goodbye gray : a painted makeover - a paintover?

One project on my list last weekend was to add some colour to the craft room/office. There is a flat-weave, beige patterned rug in there and the walls are a very light gray, aptly named Chelsea Fog. You may have seen it in my post on photo ledges. I actually really love the gray in that space. I find that having a neutral colour on the walls helps keep my mind clear to create. 

That said, a room full of neutrals can feel a bit flat - particularly if it's been overcast and drizzly for the past, oh say, ten days.

Although I wasn't quite ready to paint any of our hand-me-down, solid wood furniture just yet, I knew I could easily tackle the concrete (plaster?) planter. It was a Winners find sometime last winter for around $20. And it would give me an excuse to browse the paint chip aisle.

Here's what it looked like before:

See how it kind of blends in to the wall behind it? It looks better in this pic than it does in person.

I was contemplating either a dark teal, sunny yellow or a kelly or emerald green. After I got the nod of approval from D, guess which one I picked... Keep quiet if you saw my sneak peek yesterday ;)

Emerald. Specifically, Eleanor's Emerald by CIL.

Here is how the project went down:
  
Prepping

- I put my hot painting clothes on, grabbed a 2" angled brush, a butter knife (to pop the can) and some newspaper/cardboard.

- I laid down newspaper and then cardboard to protect the floor. The cardboard was easy to peel away from the painted surface, but a drop cloth or plastic tarp would work well too.

- I taped around the inside of the rim with painter's tape for a clean line on the inside. Since the tree is a swirly bugger and actually rests on the rim in one spot, I decided to tape him up too just to be safe. If you squint, you can see this in the bottom right photo below.

Painting

- To get even coverage, I did three thin coats of paint working my way around. In hindsight, I probably should have used primer first but since this tree will stay inside (at least for now) it'll be fine. If you plan to house yours outdoors, I would recommend priming, and also using a sealant afterwards. Gotta protect it from the elements.

- I peeled off the tape after painting & slid the planter back in its place.

PS: I listened to Design*Sponge answer FAQs about their blog while I painted. Grace & Amy were so lively to listen to - a welcomed distraction!

After

I have to admit when I decided on green I was a bit nervous about it being too much green with the leaves and all, but I intentionally chose a green that was more blue since I knew the plant had yellow undertones. This gives it a bit more contrast than if the planter was a lime-y colour.

Here's how it turned out:

I'm so happy with it. Every time I walk into the room my eye goes right to that corner. Thankfully, it helps distract from the fact that there is a Star Wars poster hanging above it. I know how to pick my battles when it comes to decorating...

It's surprising how painting an accessory can have a big impact. And now that it's done - I've been thinking about what else I could do to tie the room together. Next on the docket:

- Hang curtain rod & panel on the window
- Fix the lack of closet door situation
- Re-organize bookshelf
- Get diploma from home & hang it up

 

Are you an emerald fan? 

If you did any decor projects recently, feel free to link up in the comments, I'd love to see!

xx Janelle

Nine Kitchen Goodies for Under $10

I have shopping fever. Badly. But instead of actually spending money today, I decided to put together a fun mish-mash of kitchen things that are all under $10 for this Casa Friday post. So, let's do a little bit of browsing this morning, shall we?

Buy a "Six Pack" for $7.

Now I'm not a beer drinker, but at parties I've had to throw away nearly full bottles of beer. These dishwasher-safe Beer Savers promise to keep your beer from going flat. No more wasted beer! But really though, if your bottle has some beer left in it, you're not doing it right...

Now you can carry your treats to my house.

I had to double-check the price when I saw this cake/pie carrier for only $7.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond. These usually go for around $20-$30, so this one is a steal. I like it because it's entirely plastic, so it's durable and hard to break if it gets dropped. The pedestal is also removable, just in case you don't need the extra height.

They come in a set of 2.

If you know me at all, you probably know I'm obsessed with hearts. So much, that I'm planning a post entirely focused on heart-shaped things. Feel free to skip that one if you are annoyed by the word "cute" and/or hate rainbows and sunshine and prefer to live a dull, boring life. Jokes! So, check out these darling little ice-cube trays. I would LOVE for someone to go to Ikea and pick these up for me because we don't have one around here and this item doesn't ship. Boo. The black one is for water bottles and the red one is for fun. And for $1.99? That's pocket change for something that'll brighten up your day every time you take a sip of your drink.

Ikea, $6.99

Also from Ikea is this charming saucepan. It looks like something my grandmother would have had in the 70s. Can't you picture yourself in a floral apron making Alfredo sauce in this colorful pot? Maybe that's just me.

From the Kitchen Outlet, $5 each

For anyone who has a hard time pouring without getting drips down the side of the pot (like me for example), these spouts help direct the mixture into the bowl. At first I questioned whether these would actually work and wondered how the liquid doesn't go in between the pot and the spout but, I trust them because they were featured on Real Simple which is one of my favorite magazines. They also come in primary colors!

The yellow & white combination is my favorite.

Everyone needs a few fun plates. I'm big on having white dishes because I like how food looks on them, but fun plates like these ones from Pier One Imports bring a little whimsy to the table. They also come in green or red and at $5 you can get a matching or mismatching set for $20. Cheep for cheap! Ha.

Layer up the pops for a throwback to the rocket ones.

I've been meaning to buy some Popsicle molds for this summer but didn't get around to it. This set of 6 sandcastle molds comes from Cucina Moderna in Halifax (yay, local). They also come in sailboat and rocket shapes. Did you ever make homemade Popsicles growing up? We've never layered them but we really used to love yogurt pops. Yummm. I might even go get these today since Cucina Moderna is just a couple blocks away.... Hmm.

Sleek and functional

I love the look of this strainer and all you have to do is hold it against the pot and pour. This beats the hell out of trying to do it with the lid. I always lose a few noodles when I do it that way. It also comes from Ikea for $4.99.

Pier One for $6.99

The first time I saw these tumblers at HomeSense I didn't see the point. Why not just use a waterbottle? Then I moved to the city and saw how useful tumblers actually are. When you're rushing to work or walking around on a nice day you don't want to juggle your bags to take a cap off of a bottle. Plus, these tumblers are super-easy to hand-wash and they don't "sweat", because they're double walled. So your hand stays comfortable even if you have an iced smoothie in your cup. Check out those fun summer colors too! Oh, and they promise to be leak-proof so you don't need to worry about spilling on your cute sundress or white shorts. Don't forget to check to make sure they're BPA free.

Well that wraps up my 9 kitchen goodies under $10. I hope you enjoyed this different feature. I love finding things that are cheap, useful and stylish so check back next Friday for another one. And don't forget to stop in on Monday for a weekend recap and Tuesday for a bean salad recipe if you're interested. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

xo Janelle