New Fleece on Life

I really enjoy repurposing and rehabbing old, unwanted objects and making them new again, usually with something as simple as a can or two of spray paint.  There are multiple well-loved objects at my house that have several coats of paint on them as I've changed rooms, changed moods, and changed my style over and over again.  One of the easiest things to do to freshen up an object or an entire room is to go to Home Depot, pick out a color, and get to spraying.

My latest project actually is a new-to-me object that has been in my parents' house since I was in high school.  This urn used to sit on their fireplace, and was a pretty nice piece when they bought it.  But time was not kind to the ram urn, as time can be to any of us, and he got chipped, tired, and fell out of favor.  So few weekends ago, my mom asked me if I would like to take this urn home and see what I could do with it.  I, never one to decline a good rehab project, obliged, and the old urn got loaded up and left in the back of the car for a few weeks while I pondered his fate.

Then today after church, Ryan suggested we swing by Home Depot and grab a can of paint so that we could paint the ram urn (aka unload it from the car).  Always up for shopping for spray paint, I immediately agreed, and then debated the color for the rest of the trip.  Ryan suggested white because "everything like that in our house is white" which is a fair point.  We can't exactly have the white linens and furniture I dream of, so I tend to compensate with white accessories that can easily be dusted, cleaned, and wiped of dog drool.  I was not completely sold on white for this piece, however.  I felt like something as funky and ornate as this ram urn deserved a statement color.

And nothing says statement like a glossy coat of Key Lime, does it?  Lime green is an accent color I love to use in conjunction with the soft blues, breezy white, and punchy corals in our living room.  So after about four coats of paint and an hour or so to cure, Mr. Ram found a new hue and a new spot in our entryway.

Doesn't it look great?  I'm pretty pleased with the results, and I'm always happy when someone's trash turns into my treasure for the mere cost of a can on paint.  Thanks, Mom!

Mellow Yellow

In the previous post about the planting we did this weekend, you may have noticed something.  Here, I'll let you look again:

Awesome new plants, but see that patio set?  Wop wop.  [I think that's how you spell the "downer" sound.]  We bought this set from The Home Depot not too long after we moved in here at Chateau Lowe, around 4 years ago.  And man, has it seen better days.  Check out the bland color, complete with rust.  Not exactly screaming at me to come kick back outside.

So this weekend, after I planted like a fool and rode a pony, I decided it was time to give this guy a little upgrade.

Here are my accomplices:

Oh yeah, kids.  Mama's spray painting something!!!

I decided the old patio set needed a new spring wardrobe, and what color says "Spring!!" better than a cute lemon yellow in a gloss?  I decided to use some primer because this bad boy sits outside and has a lot of debris on it.  I decided to use the mask because I care about my health.  And I decided to go ahead and get the spray gun because, well, it's sweet.

I literally laughed out loud when I read my best friend Lara's post about spay painting, because I definitely feel her pain.  I am a results person, and spray painting yields great results, but you have to follow the tedious process to get there.  And half the time, I end up with drips, missed spots, and chunks missing because I too spray too much too soon and then try to handle it.  Darn you, impatience.  But I did my best to be patient on this little patio set, and I am pretty happy with the results:

Hello, cheery yellow.  And hello, Spring.

Bitchin' Kitchen

Don't be a prude.  It totally rhymes.  And you know I have a bit of a potty mouth, and the "b" word is my second favorite behind the "s" word.  And what else rhymes with "kitchen??"  So go with it.  This isn't your grandma's blog.

So anyway, as you know, we repainted the kitchen this weekend.  And by "we" I mean me.  No cred for Mr. Lowe here.  All your girl.  The result was ah-maz-ing.  I certainly loved our purple kitchen, but the lighter brighter Lotus Leaf was a welcome change!  Let's dive right into pics, shall we?  Here's an idea of just where we were before.  Dark purple walls, dark accents, and (EGAD!) vertical blinds.

And here we are today:

Aw hells yeah.  How airy and bright is that??  What a difference!!  There's still plenty left to do.  I plan to add a window treatment to the window above the sink, replace the green rug with something a little more neutral and durable (maybe jute?), and replace the slipcovers on the chairs with some pretty new grey ones.  But how about no more vertical blinds?!  Woohoo!!!  I'm thinking I'm going to add some bamboo blinds above them a la my fave blog Young House Love, as seen here.  Something to fill in the wall between the trim and the curtain rod above the door.

And what about that spray painted mirror above my favorite piece of furniture in the whole house, the buffet? Definitely lightens up that area.  Mama likey.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend !!  I'm exhausted!!  And sometime in the next few weeks I'm hoping my good man allows me to repaint those kitchen cabinets to look a little more like our bathrooms.  Fingers crossed.

Super Bowl Sunday: Guest Bathroom Reveal

What a week!!  Alli went to school one day last week and we were snowed in under less than an inch of ice and eventually 6"+ of snow.  I love a snow day (or two!) like the next girl, but 4 got to me.  Got to me so much I did several projects - and now I'm about to reveal one to you!

But first, obligatory photo of the casa in the snow.  I took this Friday night after our last snowfall for the week (more predicted tonight.  Can't wait.  Sarcasm.).

Pretty, huh?  It's nice to look at, but trust me, I'm sick of it.  On to the project!

