My Creative Blog [Search results for gray paint colors] 

If you missed all the amazing projects in the first three weeks of CWTS, be sure to check them out below!
Round 1 Projects & Winners Round 2 Projects & Winners Ro und 3 Projects & Winners

We've loved seeing all the projects that have been linked up to play along with CWTS each week! This week we were thrilled to be introduced to Meesh and her blog I.Meesh.U I spent a long time on her blog last night and I just kept reading because her stream of consciousness writing style had me hooked! We picked this project because we felt that everyone deserved to know the secret of how to get that super-cool, Restoration Hardware finish!
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oh Restoration Hardware… how i love thee…

Restoration Hardware's Kenwood Bed
Big A is currently in his converted crib. Problem is that he's getting too big for us to comfortably snuggle and read books in the glider. and sitting on the floor to read to him isn't fun. so mamma started searching for a new bed on craigslist… and look what i found. a glossy white Pottery Barn-looking bed. the very nice fireman who sold it to me even delivered it for free.

here's the headboard in our garage. the pix are a bit dark, but you get the idea. glossy white paint on a well-constructed piece. the beauty about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is that you don't have to sand or strip any varnish before starting. you just paint. and the paint just sticks. and you're just happy. and yes, i've heard the complaints about how expensive ASCP is, but really, when you take into consideration the time you've saved sanding, stripping, and priming, it all works out. AND, with the 4 quarts i purchased almost two years ago, i've probably painted out 15-20 pieces of furniture. yes.

looks a little girly with the white glossy paint, huh? so here are my steps to achieve the ever elusive Restoration Hardware distressed and weathered wood furniture finish:

• using a 3" brush, paint out the pieces in Annie Sloan's Paris Grey. make sure you get in all the cracks and crevices. you'll note that this piece is similar to a bead board, so there are lots of nooks and crannies. let dry.

• using a mixture of MinWax water-based gray and dark Old English, brush on liberally on top of the Paris Gray. after a minute or so, wipe the mixture off with a rag, but don't wipe off 100% evenly. you want some of the pseudo-glaze to stick to the paint, creating some depth on the furniture. because this is a water-based stain, it's translucent and allows you to see the wood below it. the dark stain mixed in was intended to darken the color a bit.

in this experiment, i used about 1/4 cup MinWax, and 8 drops of the Old English. the above shot is taken without a flash and it looks more gray/brown. be sure you use the same mixture if you're remixing for additional pieces so that you achieve the same consistency and colors as you go.

in the above shot, i used the flash so that you could see that this glaze had more of a blue-ish gray hue.

• go over all the pieces using a 220 grit sandpaper…very lightly, with the grain. play around with the pressure. i was trying to achieve a pseudo wood grain look, so kept my pressure very light to accomplish the right look without removing too much of the chalk paint.

• then i brought out the Annie Sloan dark wax, my trusty gloves, and some soft rags. i generously applied the dark wax as i wanted a darker wood look.

what you'll notice about using the Annie Sloan dark wax is that you sometimes notice the brush marks. see in the above picture at the bottom center of the headboard? you see a dark area butted up against a lighter area. i've noticed this happens with AS wax… but never fear! the product is so malleable that you can buff it out and even out the look with some #0000 steel wool and elbow grease. that's right…get those arms in shape by buffing and making the wax more even across your piece.

see how i was able to get rid of the sharp contrast between the dark and light areas on the headboard? fancy.

i LOVE how this piece turned out.

thanks for reading!

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Thanks again Meesh! And make sure you check back tomorrow for the reveal of the Grand Prize Round Projects!! You're going to flip over them!!

Come on, you knew that all those old cabinets and cabinet doors would someday be put to use in my house, didn't you? (Remember my cabinet turned planter box?) Well, my most recent transformation was super easy, and pushed me a little bit out of my norm because I used DecoArt Frost Gloss Enamel paints, which I had never tried before. The result is this adorable cabinet door turned hat rack for my baseball -and baseball hat- obsessed little boy.

We consider ourselves to be very fortunate girls. So blessed in so many ways, but one of the ways we are so lucky is that we get to work with some amazing companies! DecoArt was generous enough to send us all this awesome stuff to try out. It seriously was like Christmas morning opening up that box!

