Monday, January 31, 2011

How to Paint Furniture: A Tutorial

Good morning!
I hope everyone had a great weekend. We had a lot of fun with family this weekend and continue to be amazed at just how close we are to home.

Last week I tackled another painting project. I promised I would post a tutorial on how to paint furniture the correct way and also how to do it the quick and easy way.

When I first painted this table it was pre-blog and we had just moved to Florida and I had purchased the pedestal table off of Craigslist for around $40 with 2 leaves. It started out an ugly oak color with several scratches. The man I bought it from said it had been their family dining room table through several children. How awesome to bring a well loved table back to life!

The "Correct" Way to Paint Furniture
this is all my opinion and what I think works best....no guarantees ;)

1. Sand table to rough up the current paint or finish. I used an electric sander and spent a solid 20-30 min covering all the edges of the table until it felt rough to the touch.

2. Clean the table to remove all the dust from sanding. This can take awhile to get all the mess you just created. I wiped and wiped probably 3-4 times over the whole table to ensure I wouldn't be locking in any dust while painting.

3. Once the table has dried I applied a primer.....any old primer will work (skip this step if you bought paint with primer)

4. Paint the table. This may sound like the no brainer step but it is important to minimize brush strokes and constantly be watching for drips. I often went back over with a roller to smooth out any brush strokes and I definitely used a roller on the table top. Apply a second coat if necessary.

5. I let the table dry overnight and applied a coat of polyurethane in the morning to the whole table as a protectant. I have never used a roller with polyurethane but next time I might try it because I can see a few brush strokes in the gloss.

This is how I prepared and painted the table the first time taking it from oak to a beachy blue. I also distressed the table after about a week or so. The coat held up for the 2 years we lived in Florida and I got several compliments of people thinking I purchased the table in the blue color.

This time around I didn't have the patience or the warm weather to sand the table nor apply several coats of paint and primer.

How to Quickly and Effectively Paint Furniture

before

1. Clean the furniture well making sure to remove all debris and dust

Almost finished

2. I used a paint and primer in one and jump right into painting. I only needed 1 coat of paint on a majority of the table. I did go back and do a second coat on the table top just to ensure it was covered completely.

Waiting for the paint to dry

3. Once the paint has dried and you are happy with the coverage apply a coat or two of polyurethane.

Not only does polyurethane protect the furniture from scratches and wear it adds a shine


DONE!
after

Pregnant ladies must paint with a mask on :)
As you can see the quick and easy is the way to go in my book if the furniture has smooth surfaces. Because I had already sanded and painted this piece I felt confident in using the quick method to paint this table. I don't regret it one bit!


Have you painted any furniture lately? Send me pics and I would love to feature you!


Emily

Saturday, January 29, 2011

HGTV Green Home 2009

Hi all!

I thought I would cover a few more of the HGTV homes. There are some rooms that I really like and others that I don't.

I love love love the outside of this house!



I love this powder room





Um, yes please!


Another vote for YES!

All images found here

Enjoy your Saturday!

Emily

Friday, January 28, 2011

Baby News

Happy Friday!

Today is our only niece's 1st birthday so we have a fun weekend of celebration ahead. We found out some wonderful baby news last week at our 20 week ultrasound. We are having a girl!

Here she is!

A lot of people have said she looks like me, which I think is interesting.


In other baby news we have taken the plunge and bought our first piece of baby furniture. Wow....I guess this is really happening! A lot of realities setting in with confirming she is a girl, starting to feel movement, and buying baby things!

We purchased our glider and ottoman in a green and white stripe in hopes it will work for a future boy if we get so lucky.

Here is the fabric palette I have decided on for our little girl:

Green and white is chair and ottoman, colorful damask is the crib skirt and bumper trim, pink circles is bumper and possible curtains.....or I might do the colorful fabric as curtains. I haven't decided. The crib sheet will be a green maybe with stripes and/or polka dots.

We will be buying a crib in the upcoming weeks as soon as I finish my research.

Have a great weekend!


Emily


Thursday, January 27, 2011

Gray and Green

Good morning!

I'm working on another project that I will be posting probably tomorrow. I just have to put the finishing touches on it this morning. It's a tutorial on painting furniture....the correct way and the quick and easy way.

As I'm doing the leg work to begin the decorating process I have been doing a lot of research trying to find inspiration. Here are some green and gray rooms that I'm loving!




I'm also loving brown zebra print with green.
This is a bit hilarious if you know me the animal lover, vegetarian. Maybe I will recover our ottoman in a great zebra print so no animals are harmed! ;)









I'm off to hopefully find a few great fabrics today that jump out at me (and don't hurt my wallet)!

Have a great day!


Emily

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Paint Colors

Good morning!

I hope you all are having a great week. I have accomplished a lot on my to do list and while it's still very long it feels good to cross things off the list!

As promised these are the paint colors we have chosen and painted so far in the house:


In the Formal Living and Dining Room

Behr Ashes


In the Master Bathroom and soon to be 1 Guest Bedroom

Color Matched Restoration Hardware's Silver Sage (top color)


In the Entryway and Hallways

Behr Toasted Cashew


In the Kitchen, Breakfast Nook, and Family Room

Behr Celery Sprig


We haven't chosen the colors for the guest bathroom, nursery, master bedroom, laundry room, and the 2nd guest room. I know the powder room colors I just haven't painted it yet. :)

Stay tuned for more painting updates!


Emily

Sneak Peek


Here is a sneak peek of the kitchen



I will be back tomorrow with the paint colors I have chosen thus far.


Emily

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

House Inspiration

Good morning!

I hope you all are having a great week so far. I'm playing catch up over here for the week since I have essentially been out of commission with company.

I have several images I have been using as inspiration for our own home and some of those come from the HGTV Green Home from 2008. Remember it? If not, here is a refresher course.


I love pretty much everything about this image below. They use it in the dining room but I think it could easily be translated into the entryway.















I love the organic feel of the living room.







I think the black and white striped lampshades are genius and so unexpected.


All images found here

Have a great day!

Emily

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