A Couple of "In House" Projects

After 20+ years of owning our own homes, we are back in the world of renting. Now, there are many pros and cons regarding renting. For us, the biggest pro is that if something breaks, you just call the landlord and let them deal with fixing it and the expense of doing so. 

That being said, it is very challenging for a compulsive "fixer-upper" and avid gardener to move into a house and expect her to leave everything the way it is. I miss planting lovely things in my yard so I'm doing more container gardening...... but it's really not the same.

As for the house...well.... I lasted as long as I could (longer than should be expected!) and this week I decided that I couldn't look at this ugly fireplace/mantle any longer! The brick reminds me of the fake fireplaces we used to decorate with at Christmas when I was a child. Yuck! And the mantle....let's just say that it fades into the wall..... and that's a good thing!

I knew from experience, that brick fireplaces can be painted (been there, done that) but remember..... this is not my house, so......what to do?

Well, I took my handy-dandy van Gogh chalk paint in "Chalk", and I watered it down a bit to create a "wash". Then I brushed it on a few bricks to see how it looked. Well, it wasn't the look I was trying to create. It looked kind of ....... pink. Definitely not the look I was after!

So, I scrubbed it off and started again. This time I dipped my brush in the wash, and then wiped most of it off. Then I used more of a "dry brushing" technique to apply the paint.....MUCH better! I did a small section and then went back with a rag and kind of blotted the paint....perfect! I also painted the mantle (such that it is) in Serenity..... a beautiful, soft taupe color.

Here is the finished transformation! I'm loving the new look...what do you think?

 I decided to leave the hearth the way it is. It's more of a polished surface, so I didn't see how I could achieve the same look that I did with the rough brick. The overall result is more of an "old brick" color and I do like it so much better...... my landlord will never know!

Another quick project (for me) this week was the transformation of this great rustic table. We inherited it from a friend several years ago, when she moved to North Carolina-thanks, Laura!. We loved the rustic look of it, but I wanted to do something to jazz it up a bit, while still maintaining the rustic character.

I had some Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint that I had been wanting to try, so I mixed it up and painted the bottom of the table in this lovely shade of green.

Then I broke out the van Gogh wax in French Caffeine and waxed the bare wood table top.

 It was like staining the wood a lovely light walnut...very yummy!

 

After a little wet distressing of the legs, I added a tiny little bit of dark wax to the bottom, and I have to say that I LOVE the result. The table has so much character and I love all the gouges, nail heads, and uneven boards that make up this great piece....and now it has...COLOR! 

Yippee!

Until next time...

Varina...the french gypsy