painted side table

PHOTO: table (free), acrylic tray (thrifted for 50 cents), silhouette (me from childhood), orchid (thrifted for $1), 4 Pottery Barn coffee table books ($1 each from a yard sale), paper-mache bird (Bethany's booth at The Depot)

Often times when I get a piece of furniture that I don't really have a space for, I store it away in my garage with plans to eventually paint or resell it. This little guy had been collecting dust in my garage for a couple of months when I decided to give him a new paint job. I had one bad experience with oil-based paints a couple of years ago and had steered clear of them ever since. Well, I gave it another go this week and turned to Rustoleum's Smoke Gray.

The finish is perfect and high gloss (which I love). I actually rolled the table instead of using a brush, but I think I'll try it with a brush next time to compare the finished product. {I'm loving those PB books... they bring an autumnal palette to any space!}

All very thrifty finds here, but what's new? :) I don't have a place for the table as of now, so back to the garage it goes.

And, if you missed it yesterday, go enter our GIVEAWAY!

Stencil, Stencil on the wall...

When we moved into our rental home, the 1/2 bathroom downstairs was lime green. Thankfully, I found leftovers of the hall paint color in the garage. The color wasn't my favorite, but it was neutral and an easy-on-the-eye transition from room to room. I could work with it. The downside to this paint selection was that it was in a flat finish. Flat paint should really only be used in dining rooms, and it was on every wall downstairs! Over time, the walls began streaking and discoloring due to the moisture from when people would wash their hands and dry them on the hanging towel in the bathroom. I knew something had to be done. 

A couple of weeks ago, I got busy on this little room's mini makeover. I gave the walls a fresh coat of that same paint and went to town stenciling. It took hours and hours but after all of the walls were penciled with my homemade stencil, I got the white paint out. It took a steady hand and a lot of patience/time, but the final results are well worth it. And it definitely looks hand done, which I think looks pretty neat. Finally, I coated every wall with a clear semi-gloss finish to seal it up and to eliminate the streaking problem that we encountered before. Hope you think it turned out as fabulous as I do!

If you aren't keen on the hand painted look, then this stencil would be a great alternative for a similar geometric print.

source

Stencil found here!

coffee table upgrade

While thrifting a couple of weeks ago, I spotted this chow leg coffee table. I fell in love with it, and when I asked how much it was, they told me that I could just have it. FOR FREE! This coffee table would be the perfect addition to my living room, and once I could settle on a paint color, it would look great over the cowhide rug. I chose Valspar's City Chartreuse. It came out looking just as fabulous as I had envisioned. To top it off, my new pillows arrived! They tie the whole room together perfectly.

Chalkoholic

You know how some people claim to have a good side and a bad side when looking in the mirror or taking a picture? Well Hudson's train table had the same issue. The good side... 

and the bad side...

I used some chalkboard paint, and it quickly covered all of that up.

Here it is now! I think I might like the chalkboard side better than the solid white on the other side. I'm pretty sure I'm having more fun with it than Hudson though.

Told you...

The toy box even got a new look.

I think I might be addicted to the whole chalkboard paint thing. The day after I completed the playroom projects, I went and repainted my husband's accent wall in his office with chalkboard paint. It might be the greatest thing I've ever done. 

The chalkboard wall is perfect for writing "To-Do" lists and leaving messages. I wrote "take a seat" with an arrow pointing down to the couch in his office too. How fun is that?!

Honeysuckle Love.

About 5 years ago, I scored a cute green cabinet for $10 at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Mt. Pleasant. It needed some serious TLC, but I was never motivated to give it even the first new paint job. I can no longer deny that it's time for a new look. Now, I'm turning this...

Into something similar to this...

Kate Spade's home

Thinking of painting the cabinet in Pantone's 2011 color of the year, Honeysuckle:

A little gold trim and hardware to top it off. Done.