2010 August

Where I Blog

August 30, 2010 by Christa @ Stories of a House 11 Comments

It’s been fun seeing where my fellow blogging friends write their masterpieces at Centsational Girl, so I’m joining in! You should stop by & link up if you haven’t already!

This is where I write. It is my therapy.

It is a cozy and convenient corner in the hub of our home, where there is usually a candle going and dishes to be ignored washed. I enjoy blogging in the quiet, with no t.v., and while the kids are at school so that I can give them my undivided attention once they are home.

In the not-too-distant future, I’ll be transforming this space with antique white cabinets and black for the island. I cannot wait to get started on them. You can see where I did a black glaze over the builder grade orange cabinets (like the appliance garage which is obviously when I lost interest).

Thanks for stopping by and getting to know me a little more,

p.s. We haven’t forgotten about the laundry riser tutorial…it’s almost done, with sketches, courtesy of Romeo himself.

Filed Under: About Me, My Home, Workspace

Laundry cabinets, day … I have lost count.

August 24, 2010 by Christa @ Stories of a House 27 Comments

Words cannot express how happy I am to be finished with this project.

You can check out my last 3 posts if you are curious about the process,

or want to see the products I’m using.

Here was before:

And now:

Whites can be warm, cool, bright, or mellow, so they are tricky, at least they were for me this time.

I sprayed on a few different colors to get the right one for this room.

Ben Moore Acadia White was a nice, creamy white,

but it looked like a marshmallow exploded in my laundry room.

Bone White – very pretty, but too brown next to the white in the stripes.

But Linen White….just right.

It is a soothing, creamy white with yellow undertones.

It works well in a farmhouse/cottage decor.

 (Mayonnaise was a close contender and a bit lighter.)  

I took the liberty of distressing the edges before the kids had the chance, and used Ben Moore Stays Clear in low sheen for the final finish.

Edit: next time I will use Varathane in semi-gloss.

A simple basket holds current projects.

Up next: Romeo built an open laundry shelf for the washer and dryer to sit on that I have left to paint. He even offered to do a guest post/tutorial, so keep an eye out if you are interested in building one!

Sharing this at:

Filed Under: Before and After, Do it Yourself, Home Decor, My Home

Laundry cabinets, take two. Keepin it real.

August 20, 2010 by Christa @ Stories of a House 10 Comments

I’m over my tantrum,

and I’m ready to repaint the cabinets.

Yep, repaint.

The picture above is the new glazed white cabinets…
…already disassembled.

It wasn’t until everything was done and put back together until I realized that while they were very pretty alone, they are too brown for *this* room. Out of curiosity, I put the doors all around my kitchen
and they are gorgeous & perfect in there.
(Of course they were.)

Romeo saw *the look* and knew just how to lift some of the burden of redoing everything, and did all the drilling stuff this time.

He gets me.

I inherited the brown flooring, brown counters, and brown cabinets.
What color might you guess the walls were?
Yes, tan.
It wasn’t bad, but just not a room I loved walking into.My philosophy on laundry rooms is that it is a space to make fun and unique since doing laundry isn’t the most enjoyable chore.
I love farmhouse and vintage inspired rooms, so that is the look I am going for in here.
Now I’m hoping I can find the perfect white cabinet color that will tie everything together.
I need to decide if I should glaze at all. I’m leaning towards not.
If anything, just a pinstripe.
I’ve consider removing the wallpaper and choosing a warmer color, but I love that wallpaper, and don’t want to go through all that.

I’m open to ideas!

Filed Under: Before and After, Do it Yourself, Home Decor, My Home

Painting laundry cabinets, day two

August 15, 2010 by Christa @ Stories of a House 9 Comments

Yesterday’s plan to paint went according to plan,
and without a hitch.

The cabinets were painted Bone White in Ben Moore’s Aura.

It was the first time I’ve used Aura and I’m hooked.
Only 1/4 gallon was needed for the entire laundry room!

Today I was eager to glaze & topcoat,

and get everything put back together.
You know the feeling, right?

