Showing posts with label colors. Show all posts

Fun with Color

Last weekend, I took some time and painted a few objects from around the house that I've been wanting to update.

Here are the befores and afters:

Lamps (x2):

Ugly Gold Framed Mirrors (x2):

Corgi butt!

Hooks (x2):

While I extensively documented the process for all of them on film, they all just took the same few steps as always:

1.) Disassemble (for the lamp, I had to take off the shade and block off the sections I didn't want to paint with painters tape. For the mirrors, I had to remove the frames from the mirrored glass and for the hooks, I had to take off each hook and save all the screws and hooks in one spot).

2.) Clean (wiped down with a light soapy solution, then let dry)

3.) Set up painting area (outside on a table covered with an old shower curtain)

4.) Lay out objects to be painted and make sure that none are too close if they are to be different colors

5.) Paint the first coat (for the metal pieces, I used a spray primer. For everything else, just the spray paint in the color I wanted)

6.) Let dry then paint the second coat

7.) Let dry then paint a third coat (if needed)

8.) Let dry for a couple of hours

9.) Reassemble pieces and enjoy!

Strawberry Daiquiri

Last weekend, I finally tackled the eyesore in my dining area: the campaign dresser I had acquired months before (see here for more details on my early planning).

I woke up bright and early and removed hardware, sanded, washed, primed x2, painted x2, added a white bead-board backing, and reattached hardware to finish my campaign dresser and hutch.

I have to say that I'm very happy with the results (even working through my fear that I *gasp* may have chosen the wrong color.) Luckily, I waited until reassembling the piece with the hardware before making my final decision. As you've seen in my post earlier this week, we decided that the piece would work better in our reading room rather than the dining area, so that's where it's going to live. And I love it. The color I went with is Behr's Strawberry Daiquiri and, while bright and definitely pink, is gorgeous and works very well with my new velvet sofa.

Here's the play-by-play of the steps I took to bring her from brown drab to her updated present day glory:

...there she is. a diamond in the rough waiting to be loved (with ms. cleo)...

First thing's first, remove the hardware:

...yes, that's a butter knife wedged in between the bracket and the wood. I used it to gently (and more often times, roughly) separate the wood from the bracket just enough to get my next tool in there...

...a flat head screwdriver. I would put this close to where the nails were and wiggle it around to get the nail out far enough to use the next tool...

...needle noes pliers. I actually used the little area closest to the "neck" of the pliers to pull out the nails...

...blurry action shot! success!..

Rinse, wash and repeat until all of the brackets are removed. In this case, there were approximately a bajillion brackets and three bajillion nails to remove. I was very careful to keep all of the bits and pieces from this step in a container - together - so that they were easily found later on.

I next took the backing off of the hutch. This was old and had holes cut in it and wasn't actually wood, so it had to go. The only photo I got of this was this one of the staples I removed (fascinating, huh? oh wait, no.):

I next took out all of the drawers and removed the drawer pulls. Then I took dish washing soap and water and washed down the entire dresser, hutch and drawer combo. After it dried, I did a light sanding job, then patched any holes and let it dry. Another round of sanding later and I had pieces ready and waiting for primer:

First things first - tape off the edges of your drawers - it will look so much better:

After two rounds of primer:

After three rounds of paint:

It was around this step that I took a step back and said, "Well, crap. Maybe I did choose the wrong color." Before I let myself freak out too much, I took a drawer pull and put it in place to test before I just repainted the whole thing navy blue or some other much more neutral color:

...yay! It actually toned it down a lot and was just what I had hoped it would be!...

Next I got the bead board cut at the hardware store and attached to the back with a staple gun:

Then it was time to reattach all of the hardware and put the hutch back in place:

To recap, before:

After:

Yay!

Reading Rainbow

Earlier on here I posted about what I thought I was going to do with our Reading Room. When I finally finished the campaign dresser, I realized that it wasn't going to work in the dining room but might be perfect in the Reading Room for an entertainment center. So we moved it over there and I got a new couch:

Then we rearranged a lot of the stuff.

Now I am getting closer to finishing the Reading Room and I've realized that it's become more of a Reading Rainbow Room. This is perfectly fine with me, but we'll have to see how S reacts when he gets home. Here are some preliminary shots (please don't judge my awful skills of a photographer...). I'll also be including the full process of refinishing the dresser/hutch in a later post.

...console table as you walk in...

lamps are from Last Call and I'm thinking of redoing in blue. Thoughts?

...couch (this is pretty close to the actual color), console table, front door, purple drapes (we're rotating in a clockwise direction)...

...front door, couch, secretary...

...full shot of the secretary...

...closer look of the top of the secretary...

...wall of art (and rufus)...

...another view of the art wall with the edge of the dresser...

...art wall and the dresser/hutch...

...dresser bottom (still missing a piece of hardware) with the rug...

I still need two/three ottomans for in front of the couch (I'm thinking small and square) and a comfy chair (maybe this?) for the corner between the art wall and the window wall, but it's coming along. :)

*note: I took these pictures bright and early this morning and will redo to less blurry ones this afternoon to cause less eye strain.

Dressing my Campaign Dresser

If you've seen a design blog in the last couple of months, you've more than likely noticed a link to the beautiful campaign dresser in Lonny. It's gorgeous and awe inspiring. Check check check it out.

Let's take a moment to appreciate it.

...

Ok. Well, Jenny of Little Green Notebook did a fantastic redo of a piece she found for super cheap that was in great condition. I found one on Craigslist and, while it's not in great shape at the moment, I have grand aspirations for it. The main questions I've been trying to answer have been:

1.) what color do I do? It's breathtaking in white and green, but I don't think green + my black dining set would jive (we're going to use it for our bar/kitchen accessories) and white might be too neutral for me.

2.) where do I find the hardware for the one missing drawer pull that is on the piece? (Yes, I still bought the dresser with its missing drawer pull. I hadn't found a piece like it in my 4 months of constantly searching CL and I just couldn't say no. I did get the price down from $100 to $80, though).

I think today I figured out both questions:

For colors, I am thinking a raspberry. With the nickel hardware I think it will be glorious. What do you think of these options?

From Sherwin Williams: