Paint Colors

Kassidy’s room

April 12, 2013 by Christa Leave a Comment

I’ve had requests to see some of the rest of our house, even though most rooms are in a state of flux. In our quest to begin tackling our to-do list, we worked on Kassidy’s room this week. I had originally painted this CL bed for her, thinking it would work well for her room, but the foot board recently broke off. Rather than finding a quality solution for repairing it, we decided to get her something less bulky. In general, the bed was out of scale for her room. Here is what it was before it was broken:

After:

So, we bought her a new bed at Ikea for $99. (Wall color is BM Folk Art, Bedding – Target, Lamps -Ikea).

Better, huh? Of course, a room always looks better without cups on nightstands and laundry on the floor . Her sisters like the bed so much that they want me to sell theirs and get them the same one. If you’ve read my blog for long, you may remember seeing the same bed when I converted our playroom into a guest bedroom (wall color: SW Believable Buff). Seriously. This bed can work with any style.

I will never get rid of these animal prints. Someday, my grand babies will enjoy them. One of the many, many things I love about Kassidy is her spirit of contentment. When she outgrows something, either I have to notice or she will tell me when she truly does need something. I love it when out of the blue she smiles and says, “mmmm, I’m happy.” She’s so laid back that way, but we also joke that she could easily be secretary to the President as she has our social agendas planned and memorized down to the minute. Anyway, she’s had the above animal print pictures since she was 3 years old! She still loves them and has no plans on me changing them in the near future. I got the prints through Art.com and bought the frames at an Aaron Brothers two-for-one sale so it was a cheap solution that has lasted us for over 8 years. I just asked her the other day if she still loved them, and yep, she does! Of course, all of our girls have their own strengths and all are special in their own way. We just breathe them in and celebrate them as much as possible…

Kassidy also doesn’t mind me buying and refinishing Craigslist furniture for her. I bought her dresser and two nightstands on CL for less than $150. When I asked her if she’d like some pretty glass knobs for her nightstand she said “Actually, I’m happy with these.” “Okay, well….would you like me to take you to Hobby Lobby and you can pick out any kind of knob?” “Yeah, that would be fun.” Her love language is quality time. Precious. So knob shopping we will go.

Anyone out their have this bed, too? Also, what are your art sources and secrets for adding character to your walls without breaking the bank?

Filed Under: Before and After, Do it Yourself, Family, Furniture, Home Decor, My Home, Paint Colors, Uncategorized

A Modern Vintage Dresser

March 12, 2013 by Christa @ Stories of a House 8 Comments

This weekend Kevin helped me out and brought home a couple of dressers for me to work on. Had I been with him I wouldn’t have bought this one, but it’s a long story and he ended up bringing home both. This one needed a ton of prep, but in the end it came out sooooo pretty. It is currently listed on Craigslist in Phoenix.

Before:

After:

I found the new hardware on clearance at Target, and had some SW Dover White on hand that I wanted to use up. It is another pretty, creamy white that I would definitely recommend and use again. I primed and sanded and primed and sanded the heck out of this piece, but the end result is a super smooth finish that will look great in many different places and spaces.

We are also giving our back patio some much needed attention. I found an enormous table with two unique benches made out of reclaimed wood on CL that I’ll be finishing to endure the heat, cold, and rain here. We strung white lights overhead and are looking forward to dinners and parties with friends and family out there. I’ll post as it all comes together. Have a wonderful day!

Filed Under: Antiques, Before and After, Furniture, Paint Colors, Thrifting

My love of white kitchens

September 19, 2012 by Christa @ Stories of a House 7 Comments

I’ve done many white kitchens in the past and I never tire of the look of them. They just seem timeless to me.

I had the opportunity to paint my parents’ oak kitchen cabinets white and when I am over there I always admire how much they brighten up their space. I finally got around to taking an after picture the other day at my sister in law’s baby shower. Here are some “during” pictures as I forgot to take some shots before I got started:

And after:

I love the black hardware against the white for contrast. (I used Benjamin Moore Aura paint in Acadia White.)

On another note, I’m very excited that Kevin and I are going to be building our farmhouse kitchen table soon. He drew up a plan of what we’ve been talking about and here is what we are thinking it will look like:

It’ll take us a few weeks but hopefully I’ll have the after pictures to share sooner than later. I recently finished painting my kitchen cabinet casings (again) and am working on the doors and drawers so there are a lot projects going on at once! Oh, the joys of being a DIY’er and a nester. The projects never end!

Filed Under: About Me, Before and After, Cabinetry, Do it Yourself, Home Decor, My Home, Paint Colors, Table and Chair Sets

~ Our cute little family room ~

September 17, 2012 by Christa @ Stories of a House 15 Comments

I’m not exactly making the progress I thought I would over here, my friends. But, the family room is shaping up and I’ll take what I can get! This is the view from the kitchen. I’m so happy with the wall colors we chose (Frazee Keratin is the main house color), our homemaid built-in entertainment center, pendants from Lowes, and our slipcovered sofa and loveseat in off-white. I have a feeling they will be washed often. I may have ~~begged~~ asked the girls to keep the dirt on the down-low or lay a blanket down so I don’t have to wash them as often as they aren’t easy to put on! (Unless my pal Sausha can tell me what I’m doing wrong – her slipcovers always look perfect!) Call me lazy, I guess. I don’t like doing laundry but I sure do like clean stuff.

