… and I painted something behind his back. Haha. Let me explain. We usually have a “full agreement” agreement when it comes to decor (which means we can’t buy or change a thing unless we’re both totally on board, which keeps us from holding something against another person for years like a recliner that you hate but the hubs just had to have, etc). But I tend to bend the rules when it comes to things that can be undone if John doesn’t like them. I figure in that case, since it’s 100% reversible, and I’d be the one spending the time reversing it if John didn’t agree with my choice, that I don’t have much to lose except for the time it takes to do and undo something. Which is nothing compared to the high I get from doing it while he’s gone. Haha. And the last time I did something without asking first (which admittedly wouldn’t have been the easiest thing to undo, but since our other two bathrooms were backsplashless I was confident he’d be on board) it worked out swimmingly as Mr Petersik kissed my cheek and told me I was a home improvement goddess. Ok so I made up that last part. He probably smirked and agreed that what I did “wasn’t bad” and only admitted he loved it hours later after getting used to the idea that I took a crowbar to the walls again. But anyway, back to what I painted.
I had grabbed a little jar of Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic paint in Cobalt Turquoise at Michael’s after mumbling something about wanting to get back to painting (I had a 50% coupon so it came to $7 and some change).
Didn’t seem to catch John’s interest at the time. But then again, he didn’t know that I had plans to paint a light fixture of ours. Yes, while sitting on The American Dream (aka: Karl, our new much-loved sectional) the other night, my eyes kept wandering away from the “Real” Housewives of Beverly Hills and over to the brass and glass pendant light over the table in the corner of the room.
Granted, the lighting situation in the living room is extremely awkward (that’s the only light fixture in the entire room and it’s essentially in the corner). So we’ll definitely be bringing in some additional light sources as the space evolves, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to “tweak” the pendant we already have. Just for fun. Especially for cheap. So when John ducked out for a run while Clara was down for her morning nap, I slinked off to get my little jar of Cobalt Turquoise acrylic paint. And I squirted a little dab of it onto a plate and watered it down a bit thanks to a nearby cup of water.
Then I just turned off the light switch, removed the big round light bulb (so I could get to the entire inside of the glass shade with my sponge brush) and brushed on some of the watered down turquoise acrylic paint all over the inside of the shade. I used vertical stripes of slightly watered down paint, going with the vertical veins in the light, which left me with a nice even application.
Surprisingly, it began to look like a turquoise glass shade with a nice soft effect – since I painted the inside of the shade instead of the outside, which would probably have looked a lot harsher and less convincing. See how diffused and subtle it started to look from the outside of the shade?
And once it was all painted (before John stumbled in all sweaty and surprised) I was left with this:
It’s not perfect, but I think that’s part of the charm. And it’s 100% removable, which is nice too (scrubbing it down with a sponge is all it would take to undo it if the mood strikes). So it’s renter friendly.
Admittedly this could have been a disaster. Well, not a permanent one since I knew it was easy enough to undo, but going into it I didn’t really know if the paint would bead up and drip down the glass shade (it probably would have if I watered it down too much) or if it would look streaky, heavy, and completely unconvincing (it probably would have if I hadn’t watered it down at all). Happily, it stayed right in place and dried nice and evenly, for a surprisingly believable colored glass effect. It’s a little varied looking, but it’s kind of a soft vintage effect. Honestly, when the light’s on even an Expert Light Studier (that’s a job right?) would have a hard time knowing that the color was painted on. It looks just like an old turquoise glass shade.
Oh and I gave it a few hours of drying time before putting the bulb back in and turning it on, just so the thin layer of slightly watered down paint had time to “cure.” I had vague worries of the paint somehow heating up and melting/dripping all over the place when the light was on, but it was on for about ten hours straight yesterday (I decided to “test it” before I blogged about it for obvious reasons) and no dripping or streaking has occurred at all.
Looks like it’s there for the long haul. And by long haul I mean until we replace that fixture and rectify the lighting scenario in that room as a whole. And guess what? Hubs likes it! Especially when the light’s on and it’s all soft and sweet, like a glowing turquoise beacon of love. Ok, that’s going too far, but he really does like it.
I did briefly wonder if it posed any kind of heat hazard, but I figure since paper lampshades are a common item, and they don’t actually catch fire, dried paint on a pendant that doesn’t actually touch the bulb shouldn’t be an issue. Oh and one tip to anyone crazy enough to follow suit would be to move any furniture that’s under your pendant (or toss down a drop cloth or painting sheet) because I did notice tiny turquoise splatters all over the table (which thankfully was painted and poly’d, so they wiped right off).
