Imagine you spend forever sanding, priming, and painting a beautiful piece of furniture you found at a garage sale. It looks fantastic...you breathed new life into it like a freaking pro. Go you! The last step is to protect the paint so it looks this amazing forever. You grab a sealer from the hardware store without much thought...because sealer is sealer, right? Except it's not, and your entire project turns yellow and streaky, completely ruining it.
As you can see in the above photo, …
Read More
The Ultimate Guide to Painting Cabinets
A few months ago I asked which DIY topics y'all would like me to cover, and the most popular answer was a post on how to paint cabinets. That surprised me a bit, because I've actually written quite a few posts on the subject. The information is scattered and not easy to find though, so the obvious answer was to write one big post containing everything I've learned so far. So here it is, my ultimate guide to painting cabinets!
The first thing you need to know about painting …
Read More
Painting Laminate Countertops with Chalkboard Paint
I considered lots of different things for the laminate countertops in the RV (I was this close to skimming it with concrete). It's a tiny amount of surface space, so I could pretty much do anything without it being expensive. In the end, I decided just to paint them since neither my husband nor I wanted to put in the time or effort to rip out and replace the counters (or risk the concrete layer cracking and flaking off). There are a ton of kits and products out there for painting countertops, …
Read More
Painting RV Walls (it’s actually really easy!)
When I first started planning the RV remodel I was very against painting the walls. For some reason, I thought they would be a giant pain and require lots of prep, plus the spongy brown was fairly neutral and inoffensive.
In hindsight, that was stupid. My husband told me that was stupid, and he was right. It hurts just to admit it, but he was.
I painted the walls, it was super easy (unlike the cabinets) and it looks so much better. It looks less like an outdated travel trailer and more …
Read More
Painting RV Cabinets (and what I did wrong)
Y'all...I did it. I finished painting the cabinets in the RV. Somebody get me a drink.
I'd love to tell you a wonderful, uplifting tale about how it was an easy project and I enjoyed every second of it, but that would be a lie. This project sucked and I'm really glad it's over. I CAN tell you it was worth it though, so at least this story has a happy ending. I mean, just look at how much brighter and less depressing the kitchen looks with bright white cabinets. Worth it.
Alright, let's …
Read More
All About Our Painted Lockers
Despite what you may have been thinking, we have not abandoned working on the mudroom. In fact, we now have lockers...painted lockers. Beautiful, functional painted lockers.
I love them, and the room is so close to being finished I can taste it. We pretty much just have to build them in and add decor, and it this room will look just like the plan!
So let's talk about these lockers.
The original plan called for six 78 x 15 single tier lockers, and I wanted to buy used ones to …
Read More
Everything I’ve Learned About Painting Shiplap
I logged onto my website this morning to publish this post and saw that it has been a month since my last one. I would have sworn it was only a week or two....time is flying. Flying. Anyway, progress is still happening around here despite my blog neglect, and the shiplap in the laundry and mudroom is painted and officially checked off the list. So here it is!
Before
and after!
I love it, it's so fresh and clean and just a great starting point for the …
Read More
DIY Epoxy Floor Coating – A Step by Step Tutorial
Rustoleum generously donated the products used in this post. All opinions (good and bad) are 100% my own.
I know everyone is in holiday mode right now, but I'm here today to give you some (much needed?) relief from everything Christmas. Not that Christmas isn't amazing and all...but so an epoxy floor coating, right? I know that when I showed the kids the finished garage floor they were like "That is so much better than Santa!" Ha...obviously that's not true, I think their exact reaction was …
Read More
Double Sliding Barn Doors for the Office
Remember that time Adam and I DIYed some double sliding barn doors and it was the biggest fail ever? Well I'm happy to report that we have learned from our mistake and these sliding doors are a complete success. I love DIY, but many times it is just not worth it. Considering this hardware was about the same price as the failed DIY hardware (that now sits in our garage taking up space) I'd say DIY barn door hardware is forever on the "just buy it" list.
Alright, so here is the story of the …
Read More
Kitchen Progress – Dark green cabinets, a rustic wood countertop, and lighting
Last time I did an overall kitchen update we had just installed the cabinets and it looked like this....
Well now we have not only moved in, but I’ve painted the cabinets, we poured our concrete countertops, added a wood island top, bought appliances, and installed our island lighting.
First thing first, the cabinet color. I wrote a post a few weeks ago about how I went from wanting a light airy green to something dark and dramatic, and I have to say that I’m pretty pleased …
Read More
Introducing “Oakmoss”
As many of you know, I’ve been struggling to choose a color for our kitchen cabinets. Adam started building the cabinets about eight months ago and asked me to choose a color, and the only thing I was sure of is that I wanted some sort of green. So I started looking at light, airy, neutral greens, and landed on “Grassland" from Sherwin Williams.