After thinking about what I had laying around the house that I could attack with glass paint, I remembered my stash of cabinet doors leftover from our kitchen remodel. I chose one long, rectangular door that had glass inset in it. I washed the glass with soap and water and then cleaned the side I was going to paint on with rubbing alcohol which allows for better adhesion for the paint.


I taped up the glass and spraypainted it my favorite white spraypaint from Rustoleum.


I chose my color scheme based on the colors in my son's room. I ended up not using the green paint, but I'll go into that more later. DecoArt recommends using a makeup sponge to apply the paint, and luckily I had a bunch of them on hand.


One of the main colors in Charlie's room is gray, so I mixed a little bit of the black frost paint in with the white until I was satisfied with the color.


I taped off stripes so that I would have two gray stripes and one white stripe and then gently dabbed the paint on the glass using the makeup sponge. I did this 3 times total to get the color I was going for, allowing the paint to dry a bit in between each coat.


The paint goes on sort of opaque but dries to a really cool etched glass appearance. The colors are much more subtle and translucent once they dry. It really is such a cool affect that you couldn't get using other paints.


While the paint dried, I had my hubs drill four holes for the hat hooks on the bottom of the the cabinet,

and then I spraypainted these knobs from my kitchen cabinets in a hammered bronze medal spraypaint.


After letting the paint dry overnight, I pulled back the tape to reveal the stripes. WRONG METHOD! DecoArt recommends that you let the paint dry for 4 days, which I totally should have done because my paint pulled up a bit when I pulled the tape off. Do like I say, not like I did.; ) To add a little more detail, I used the stick-on stencils they sent us, which were awesome. You just place them on the surface, smooth out the air bubbles, and then rinse them when you're done. You can use them over and over again! Love that.

Using a small dauber, I applied the paint to the knobs.

Ta-da! The look is so simple and classic looking and I love it! The paint is so subtle but adds a lot of interest to the glass.

Remember I mentioned the green paint before? Well, I was going to stencil Charlie's name on the glass over the stripes, but I'm a simple kind of girl, and the plain stripes really appealed to me. But just for fun, here's what it would kind of look like if I did paint his name, thanks to the wonders of PicMonkey:


I may eventually want to add some color, but for now, I'm enjoying the nice, subtle, neutral tones of this hat rack.

I wish I could really capture how cool the glass looks, but trust me, it's awesome.

There are loads of ideas and how-to videos on the DecoArt website, if you're interested in giving glass paint a go (which you totally should!) You can find DecoArt's glass paint line at Michaels. I'm planning on using all those other paints with my senior ladies in the craft group I lead once a month. Holiday mugs, here we come!: )
*This post was sponsored by DecoArt, but all ideas and opinions are my own.: )Linking up to: Tutorials & Tips

You guys, it was time. Remember that I added some much needed curb appeal to the front of my house by painting the front door and shutters a gorgeous blue and gray last summer? That made a huge improvement, but it was still sadly lacking…mainly because of the ugly, stained concrete slab that we call our front porch. Well, you can't call it ugly now!

When 3M Tekk Protection asked if I wanted to do a project that added some curb appeal to my house in time for the Fourth of July, I knew immediately that it was time to tackle this concrete mess.

Ugh. I decided that since removing the concrete wasn't a possibility, I would paint it with what else? Stripes! Painting concrete is not difficult, but you need to make sure you prep the surface well and get the right materials.
Here's what you'll need to paint your concrete step: - Concrete Primer -Patio and Porch Paint in your desired colors (I got mine from Home Depot) -Scotchblue Edge Lock Painters Tape
-Paint Odor Valved Respirator -Paint brush -Paint Tray -Roller -Broom -Hose

I hadn't ever tried this painters tape with edge-lock but had heard good things, so I was excited to give it a try!

I'm not usually one who worries about painting while pregnant, but I have been doing so much more painting than usual for Knock It Off that I've been super careful and have been wearing a mask. I really like this one from 3M TEKK Protection- it's comfy and light and does the trick, especially with the special epoxy primer needed for concrete.

I love that I can actually breathe through the special valve, instead of feeling like I'm suffocating.

