Rainbow Stripe Desk Makeover

If you are following me on Insta, you might remember this little french provincial style desk we picked up for $20 bucks at a flea market. Aggie actually chose it so it was an easy sale. I shared a photo of her standing next to it proudly and soooo many people messaged me to say they had this same desk growing up in their bedroom. Not surprising since it was a big seller for years from Sears. It originally sold for $79!

Obviously I couldn't leave it as it was.






A couple of coats of chalk paint, a little refresh of the hardware and some rainbow stripes  for the top.  This was exactly the kind of makeover this piece needed to give it a updated look but didn't require much effort.  Aggie loves her new desk and it adds some great storage for all that paper that 6 year olds seem to create in their wake.

Geometric Painted Wall Treatment | Kate's Studio Makeover

It will come as no surprise that I love to help friends with their decorative challenges. So when Kate asked if I wanted to help decorate her studio apartment, I jumped at the chance.  She already had a great space with gorgeous light and lots of potential. She just needed a few suggestions to get her pad as fabulous as she is!




Her apartment is an alcove studio with 440 feet of space so layout was super important. I loved the white walls but knew it needed something on the far wall to add some visual interest without taking up any precious floor space.  Since it was a rental we ruled out wallpaper or molding treatments which left us with the great equalizer: paint. After batting around several different options, Kate decided a geometric stripe felt most like what she had in mind.






After we had settled on the pattern, we got down to the hard part: color selection. We tried lots of samples before selecting Valspar's Northern Juniper (a blueish green with just a tad of grey thrown in) and Blindfold (and almost but not quite black grey).  Lowe's Love Your Paint Guarantee makes this process a little less stressful - if we didn't love the paint for any reason, we could return it for a full refund.  Gotta love that kind of safety net.








Now it was time to get to work. I headed over to Lowe's (I knew they would have everything we needed for the whole project in one trip) to pick up the following supplies:

• Valspar Signature Flat Latex Paint in Northern Juniper and Blindfold
• Bosch Red Beam Self Leveling Laser Level
• Frog Tape
• Whizz Cabinet Foam Mini Paint Rollers
• Disposable Paint Trays
• "One Tuff" Dropcloths

Once I had all my supplies I headed over to Kate's apartment and steeled myself for a long day. I knew this was going to take a lot of prep.  Kate and I got to work early in the morning and we spent the entire day on this.  It's definitely a 2 person job and you will be sore when you are done but it was so worth it.






I had drawn out a rough sketch of a plan to start and then using the laser level and the frog tape, we painstakingly taped out stripe after stripe.  Carefully marking the areas we didn't wan't to paint over with more frog tape (one slip up there and we would have ruined the whole look!).  Once we were happy with the stripes, it was time to get to painting.


I knew this was going to be a lot easier if we got that tape off while the paint was still wet so we did a bit of a mad dash to get it all on there as fast as possible.  Two coats per stripe worked well for great solid coverage.  It was time for a little prayer to the paint gods before pulling off the tape and seeing the end result.





Ta-da!  It turned out just as I had hoped (without only a few oops on my part that were easily touched up with a paintbrush).





The result was the perfect bold, mod inspired pattern we were going for.  Setting a backdrop for the whole apartment layout that I'll share with you in my next post.  Stay tuned for finished photos of the whole apartment.









Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Lowe's but all opinions expressed are my own. 

Hand Painted Floor - Hide Your Ugly Vinyl Floor

A dramatic hallway makeover is completed on a small budget including an original hand painted floor, some modern accents, and white walls.


As you might expect, I love talking decor with friends so when my bestie shared she was working on her hallway, I was eager to see what she had in mind.  She was on a strict budget so she was going to do what she could with the space without spending a fortune.  That included keeping the vinyl flooring that was ahem, less than ideal.  A few weeks later I stopped by and was stopped dead in my tracks with the impressive makeover she completed. I so wish I had a before photo to share but you'll just have to take my word for it that this hardly feels like the same home. Yes, that floor is hand painted.  I don't know how many hours it took but I think "a lot" would probably not cover it.  She did not use a stencil but rather marked out the pattern with car detailing tape.  Hard to believe this is all just old vinyl.



