April 24, 2013

Quick Tip Tuesday- Peace Out Paint Rollers


I have painted more than my fair share of rooms in my lifetime.  I have a major love/hate relationship with painting.  It is by far the quickest and least expensive way to transform a space, but it can also be a huge pain in the arse.  Because I have a short attention span and thrive on instant gratification, I like to get things done as fast as possible.  Painting can be time consuming so I am always looking for a shortcut.

When painting large areas, most people use a paint roller.  I despise them!  I find them really messy and I always end up splattered in paint by the time I am finished.  They don't really give you even coverage so you almost always have to do two coats of paint.  With so many projects on my to do list, I certainly ain't got time for that!

So I have ditched all of my rollers and I now only use paint pads.
Home Depot

They are SO much easier!  The paint goes on evenly and I rarely have to do a second coat.  They use much less paint too.  This week, I painted an entire 11'x12' bedroom and only needed one gallon.

For a while, the pads were hard to find.  I would get them at Wal-Mart (where I first discovered them) and later found them at Home Depot.  Now they have them at Lowe's too.  You have to make sure you are getting the "PAINT" pad and not the "DECK" or "STAIN" pad.


I hope this quick tip makes your next painting project easier.  Stay tuned for more!

April 06, 2013

It's Friday... I'm in Love (End of the Bed Bench)

Okay, so it is actually Saturday morning, but it was Friday when I started this post.  That is how things go around here.  Nothing gets finished immediately after it is started.

That's okay, I am still in love with my latest Craigslist transformation.
I am a simple girl.  All it takes is a $50 bench and a can of spray paint to make me happy!!

I have been totally attracted to painted "bamboo" furniture lately.  To keep with the "It's Saturday Friday, I'm in love" theme, you could say that I love it!  When I came across this bench on Craigslist, I knew I had to have it for the end of my bed.  

Here are few rooms featuring painted "bamboo" that first caught my attention. 

I love everything about this room, but the yellow chairs are to die for!  

Houzz
We had had almost these exact white chairs in our kitchen growing up.  My mom0 isn't sure what happened to them.  I would kill to have them now!
Windsor Smith
A similar version....
decorpad

Orange Chinoiserie chandelier....yes, please.


This desk chair makes quite a statement painted blue.
Houzz

I have admired this bedroom by Massucco Warner Miller for so many years and for so many reasons.  Today, it is for the white chandelier.


How about this Lilly Pullitzer bench? It is precious, but it comes with a precious $1,100 price tag too!  I will stick to Craigslist for now.
Lilly Pulitzer $1,100 

Here is my bench before.  It was actually a nice distressed blue/green color.  
I did like it the way it was, but it wasn't right for my room. Bring on the spray paint!


I used Krylon's Caramel Latte in Satin that I found at Hobby Lobby.  It is my new favorite! I love it so much that I started scouring the house for other things I could paint with it.
I had to stop myself before everything in my house was Caramel Latte!

Again, here is the bench after.  It looks even better in my master bedroom the foot of the bed.  Unfortunately, the room isn't quite post worthy.  I am working on it....

Check back to see the master bedroom reveal....coming soon!