Cute, huh? Anyhow, let's get started:
1. The first thing you need to do is prep the surface. Make sure you sweep away all dirt and debris from the step and then spray down with soapy water. Let dry completely,
2. Roll the primer onto the step, making sure to cover the entire surface. Concrete primer is really thin, so keep this in mind as you roll it on. It's designed to soak into the concrete, not sit on top, which actually helps the paint to adhere to the concrete better. I actually poured the primer right onto the step and rolled it out instead of putting it in a tray. Less mess! Don't skip this step! Trust me. Otherwise you'll be scraping paint off the concrete instead of enjoying your pretty new front porch. (Not that that happened to me or anything…)
3. Roll your base color onto the step. Repeat with a second coat, if necessary.

4. Determine the width and placement of your stripes and place the Scotchblue tape in the appropriate places. I liked the look of the stripes coming out from the door, but horizontal stripes would have been fun too! Run a credit card along the edges of the tape to create a nice seal. Then, using a paint brush, paint the edges of the tape with the base color (in my case, white) so that if any paint bleeds under the tape, it will be the color that's already there. This is our fail-safe way to get perfect stripes every time!

5. Roll your second color over your pre-taped areas. Repeat as necessary. Then pull that tape back at an angle and take a look at those crisp lines! I'm telling you, there is no better feeling out there.

Finally, I added some new house numbers, a DIY wreath, a chalkboard American flag and some pretty potted plants to complete my porch makeover.

I made a little video for you guys to explain the whole process for you and show you the end result. Three things to note: 1) I'm huge and I know it. I still have 3 months to go and it looks like I could pop any day! Be kind. 2) It was buggy and I couldn't stop itching! 3) Clearly the camera should have been turned the other way. Sorry, folks!

Oh my. Well, my legs are still skinny.; )

I'll share the tutorial for this rope-wrapped wreath later this week so stay tuned!

I'm thrilled with the way it all looks, but still have one more ummmm, kind of big, item on my house exterior to-do list: paint the siding! I've never loved the yellowish siding and would really like to go with a darker color (maybe gray?) and white shutters, but my hubs is not quite on board. Don't worry, though, I'll convince him soon enough!; )

How about a little before and after action for you?

I'm so relieved that our guests don't have to look at that ugly concrete anymore when they come to my front door. Now they get a taste of what the rest of my house looks like!
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For lots more DIY inspiration and information, following along on the 3M DIY Twitter page and Facebook page!

*This post is a collaboration with 3M™ TEKK Protection™ Brand, but all words and opinions and extra baby weight are my own.

Oooh, I so wish you could see my hallway bathroom right now. It is coming along exactly how I had envisioned. Mostly because I finally found the perfect piece of furniture for my new custom vanity. This vanity earned us a spot in Round 3 of Crafting with the Stars over at Sew Dang Cute, and although she's pretty darn cute in pictures, she's absolutely gorgeous in real life. So, here's the breakdown of the transformation this little table underwent:
Antiquated to Awesome Table Transformation While browsing one of our local antique stores, I stumbled across this table in an out-of-the-way-spot covered in loads of other stuff.

Now, she doesn't look like anything special, but I could see through her battered, yellowing self to see the potential in her simple lines and aged charm. My initial thought was to sand the yellowish tones off to hopefully reveal a distressed white/wood look. After what seemed like an eternity of sanding with two palm sanders, I realized that this piece probably really was an antique and that the paint had mostly likely been there forever. I hesitate to reveal this information for fear of the antique-lovers out there giving me a hard time about sanding such an old piece, but hey, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

So anyway, the chippy paint look I was going for totally didn't happen because sanding it made the paint appear the color of a peach and that just was not at all the look I was going for.

So, on to plan B. Monica came over to help out and she brought the custom gray stain they used on their farmhouse table and also a mahogany stain she had. We had some walnut stain left over from when we originally stained our kitchen cabinets, so we tested all three on the top of the piece. We knew we could always sand out the stains we didn't like, but we made sure to place the sample stains in the middle where the vessel sink would go, anyway.

In the end, we decided on doing a custom mix of walnut and gray stains.

I brushed on the walnut stain first in long even strokes.

After about a minute, Monica wiped the stain off with a staining pad.

Even with just the walnut stain, it was absolutely beautiful, but I knew that the addition of the gray stain would make it match the colors in the bathroom even better, so again, I brushed the gray stain overtop of the walnut in long even strokes.

