Didya see us?

Our garage-painting project popped up on Offbeat Home yesterday!

How cool is that? Our formerly dumpy garage is Internet Famous! I'm so proud.

Weekend Update: My Blue Heaven

This has nothing to do with anything, but it's enjoyable:


What has everything to do with everything is the title of the movie from whence this clip came: My Blue Heaven. You see, I muscled my way into a little kitchen updating this weekend and spent the better part of Saturday layering blue paint over blue paint over red paint because I, dear reader, refused to prime the kitchen walls.

The project began magically enough. I went to Ace to scoop up the Benjamin Moore Hemlock paint we were going to use and lo and behold - I found the EXACT SAME COLOR on the mis-tint shelf.

Is there anything better than getting fancy $30 paint for just $10 a gallon? Oh, no. There isn't.

The magic continued when Hubs and I went to get a ceiling medallion to cover a few plaster cracks around the ceiling fan.

Yes, that's a butterfly, alighting on a paint chip. I'm married to Snow White, in dude form.

Once we had our supplies all in place, it was time to kiss the Before goodbye!

The ceiling fan had horrible blonde wood blades and I was trying to decide if we should paint them or if that'd make the whole thing worse. This fact is important for later.

Doesn't that red make you sad and tired? I know red is a popular kitchen color, but it was just not working for me.

Sadly, my camera had a serious malfunction, so there are no action shots of us taking down the ceiling fan, pondering rewiring a few things, putting up trim in places where there was none or slapping on what felt like 50 layers of Hemlock.

But there is this:

Say what now? The fan has reversible blades with a rich, dark wood on the opposite side and it's super easy to flip the blades over? Well, heck. I don't know much about fans, but this seems like genius and if it's not standard practice for fans, it should be. I mean, take a gander at the after:

 In this shot, the blue looks much darker than it is. Above that window, there is a weird outlet that we will cover up with come plates and we still need window coverings. But! Don't you feel happier with all this freshly spruced up trim and happy Hemlock?

I especially love how it makes our dining room room look more gray. It's like living in Instamatic.

Someday, I'll replace the uppers on this side so they go to the ceiling and I don't have to over-compensate with cute kitchen-themed knick-nacks.

This spot had no trim before! Now, it matches the opposite side and all is right with the world.

So the red kitchen is no more and that means only two rooms remain that we have not painted. Office and bathroom, you're next!

I won!

I emerged victorious in my battle with the blonde wood. Let's reflect a moment on the state of the hallway before we got all ambitious one weekend.
Yuck. No me gusta. I must say, though, the 50s wood was a formidable component. I sanded all Thursday night and painted not one, not two, not even three coats one all those doors and trim - my friends, I painted four gol-dang coats of paint on those thirsty things before they looked presentable. It was tough, but I persevered.

Now, look how lovely! The same toffee brown we used in the side entry way is also warming up the hall walls. The trim and doors took on a bright white (Pittsburgh Paints' White Chocolate from Menard's, a steal at about $19 a gallon). The hid.e.ous light fixture was replaced with a pretty faux oil-rubbed bronze dome that lets out dappled light and makes the hall feel almost like you might be in a courtyard (can you tell it's my favorite part of the mini-makeover?). The lame travel art was replaced with what will become a giant gallery wall. Right now, we started with some cheap white frames from Target and photos from trips to Italy and Savannah, as well as one of hubs' grandpa smoking a pipe because it's just a cool picture. I'm hoping to add more family photos, while he prefers landscapes. It's an eternal struggle every time we frame something.

Not too shabby right?

C'mon in!

A few weeks ago, I took a three-day weekend to spruce up the small, forgotten spaces of our house: the side entry way and the hallway. You've seen the before pictures of our hideous hall, and I'll get the afters up as soon as the sun comes out long enough for me to take a picture that isn't shrouded in darkness, as the one below is.

Meanwhile, here is the side entry (it leads from our driveway to the basement and kitchen) in all its glory. Before, this was a pretty boring spot with off-white walls and a ceiling to match (no before pictures, sorry, I'm new here). I took a brighter white to the ceiling and a rich toffee to the walls. I also touched up the existing white trim to be a cleaner white.

Our old light fixture was a basic dome light that didn't play up the height of the ceiling, so we took that down and replaced it with a nice (and cheap!) pendant that brings in the red of our kitchen.

Aren't you rather amazed that our window covering matches so well? Not a coincidence, my friend. This fabric is also used in the Roman shades in our kitchen and came with the house. Thank you, previous owners! Points scored for working with what the house gave me.

Also, ignore that creepy red glow, in real life the effect is a lot more cozy-warm-so-glad-I'm-finally-inside (see below).


Hope you like the colors, you'll be seeing them again in short order!