Living Room – Page 8

You Can Hang Your Hat On It

Published on March 4, 2013March 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode26 Comments

Hello and happy Monday! Well, as happy as a Monday can be. How was your weekend? Saturday brought beautiful weather with temps in the low sixties. A touch of spring that I’m desperately clinging to. Yesterday started out nice, but ended with a snow storm complete with thunder and lightning. Never have I witnessed a snow/thunder storm combo. We took advantage of the nice weather and ran errands and grabbed lunch on Saturday. Which is always a treat. And we made a little tweak to the entertainment center. But let me back up, several weeks ago, Ben put in all the drawers. Then I primed and painted the inside and outsides.

Last weekend he attached the drawer fronts using this technique.

After some debate and opinion gathering, we chose handle option number 1, the simple (cheapest) square ended one.

My favorite and so pretty. After all, hardware is jewelry for a room.

As usual, our projects are never in the quick one week and done style. Oh no, we like to drag it out, because what else would we want to do? Pshh, that’s totally it. That means we still have a few things to do. Number one, cut pieces for the toe kick, prime, and paint. The only wood accent I want is the pretty top, not unfinished pine.

Annnnd I still want doors on the upper cabinets. We don’t have a lot of clutter there, but the bounty of speakers and electronics doesn’t look pretty. Doors would also help cut down the amount of dust.

For now, I grin like a fool when I see finished drawer fronts with functional storage behind. The boys now have a place to keep toys.

The top drawer closest to the stairs is super handy to store hats and gloves (and other randoms like plastic pea pods) that normally get lost in the closet.

And that brings us to this weekend’s little tweak.

We hung the tv to the back wall, making it easier to clean under.

In addition to showing off more of the dark wood top. What do you think of the nearly finished entertainment center? Tall, dark, and handsome, right? Of course that’s about the only thing that is done in the living room. Now I want to repaint the walls with a little color (notice the blue swatches?) in a flat paint. Satin is entirely too glossy on the knock down texture.

Open Season

Published on November 21, 2012November 21, 2012 by Our Humble Abode27 Comments

Ben’s happy about hunting season. I’m excited for painting season. Okay, it’s really not a season, more of an itch I need to scratch. A desire to make this house feel more like us, and less like the previous owner. And what bigger, cheap, and quick change than paint? So I’ve hoarded samples and painted swatches on the walls. For the guest bedroom, I’m set on yellow, though it is proving to be difficult.

On the far left is Anjou Pear by Ben Moore (which I got for the boys’ room, but tested in here, too), middle is Willow’s Gold from Dutch Boy and the right is a 50% tint of Willow’s Gold. During the day, I loved the middle color. Sadly, the CFL bulbs turned the pretty greeny-gold to key lime at night. More swatches, this time in the tan-ish gold department. I think I’ve pinned down a color from the chips shown.

Finding a pale, muted green-blue-gray for the north facing family room is really hard, too. Now I’m considering painting the living room a blue-green and use Wood Smoke in the family room. The blue colors seem to look better in brighter, sunnier spaces.

I have made some paint selecting progress. Anjou Pear by Ben Moore for the boys’ bedroom. During the day, it reads as a warm green, but at night it takes on a more muddy green. Against the tan it looks a little crazy, but the striped curtains tone it down.

And I’m gearing up to paint all the doors Squirrel by Behr, color matched to Glidden. Actually, I’ve already started.

The dark color should hide dirt and grime, and the muddy gray modernizes the shiny brass door handles. We’re happy with the quality of the six panel doors, but some of the grain makes the doors look a little like plastic.

Sun rises and sets are stunning this time of year, too. Here is a shot from last week, with a perfect crescent moon.

Hope all our fellow U.S. residents have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Brass Be Gone

Published on September 25, 2012October 8, 2012 by Our Humble Abode16 Comments

Let me preface this by saying I don’t hate brass. At least not aged brass. I can’t stand the bright/shiny/fake/80’s brass. Don’t hate me for doing what I’m about to show you. Last week I had to run to UPS to send my felt leaf bowls to Germany for a photo shoot. While waiting for the main UPS to open at noon, the boys and I stopped at a park to play, bought groceries, and popped in a Goodwill. Not needing anything in particular, I puttered around the store and saw a brass bar cart.

I shoved a little lady to get to it…in my head. In real life I patiently waited for her to pass and then snatched it for, wait for it… 13 bucks.

Because it was a decent size, I rationalized we could use it just about anywhere, and not only as a bar cart. Yeah, Ben’s jug-o-wine wouldn’t look too fancy on this bad boy. The details were so nice. Double tiered, wooden legs, and on castors.

I’m guessing there was another glass shelf at the bottom, but we can replace that. Either with another piece of glass or painted MDF.

Everything was great, except the finish. While I liked the brass color, it was certainly worn, and not in a good way.

Hoping to keep the brass, I tried using Rub N Buff on it. No such luck, it just wiped right off the slick surface. Well, it was worth a shot. Sure, I could have used spray paint, but I’m not sure how it would hold up over time. When in doubt, I turn to my trusty friend Blue Magic.

Pair Blue Magic and fine steel wool and you’ll get a shiny, chrome finish on brass plated items. Because this stuff is stinky, I rolled my cart outside. I strongly recommend wearing rubber gloves, too. The thicker, the better. Then, dip the steel wool in the cream, and polish away. Ten or twenty seconds later, depending on the thickness of the brass and how hard you’re scrubbing, you’ll see chrome.

Keep on going. Now, I’m not sure exactly how/why this works, but here’s my best guess. The steel wool acts as a fine sandpaper, removing the brass plate. If used alone, it would scratch the metal, so the Blue Magic polishes it. Thanks to all the crazy joints and details, it took me about five hours to get this done.