After wiping it off, we had this:

Note to self: Do not stain a piece of furniture in your kitchen. If you're not careful, stain will get everywhere leaving you in a slight panic and making lots of extra work for yourself.

Ahh! Let me stop here to point out how crazy our work environment was that evening:

How we got anything done is a mystery to me. Monica and I work very quickly and as a result, leave a trail of disaster in our wakes. We were simultaneously working on the table, painting a custom destination sign with coordinates for a customer, planning our posts for the next few weeks and drinking our favorite Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino from Wawa. Craziness, I tell you. But I digress… on with the project:

After the hours of sanding the top, I really REALLY didn't want to sand the legs, so we came up with the idea of doing a whitewash treatment. Basically, whitewashing is a combination of paint mixed with water that creates a translucent glaze of color.

You can see that adding the whitewash took away the yellow tones, but kept all that yummy aged character of the piece.

Finally, we broke out the power tools and got ready to make our holes for the new sink and faucet. This is a lot easier than you probably think it is. After measuring the center of the table where the sink would go, we used a drill with a 1 1/2" circle bit to make a hole for the pipes to run through.

This creates a lot of sawdust which for us was a problem. DESIGN BLOGGER FOUL! We should have drilled the holes FIRST before we stained!

Brushing off the saw dust on stain that hadn't dried yet gave us a minor heart attack, but we recovered after restained the parts that needed it. Phew! No big deal. (But if you attempt this project, drill first, stain second!)

We added the sink that we bought at Lowes so we could determine the placement of the hole for the faucet. We didn't use any scientific method here; we simply placed the faucet next to the sink and eyeballed where it should go. Remember folks, I don't claim to be a perfectionist.: )

In pictures, the faucet looks kind of goldish, but in reality it has a brushed nickel finish that adds just a touch of modern that is perfect.

We wanted to add some detailing to the piece to make it more unique, so I picked up some oil-rubbed bronze knobs from Lowe's. Monica pre-drilled a few holes, and then we screwed them right in. They look so cool and give the affect of a drawer on the front.

So, at the end of night one, this is how the table looked. Pretty sweet, huh? But the fun part was putting it all together the next day after I (and my mom who wanted to save me some time while I was coaching my tennis team) added 6-7 layers of a water-based polyurethane to the top to prevent water damage that may occur from my very messy wonderful family. We went with a water-based poly because it doesn't change the color of the wood tones. I'm not 100% sure this will be enough protection, and I'm paranoid about anything marring the surface of this beauty, so I'm going to be doing a bit more research on protecting the wood before we use it. Any suggestions?
So now that all is said and done, this is how my beautiful vanity looks:

I am so in love with this table, and am thrilled to death that it turned out just like I was hoping. It looks amazing in the bathroom, and pictures just don't do it justice. Next week, I'll be showing you the final reveal of our hallway bathroom after I add some finishing touches and I can't wait!
What do you think of my table-turned-vanity? Have you ever turned a thrift or antique store find into something fabulous?

Now, on to Round 3!

Linking up to: TT & J, Show & Tell Saturday, Tips & Tutorials Tip Me Tuesday, Sundae Scoop, Sunday Showcase

Well, well, look what I found:

Remember my post about the game plan for my bathroom? I really wanted a ladder for the space to as a stylish way to hang a few hand towels and other little things we might need in the bathroom. I found one this weekend while visiting my sister in Lancaster. There is a house that we pass on the way to my sister's that has hundreds (no exaggeration) of old windows and other random junk in their yard. Of course, that's like the jackpot for a cheap DIYer like me, so we stopped by. Lucky for me, they had a few ladders like this one and I was able to buy it for $15! (Talked her down from $20. Oh yeah, I drive a hard bargain.) Out of all the things I've bought for my house, besides my statement piece, this one is my favorite. It captures the feel I'm going for in my home (and no, that feel is not old paint shop in case you were wondering.) This really tall little beauty needs some loving, as in, a good sanding and maybe a few coats of a water-based polyurethane to bring out the wood tones. There's just one too many different colors of paint on her for my liking, so once they're sanded out, she'll be perfect.

In other news, we bought a mirror at Lowes for the bathroom. Originally, I planned on thrifting a cheap, unique mirror, but we came across this one marked way down on clearance at Lowes, and I'm totally loving the shape of it.

(Yes, that is my garage filled with lots of old barnwood for my various projects. Yes, my husband gives me the stink eye because of it.)

