray paint?

What can’t  you spray paint?   Well, perhaps that’s too inclusive.  Here’s the growing list.  Plastic, metal, fiberglass, mirror, glass, wood, wicker, masonry, plaster, concrete, canvas, ceramics, MDF, laminate and particle board.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was tra la la-ing my way through my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore a few weeks back, admiring all the great salvage and scheming of ways to put some of it to good use.  I was there because I had spotted a few cool cabinets on Diggers List and wanted to investigate further. 

As I chatted it up with one of the managers, I couldn’t help but notice the sign just behind him. 

Do you love the exclamation point for added emphasis?  Like rejected brass light fixtures are something to get excited about?  Well actually, I kinda do get excited about them.  A lot. 

I actually like antique  brass fixtures, just not these super shiny leftovers from the early 90s.  So with a fixture like this, one that just happens to have a completely fantastic shape, I see no reason why it shouldn’t be spray painted.  White.  Pronto! 

Hello gorgeous.  Don’t you just fit right in ? 

Aaaaaand, she was free.  Fah-reeee. 

Yep.  Free.

Read the rest of this entry »

Picasso went through his monochromatic blue period ~ clearly, I am going through my own blue phase.  I went through my first blue period when I was first married over ten years ago, but it was more of a cobalt blue fixation back then.  Then I rejected blue altogether and banished it from my house.   Blue was forbidden for years!  But being a fickle and forgetful gal, I’ve returned to yet another blue and white phase, this time I’m drawn to soft gray blues, robin’s egg blue, soft turquoise, and intense hues like peacock blue.   

My home office?  My living room?  My master bathroom?  Yep, they’re mostly blue.  I make no apologies, I happen to find the shade is extremely calming, and complements just about everything.  Think about it.  Soft blue works with chocolate brown, red, pink, orange, gray, green, white, everything !  So I prefer it over other colors, as long as it has plenty of gray in it. 

Now I’ve gone and saturated the family room with blue too, but more by force than by choice.  Allow me to explain.   

Read the rest of this entry »

I had every hope of finishing up all the final touches in my master bedroom over the weekend, but as fate would have it, nada was accomplished.  Instead, I took some leisure time, and I’m so glad we got out and enjoyed ourselves.   

Instead of finishing the space, we went out wine tasting in Sonoma and had the best time ever.  The weather was perfect, the kids were angels, the wine was cold, the cheese was stinky, and the evening ended so well, I crashed on the couch with the kids, all of us completely wiped.  It was heaven. 

But our bedroom remains a complete disaster zone, with laundry and ladders and paint cans and tarps everywhere.   I had a crazy idea to repaint the entire room last week in ‘Nantucket Gray’ by Benjamin Moore.  It’s the perfect shade of medium gray with a hint of olive.  My poor husband has been so patient with me while I try to give this room a facelift. 

One of the upgrades I was eyeballing were these lamps at Z Gallerie, they’re delicious. 

But then I found a pair of lamps for 1/3 the price at Marshalls ~ loved the shape, but of course I wanted them white ! 

I got this idea from Janell to spray paint some curvy lamps a glossy white, and I absolutely love the final result ! 

$40 lamp from Marshalls:

Love !

I spray painted with Rustoleum’s ‘Gloss White’ (heart!), and removed the brownish band from the shade.   Then I hand painted the champagne stripe at the base to make it pop off the dresser. 

So modern !  So purty ! 

Did you happen catch the sneaky peek at the hand painted wall treatment ?  If you follow my tweets, you’d have seen my inspiration link for it last week !  The bedroom should come together very soon, fingers crossed.

Today I’m off to Restoration Hardware ~ ordinarily I don’t shop there because they’re a little pricey, but I’m holding in my paint covered hands a gift card and their linens are on sale !  Aw, yeah.  Gotta love how my hub redeemed some miles from his business Am Ex to bring me a RH gift card.

He must have been listening when I kept saying how much I love their Belgian Washed Linen Quilt and Shams, and how I kept repeating after ten years, how much we really deserve something nice for our bedroom. 

Or maybe it was the page from the catalog that I taped to his side of the mirror.

I’m just subtle like that. 

I’m torn between Fog, White, and Orchid.  Decisions, decisions !  

What have you spray painted lately ? 

.

So as I was touring the backyard the other day, I realized there’s definitely some sprucing that needs to happen, especially with guests coming on the Fourth. 

As I meandered up the hill behind the grapevines, I was reminded of the thrift store bistro set I found a couple of years ago that I had every intention of refinishing but I just never got around to it.   The set sits on a little gravel patio that has a great view of the vines, but it certainly been been neglected.  After leaving the bistro set out all winter (so dumb), the set was, how shall I say . . . . what’s the word ?  . . . oh yes.  

GROSS. 

I meant there was moss growing on top of the table, the paint was chipping everywhere, and it was covered in spiderwebs.  ICK. ICK. ICK. 

So I decided the time had come to give it a makeover.  I convinced myself I’d have a fresh new set in no time at all with just a little paint and fabric.   Well, that’s what I did, repainted and recovered the seats.  But in the middle of my revamp, something rather unexpected happened.  Something I hate to relive.  But you’ve just got to know. 

First, take a looky loo at this retro bistro set Before:

And After:

Purty, huh ? 

It’s just such a great set for sitting and watching the grapes grow. 

Read the rest of this entry »