I decided to keep the brass on the wheels, both because I like the look and I didn’t know if the metals were the same. I quickly sanded down the legs to re-stain them a rich walnut color. Boy was that quicker! A coat of silver spray paint on the black rubber pieces and here she is.

Obviously I’m using it as a side table in our living room. The size is great, but I’ve got some styling I want to do. Oh, and the bottom shelf.

I’m loving the shiny finish.

Those dark wooden legs, me-ow.

I’m excited for the bottom shelf and pretty details.

Castors are awesome, too. If we don’t need it as a side table down the line, we can always roll this to another room, inside or out.

Basically, it’s exactly what I didn’t know I wanted.

How about a budget breakdown?

Cart: $12.99 at Goodwill

Blue Magic and steel wool: Already had on hand (costs about 12 bucks at car stores)

Sand paper and stain: Left over from the bookshelf and bench

Silver spray paint: From my stash

Time: roughly 6 1/2 hours

Total: $12.99 plus 6 1/2 hours of my time. Not bad at all.

Do you like the changes? Or did you prefer the brassy finish? What’s your favorite recent thrifty find? Ever tried Blue Magic on brass? I’m contemplating using it on another project, but I’ve got some testing (and probably convincing of Ben) to do first.

Show Your…

Published on September 18, 2012September 18, 2012 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

Colors. Did you think I wanted to see something else? Pervert. Just kidding. But really, show your colors. My Colortopia is back with a new tool, Show Your Colors, to let you show off your hard work. Or if you’re looking to paint a room, gain inspiration (and colors) from other rooms. I always say, paint is the quickest and cheapest way to change-up, add drama, lighten up, or add personality to a room.

Remember the bright red accent wall in our living room? Yeah, that was too much personality, and not ours.

Less than a gallon of gray paint and a few hours really lightened up and changed the room.

Painting our entertainment center a dark, moody gray added some drama. Trying out a golden yellow color was a fun way to add personality, but it wasn’t dark enough.

Keeping it dark and simple worked best here.

But in our windowless main bathroom, lightening up was the main goal.

The dark wood paneling and dingy beige paint sucked the light out of the room. After a full remodel, adding a shower, a linen closet, and changing every surface, time to paint. Bright white for the trim work and a light gray for the walls for a light, airy but still modern look.

A little personality goes a long way, so a blue painted vanity is a fun touch, although it’s not finished yet.

Now go over to My Colortopia, Show Your Colors, and upload before and afters of your recent paint projects!

What room(s) have you painted recently? Or are in the process of painting? Did you go with a lighter color? Or choose a dark, moody color?

I have been sponsored by Glidden® brand paint to write this post, but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Climbing a Dusty Mountain

Published on September 4, 2012March 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode17 Comments

Not long ago, we had a ketchup and mustard look on our unfinished entertainment center.

After my bathroom painting marathon, I decided to knock out the entertainment center so we didn’t think of hot dogs. While I painted, Ben added the face trim, side detail, and crown molding.

Of course painting isn’t that easy. Oh no, first I had to fill every nail hole, wait for the filler to dry, then sand it smooth. And then the priming phase.

Man was I ready to start painting. Originally Ben and I had agreed on a white entertainment center with a colorful backing. So I tested out my options inside the cabinets he built and liked Ben Moore’s Yosemite yellow. But then we started talking it over and decided white wasn’t the direction we wanted to take. Why the sudden change of heart? Well, Ben pointed out how much light the front window lets in, which also means a lot of glare. Bright white might cause a lot of eye strain when we’re relaxing in front of the tv at night. White is a safe choice, and maybe too safe. Let’s try a darker color, like gray. But I didn’t want a sea of gray, so it had to be different enough from the wall color. I picked out two Ben Moore colors, Kendall Charcoal and Amherst Gray.

Kendall Charcoal was a great deep gray, but too blue for our liking. Amherst Gray was too light. While at Home Depot shopping for some other supplies, we walked to the paint department and looked at more swatches. I pulled out a Behr color that I’ve liked for years, Squirrel. About six years ago, I painted our master bedroom this color, but Ben said it felt like a battleship. Since then, he has come around to more modern designs, and doesn’t hate all gray paint. But we quickly agreed Squirrel was too light. That’s an easy fix, we just chose the color below, Dusty Mountain. Without hesitation, we bought a gallon of eggshell paint and headed home.

In the pictures above, you can see we bought the paint before I was ready to paint. After finishing the prep and priming, I started with the color.

Love at first sight. Especially paired with the reddish Bubinga top. Yum.

Ben came home, saw this and proclaimed his love, too.

I think the green undertones are lovely and reminiscent of an expensive library. Just picture this color on crazy tall shelves with a brass bar for the sliding wooden ladder.

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But I couldn’t let go of wanting a splash of color. Using the yellow left over from the cabinets, I tested it on the backs.

I love the idea, but the contrast was too much for tv watching.

Ben suggested I paint the back Wood Smoke like the walls. Instead, I took the easy way out and painted it Dusty Mountain.

Ahh, that’s better. Ugly speakers blend in with this more. We’ll build doors for the side cabinets, but the yellow will be a fun surprise inside.

If we had cabinet grade plywood, we could have built the drawers. Sadly, Home Depot doesn’t have any in stock because it’s seasonal. Ummm, what? Hopefully they get it in, because we can’t make the fronts until the drawers are installed. I’m telling you, our plans are always contingent on something else.

Progress is progress, and I’m happy.

So, what do you think of the color? Are you into darker, saturated colors, too? Or are you more of a light and airy person? Do you and your significant other agree on colors easily?