And how do I like the color of this mirror? Umm, not so much. Black with red undertones? I don't think so.

I'm planning on painting the mirror frame and then doing an antique glazing treatment on it to make it look weathered and well, antique. Something like this:

I've finally chosen my paint colors, Olympic Whispering Wind and Quill, which I'll have color-matched in Valspar paint (that covers better with less coats). You can't tell in this picture, but they are very neutral beiges that are almost gray. LOVE them.

And finally, the lighting. Thanks to some suggestions by our awesome readers (who knew to look at outdoor lighting??!!), I've narrowed down my choices to this large bronze wall-mounted light fixture that is actually meant to be outside. It's from Lowes and costs $39.98. I really adore everything about it, but I'm not sure the color is exactly the feel I'm going for.

Lowes

My second choice is this Raw Steel outdoor wall sconce from Lowes. It costs a little bit less than the other light $24.95, but is smaller. The color is definitely in the cooler tones.

Lowes

So, now, will you help me? The finish of the light will really direct the direction of the other decorative items in the room (bronze= browns & creams, silver = gray, white and black). It's your chance to tell me what you think would work best in my bathroom redesign.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Thanks so much! My husband tried to sneak his own decorative touch into the bathroom, hoping I wouldn't notice.

Sorry, babe, the Phillies hand towel is oooooutta here! Nice try.

Happy Monday!

We've been making some slow and steady progress on our hallway bathroom redesign (see my game plan here), but it feels like the eternal job. This is because of two things: we're making sure all the funds are in place (even though this is a small job, we still want to be smart with our money), and I've been searching for all the right pieces. Here's what we started with:

Not the worst bathroom you've ever seen, but it definitely had lots of room to improve. I'm so excited about this bathroom because it will be the very first room in our house that will be completed in the coastal/cottagey (neutral colors, weathered materials and warm wood tones) direction I'm heading in. I finally feel like I know what my style is, and now am taking baby steps to get my house in line. We started by breaking down the process into steps:
Step One: Prep the Area First off, we had to take down that plain jane mirror and remove the builder grade vanity.

My he-man hubs cut through the caulk around the countertop with a razor and after that, just lifted it right off.

Removing the behomoth vanity came next. This was a bit tricky because we didn't have a clue how to didn't want to turn the water off completely to the entire house (he turned the water off locally, of course, though). After a bit of debating, Kevin decided to cut a small hole around the pipes with a jigsaw so that we could lift the vanity up and over the pipes.

Can you even believe the color of the walls behind the mirror? When we moved into this house 4 years ago, this was one of the first rooms we painted. The color was just unsettling. Still is, as a matter of fact.

Uh-oh. This was so not a happy moment. Actually, as we were pulling the vanity out, I said to the hubs,"I really hope the wood floor continues to the wall under the vanity." Ugh. It did not, and so, this project just got a little trickier.

Thankfully, the previous homeowners kept a few extra planks of wood flooring, but no matter what we do, there's going to be a difference in the staggered pattern of the floor where the vanity used to be. It's a good thing I don't care about everything being perfect. Why sweat the small stuff, you know? The final part of the prep stage was spackling and sanding the walls, and applying the base coat of paint to the walls (Olympic Quill color-matched in Valspar Premium from Lowes- A warm neutral gray.)
Step Two: Beef up the Moulding  This is a very simple and inexpensive designers trick that makes a world of difference. Some homeowners (ahem! Monica) are fortunate enough to have chunky baseboard trim, which just has a high-end, finished look, but we are not so fortunate. So, why not fake it? We bought 32 feet of half-round trim- enough to go around the entire bathroom, plus a little in case we made any mistakes. Then we took a piece of wood we had laying around to use as a guide (this is a must! It makes the whole job sooooo much easier).

Our piece of wood was roughly 3.5 inches tall. Cut the half-round so that it has nice corners that will match up using a mitre saw.(You can find loads of tutorials online that will teach you how to use a mitre saw and make the right cuts.) Place the wood on the top of the existing baseboard trim, lay the new cut half-round trim on top of that, level and then shoot in a few nails using a nail gun.

Next, use paintable caulk to fill in any gaps, and wood filler to fill in the nail holes. Finish with primer (ok, we did not do this because we NEVER prime, but you should do as I say, not as I do. We are such rebels.: ), and a fresh coat of white trim paint.