Now all I have to do is tackle that dated brass chain for a full light makeover (some oil-rubbed bronze spray paint might look nice once we add some oil-rubbed brozne curtain rods above the window and the sliders with some bright punchy curtains). Sure we might swap it out later, but I’m already enjoying the view a lot more in the meantime. Plus I just get a rise out of keeping John on his toes. Next time he goes for a run who knows what I’ll do. Haha. Anyone else have any while-the-hubs-was-out adventures to share? Come on, I can’t be the only one.
Hilarious! Oh and I think we have the same exact light fixture. We already replaced ours only now you are giving me ideas…maybe I should try to make it over and put it somewhere else in the house. Love that you did it while the hubs was out.
That’s so fun! You always have the best ideas.
That looks really nice – what a fun idea! Do you think it would be possible to do this on a fixture that’s mounted to the ceiling? We still have some awesome looking builder grade ceiling fixtures. You know, the ones where the “lamp shade” is just stuck like a half circle on the ceiling. (that’s a great description, I know…) Anyways, think that would work or not because it would be closed in tight to the bulb?
Hmm, I’m honestly not sure. It doesn’t get any ventilation so I worry it might get hot and start to run or drip. Hmm. Maybe test it out with a big drop cloth under it to ensure it doesn’t drip onto the floor for a few days? Especially if it’s carpeted. And keep a close eye on it in case it reacts in some way. Obviously ensuring that the paint you use isn’t flammable and is fully dry before turning on the light would be your safest bet. Safety first! Good luck.
xo,
s
Acrylic-based paint won’t heat up and turn to liquid, but will just continue to dry and cure. I think you mentioned before about how you let extra paint dry out in the trays and then just peel it out. Same thing will happen here, although since the paint is a thin coat and watered down, I don’t think it will begin to peel on its own.
I used frosted glass spray paint on the inside of one of those nipple lights without any problems
before: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3kXS19NIMb2E_d2weTpf0v4a58UpBGV7w1qVKD2tI0c?feat=directlink
after:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/n93Tl26DMjOrzA4ZbIWRn_4a58UpBGV7w1qVKD2tI0c?feat=directlink
T & Sherry:
I have painted 5 old brass ceiling fans w/ 4 light globe fixtures below w/flat black paint. I left the light fixture in place, stood on a ladder, taped around the ceiling fixture & painted everything that was bright brass. I was shocked that it covered but it looked fine. I removed the old-fashioned fluted glass globes & painted the brass sections that the globes screw into & replaced w/ simple frosted ones. Since the painted surfaces don’t need to be durable (only dusted) it has worked perfectly. It updated 5 rooms for very little cash.
Love that color blue! I have a habit of moving furniture and completely changing the layout of a room when left on my own for the night.
In the spring/summer, it’s common for hub to come home and find me outside with a shovel in my hand, starting something that he has to finish! LOL Now, anytime I say “I have an idea”, he says..”first you dig a hole…”
This hardly counts as a decor decision, but I once re-caulked the tub on a whim while Hubster was out.
It’s so pretty and subtle. : )
A couple months ago I rearranged the living room furniture while hubby was mowing the lawn. He came back in and was first surprised and then all “how did you even do that?” Ha! And he liked it :) So satisfying!
Sherry,
You are so very funny. The most creative I get when my husband goes for a run is deciding to wash the dishes and putting in a load of laundry. Nice paint job!
Jennifer- I’m with you! Sherry did a fab job, but I tend to stick to the boring stuff while the hubs is gone. Although, it does happen to be a good time to work on crafty, little gifts for him if they need to be done in secret :)
My while the boy’s away the girlfriend shall play antics include:
1. Buying 2 3 draw bedside tables and painting them charcoal for our modern meets regency theme bedroom which had previously been without
2. creating a Valentine’s Day countdown calendar that’s like a Christmas/Advent calendar but with love/couple themed presents
3. Painting our white walls a deep french grey. The reaction from that one was great, I don’t think he trusts me to be alone in the house for longer than 10 minutes now :)
I love this! I think the paint actually makes it look like an antique. I tiled the back splash in our kitchen while my hubby was gone one day. :) Cheers!
Looks very pretty. I know they sell paints that are especially for glass….Glass paint. I’ve used them before and they are so nice and see through. But, this looks like it worked well!
