paint – A Half Hour a Day

A Brief Stop

June 2, 2012kanniduba3 Comments

I do believe I’ve mentioned my new obsession with painting things black? After Zan was inspired to paint the kitchen radiator black last month, my love has just deepened. I have seen photos upon photos which have made me consider painting all my interior doors black…a bold and gutsy move if you ask me, and not one I was sure I had the intestinal fortitude to attempt, but oh, how I have envied all those doors!

But let’s back up for a moment….See this window?

I saved it from Zan’s hammer!!! It was in the garbage pile when I cried, “NOOOOOO!!!!” So what if it’s been in the basement for anywhere from 27 to 84 years?! I have an idea for this beautiful original piece…all it needed was a good clean and, you guessed it! A few coats of Abraham Lincoln Cottage High Gloss Black and it is beeeyoooteeeefullll again. I will tell you what it is going to be at a later date…that is fun for another post.

Buuuuut…..this leads to the fact that we had a teeny bit of leftover black paint in a container….

And my darling husband likes to take my ideas and act on them whether I’m ready to fully commit to the idea yet or not….

And I wasn’t in the room to stop him…..

And this is what happened:

I swear to you I nearly had a heart attack.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!?!?????”

“What? You said you wanted to paint the doors black.”

“I SAID I was thinking that I might want to paint the doors black!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Oh. Well…now you’ll know if you want to or not.”

Sadly, the door stayed that way, taunting me for three days until I could stand it no longer. I figured we’d have to go all the way in order to know whether we liked it or not. So I got out the black paint and painted three (four?) coats on that poor door, then stood back and gasped. Just look at it!!!!

I am in LOOOOOOVE with my black door!!!

Still have to strip the hardware, and the wall colors are slated for a change, but seriously…I-can’t-stop-looking-at-it. 🙂

Every single interior door in the house (except for the kitchen) will be making the changeover to black throughout the summer as we renovate and redecorate. And if you’re tempted to do it, just do it!!! Don’t be scared! (A glass or two of wine first is recommended though…you will need something to calm you as you hyperventilate during the transition.)

For some strange reason this song has been stuck in my head lately. I leave you with a little Rolling Stones. 😉

Kitchen Tour

May 8, 2012kanniduba4 Comments

So, I know I have mentioned Pinterest to you all. I have a true love love relationship with this website. If you have not gotten hooked yet, please run on over there right this minute and let it suck the life right out of you!!! No, seriously, you will lose yourself for the first few days, getting bleary eyed and headachey as you wander through all there is to behold there. You will then come to your rational senses, limit yourself to a specific time limit, and come to love this site as much as I do. At first, I couldn’t imagine why I would ever have a need for yet another website (as if I don’t already have enough to follow around here.) But then I started wandering into the Home Decor section and started seeing some wonderful ideas for the reno…then came my organization kick and all the great ideas I found on Pinterest to push me along the organizational path. It is now my GoTo site for ideas, some of which I used in my “new” kitchen. OK, so it’s not “new” but I have fallen in love with it all over again as though it is.

Here’s the result: (Not going for photographic excellence here, so bear with me!)

Now, besides painting, I addressed a few problem spots in the kitchen. I figured that since I organized all the insides, it was only right that I also organize the outside. Here is a before shot of a real problem spot:

Seriously…we thought that cork board was a good idea at the time. But it simply became a clutter place. And that little basket holding pens and pencils (and a three year old Christmas candy cane reindeer??????!!!!!!!!) simply had to go. How about those keys hanging on the magnetic hook on the fridge? Messy messy clutter. And that calendar…thought I could do something a bit more stylish, since my Robert Pattinson one had to be taken down in January. *ahem*dontjudgeme*

So I started by yanking that cork board off the side of the cabinet, a much more painful and time consuming process than I thought it would be. Easy peel off stickies are not so easy to peel after ten years.

Then I bought a new hanger for keys…$7.99 thank you very much.

And then I made myself a new reusable calendar…just wipe off the glass and start over month after month! Old unused-for-years frame from the cabinet, a piece of the curtain fabric, and a printed blank calendar and voila:

Aint it grand?!! I also needed a spot for a few of those things I like to have at my fingertips, so instead of that icky cork board, I found one of those ribbon boards. Here’s the after photo of that space.

Muuuuuuuuch better!

Then there’s that hard to decorate spot above my cabinets. It has always had me a bit dumbfounded…I used to keep a bunch of “stuff” up there…unnoticed dust collectors. Then I got sick of it and wanted to declutter, so I emptied the tops and left them bare. But then I hated the echo that was left behind. So this is what I did….I threw these beloved containers back up there (containers my aunt gave me and I cherish) and left it.

Yucky yucky blah blah. (And yes, those are undelivered Christmas gifts in that basket….undelivered to whom? My next door neighbors…*ahem*dontjudgemeagain*)

So once we painted I did the only logical thing…I searched Pinterest for ideas! 🙂 I found this blog and knew she was onto something. I loved what she did, and how she explained the reasons behind her choices. So after a trip to JoAnne’s 50% off home decor sale, and a trip around my house hunting for beloved artifacts, I’m pretty pleased with the results. Looks better in person, but you get the idea. Only two of the pieces on each side are new, the others have a history and a story to tell. We also strung cord lights up there that are invisible, but cast a lovely glow, especially on dark rainy days like today. Really brightens up that space above.