Voila! Chunky and fabulous.
Step 3: Paint Stripes I'm not going to go into detail about this step, because we followed the exact instructions for painting the perfect stripe. I decided that we would paint a total of 3 stripes, and the middle stripe would be the darker color (Olympic Stormy Weather, color-matched in Valspar Premium)

The perfect stripe method worked perfectly! No bleeding at all. This picture does not do either color justice. They both lean towards gray, but are still warm like a neutral tan. I'm seriously in love with both of them, and am now contemplating painting the hallway/foyer one of these colors as well.
Step 4: Make a Huge Mess (Optional)  This is what our hallway currently looks like. How long can one live like this and not go crazy? We are are trying to figure out the answer and will fill you in. You're welcome.

Step 5: Install New Lighting 
Yup, after all the votes were tallied, I decided to go with this large, bronze fixture for above the sink.

It's awesome and huge, but there's just one problem: Because it's an outdoor light, the recommended max wattage is 60W. That makes for a very dim bathroom. I'm not giving up on this light, though, because I'm basically already married to it. I'm toying around with adding additional lighting somewhere else, and switching out the bulb to a 75W bulb (I'm a rebel, remember?)

See how there's almost no light shining above the fixture? Any suggestions?
Here it is, as it stands today:

Lovely beefed-up trim.

Gorgeous stripes in neutral colors. I just had to throw my old ladder in there because I'm so impatient. And guess what? It's a keeper.

Wheeee! I'm totally loving it so far.

To Do List: 1. Add crown moulding. We're holding off on this until we can get a friend to help since we've never done it before and we've heard it's pretty scary.
2. Fix the flooring under the vanity and install baseboard in that area.
3. Paint and apply an antique glaze to the mirror.
4. Figure out the vanity situation.
5. Accessorize! (My favorite part!)

So, it's slow and steady progress, but it's progress nonetheless!
Happy Thursday,

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Arcobaleno Antiques and Interiors
thank you, Elle Oh, for the discovery...
don't forget to list your gray paint colors here
happy, happy weekend, my sweet babies...

I'm typically a traditional Fall colors girl, as you might remember from my fancy mantle (seen here), but this year my autumn color-loving self has been tempted by the hues of a different kind of pumpkin: heirlooms! These gorgeous, antique-looking pumpkins have seeds that have been around for hundreds of years, but are making a big comeback in Fall decor! They come in a variety of colors, but are mainly in muted grays, blues, greens and white. These babies are not cheap, but apparently, are absolutely delicious to use in cooking/baking, so you can decorate with them and then eat them. Big bang for your buck.: ) (That's what I tell my hubs, anyway)

Heirloom Pumpkins

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: thenester.com via Jessica on Pinterest
The Nester used them on her mantle and, of course, they look amazing. Can I just say that I love the Nester and her design motto: It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful? Just sayin'.

Source: hollymathisinteriors.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Gorgeous eye candy for the heirloom pumpkin-lover that I am.

Source: poetichome.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: twentysomethingtransue.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: susieharrisblog.com via Jessica on Pinterest
If you're too cheap frugal to buy heirloom pumpkins, you can make your own that will last forever using this tutorial. Pretty convincing and super cute.
I was so inspired by these photos, that I went out and bought my own to use in my entryway. Would you believe it if I told you that I bought mine at Home Depot? Well, I did. They were $8.00 a pop, but honestly, my life wouldn't have been complete without them (ok, I'll admit that that's a bit of an overstatement, but my hubs will tell you that once I get something in my head, I'm pretty darn annoying about it until I have it/do something about it.)

I only sprung for two heirloom pumpkins, but I love the character and colors they add to the little workbench I found this past summer.

And if you're really, really perceptive, you might have noticed two things that are different here: 1) I added a number 4 to my white pitcher (four is a favorite number around here because it's how many people are in our family and '04 was the year we were married). I created a stencil and then dry-brushed it on the pitcher. So easy! It's not perfect, as you can see, but I'll be cleaning up the lines as soon as I get the chance. (I just couldn't wait that long to post pictures!)

And 2) I finally convinced my hubs to paint the hallway that was covered in paint that I loathed. It went from swine-colored to a cool gray/tan neutral that I am in love with (you can see the new paint color here in my newly redesigned bathroom). So.much.better.