I am the biggest fan of oil rubbed bronze spray paint for light fixtures. When we bought our house it had tons of bright and shiny brass chandeliers and we’ve finally painted all of them (next up are the bathroom fixtures). We plan on painting all of our doorknobs this spring so I can’t wait to see how that turns out!
http://alifemoresouthern.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/bye-bye-brass/
I love how the light turned out and the chain would look fantastic in oil rubbed bronze for contrast!
I am famous for doing this when my husband is out – very dangerous when you work from home. I’ll only attempt a project that I’m sure he would love the outcome of but can’t quite visualize beforehand. The last was whitewashing our fireplace which was the most “bang for your buck project” we’ve done. I just mixed 1/ 2 white paint we already had on hand with 1/2 water, applied with a brush and then rubbed off with a towel so the texture of the brick would still show. He loved it!
That sounds pretty!
Wow – bold move Julie! Painting brick is often just as evil as painting wood in most men’s eyes.
Looks great!
Now for something completely different! Are ya’ll going to continue Burger’s blog or has he retired? I always enjoyed the fun photos and clever comments!
Take Care!
We’ll have to ask him if he’d like to come out of retirement. Last time we chatted he thought spring/summer might trigger a reemergence (he’s sleeping the winter away, so he doesn’t really have many pics to share). Time will tell I guess! He did do a guest post over on DogMilk a few days ago. Check that out here: http://dog-milk.com/dog-talk-burgers-home-renovation-survival-tips/
xo,
s
Nice job, looks good! The last time my husband was away for two days I painted the living room. I’m not sure if he liked the color, but he sure was impressed by my diy skills…
This looks lovely! Great work! I think it would look really pretty if you spray painted the chain white, though. The bronze is okay, and I see you mention spraying it bronze to touch it up, but I think white would look even better. Either way, this looks fantastic. I bet John must wonder every time he goes out what surprise he will come home to! :)
I was just looking at my kitchen table light fixture and thinking I wanted to spray paint it for the Oil rubbed bronze look and wondering how to do it. Can’t wait for you to show me! :)
Cute and very subtle!
I can’t remember anything I did while he was out off the top of my head, aside from buying a kitchen rug while on a solo trip to Target.
Looks really nice… One time we went shopping and my husband went to a different store and I got my daughter’s ears pierced (she was a day shy of 1 year)… when my husband returned you have to see his face…
Looks great! Yesterday I had a while-the-hubs-was-watching-tv makeover…I took our bedroom door off and painted the entire door frame and started the rest of the trim in our room!
I tend to always start projects while my husband is away at work. Granted, I’ve usually been talking about doing them for a little while, but most of the time he doesn’e even remember me telling him! (Which tells me he couldn’t really care less) Last night he came home from work to find me halfway through painting and stenciling our closet doors. Haha, I told him he’s just lucky because I was “this close” to painting the entire bedroom!
the glass shade looks great!
it is crazy how much wealthier the beverly hills housewives are compared to all the other city’s housewives. they make the other city’s ladies look like chump change! just sayin’.
My “while the hubs away” events usually involve sliding a new pair of shoes under the bed and stuffing new clothes in the closet as if they’d been there forever! He finds out anyway, but I still feel like it’s better than coming in with hand full of bags while he’s home! p.s. what’d you think of the RHOBH reunion?!!
So crazy!!! I was shocked by the whole Cedrick thing. Insane! Lisa is my favorite.
xo,
s
lisa is my favorite too!! how lame is it that i cried when they talked about cedric and then again when kim and kyle started talking about their probs?? haha!
Haha, I was a little misty eyed for Lisa too! I blame post pregnancy hormones. Haha.
xo,
s
Shunta, my “while the hubs is away” events are the exact same thing! :) I know he doesn’t care but for some reason I always feel guilty!
Love the light fixture. And I agree, oil rubbed bronze will make it look even more amazing!!
I too enjoy seeing the small glimmer of fear mixed with excitement in hubbie’s eyes when he gets home and trys to figure out what I’ve done. There is often furniture re-arranging, but the more permanent changes usually get a better/bigger response :) I’ve painted our fireplace mantle, installed light fixtures, ripped up entire rooms of carpet, pulled out baseboards, screwed down a plywood subfloor, but bigest of all…I demo’d our full bathroom. Like “ripped all the tile out, took away the drywall, swept up the dust,” demo’d it.
He usually just shakes his head and says “and what did you buy at home depot to fix this mess?” and smiles. But when I do this as a form of “nesting” while very pregnant, he sometimes gets worried!! :)
One day, before hubby came home…
I rearranged our bookshelf by color. Everyone who walks into our home adores it; it’s driving Andrew bonkers—but we’ve kept it that way for nearly a year now.