We are soon getting started on building our own farmhouse style table that will be situated to the right of the view of this picture. I bought some chairs on CL that I may or may not paint (Not these ones – I just sold them today as I found better ones for our space yesterday. Kevin and I really enjoy working on stuff together so I can’t wait to share all the details of our table and chairs. We’ve been brainstorming ideas for a month and think we have it figured out, yay!

And yes, the girls love their before-bed episode of the Brady Bunch. They say it wards off bad dreams. (I buy that story every night.)

Filed Under: About Me, Before and After, Do it Yourself, Family, Finding Furniture, Furniture, Home Decor, My Home, Paint Colors, Ramblings, Table and Chair Sets

Our Paint Colors

April 20, 2012 by Christa @ Stories of a House 17 Comments

I’m excited to be sharing the paint colors we decided on before we move!

We have accepted an offer on our current home so the move day is drawing closer, but hopefully not too soon since there are a lot of dusty projects left to do. Ideally, those projects will be complete and I’ll do a thorough clean before moving us all in.

Back to the paint colors. On my monitor, the colors come through pretty true, and aren’t dark at all. One thing I’ve learned (through the process of choosing 9 colors for this house) is that paint looks different in every house. But, seeing a color in someone else’s home or online is always a good jumping off point if you are in the market for new paint.

Having said that, there is one that I can HIGHLY recommend and it’s a trim color -Ben Moore Mascarpone. It is beautiful, and I think it would look great in any home. We used it for all of our white trim and doors and we love it. Whites can be tricky, and this one is a WINNER.

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The main house color we chose was Frazee Keratin. It is a greige with a little bit of a green undertone, and we love it. It toned down the pinks in the tile quite a bit and would be a great backdrop to many types of decor.

Here, again, is Keratin in my future office:

We chose the lighter color on the strip (Frazee Tracing Paper) for the kids’ hangout/homework room.

These Pottery Barn chairs from Craigslist are perfect for their hangout room because they sat is someone’s guest house and were in perfect condition (at 75% off the pricetag). Same with the Ikea TV stand from Craigslist – 70% off and as good as new.

Our master bedroom is painted in SW Tony Taupe. We want to have a relaxing, hotel feel and I am on the lookout for some nice hotel style bedding, sconces, and whatever else I can find to make it a very relaxing place to crash after a long day.

The master bath is the next shade lighter than Tony Taupe – SW Balanced Beige

Then, we moved onto the kids’ rooms. They all had their “color” chosen, so I was on the lookout for the right shades of blue, green, and pink.

In Chloe’s room it was amazing how many blues I went through in this post. I had to go really gray on the paint chip to get a blue that didn’t scream neon. I finally decided on Frazee Helium. It is a soft, blue-gray that any 12 1/2 year old will be able to grow into.

Kassidy asked for a “happy, poppy green.” I decided on Ben Moore Folk Art for her room. It will look great with her furniture, bedding and accessories. I’ll be sure to share her smaller/craigslist bed that I painted and refreshed to accommodate her smaller room.

I’d like to introduce you to Kate’s room before we started making this a girly room. Are you ready for this?

The previous owner did murals. We had to drywall three walls, otherwise the stripes, the pictures of Pooh, his friends and the stars would have come through the color we chose.

We love the softness of the pink we chose. (I can’t remember the color exactly but it was Frazee Pink Peache or Peache Pink.)

Kevin’s office is being repainted soon because it was too pastel. We are going with Ben Moore Nantucket Gray and will post it soon.

So, we’re one step closer to getting ourselves moved in. I want to paint ALL the cabinets before we really start getting serious about leaving our current house so we can move into our new place with the least amount of dust to clean after we have moved.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the new colors; we sure are happy with them!

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

2011 in review & 1000 followers giveaway

January 5, 2012 by Christa @ Stories of a House 30 Comments

Happy New Year!

When I started my little blog in 2010 I had ZERO expectations. Sure, I wanted to take furniture refinishing to the next level and share it with whomever would have the patience to sit through my ramblings…but I NEVER expected I’d be enjoying friendships with people from all around the world via phone, email, and text. I absolutely love what I do, and I appreciate your friendship, whether you just lurk or directly correspond with me. Thank you so much….muah!

2011 was a year of growth and change for myself and our family. I like to blog about these things here and there because this is my little scrapbook journal (I gave paper scrapbooking the old college try but failed miserably). This isn’t just for my family to read but also for my blog family to get to know me better as a real person, and not just a girl who perpetually has paint in her hair and under her nails. Here’s our 2011 in a nutshell:

* Last week we received final approval on the second home we put an offer on which is just a few doors down from my folks’ house. This transaction took 5 weeks. The other offer we made is still going on 9 months and is dead in the water. God is good; we like this house better, and being so close to Mom and Dad is the most AMAZING blessing ever (along with having my brother and his wife 2 blocks away). So this means we are putting our lovely home on the market and the packing begins. (Anyone wanna come and help; I’ll feed ya!) We look forward to downsizing and cutting expenses, but will greatly miss this home which holds precious memories.

