Sneak Peek at First Milk Paint Project

It's late and I finally finished my first piece of furniture using Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint. I'm so excited to share pics and lessons learned (because, there were alot...if I had Miss Mustard Seed's phone number, I would have given her a call!) -- but, my bed calls. I'll be putting my thoughts and better photos together this week, but here's a sneak peek:

Before  & The Process

(Erm...don't pay attention to the dust. What dust?)

 

After

Looking Back at the Top 3 Decor Projects

As soon as we put down the money for our lot back in December, I started a design inspiration book for our new house. Between that and my Pinterest board, I’ve now got hundreds of images to comb thru as we narrow down the look for our new home.

I’ve been doing so much looking ahead, I realized last week that I hadn’t taken the time to reflect on what was really happening. We're not just moving...we're leaving! While we’ve only been in this house for a little over three years, a lot has happened in that time. We’ve hosted and shared holidays, chili cook-offs, beer tastings, BBQs, baby showers and other special occasions with family and friends. We celebrated new jobs and job promotions. Anniversarys and birthdays have come and gone. We launched a new venture. We’ve mourned the loss of family members. We’ve worked through personal challenges of our own. And, it’s all been done under this roof. 

We’ve also done a TON of remodeling and design projects around the house in that time. It was hard to narrow them down, but here’s my top three:

Powder Room Remodel
This was one of our first and remains one of my favorite. I love the bright, beachy feel (even though it is a dark room). We decorated it with shots from one of my favorite beach vacations and the starfish from our wedding. I was just learning the ropes with painting and distressing furniture and the vanity has a barely worn look.

Screened Porch Oasis
I’m definitely going to miss having a big screened in porch. It’s my favorite place to drink coffee and read. And it’s typically the first place I head after work for happy hour. We did this on a major budget. A coat of paint freshened up the floors and old cushions and pillows were given new covers. We used drop cloths as curtains and an old wicker set was spray painted to bring it back to life.

Backyard Fire Pit

I’ll admit…I had little to do with this project. The heavy lifting. The heat. Probably more heavy lifting. I tried not to pay too much attention, in case I would feel guilted into such undesirable work. Jeff totally transformed this area of our backyard. It’s a great retreat in the fall for s’mores and bonfires.

Honorable mention: Painted Fireplace
Not much work went into the fireplace -- just slapped on some paint -- but it made a huge impact. I tend to lean more towards beachy, bright and airy rooms. The maroon brick fireplace stuck out like a sore thumb.

Desk? Check!

After a week's worth of daily visits to the Goodwill and local antique stores, I finally found a desk. Err..table. But it will make a wonderful desk. The original price was $50. We got it for $40 (after tax). Not bad and it was under my $50 budget.

We spent the weekend trying to remove the paint you see below. I'm not actually sure it is paint as it wouldn't budge with the sander. I'm going to work on it some more tonight and hopefuly it will be ready this week. I can't wait to start using this room! I have an extra chair with armrests from this set that I plan to paint and distress to match.

 

Recycled Window Turned Chalkboard

I'm not immune to the whole chalkboard craze. And, I can see how it can be a little addicting. First, I did this old, weathered window I picked up at a local antique store for $30.

I liked the little ledge on this window...perfect to put little candles and knick-knacks on. I tore off the quilt that was on the back and removed the hook that was in the upper corner. I used the chalkboard paint you brush on (I couldn't find the spraycan version). Here's the finished product:

Since then, I've been eyeing up all sorts of things around the house. Next on the list is to create wine glasses like these from Pier 1:

What chalkboard projects have you done or seen around???

The Secret Life of a Cushion

We all do it. You know you do. You say you just want to update the look of your dining room. Maybe add a little color to your breakfast nook. So, you head on down the the local fabric store and pick up a couple of yards. Maybe you'll go with a bold pattern this time. Or, get in on the burlap craze.

I'm talking about recovering a chair cushion. An easy, affordable way to change the look of your chairs. Some of us are able to control this urge. Then, there are others that need an intervention.

With this in mind, I give you Exhibit A:


Looks harmless, right? Four of these chairs were given to us. I liked the curves of the legs and back and thought they would be great in our breakfast room. I got most of the paint sanded off. Repainted them. Distressed them. Then, it was time to work on that seat cover. My plan was to strip down the seat cushion, put a simple piece of fabric on it, and buy a couple of cushions to put on top of that. I picked up some super cute ones at Pier One (this is the pattern...the shape of mine are a bit different).
First up, stripping off that brown fabric. That was easier said than done.

Which brings me to Exhibit B:

You might find it difficult to see the many layers of this seat. So, let me break it down for you.


And, it doesn't stop there. I got down to the "last layer", layer 6. A sweet, light blue striped fabric that goes perfectly with our walls and the cushions I picked for the chairs. But, upon further inspection (I didn't want to rip the striped fabric) I noticed there were at least three more layers. Possibly a fourth. For a grand total of 10 layers of fabric. And approximately 10 thousand staples.

Because the gifter of these chairs thought there were only two layers of fabric, an intervention in this case is clearly beyond my control. Clearly, someone before her had an addiction to recovering chairs. What gets me the most is, why, after 10 transformation was it decided that these chairs should be given up on? What was it that caused this person to toss them aside? Perhaps purchase new ones? I will never know. But, as they say, one person's trash is another's treasure!

September Staycation

Four days ago I started a glorious staycation. When I am not busy slaving away in the Vanilla Bean Kitchen & house, I am a special events manager for a nonprofit in St. Louis. I have some down time until the next big fundraiser, so I decided to take a few days off and try to finish some of the gazillion projects I am working on. Or, in the very least, start a few new ones.

Here are a few of the things I am working on:


I picked up the above window pane at an antique store for $20. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to jump on the chalkboard bandwagon.

The green farmer's table below was purchased at the same antique store. I've been looking all over for a farmer's table, but couldn't seem to find one for under $250. This little guy was $150. He just needs a paint job to blend in a little more. The bench will go on one side (it just happens to look great w/ the Dockside Haze paint we picked for the kitchen).

On the other side will be two of these chairs we got from my mother-in-law. I'm almost done w/ one and cannot wait to show you the pics.


Last, but certainly not least, is the little sidetable I picked up below. At first glance it looks ordinary...but wait until you see what I found inside...

Baby Steps

I've decided to take baby steps when it comes to all of the painting that needs to be done around the house. My first project was to try my hand at white washing. I plan to use this technique on the fireplace (the red bricks just aren't doing it for me). I practiced on two end tables I got for FREE from work about a month ago. They already had a weathered look, but I think the white wash cleaned them up.

To white wash, I made a 50/50 mix of water and paint. After painting a small section, I wiped off excess paint with a towel. They really soaked up the paint, so I didn't wait too long before I did this. I found the bamboo tray at a thrift store for $3, spray painted it and did a little distressing on the edges.

I've also been looking for pitchers I can paint white. When I first pulled out the guy below, Jeff was a bit worried. I was kinda sad to see these lil' guys go...

But, after a few coats of spray paint, I forgot all about them!