We have a tall, thin shelf from Crate and Barrel that is straight ahead when you walk into our living area. It is subtle and lovely having a row of red, a row of blue, one of green, yellow, and white books. Accessories we had around the house are also on their coordinating shelves.
The shelf is really for our novel collection and resource books, it’s more display than books we return to so frequently (maybe once a month). When the hubby is looking for a book, he often exclaims, “AH! This is why the don’t sort libraries by color!!!!”
But, damn, it looks awesome.
That would be grounds for divorce in my house! It stresses him out when I just put the book back in it’s general alphabetical region.
Love it!
A couple years ago my friend and I decided to paint my dining room and bathroom in my apartment. My husband had no clue that she and I had gone to Home Depot the night before and got all the supplies and hid it in the trunk of her car until the following morning. My husband was planning on fishing ALL day so we figured we would get to work as soon as he was gone. That AM I cleared the bathroom and dining room. We had finished the bathroom and we were almost done with the dining room when he got home. He dropped all his fishing equipment in shock. He wasn’t happy about it but later admitted that he did like the colors we chose. Never again will I decorate behind his back though. He still holds it over me!
Hmmmm… a couple of week ago I took a hammer to a “country” decal that was above our sink while he was playing basketball. I think he was happy HE didn’t have to do it! ;)
I think it looks great! My biggest DIY while my hubs was out of town was my oldest son (18) and I scraped off all of the “popcorn” ceiling in our our kitchen, 2 hallways and living room, painted the ceilings and replaced 3 light fixtures! Hubs and I had already tackled the dining room so we knew how it would turn out but he had NO IDEA that we were going to finish the project while he was gone. I think he was just relieved that he didn’t have to do any of it! It is AMAZING how much cleaner a room looks without all of that “acoustic ceiling” junk up there.
Trust me! You are not the only one. The other night I thought it would be a good idea to start painting the half bath after work. As soon as I walked in I rushed into my painting clothes and started right away. When my husband came home (he gets home about a half hour after me), I was halfway done with cutting in. I had the look of, oh no I’ve been caught when he walked through the door :). Not surprisingly though, he smiled and and said how cute I was. Oh and he loved the color!
I must admit I was skeptical when I first began reading your post, but I think the end result looks great!
Soooo….. did the hubs like it?
Yes! He’s on board! Although we both know we’ll end up replacing that fixture down the road (since it’s so awkwardly placed) but it’s fun for now!
xo,
s
I really like it! Good job Sherry
BRILLIANT! BRILLIANT! BRILLIANT!
I have been sitting on the sofa starring at the hanging light in our dining room…trying to figure out how I can change it. You are brilliant, and I cannot wait to go to the store and pick out a color!
That made it look like vintage glass. Great idea!
Oh, my mom is a champ at this. My dad used to travel a lot when we were little and her exploits included:
1) Buying a bed. (He did call it her “best purchase ever”–they needed one and she just took the plunge).
2) Ripping up the living room carpet. All of it. It was a fully carpeted room and she took it back to the hardwoods.
3) Buying a dog. (Apparently she had gotten the go-ahead before he left, but he wasn’t expecting her to do it while he was gone).
We always thought it was GREAT fun to see dad’s reaction when he came back. :) I’m guessing they didn’t have a “fully reversible” agreement, since those would all be pretty hard to undo.
Oh yeah! I do this. Sometimes it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission right? Anyway, I’m the decorator and DIYer in the family so it usually goes well. I did get in trouble for doing this as a kid though. My mom was not happy when I disassembled my bed frame and put nail holes all over my walls to hang beaded necklaces.
I love that! It’s very retro/50s looking to me. Fun project.
I have a husband who doesn’t care about decor in the slightest. On the downside that means I’m doing most projects by myself, but on the upside I have free rein to do virtually anything I want! And he will pitch in once in a while if I ask nicely. :)
When my husband was on a three week business trip to Tokyo, I decided to surprise him by stripping the pink floral wallpaper in our master bath. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as well as your surprise! Turns out the previous homeowners used regular glue to install the wallpaper…let’s just say we have all new bathroom now and keep it at that!
My husband left for a weekend hockey tournament 2 years ago and I don’t even think he was out of the driveway when I started re-doing the powder room. I painted it, installed a new mirror and had new decor put in before he got back. He didn’t even know until he went to use the bathroom :-)
I love how it looks. And you can’t beat the price. I would love to see how it looks without the light on. My husband walked in on me the other day as I was re-painting a hutch in our guest house, his look was of surprise, but he said nothing. 20 years of marriage, he knows better :)
I knew it!!!! After reading your Karl post… and etc about that room, I just KNEW you were going to somehow change that light fixture with spray paint, or etc!