I'm just in love with this space and wanted to share it with you too!  I call it moody in the best way possible. This space tells me something about the owner while still being practical.  While it's small in size, the flooring and the art draws the eye in giving it a feel of more space.  Hooks and a bench make it functional.  The "hello" and "goodbye" give it whimsy and finally, the floor gives so much style.

A Hand Painted Floor Makes Any Space Pop

Hand Painted Floor Sources:

Sherwin Williams Anchors Aweigh
Gold Paint
Brass Chandelier
Brass Pendant 
Mid Century Style Wood Bench
Brass Pilltop Hooks
Wood Panels
Door Decals

What design would you use for a hand painted floor in your home?

For more hand painted projects check out:

DIY Coffee Hand Painted Sign

Painted Scrollwork Dresser

Glidden Diamond Givewaway {Sponsored Post}

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Glidden asked if I would try both of their new paint offerings at the exact time when I was on a painting kick. Kismet!  I used their new Complete paint four our shore bunk beds but I needed something a little different for the mini bathroom makeover.  Enter Glidden Diamond - a paint and primer in one that promises to hold up to repeated washing and last longer in high traffic areas - which sounded like the perfect product for painting my bathroom black. I had been considering it for so long, this was just the impetus I needed to get it going.



I went with my favorite black - Deep Onyx - in flat enamel.  The coverage was good despite black being a notoriously tricky color to get uniform richness with.  I barely made a dent in the gallon to paint this little space. As it was drying, it did look a little streaky which had me concerned at first but it dried to a beautifully matte and even rich black that I could not love more.





The color totally transformed the look of the room.  A few other accessory changes and it's barely recognizable. Obviously I had expected to like the color I picked but I really can't describe how happy this little makeover makes me everytime I pass by.  Just further confirmation to go with my gut on decor decisions and not to second guess myself.

Want to test this paint for yourself?  Once again, the lovely people at Glidden have offered to giveaway up to 5 gallons of this new paint to one lucky winner.  Simply apply below and I'll pick a winner next week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



disclosure: This post was sponsored by Glidden but all opinions expressed are my own. Read my blog posts about color + paint on MyColortopia.

Country Cottage: Simple Rustic Dining Room

You've already seen the country cottage living room makeover (which definitely qualifies as one of my favorite rooms evah!) so it's time to see the other side of this room which is the dining space. With budget a serious constraint, the decision was the keep this room simple and more cabin like. That way it served as a counterpoint to the living room as well as a calm, open entryway to the whole house.





Renovation was essentially a clean up job. Pulling up carpet, sanding and staining the rustic existing floor boards and the whole space getting a fresh coat of white paint. The dining table and chairs are hand me downs from my sister in law's parents so absolutely free. The indoor herb garden was put together with a few scraps and some hardware and make a great live addition to the room.  The one splurge was this antler chandelier which gives the whole space a fun element while still being clean and modern.


When budget allows, I think these copper chairs along with some drapery and a sisal rug will finish off this room beautifully. I'm trying to convince them a shiplap wall would be pretty rad too but it's a bit of splurge and I think they are all DIY'd out lately.  But plenty of time to work on that in future years - until then, this is a lovely spot to entertain (and my sister in law is an amaaaazing cook and baker so I always look forward to meals here)

Glidden Complete Paint Giveaway {Sponsored Post}

It's no secret I'm addicted to paint makeovers.  If it sits still in my house, there is a good chance it will be painted at some point or another (#paintallthethings). So when Glidden asked me to test out one of their two new paints, I was happy to oblige.





Complete is a new line of affordable, low VOC, stain blocking paint from Glidden and it seemed like the perfect test to try it on the shore bunk beds.  We were covering a solid pine Ikea piece without a primer so good coverage was important.  And we were putting this bed in a tiny room where my daughter would sleep as soon as the paint dried so the low VOC factor was key.

