Home Life

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Saturday, August 07, 2010

I recently switched rooms with my sister at home and decided it was in need of an overhaul. It went from a upbeat shade of seafoam green (yuck!) to a lovely shade of grey. The lighting in my room makes it look more purple-y, sometime brownish, but in the pictures you can clearly see it is a grey color.

This is the same comforter set that I had in my beige room, I picked the paint color hoping it would match ok. The paint is Valspar Channel Sea Grey. It turned out really nice but oh my Lord, was the room a bear to paint! First of all there were three, count them, THREE different types of wall surfaces to cover...drywall (easy peasy), stucco (almost needed medication to get it finished), and wood paneling (made me hate life!) I had never painted anything before so this was definitely a learning experience.

Lessons learned:

1. You can never use too much painter's tape.

2. When I build a house, insist on smooth surface walls only.

3. I should've hired a professional painter.

But it did turn out pretty good for a first time paint job and only cost $50 (for paint and supplies) after a $5 mail in rebate (woohoo for saving money!)

As you can see in the picture below, I also mounted the flat panel tv to the wall. It was quick and easy (with my handy aunt's help) and relatively inexpensive, $50 at Sam's. I thought it was a better option than purchasing a tv stand and plus it makes me feel like I am on Cribs.

The next project was painting the oak furniture. My parents had a lot of qualms about painting oak furniture. Apparently "people of my generation do not know the value of wood furniture," a phrase I heard uttered at least twice by family members when I told them I was painting it "Dark Kettle Black"

Oak to me just looks outdated and country, a look I just wasn't going for.

After removing all the handles and knobs, I painted two nightstands, a dresser, and a chest of drawers a semi-glossy shade of black. It ended up taking two coats of paint to cover them but again they turned out pretty well. It some areas you can see remnants of brown poking through but it's not enough to bother me.

I replaced the gold and wood hardware with shiny satin nickel pulls and handles. I would have preferred something a little fancier than what is shown above but there isn't much selection for 3 1/2" hardware. I found these at Kitchen-Cabinet-Hardware.com for only a $1.27 a piece, what a steal! The four knobs I purchased were only .94 cents. I highly recommend their site if your looking for a quick update to your furniture.

I purchased two table lamps at Weekends Only for only $28 a piece. I wanted something simple and satin nickel to match the drawer pulls. These ended up being my favorite thing, I think they kind of look like genie lamps.

These nightstands were headed to the trash, look what a little paint can do!

I still have a computer in the room. One day it will be nice to have a whole house to stretch out in!

The mirror on top of the chest is from Target, it is black leather. I plan on hanging it right above the dresser, purchased for only $29.99.

All in all, I did everything for just under $250. It took me about 4 days to get everything done with the assistance of my momma, thank god she decided to help because I probably would have been crying into my paint can by the third day of work.

But the real reason I decided to this is ...because Christopher is moving in!

I am super excited about the new change and our new room. How I wish it was in our own private residence this will just have to do for now. As for how Chris feels, I wouldn't say the word 'excited' comes to mind, but I know he will be happier out of his parents' house, that's for sure!