He painted the cabinets that color, and I instantly hated it. So I started looking for darker alternatives and settled on a neutral green …
Read More
My Painted Kitchen Cabinets – Five Years Later
Since we have been on the subject of kitchen cabinets lately, I thought perhaps y’all would appreciate an update on the ones I painted five years ago. Truth be told they aren’t holding up that well, so if I can keep someone from making the same mistakes I did that would be great.
So five years ago Adam and I took this dated, boring, builder grade kitchen...
and turned it into this...
The total price on the kitchen renovation was about $3,800 ($2,200 on new appliances + …
Read More
Painted Interior – Sherwin Williams Silvermist & Shoji White
A couple of months ago (how has it been that long already?) I wrote a post about choosing interior paint colors for our new home.
All those vertical paint samples above were the contenders, with the top white stripe being the trim color (SW Alabaster) and the green stripe being the kitchen cabinet color (SW Herbal Wash, but I later changed it to something even bolder).
In the end, Sherwin Williams Shoji White was the winner. I liked that it was white without being too blinding, and it …
Read More
Choosing interior paint colors
I don’t think anyone here would disagree with me if I said choosing paint colors is hard. There are just so many options, and they usually look very different on the wall than they do on a little paint chip. Saying you're “just going to paint it a neutral color” doesn’t make things any easier either...even though it may sound like giving up. Neutrals are hard to choose because their undertones are all over the place and they change so much from house to house, room to room, and even depending on …
Read More
A Shoji White Farmhouse
I think my favorite week of the whole year is the week between Christmas and New Years. I love Christmas, but it's nice to have all the chaos behind you and a fresh new year in front of you. Plus, it's the only week of the year where it's not only okay to be lazy, it's actually encouraged. I'm happy to report that I've slept in past 8 am every day since Christmas. I feel like a new person.
Anyway, enough chit chat...let's get to the good stuff. Check this out...
The house is …
Read More
Picking an exterior paint color
Who here loves paint? Do you love staring at all the different colors selections at you local paint store? Buying a gazillion samples? Agonizing over making a selection while your husband rolls his eyes and tells you that they all look the same? Do you love talking - in detail - about extremely subtle differences in various shades of white paint?
Me too. So let's find an exterior paint color for the new house, shall we?
First, a disclaimer. The sun hasn't come out in what feels like …
Read More
Linen Closet Organization (and the end of my pink walls!)
I've done a lot of painting during the seven years we've lived in this house. A lot. Most rooms have been painted three or more times... Adam jokes that there are so many layers of paint on the walls that I've actually decreased the square footage of our home. There is one spot that has yet to be caressed by a paintbrush though, the single stronghold that reminds me daily of the time we bought a house that looked like the inside of a stomach.
The master bathroom closet.
That's the …
Read More
My Painted Shower – One Year Later
Last October I did something crazy....I painted my shower. The post I wrote about the process has become one of my most popular, probably because (much like my paper bag flooring) it's just an unusual concept. Anyway, since it's been over a year I figured its high time for an update. After all, whats the point of posting crazy tutorials if I'm not going to let you know if they are a total waste of time or not?
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ORIGINAL TUTORIAL
I have good news...it wasn't a total …
Read More
How to Paint a Rusty Metal Shed
When we bought our house it had zero storage. No garage, no basement, an attic that isn't really usable, and no extra closets. We needed a place to store lawn equipment, paint, and general homeowner stuff, so Adam's parents offered us an old metal shed that was on their property.
We put it on the back part of our lot, filled it with stuff, and promptly forgot about it.
Or at least I forgot about it. My husband on the other hand thought it needed some TLC. He would casually say things like …
Read More
Stenciling a Concrete Floor
My friend Abby has lived in a tiny old farmhouse for a while, and recently her and her husband renovated and expanded it to be their forever home. Their new house is fantastic...it's roomy and open without being huge. Plus it's on 13 acres...so it's basically my dream house. I should really do a house tour of the whole thing, actually. One day, but not today... today the only part of her house we're touring in the mudroom/laundry room floor. Stop it, it's going to be awesome. Here's the …
Read More
9 Room Painting Tips & Tricks that Make the Job Easier
Some women have a lot of shoes, others prefer to spend their hard-earned money on nice purses. Some collect kitchen gadgets, books, hours at crossfit, or cats. Me? I collect paint. My entryway closet holds all my painting supplies and is currently home to nearly eighty cans of paint, stain, sealer, and spray paint. I know, ridiculous...you don't have to tell me. My point is that over the years I have learned a lot about painting and have some tips that will make painting a room easier, faster, …
Read More