Love it! Enjoy you both as always.
That looks adorable! I can’t wait to see the experiments with painting the chain!
Just last weekend! Hubs was out and I completely rearranged our guest bedroom. Before, we had crammed in a bed, two nightstands, a big desk, a dresser, and an easle (whew!). I took out the dinky nightstands and put the desk next to the bed instead to serve as a “big,” asymetric nighstand. The desk lamp serves as the table lamp for guests and the room looks just GINORMOUS while serving dual purposes: cozy for guests, yet really functional as an office for us.
I actually did get called a domestic goddess of some kind. :-) Okay, okay, I believe the words were, “the room looks huge! This is awesome! You rule!”
Boys are easily impressed sometimes.
Not exactly while-he-was-out, but with the same element of surprise, I turned some ratty old shirts into a quilt. http://sweetfernhandmade.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-husband-creature-of-habit.html
I love your pendant light! I was skeptical, at first, but it turned out really lovely.
My husband’s currently deployed to Afghanistan. If that’s what you did in a few hours, think what could happen with another half year still to go – there’s a change a day going on round these parts :-). Bathroom painting, thrifted/refurbished furniture, rearranging so far. Re-done kitchen, crown molding, and much more coming up. Good thing he trusts me, because he can’t do anything about it. I do send him “after” pictures and we have similar taste, which helps.
My husband travels with work for 2-3 weeks each summer, and I am ALWAYS starting another project when he is away (which he usually then has to help me finish when he returns). There are many stories, but the one he likes to tell on me is the time I took a sledge hammer to a large brick planter in front of our house. He returned home late at night to a HUGE pile of bricks in the front yard! He actually didn’t recognize the house and drove by it at first!
Very cute! We have a dining room fixture that is similar. You can remove the shade by partially unscrewing those three screws at the top, just in case anyone else wants to try this without painting upside down.
Another tip for those that want to try this with acrylic – make sure your acrylic paint is non-toxic. Some particular colors, like cadmium red and cadmium orange, use toxic pigments. There will be a warning on the paint container like this if it is toxic: http://painting.about.com/od/paintingforbeginners/ss/PaintTubeLabel_4.htm
You’ve elevated it to a whole new level, though! It looks fantastic.
I cut up a bunch my Mr’s Boy Scout / Scoutmaster (18 years as Scoutmaster) shirts so his mom could make a quilt out of them. It didn’t go over well at first (he’s a pack rat) but then he realized it was the best use of the shirts instead of them being in a box in the attic.
I think you should now do the candle vase thing under the light!
Love y’all!
Great job! My husband and I have the same agreement you guys have. But….my husband went away for a week. We had the idea of painting our half bath a light sage green before he left and I was going to tackle it while he was gone. Instead, I got the idea to go with a dark color in our half bath. I went with a dark chocolate brown and I was so excited for him to get home and see it. He was scared when I told him over the phone I went with a different color but loved it when he saw it in person!
First, please tell me you didn’t tell him when he got home and just waited for him to notice. That is my favorite game to play.
second, I do this stunt all the time. My husband was taking frequent business trips so after he put down all my ideas for being “too hard,” I just did them while he was gone. During one trip I installed dimmers on all our chandeliers and recessed lights (how is that too hard, right?)… that was fun to watch him discover that one. The second business trip I rewired our cable in the basement. I wanted to re-arrange furniture, but we didn’t have cable on one wall. After a isle 13 tutorial from the electric guy, I successfully ran cable and installed a new box in the wall. When hubs got home and told me the room looked nice but too bad we couldn’t use the TV so we will have to undo all my hard work…. I turned on the TV. I love his confused look… too stinkin cute!
Get this! I was standing under the light wiping down the table (there were a few splatters as I mentioned) and he walked by smiling, asked if the baby was still sleeping, and went into the bedroom to change out of his running clothes. Didn’t notice it at all! Even though I was standing right under it. Hahaha. Of course a few minutes later he did. Too funny.
xo,
s
I did that a lot when we moved into our apartment 2 summers ago. Jonathon would go to work, and I’d be home alone all day before fall semester began. He’d come home and we’d play a scavenger hunt game of him finding everything I’d done that day– hung curtains, arranged kitchen cupboards, organized the hall closet, slipcovered the couch, etc.