Painting
Chairspray
File this under fab and almost free mini-makeovers anyone can do. We had two yellow chairs (relics from our three months in an apartment with a balcony) that looked sweet enough with our yellow door but looked more than a bit mismatched with our current red one. Nothing two cans of Rustoleum Universal All Surface spray paint couldn’t solve.
The stuff is new, and compelling for many reasons: it can be sprayed at any angle (no more straining to keep the can upright while you spray), it covers ANYTHING (from plastic and wood to metal and wicker), and it has a nice trigger spraying device (which is much more comfortable than those older buttons on the top of the can). And at around $6 a pop, the entire chair transformation was super cheap.
Check out our fabulous “new” porch chairs. Aren’t they so much better? We love the look of the glossy black with our classic looking rancher (they tie in with the black shutters, trellis and even our oil rubbed bronze light fixtures and door hardware). And it really was a super quick project (plus it feels pretty good to recycle stuff instead of investing in entirely new pieces all the time).
But speaking of eco-friendly things like recycling, this spray paint is insanely toxic (probably because it can bond to anything, so it’s chock full of chemicals). I sprayed both chairs in our two car garage with the door open and although it only took a few minutes I left with a headache, a bit of nausea and even felt a little woozy/high for a while. So let this be a warning to you: they’re not kidding when they suggest a ventilated area. If I could go back I would have sprayed the chairs on top of some cardboard on the lawn for even more airflow. And one more helpful hint: DO NOT attempt this project barefoot. I made that terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad mistake and had to use about a half a bottle of paint thinner to pry the thick black tar-like build up from my poor feet. The overspray settles on the ground like other spraypaint, but instead of being dusty and harmless, this stuff is sticky and bonds like superglue- creating layers upon layers of black goo as you step in more and more of the dust. So wear old flip flops but prepare to exert some serious effort when moving your feet (they literally get stuck to the floor). It’s exercise meets home improvement.
But don’t get me wrong. The fabulous chair makeover was totally worth the effort, and there’s no need to be scared off by my warnings above. I just wanted to make it even easier on the next person. So now that you’re armed with all the knowledge for a fast and fabulous furniture makeover of your own… happy spraying!
Top Shelf
We asked. You voted. We listened.
I’m talking about the ballot we put out a couple of weeks ago to elect a new color for our blah bookcase.
While there was support for all three subtle color options, as well as a few new hues thrown into the mix, we let majority rule. Here’s the resulting GREEN bookcase:
It’s not as subtle and grey as the green we originally considered in option #3, but after falling for the kitchen that inspired us in Kristy’s Design Dilemma (and growing some color cajones) we decided to go a little brighter and bolder. That’s how we landed on Glidden’s “Zen Mist.” A purer green, with a hint of lime-y yellow. All it took was a coat of primer and two semi-gloss coats of our new favorite color and presto.
We love it. And we owe you all a big “thanks” for your suggestions as we stepped outside of our white-washed comfort zone. We think its a huge improvement over the reddish wood color that didn’t match anything else in that room. And now it totally compliments all the green accents on the dining room wall (as many of you pointed out) while still allowing all the white objects on the shelves to pop.
But what do you guys think? Happy with the vote? Demand a recount? Do tell.
The Red Coats
In this case, the fifth time was the charm. As in 5 coats later our front door looked fabulous, darling. In fact, the color is Valspar’s Fabulous Red and let’s just say the name isn’t an over-promise. Although if I were gonna do it all over again, I definitely would have primed over the existing black paint first. Check out my pathetic first coat:
But five thorough coats did the trick. Thank goodness I had some nice scenery to admire while I painted and painted (and painted). Check out our gorge flowering cherry tree in the front yard.
But back to the door. People may be wondering how we knew Fabulous Red was “the one”. Well, as soon as we held up the swatch next to our brick it was obvious. A bunch of our other red swatches looked too close in tone and intensity to the reddy-brown brick tone, and the last thing we wanted the front door to do was disappear into a sea of brick. So we went with the brightest, most dramatic lipstick red of the bunch. None other than Fabulous Red (in semi-gloss exterior paint for shine and durability). So for everyone who writes us asking if a brick house can sport a red door, the answer is “but of course… as long as it’s brighter and redder than your brick”. Check out our finished product:
Oh and look how purty a red door looks at dusk:
And we thought it might be helpful to share our exterior palate as a whole with you guys so here it is. To complement our all-brick facade we added tan trim (Valspar’s Lyndhurst Stone), some black paint on the shutters and door stoop (Glidden’s Dark Secret) and punched things up with a delish new red door (Valspar’s Fabulous Red):
Crisp, classic, and clean. Now if only our front walkway and landscaping felt the same way. Stick around to see a total front yard makeover as we attempt to capture the curb appeal that our little brick ranch deserves.