We went with one of my favorite colors - Marshmallow White in semi-gloss for extra durability.  We cracked open the can and got to painting.  One coat did a nice job of covering most areas but since we had no base color, a second coat was needed to get clean solid coverage.  The paint dried surprisingly quickly which allowed this project to be completed in a few hours spread over two days.  And despite allowing it to dry in a small room with the window closed, there was almost no noticeable odor lingering.  All in all, we were very happy with how it performed.  And the best part, its super affordable at just $28/gallon.



Now for the fun part!  Glidden agreed to let me give away up to 5 gallons Complete paint to one lucky winner. Want to makeover your space for zero dollars and zero cents?  Just enter the giveaway below.  Would love to know how you would put Glidden complete to work in your space.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


disclosure: this post is sponsored by Glidden but all opinions expressed are my own. For more paint inspiration, read my column at My Colortopia.

Black and White Bathroom Mini Makeover Complete

A few months ago, I shared how much I didn't love my guest bathroom. It was in that weird decor limbo where it was good enough not to be totally offensive so I've lived with not liking it for 8 years but your comments gave me the impetus to just make a change. And oh boy do I love it!


I went bold with black paint - what I had wanted to do all those years ago but chickened out with an untested grey that ended up looking like poop brown. See, that is what I get for not following my own advice about testing before painting!!  To quickly cover up that mistake I used some blue green paint I had hanging around and closed the door to this room.

As you can see, this bathroom is small so it didn't take much to make a big impact.  First the paint - Glidden Diamond in Onyx Black - was exactly what this space needed.  It really makes the white tiles and fixtures pop and brings out the black in the vintage style hex flooring.  I also changed the light fixture, shelving and linens but that was about it.  It was an easy makeover with a big result.  Now I just love walking past it!

Gorgeous Black Wall Bathrooms to Inspire

It's no secret I have a love affair with black paint - my front doors are black, I just painted a ceiling black and I pretty much use some kind of black accent in every room in the house.  But I've never painted an entire room black.  Not because I don't love it but just because I haven't gotten around to it.  But these amazing black bathrooms prove its time to cross that off my list and go dark in the guest bath.







sources: design sponge / schoolhouse electric / houzz / etica studio / sotheby's / design sponge

Ok so technically even when I paint my guest bathroom black it won't be an entire room b/c of the tiles but still, I'm doing it.  I just need to decide what kind of shelving, lighting and accessories I can add to finish the look.  Would love suggestions if you have seen something great in your travels.

Now where did I leave my painting shoes?

DIY Mountain Lodge Sign

If you have been trolling around the various Christmas decor posts this year, you might have noticed there seems to be an abundance of miniature skis everywhere. That's because Target sold this adorable wooden decorative element for $3 bucks and everyone went nuts (me included!).  As soon as I saw them, I knew just what I wanted to do...



While I don't really do a specific "theme" at Christmas, I seem to be veering toward the cozy, rustic lodge feel this season.  This DIY sign totally embraced that concept and made the perfect accent for my dining room wall.  I was able to use materials I already had (except for the skis of course!) so I was able to complete it in an afternoon. I still have a bit more decorating to do before I can call it ready for the festivities but this sign might be my favorite project this year.



I started by cutting down a piece of picket fencing (the very same I used for my Charlottes Web Halloween decorations). Then, using a pencil I set up the layout, erasing as needed until I was happy with the design.  White and red paint was used to fill in the pencil marks along with a black sharpie for shadow lines.  Finally I erased the pencil lines and hung up the sign.  Voila!



I'll be sharing more of this years Christmas decor next week.  I hope you aren't already sick of holiday posts just yet.  Since I don't decorate until after Thanksgiving I always feel a little bit behind.

Black Ceiling Love

So you might remember I was a little bit on the fence about what color scheme I should go with for Aggie's big girl room.  I had a burning desire for a black ceiling but I was worried it might be a bit oppressive looking.  So glad I just pushed through because I love how it turned out with the stark white of the walls.

Obviously a lot more to do in here but I just had to share a peek in case.

Next up...a wall mural and a few other whimsical touches that will up the kid factor.  (don't worry - I promise it will look like a kids room when it's all done)

I'm undecided on the light fixture. I love how the brass pops against the black more than I expected so it might stay.

Anyone with suggestions for bedding, window treatments and storage pieces (or anything else) I'd love to hear them!