Tag: painting furniture

I’m seeing Coastal Blue

Published on by recoveringkristin3 Comments

I recently took on a job for a client named Sarah.  She was looking for something to go in her entry way, perhaps a chest or bench.  As most of you know I am a regular on Craigslist, so when I ran across thiss beauty I knew it would be perfect for her space.  I sent Sarah a picture and she loved it as well.

Entry way chest before

After I bought it, I met with Sarah at her home. She has a vision and I wanted to really capture that for her.  The entrance to her beautiful home is a gorgeous gray color.  We sat and talked about what she was looking to do.  Sarah mentioned that she would love to tie some navy into her color scheme.  I have worked with many blues before but never navy.  I love navy but had just never painted anything  with it.  So I consulted with the best painters I know, and they turned me onto General Finishes Coastal Blue.  Can I just say, “This color is amazing!”  I really wanted a dark, dark navy, and this is it!  As I was leaving Sarah asked me if I could do something with the table she currently had in her entry way.  It is such a cute table, and I knew we could tie it all together by painting both pieces.

Black table before

We decided to use a bright white for contrast on both pieces.  Sarah was great, though, and gave me creative license to do whatever I thought would look nice:-)  I wanted to jazz up the table and do a stencil or a stripe.

Navy table 2

 

Stripe

navy table 3

I lightly distressed the white part of both pieces using a fine grit sandpaper.  I waxed both pieces using a clear wax.

chest 6

chest bottom chest 6

I am thinking these may look too nice in my house to send home?  Just kidding Sarah……enjoy your new entryway furniture!  Thank you for trusting me with these beauties:-)

 

 

 

 

 

“Hope”ing to make this old chest new again

Published on by recoveringkristinLeave a comment

When I was 18 years old my Mom took me out and bought me a “hope chest.” At the time I picked it out I just loved it and thought, “Well,  this will never go out of style.”
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Fast forward 22 years later. It sits at the end of my bed looking so 80’s to me. However, it still serves a purpose. We store our warm blankets in there and sit on it to tie our shoes, so I wasn’t ready to get rid of it. But I did think it could use a little sprucing up or down as the case may be. I first decided to try and “white wash” it. It didn’t turn out exactly the way I had hoped.

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I needed to fix my mistake fast.  So I slapped some Milk paint on that bad boy and watched it begin to distress itself. I love the way that the Milk paint naturally bubbles up and peels off.  Here you can see what I mean.

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I was much happier with this finished product.  I do have to admit I have a bit of hesitation putting this post up in fear my poor mother will have a heart attack.  I love it, though!  Makes me feel like I have a new piece of furniture and my kids can’t do a thing to it to jack it up!

See what I mean?  Can’t even get the kids out of my pictures much less my room.

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Love, Football, and Home Improvement

Published on by teachermama3 Comments

A long time ago, when we were dating, hubby took the time to explain football to me. This is a smart man. 20+ years later, and he has a built-in football buddy. Last Thursday he texted me that our hometown team the Rams would be playing that evening. I replied, “Awesome!” Dinner and then bonding in front of the tv. 

We settled into the recliners. Dog started sniffing around. Dog wanted a walk. Hubs got up and took him. Came back silent — that’s not good. And. . . football night in America. . .ruined. Of course hubby was mad about more than walking the dog. The dog’s walk must have given him time to think about all the things he was mad about. 

The next day I decided to look into The 5 Love Languages. I heard about these from my smart sister but thought I’d have to read the whole book and somehow persuade hubby to read the whole book to make use of them. Sigh. Two seconds of internet research turned up this: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/, the 5 Love Languages Quiz. 

Turns out that my “love language” is Acts of Service. I do things for people to show them my love. I do, and I do, and I do. I clean for them, I cook for them, I shop for them, and woe to them if they don’t notice! Sometimes I get sad when I realize that no one has done anything for me lately. I don’t want gifts, just a little help. Not that I need the help; it just shows me how much you love me! 

Met hubby for lunch with my new-found knowledge. Talked him into taking the quiz. His love language is . . . you’ll never guess. . . Physical Touch. Yes, I know. The Love Languages guy, Gary Chapman, is some kind of genius for stating the obvious and making a bajillion dollars for it. Anyway, something clicked for us. 

Last night, during Monday Night Football, hubby was in the garage. . . helping me paint the dining room chairs. Love, Football, and Home Improvement. A holy trinity for a Monday night.