What a blessed summer.
Lots of BBQing, s'mores, volleyball with family, planting new grass, cutting trees, sitting around the campfire, boating. A blessed summer.
I've been squeezing in some projects here and there and thought I'd show you a few in progress.
As you know, we finished the surround on our sitting room fireplace in March, and I painted the bookshelves around that same time. In April, I found a light fixture on craigslist for $40 and, although a tacky brass, I knew it could be stunning with a little time and Krylon's Oil-Rubbed Bronze.
In case you're wondering how on earth I found the patience to tape off each and every glass section on this fixture, I will confess it was a 2-3 day ordeal. My precious 12-year-old son agreed to cut newspaper pieces to fit each area using a template I made. Then, as I was (literally) waiting for paint to dry on other pieces in the garage, I taped off a few areas at a time. The whole time I taped I was thinking of the age-old question, "Do you have more money, or more time?"
Well, this summer I've definitely had more time than money, so hi-ho...hi-ho...it's taping I go.
Here's how the fixture looks after a little spray painting. Quite a difference.
This is the part that goes inside. Beautiful, isn't it?
I'm now impatiently waiting for Mr. Wonderful to install it for me so I can show some reveal pics.
Last week I had the pleasure of watching my brother's 4 children, ages 6 and under, for three days while he and his wife enjoyed a little getaway. On Tuesday, we were confined inside due to rain, so like any crazy multi-tasking auntie, I thought, why not paint the studio/guest room while we're confined indoors?
The color was originally a chocolate milk/silly putty shade. With this room's northern exposure, the color made the room feel dreary and dark. When naptime came, I went to town & lightened it up a bit with Sherwin Williams Sea Salt.
The door in the following pic is the door to my daughter's room. This space was set up as a mother-in-law suite, but we use it as two separate spaces. While we occasionally use it as a guest room, I am transitioning it into an office/studio for myself as well.
I'm painting most of the furniture white except for a pine-colored dresser that holds craft supplies. I'm using Sherwin Williams Alabaster, coating the sturdy craigslist work table pictured above, this craigslist sleighbed,
...and this amazing office chair I found at a garage sale in Kenai about 7 years ago. I don't have a before picture, but it was this blonde-colored wood that badly needed some attention. The chair adjusts up and down, and even tilts back.
So much more character than the black plastic/fabric covered office chairs you see today.
I need to put one more coat on each of these three pieces. As I climbed into bed last night, I told my hubby I think I finally wore out my wrist and forearm after a day of bonding with my Purdy paintbrush. I'm definitely looking into paint sprayers soon.
And last but not least, I realized I never showed final reveal pictures of the dining room chairs I recovered last winter during my long evenings of Christy episodes.
My dining set is quite formal, although I still really love it & will probably keep it forever. Recovering the seats was my way of freshening it up and lightening its mood a bit:
I'd like to sew slipcovers for the two end chairs one day to break up all the wood. Miss Mustard Seed has some wonderful skirted ones I'd love to replicate. I nice sisal rug under the table would be great, too, but I'm in no hurry. Especially with the sun still shining at 10 o'clock pm around here!
Off to play :)
Jaimee
Labels: Projects, Reupholstery
