Paint, Paint, Painting Avay

Sung to the tune of 'Roll-roll-roll in ze hay' {Young Frankstein, LOVE that movie}

One of the more massive undertakings over here at the casa, has been painting.  When we moved I knew one of the first things that needed to be done were the walls.  Some were painted back to white {which made the place feel cleaner} and some were left alone {with terrible, horrific, god-awful paint jobs}.  The living room and David's office were so uneven, it was laughable.  And the bathroom was a light powdery blue {yum...}.  I, all by my lonesome, painted the living room on a gorgeous Saturday.  Everything from the trim work to the 9 ft walls and the edging around the ceiling.  It took 8 hours, but I finished and even managed to muster up enough energy to go out to dinner and play a rousing game of Balderdash {side note: Best Game of LIFE and I am still currently undefeated, any takers?}.

Here are the tools I used:

3 Gallons of Paint {trim, living room, and the bathroom}

Rollers

Frog tape

Paint tray liner

Edge pads {for the ceiling}

A small roller {detail work}

And stir sticks

{Not pictured above: a marvelous angled Edger Brush, didn't even have to use the Frog tape}

I turned on some Katy Perry and went to town, turning an embarrassing ugly, uneven camel colored living room into a warm and cozy living room.

The color wasn't terrible but so uneven.

You can kinda see it in this picture.  David and Jocelyn can vouch for how bad it was.

One coat of paint and it was instantly better! So much easier than when we painted the apartment {the walls are smooth here and the apt had texture like you wouldn't believe}.

I love that it acts as a neutral and looks great with the floor and our existing furniture.

{please don't try to guess what's on our television, I tend to watch terrible t.v.}

I finished both bathrooms during a few nights after work, again by myself.  I am so happy its done as it looks loads better.

Its so hard to get a good picture of our bathrooms.  But it's more brown and a little lighter than the living room.  These pictures make it look like their the same color. 

I even painted the cabinet {it definitely needed it}

I couldn't get any pictures at the master {ha. that's funny} bathroom, as there is a mattress in the way.  More to come on that project and a few others later this week.

Three years and counting...

First Anniversary

Second Anniversary

Third Anniversary

After three years I think that I really like him...a lot.

This past week has been great! He has been on spring break and has been such a great help around the house!  We have been working on lots of projects and I have plenty of pictures to share {when I get a chance to sit down and upload all of them}...

Some Successful Thrifting!

For once I had some luck on my Thrifting Trip!  I had set out in search of dining chairs (which we have needed for over a year now and I am currently foaming-at-the-mouth to redo a set that may need some love), old reclaimed wood to use on a long mirror in our guestroom, and just some knick knacks that I could use on our shelf.  While I was unsuccessful in the major things I was looking for, I scored some awesome accessories!

My first stop was a GoodWill located in N Tampa.  I walked straight back to the home decor section, not really sure what I was looking for, but looking nonetheless.  There were so many things!  New and Old.  A lot of things were still wrapped in its original packaging!  I will have to make bi-weekly trips to see if any new things pop up.  I had a few too many things in my hands so I had to put some back as to not go overboard and buy things that I could not think of a place for.

Multiple sets of frames are usually hard to come by at GoodWill but there were about 10 of these frames on the shelf (I thought three would suffice).  The frames were originally $3 each but I was happy to hear they were half off that day. SCORE!  I haven't decided what color to spray paint them yet (white, black, maybe a beautiful cobalt blue?) but will decide after I paint this weekend!

I love Baroque type frames.  I think they are so elegant and eclectic and add interest to any wall.  I think this would look great spray painted white and for only $4 for a large frame, that's another win for me!

 Another thing I have been working on for about a year is our dining room table-scape.  I think I have found the perfect inspiration photo and it involves candlesticks, hurricane glass, moss, and a few succulents.  I picked up these babies for about $1 each on my way to the register.  (Spray paint again will be involved)

 This antique tray was buried on a bottom shelf.  It would be perfect sitting atop a pile of books with a candle or some coral.  I haven't decided if I will leave it the way it is or try to clean it.  It is a little cruddy so perhaps I will clean it enough to look new but still look old at the same time.  At only $2, my heart fluttered.

There was a single chair that I eyed for a good 5 minutes before deciding it would be too hard to save.  It was $8 and had good lines, but the large crack in the seat (which looked like it had previously tried to be hot glued together) that looked beyond repair (at least what I thought I could do).

GoodWill was a great stop and spending only $14 made it all so much better.

I attempted to go to ReStore and a few other thrift stores to no avail.  ReStore is run by Habitat for Humanity and collects donated salvage building materials to sell in ReStore in order to raise funds for its organization.  This was in a not-so-nice part of town and looked closed (I was not getting out of my car to check).

I had a coupon for Michaels (never ever go there without printing off a coupon! Seriously 40-50% off coupons make me giddy).  I shot over there looking for their amazing glass apothecaries.  I would love a collection of these for my kitchen or dining room.  I couldn't pull the trigger yet so I headed next door to Marshall's.  They always have a random assortment of home accessories that are fun to pick through.  I have seen a lot of glass cloches in my fave design blogs lately and when I saw this on the shelf...I HAD TO HAVE IT!

Love the soft bell shape and paired with a tray or even just set over Owl-bert, its a simple clean statement.  Again that cost got me swooning as well.  $8 makes me love shopping for a deal.  Adding items that make me happy (I think David likes my purchases as well) makes the space feel oh-so-special and very personal.

You don't have to buy everything new when trying to set the tone in a new space.  You just have to find pieces that you love and have a eye for the things that you can change to make them perfect for you.