And I know I have spoken about my new obsession with black? Check out my radiator!!

Can’t…..stop…..looking…..at…..it!!!

Lastly, I tackled my curtain problem. I would love to go curtainless, but we really like our privacy at night (who doesn’t?) But our windows are the old fashioned swing out windows. I love them so much, I cannot even tell you….but they have always been a bit of a problem to cover. There were old iron swing rods above the windows when we moved in, so I used those, loving the uniqueness and antiquity of them. However, they were actually too short for one set of windows so when closed, didn’t quite completely cover the windows. They also were a bit crooked, but still I clung to them. Not anymore. I decided to have Zan take them down to be repurposed elsewhere…perhaps as towel rods in one of the new bathrooms? And started thinking of these windows from scratch. Of course, I went to my best friend, Pinterest for advice. I found this idea. I liked the simplicity of them, and loved that they show all the woodwork around the window. Also, my sewing skills being as UNskillful as they are, I thought this was a project I could tackle. So this was what I did for a few days:

However, I finished them, and really didn’t like the hassle of having to tie them up every morning….I was annoyed with that task almost immediately. So, I used my OWN BRAIN to come up with a solution!! (Pretty proud of myself for this one.) I started wishing I had some of those squeeze gadgets that are on jackets….you know the ones- they allow you to pull the bottom tight, or pull your hood tight. Then I came up with this idea, and it actually WORKED!!! Whoohoo!!

It’s a bead slide! I had to search my bead box for beads with holes big enough to get ribbon through, yet small enough to grab the ribbon tight enough to hold. It just so happens that I had five of them…the exact number I needed! They work perfectly. 🙂 I attached them using cheap cafe rods to each window, and so for about $40 in materials I have three new sets of curtains. I could’ve done it for less if I hadn’t insisted on backing fabric, or shopped from the clearance fabrics. Up:

And down:

Phew! So there you have it…that’ll do for the kitchen for now since all funds are being diverted to new bathrooms and such. (Whoohoo!) This was a cheap do-it-your-selfers pick me up. Next up, the dining room! I found an old door window insert downstairs that I saved from Zan’s garbage pile…can’t wait to show you what I’m cooking up for that! 🙂

Only the Beginning

April 20, 2012April 20, 2012kanniduba5 Comments

So, as you already know, it all starts with a throw pillow, or in this case, a big house renovation. With the upcoming work soon to begin, we couldn’t just leave the rest of the house all shabby and untouched. The kitchen is the first room to get the treatment. It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 10 years since we last painted it! I was pretty tired of the dark green, as much as I liked it when we first did it. It was time to lighten and brighten things up.
After going through a few samples and color ideas, we came right back around to green, albeit a much different shade. We will see when all is said and done whether or not I like it, but at least it will be fresh and clean when it’s finished.
Of course then will come the downstairs bathroom, then the dining room, then the entryway and staircase and so on and so on. You get the idea!
Stay tuned!

Beautiful Black

March 9, 2012kanniduba5 Comments

I don’t know about in your house, but in my house, this means trouble:

These spread innocently on the table are enough to strike fear in the core of any husband. Mister asked me this morning, “Are adults afraid of things too?” I said, “Of course they are Honey. Mommy is afraid of spiders, and Daddy is afraid of paint swatches.” Okay, maybe I’m making that second half up, but if I HAD said that it would’ve been true: paint swatches mean a whole lotta work and aggravation for my dear husband. 🙂

But wait till you see what I’ve been dreaming up over here!

Let’s take a look at my staircase.

That horrid carpet has been there since we moved in. The entire house, minus the bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen, was carpeted with this ugly fuschia wall to wall monstrosity. We tore ALL of it up several years ago, exposing the oak floors underneath. The only piece we left was the staircase. Having little ones, we decided carpet was a good idea (for cushioning potential falls) and we weren’t ready to spend money to recarpet them. So there the staircase has sat neglected and ignored…until now!!!

I’ve been spending lots of time on home and renovation idea websites lately, and look what I came across:

Photo courtesy http://www.houzz.com (Rachel Reider Interiors)

Photo courtesy http://www.houzz.com (Stacey Jacobi Interiors)

Photo courtesy of http://www.houzz.com (SchappacherWhite Ltd.)

I am suddenly completely, obsessively in love with the look of the black banister, rail, and stairs. I WANT IT! I’ve even gone so far as thinking about painting my hardwood floor in the entry way in a black and white checkerboard pattern, but apparently the going opinion is that painting a perfectly good (albeit in need of refinishing) hardwood floor is a sin of the Mortal kind, so I won’t go there. But don’tcha think it’s beeeeeeyoooooooteeeeeful?!

And while we’re sprucing up the heart of the home, let’s look at what else needs a little attention:

That bookcase has got to go. It’s just not working for me there anymore. We’re thinking of creating a built-in to hold the kids coats, shoes, bookbags, etc. but that’s a whole other post. Or maybe I’ll dream up something else for that wall. You never know!

Stay tuned to see what trouble I get myself into. After all, there’s something about these photos that speaks to me…black moldings anyone?