As you can see, it's still a work in progress, but the difference is truly amazing. {Love} So, what are your thoughts about heirloom pumpkins? Do you think they're cool like me, or just plain wierd? Have you used them in your home yet? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The projects for the final round of Crafting with the Stars are now up and ready to be voted on. We would be ever so grateful if you'd head on over to Sew Dang Cute and vote (for us)! We're crossing our fingers that this project wins us the whole contest!: ) Thanks for your help. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy Monday!

It's a week early! I'm both excited and nervous all at the same time! Why you ask is it still covered in plastic? Well, the delivery guys just left for one, and for two, we have an issue with our floor finish that the floor guy has to deal with tomorrow (hopefully) and although no dust will be created, I don't want to unwrap them until he's done.
So pictures are a bit premature but I thought I'd give you a sneek peek as to what we've been up to the past few weeks. We never did break into a waltz like I described in my fantasy BUT we did accomplish something equally as romantic and painted all the windows! I'm kidding, although I do find it very attractive when Hubby is working on the house — why is that? (wink, wink Hubby)

I also painted the fireplace bricks white!
After priming the bricks to cover up the glue stains, I had a panic attack and questioned what I had done. Joan at For the Love of a House (my dear friend) calmed me down (I love her!).
I wish I didn't have to paint them but when I spoke to a local mason, he told me that the blond bricks weren't original to the house. Meaning, that at some point probably in the 60's, the fireplace surround was rebuilt and that's why they didn't match the gray bricks on the exterior chimney....which has made me contemplate painting the bricks gray as I'm not completely sold on the white. Thoughts? Do you like the white?
Once again, Joan came to my rescue (she does that a lot) and sent me some Sherwin Williams colors to try and upon doing so, I discovered this amazing digital tool they offer on their web site where you can upload your personal photo and try different paint colors (I'll post them soon). It's been so helpful in determining what shade of grey may work as I wouldn't want it to look too flat, too dark or like concrete!

My other update is the new mirror over the fireplace. I absolutely love the botanical detail on the frame. I was in an antique shop in Portland, one of my favorites, when I stumbled across it- on sale. Was I looking for a new mirror for over the fireplace, not really, but my Great-Great Grandparent's mirror never looked quite proportionate to the size of the mantle (I've relocated it to the guest room for now).
When I saw the mirror, I put a hold on it and then went to another favorite antique store to see what other similar items were out there. I discovered that compared to other mirrors of similar size and style, the one I had on hold was a really great deal so I went back and bought it. It was $120, normally priced at $195.
I hope that we'll be able to unwrap our furniture by tomorrow — although I'm sure we'll take a few peeks before then! I normally don't get very nervous about new purchases but typically that's because I don't spend as much money and they're also not purchased sight unseen (we didn't get to actually see our chosen fabrics on the pieces).
So again, excited and nervous all at the same time! Hubby is more calm and Lucy just wants to know what all the fuss is about.

From a distance, you may not notice the stains on the brick fireplace. These stains come from the glue that the previous owners used to adhere the faux wood paneling.

Here is our fireplace in its former glory. The incinerator-like wood stove compliments the dark gloomy look and took two grown men (chimney guys), several hours, and several swear words to remove.

Here's Hubby prying off the first bit of the faux paneling. This is literally thefirst day (maybe even the first hour), after taking ownership of the house.

This is after all of the paneling was removed. We knew that there had been an old leak so that wasn't a surprise, but what we didn't expect was their generous use of glue (glue ended up being a four letter word during the remodel as the former owners used it everywhere).

This is how things look now. We've covered up the bookcases with drywall, added crown and base mouldings and had a cabinetmaker design and install the mantle.

Here's a closer look at the glue stains. We've tried everything to remove them — nothing has erased them completely. Initially, we had intended to paint over it but then kind of liked the brick (from a distance) with the white mantle so ended up leaving it....until now.
With the new furniture on its way, and with an empty room just screaming for a painting project, we're thinking that it might be time to paint it. All along, we thought we'd paint it white, but there have been other suggestions such as black or gray. What do you think?
I'm looking through some old magazines to try and see what different colors would look like. The good thing is that no matter what color we end up painting it, we can always change it later on....