Remember the master bath makeover?  (Why wouldn't you, it was my last post.  But if you need a refresher, scroll down.)  We decided to give Alli's bathroom the same treatment.  Previously it was a dark grey with purple undertones called Mountain Ridge by Behr.  Here's a pic I rustled up for you.

 You can see the boring builder-grade cabinets in that picture as well.  Cue makeover photos.

Here's the updated cabinets with the same paint color and hardware as the master bath.  I absolutely love this simple, inexpensive upgrade for both bathrooms.  Yes, that $80 kit lasted us across two bathrooms and there's still plenty left.  And it was stupidly easy to do. If you need a refresher on the process, get it here.

This picture has a good shot of the wall color - it's actually a shade darker than our master bathroom, but definitely in the same family - it's called Cricket in the Behr Ultra collection.  Wowza - how open and airy does this bathroom feel now??  I really loved Mountain Ridge, but this rather narrow bathroom with a lone skinny window above the shower doesn't exactly get a ton of light.  Now it feels twice as big!  The shower curtain is the same one as in our master bath, and I hung it right by the ceiling.  It really makes the room feel more significant and elegant, and though it does block the window, the white curtain is sheer enough to still let it lots of light.  Love.

Here are two more shots of the room.  I actually only had to buy the shower curtain and paint in this room as far as accessories go.  The rest was already in there or got moved from another room.  Alli and I made that artwork right after we moved in - isn't it cute?  It's really simple, maybe a little too simple, but it is her bathroom and I love that we made it together.  And yes, I stood on the toilet to take these pictures (it's a rather long skinny bathroom, so getting good angles is tricky).  And yes, Junior Chief of Security came to inspect.

So, for a weekend of work and about $120 - that's $60 for cabinet paint and hardware, $30 for the shower curtain, and $30 for the gallon of paint - we have a brand new bathroom!  I do need something over the towel rack, but I'm trying not to feel too rushed about it.  I want it to find me!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday to all of you.  Friday was Mr. Lowe Down's birthday, so we are having his party today with a few friends.  The house is clean, the beer is chilled, and the marg machine is ready to rock.  Go Cowboys!!  Or whatever.

Master Bathroom Bliss

Let's say you just finished a very strenuous fall and winter.  You traveled a ton, both professionally and personally, you had a houseful of beloved and boisterous family nearly every weekend, and even though you owned it, Christmas exhausted you.  What do you do on your very first weekend at home with no visitors and nowhere to be?

Well, if you're me, you get a project.  There's something so satisfying about finally being able to focus on the house again.  I love this little abode and I love improving it every chance I get.  It didn't exactly scream anything but "builder-grade new construction!" when we moved in, so I love tweaking it and making it personal.

Tuesday night I went to Jo Ann's and picked out some awesome fabric for new pillows.  My friend Lindsey is quite the sewer, and she so generously agreed to make me some pillows for our previously bachelor pad-like couches.  I realize you haven't seen much but glimpses of the new living room, and I have to apologize.  I'm in the process of tweaking it still and I think you deserve only the best.  So you'll have to wait a little longer for the tour.  But feast your eyes on my new pillows!

Aren't those fabulous?  I am so lucky to have such a talented and willing best friend!  And yes, all pillows must pass the "pet snuggle test."  Don't tell Ryan that Landry was on the couch.  I can't wait to show you guys the living room once it all comes together.

But is that ever enough for me?  No, of course not.  I always need another project  Lindsey turned me on to another blog called Centsational Girl and I stumbled across this post.  What a dramatic makeover!  And if you remember anything about the bathrooms at my house, you'll remember I have builder-grade fake oak looking cabinets with nooooo hardware.  That doesn't exactly scream zen spa does it?

I sent said link to the mister and much to my surprise, he was on board.  We spent a lunch at Home Depot (heaven) armed with Kate's instructions, but then we stumbled across this kit by my friends at Rustoleum.  See, I trust Rustoleum.  They are makers of my right hand man, spray paint.  So we read about it, discussed with our paint professional, and took home this kit big enough to do our bathroom and Alli's if we so desired (and we do).  All we had to do was select dark or light (dark for us) and then pick the color we wanted off of the 20 or so on the box (we chose Espresso).  We grabbed some simple, chic hardware, and waited impatiently to get home and give this kit a try.

I was extremely nervous, but Ryan figured hey, what could make those cabinets look worse?  I love him.  He jumped right in with....

     Step 1:  Remove Cabinet Doors/Drawers and De-Gloss

Using the provided liquid gel and brilo-like pads, Ryan scrubbed our cabinet doors, drawers, and frames down.  Then you let it sit for 1 hour (or 10 hours if it's Friday night and you fall asleep on the couch).

     Step 2:  Apply Tint Base (2 coats, 2-3 hours between coats)

Enter yours truly with the painting expertise.  All you have to do is paint with the grain of the "wood."  It was as simple as it sounds, thanks to the instructional DVD included in the kit.  We're still on step 2 - I have two coats on the frames, drawers, and backs of the doors, so I still have to do the front of the doors before we move on to optional (but we are doing it!) Step 3: Glaze and mandatory Step 4: Top Coat.  But  I really think it is looking good and I can't wait to see the finished result.  Stay tuned.  And for interested parties, that is my organized sink on the right.