Painting a Rock Fireplace

Several months ago I had the opportunity, along with several others, 

to help give some friends a home makeover. It was a fun experience! 

One of my favorite transformations in their home was the fireplace. The original fireplace was rock. The rock was dark, multicolored, dated, and had been colored on by their children. It was in desperate need of an update.

I was so excited get my hands on it and give it a coat of paint 

but several of the other volunteers didn't agree with the idea. 

Luckily I've met with opposition on paint makeovers before 

(usually with my own family members) so I knew just what to do. . . 

go ahead and PAINT!

I used a primer/ paint combo along with a paintbrush and roller. 

In less than an hour the fireplace went from dark and dated 

to fresh, clean and modern.

  

 Even the naysayers thought it looked awesome!

The volunteers had another inexpensive idea to update the home. 

They used wide baseboard, turned upside down, as crown molding. 

It cost less, is easier to install, yet still adds architectural detail.

The Evolution of a Wall and a Giveaway

Our dining room
is really more of a nook off of our living room. The living room has vaulted ceilings. However the dining area's ceiling is the traditional 8 feet
making it seem like a design afterthought.
Years ago in an attempt to give the dining area
a little more character I gave the far wall a
special color and plaster treatment.
I loved that it drew one's eye to the little nook,
even when viewed from outside our home.I adored the dark green aged wall, but last year I was
ready for a change.
I began by painting the wall a very dark blackish-green
with the idea that I would put a light gray glaze on top to
give it the look of a well used chalkboard (without the mess of chalk). It turned out to be not as pretty in real life
as it was in my mind.
I was so disappointed that I didn't even photo it.

Next I found a geometric shape that I liked
so I enlarged, repeated, and painted it on the wall. Again the design didn't thrill me.

I then asked myself what it was that really bothered me about the previous design attempts. I discovered the problem was that I really was tired of a dark painted wall.
My next step was to paint the wall the same color as the other walls.
This gave the area the fresh, new look I'd been wanting. But I still wanted the wall to stand out so I considered my options. I thought I would try my hand at the new type of wall stencil. I have stenciled walls before, years and years ago, when stencils were small and tedious to use. But the new stencil designs are so much better! I ordered the Marrakech Trellis Allover Stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils. Let me tell you, this isn't anything like stenciling in the 90's! The stencil is huge and easy to use. Instead of a little stencil brush to paint on the design you use a foam roller. And probably my favorite thing (because I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist) is the little level that you can attach to the stencil to keep it lined up perfectly. If you're a novice at stenciling you can watch the how-to videos on the Cutting Edge site. I reviewed the video just to regain my confidence in stenciling.

With a lot of patience, trial and error,
and the use of the beautiful Marrakech stencil design
our dining wall now has that
"wow factor" I've been searching for.If you're searching for a wow factor for your home
Cutting Edge Stencils is giving away
a choice of stencil (up to a $50 value)
to one very fortunate Joys of Home reader.
Just go to their site, pick your favorite stencil and come back here and leave a comment. For additional entries Like them on Facebook, &/or Pin them on Pinterest, &/or follow them on Twitter---for a total of four entries!

The giveaway will be open until midnight Leap Day, February 29th 2012. Best of Luck to all of you!!!
***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

Lamps, Shades, and Hot Glue Tips

When I changed the color of the walls in our family room
from red to brown it caused
a do-over domino effect
on several other items in the room.All of the lamp bases in this room were black
but now they lacked pizazz against the brown.
I replaced a few lamps using ones I had
in other areas of our home. And then I gave the two large lamps behind the sofa
a pretty little make-over.

(And the door sofa table got a fresh coat of paint too!)First I spray painted the bases an aged brass color,
then rubbed on a glaze to bring out the details.Then I changed out the shades with ones
I found at the thrift store.
The drum shades originally had a pom-pom accessory
from it's previous owner. I pulled off the trim,
unfortunately some of the hot glue remained. After a quick Google search I discovered that
rubbing alcohol helps remove old hot glue. And it really does work magic! (There was only a very slight remnant of glue left in spots
where the glue was really hot when applied)

I finished off the shades a new,
more sophisticated trim. Now I'm in love with my lamps once again!

Rubbing In The Details

When I gave my china cabinet a makeover my plan was to replace the hardware. However after perusing several aisles filled with knobs and handles I couldn't find anything that called to me. So I gave the existing handles a makeover with a little spray paint. But I didn't stop there. I wanted a little character to the hardware so I pulled out the Rub 'n Buff and a stiff craft brush. With a very small amount of R'nB and some dabbing of my brush I managed to give the ho-hum hardware a little bit of soul. I love Rn'B for bringing out the details. I used it on the trim of the china cabinet in both the before. . . and after. It's the highlight on my entry mirror. And the itty bitty copper detail on my chandelier. I even used it to make wallpaper look like vintage tin on my daughter's wedding backdrop.The great thing about Rub 'n Buff is that a little goes a l-o-n-g way and it comes in an array of colors. It's a handy little item that every diy-er should have. This is not a paid for endorsement---I really do use and love this stuff!

**Don't forget to enter to win a gallon of KILZ here**

Updated China Cabinet and a KILZ Giveaway

***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

A few months ago the people with KILZ

asked me if I wanted to try their newly launched zero-VOC primer, KILZ Clean Start. Of course I'm always willing to try out any new product---especially one that makes painting easier and doesn't have a strong smell.I've been wanting to update my built-in china cabinet, to give it a fresh new look. Years ago hubby and I added trim and crown molding to this cabinet to dress it up and hide the imperfections from it's original contractor build. I then painted the original sad looking oak a beautiful dark green with copper highlights. Wanting to freshen it up with a lighter paint color KILZ Clean Start was the perfect product since it's always good to use a primer when painting a lighter color on top of a darker. Priming first means less top coats and less chance of shadowing or bleed-thru from the darker paint.The KILZ went on smooth and there was hardly any odor. . . No, the KILZ people did not pay me to say this. They gave me a gallon of paint and I'm giving you my honest opinion about it.

I'm really happy with the china cabinet's new look!
The people at KILZ want to give
one lucky Joys of Home reader
their own gallon of KILZ Clean Start.
All you need to do to win is leave a comment here
and tell me the project you'd like to use KILZ Clean Start.
For an additional entry go to the KILZ Facebook page,
"like" them then come back here
and leave an additional comment.
The giveaway will be open until midnight (MT)
Wednesday, January 25th.
The winner will be announced soon after.