* The girls changed schools. Boy was this ever the 2011 monstrosity. It took about 3 months before the tears subsided, and although they are doing okay, and in spite of being voted class representatives, they aren’t “feeling it.” But, they are really learning a lot. Many times I’ve resorted to saying, “hate me now, thank me later.” I was offered a job as their school nurse, but since I absolutely love the refinishing and working one day/week at the surgery center combo I accepted a substitute school nurse position. I can render aid to playground boo-boos and stay in the loop of what’s happening at the school.

* I was invited to put my furniture in the most adorable boutique, and I move in on January 12th. Email me if you want the location!

* My sister got engaged to the most wonderful man. She waited 32 years and he was worth the wait.

* I am now seeing a personal trainer because I am wearing a strapless dress next month to the aforementioned occasion. Right now my arms are shaking because I did a total of 210 push ups this morning. That was not a typo; thanks, Mark

* We resolved to take more family trips in 2011 and have done pretty well. We did Florida, a Disney cruise with Kevin’s family, camping (twice, with great friends from church community group), and annual passes to Disney. We’ve been to Disney twice in 2 months so far, and the girls cried last night when we came back home. I see another trip in our future, soon.

* I wrote a book! I can’t believe I accomplished it with the help of our friends, Mike and Keeley of European Paint Finishes. Kevin and I truly enjoy their company, and they are a whiz at what they do. Love them!

Well, enough about me and my family…on to the giveaway!

Having 1,000 followers and 2,010 RSS readers is very humbling. If you “like” Stories one way or the other (facebook, Google follower, RSS feed – I’m easy) just leave a comment for any or all of them and I’ll randomly select a wonderful person to receive a download link to our Guide to Furniture Finishes e-book. If you already have the book before the giveaway is over and are selected, I’ll just refund ya

Happy New Year and blessings from above to you ALL!

(Scroll up to the top to click to leave a comment; another WordPress feature I need to figure out…)

Filed Under: About Me, Antiques, Before and After, Cabinetry, Do it Yourself, Family, faq, Favorites, Finding Furniture, Furniture, Home Decor, Household, My Home, Organizing, Paint Colors, Products I Like, Project Diaries, Ramblings, Real and Raw, Recipes, Table and Chair Sets, Thrifting, Tutorials, Uncategorized, Video Tutorials, Wood Finishing, Workspace

100 Year Old Antique Princess Chest of Drawers

January 3, 2011 by Christa @ Stories of a House 59 Comments

(If you’re looking for this weeks’ Project Diaries, it is here.)

When I saw this chest of drawers on CL I couldn’t get in my car fast enough.

I knew I could do something really fun with it!

The nice gentleman with the European accent I bought it from told me its’ history:

it belonged to his Grandparents, who brought it over from Europe 95+ years ago.

The varnish was peeling away, so I had to decide whether or not to refinish it, or paint it.

I thought about refinishing it, but if you’ve been with me a while, you know I no longer strip

(It wasn’t a fit for me.)

I sanded the wrinkling varnish for a couple of hours, and decided to paint.

Here is the before, which doesn’t show the awful varnish chipping away:

And now:

I always like to keep something inherent to the original piece, especially the tops.

This was refinished in Dark Walnut.

Paint colors:

Ben Moore Bone

Ben Moore Just Peachy

Liquid silver leafing medium applied with a tiny brush

Valspar Asphaltum antiquing medium, mixed with more translucent glaze

Topcoat: Zinsser water-based poly in semi gloss

I wanted it to look like it was painted 100 years ago, and has aged over time.
This is the truest picture of the color scheme:

I think it is perfect for a little Princess or any fanciful girls’ bedroom don’t you?

This was by far the funnest piece I’ve worked on.

xoxo,

Christa

Linking to:

Filed Under: Antiques, Before and After, Favorites, Furniture, Paint Colors, Products I Like

Before and After :: 1920′s Antique Buffet

November 9, 2010 by Christa @ Stories of a House 36 Comments

I know I say this a lot, but this is my favorite piece yet.

I found this antique buffet/sideboard on CL, and called to ask the usual questions,
including if it had always been in a smoke-free environment.

She said “no, it hasn’t…”

Because of that, I offered $25 less, and she accepted. I drove out to take a smell look.

If the smoke smell was bad, I knew what kind of primer I could have used to cover it up.

But, when I got there, there was no smoke smell in this little lady.

It needed some repairs and wood filling, which wasn’t too bad, and although I could restore the top, the base was trashed.
Yes, I know, I know, you don’t paint over antiques.
That is, unless it was not well taken care of and is beyond repair, which was the case with this.

Here she is after stripping the top, re-staining it, and painting the base BM Bone. This has become my favorite white for furniture, as it is not glaring, yet doesn’t have any yellow in it.
It is a soft, mellow white.