It was a typical weekend morning.

The Little Women were looking forward their oat, egg white, flaxseed, blueberry & cottage cheese pancakes, and I cheerfully delivered.

Their bellies were good and full, and I had a good 3 hours

of no ‘can we have a snack?’ business.

Then, this happened to me.

I’d love to know how this woman has managed to take over a paint brand that so many of us are loyal to.
Our favorite Ralph Lauren glazes, such as tea stain, smoke, and tobacco
have been eliminated from the fellas in the orange aprons’ computers.
Even they were surprised to see the formulas gone.

Poof.
Not even one formula remained to mix in the glazing mediums
they had sitting on the shelf!

Oh, Martha.
Martha, Martha, Martha.I wish you had focused more on your pet line, is all.
But I’ll keep an open mind and give you a chance.

So, I had to adapt.

And we LOVE the way the cabinets are turning out.

I’ve had some emails about glazing how-to’s, so I hope to give the Little Women a crash course in recording, and put together a quick video tutorial…tomorrow.
Hopefully.

Filed Under: Before and After, Do it Yourself, Home Decor, My Home, Products I Like

Painting laundry cabinets, day one.

August 14, 2010 by Christa @ Stories of a House 6 Comments

This project is five years in the making and words cannot express how glad I am to finally be doing it.

Yesterday was spent prepping and priming.
I did it all by myself, and slept like a baby.

It was a good opportunity to pull out the appliances and realize that yours truly is not as good a housekeeper as once thought.

I’ll spare you those images.

An entire month was spent researching which paint products to use, talking to just about every paint guy in town, and getting a different answer from each one. I almost went with an oil-based primer so I wouldn’t have adhesion issues down the road, but at the last minute I took the advice of one guy who told me that XIM water-based primer will stick just fine.

I chose Krud Kutter to clean and degloss, which I like better than TSP because you don’t have to rinse it off. But, it didn’t touch the really sticky residue. Mr. Clean did the trick.

Everything is primed, and ready for paint today.

Hopefully, tomorrow is glazing day.

I hope you’ll check back to see the progress!

Filed Under: Before and After, Do it Yourself, Home Decor, My Home, Products I Like

I’m going for it. Yep, I’m quite sure… I think. Definitely.

August 12, 2010 by Christa @ Stories of a House 9 Comments

We’ve lived here five years, and for five years

I’ve wanted to paint the laundry cabinets.

Tomorrow, I’m starting.

Making this house our home seems to go on and on.

First, I did the wallpaper and vintage touches in here,

then added the vinyl words to the laundry door for fun.

Next on the agenda:

And, of course, paint the cabinets.

Stay tuned!

Filed Under: Before and After, Do it Yourself, Home Decor

You have no idea how glad I am to finish this desk.

August 8, 2010 by Christa @ Stories of a House 31 Comments

You may remember this desk that I brought home like another stray pet. Unless an intervention took place, either it was headed for the landfill, or to a home where someone doesn’t mind vacuuming every hour.

My wonderful husband (who plays Romeo on this blog) is the master rebuilder of bases that sit on wet curbs.
The Master.
He turned the rotted base into this:

I didn’t take a real before of the desk, but you can catch a shot of it here, after he replaced the base with non-shedding wood.

Remember this antique chair that I found buried
under heaps of furniture at the junkyard?

It needed quite a bit of help, too.
You are wondering if I was tempted to keep the label that warns people about the questionable practice of keeping flammables away from fabric, aren’t you?
(That is a no.)

After a new seat, new foam, and batting,
they are the perfect match.

As Mom always said whenever I went through a break-up,
there is a lid for every pot.
(I get it now.)

Everything was distressed
and glazed with Metallic Taupe acrylic paint.

(I borrowed the glaze color idea from my pal Lori
at Projects Plenty when she did this gorgeous sideboard.)

The drawers were refreshed with a little decoupage.
And boy, did they need it. The lucky girl who gets this desk will be able
to choose her fabric and knobs.
What do you think she’ll pick?
Cute and all pink?