Secret Garden

Secret Garden

Welcoming Front Walkway Makeover

Before - view from behind bench

After - view from in front of bench

My mother-in-law and I saw this ceramic water fountain the other day at our local greenhouse and my husband thoughtfully bought it for my birthday recently! I had to embellish it, so we bought flowers and converted whiskey barrel props into planters. Now, I just need to hind that cord...that's for another day. Hope you like it!

• Water Fountain from Kaw Valley Greenhouse at their Mission, KS location for $288.00
• Flowers from Family Tree Nursery in Shawnee, KS for a total of $50.00
• Whiskey Barrel planters found dumpster diving behind floral shop...simply coated the wood with a water resistant sealer, added a few bricks inside to build up the planter to be level with the top opening.

DIY Wall Sconce Refinishing

Living Room Wall Sconces

Before

After

The bright brass finish of these wall sconces have bothered me since the day we moved into our new house. I decided to use up the rest of the primer and spray paint from when I refinished our kitchen cabinet pulls.

I'm basically repeating these steps from the cabinet pull blog but here's what I did:

This is what you'll need:

1. Screwdriver

2. Wire brush and/or light sand paper

3. Metal primer spray paint, I used: Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Primer - All Purpose Gray

4. Metallic decorative spray paint, I used: Krylon Brushed Metallic - Oil Rubbed Bronze 

5. Blue painter's tape or masking tape

6. Drop cloth (cardboard or newspaper)

7. Well-ventilated area

Here's how you do it:

1. Remove the sconces from the walls by unscrewing them from the wall and untwisting the wire connectors...make sure the power to the switch is OFF or flip the breaker for good measure.

2. Remove the shade and bulb from each sconce.

3. You may have to lightly sand the bare metal to remove the sheen. This is will allow the primer to adhere better.

4. Wrap masking tape around the white "candle stick" part of the sconce as well as the connection to where the bulb screws into the lamp. This will block the primer and paint from adhering to these parts.

5. Lay out the sconces onto the cardboard and space them at least 12 inches apart in order to paint all sides evenly.

6. Spray primer evenly on all sides of the lamps...read the instructions carefully on the back of the can.

7. Wait until it's completely dry (according to the primer's drying instructions)

8. Spray decorative paint evenly on all sides...read the instructions carefully on the back of the can.

9. Wait until it's completely dry (according to the paint's drying instructions)

10. You may have to pick them up by the taped sections in order to spray any curved parts of the sconces

11. Let dry completely (overnight is advised)

12. Replace the bulbs and shades. I found mine for $3.99 each at Tuesday Morning

12. Twist the wires back together and put the finish screws back on....Done!

Old sconce

Taped and ready for primer

Primed and ready for paint

Painted and drying overnight

New finish and new shade

VOILA!

DIY Painted Rug

DIY Painted Rug

Before

After

Want to know how I transformed a boring white rug into a contemporary focal point? Follow these easy steps below:

Here's what you'll need:

1. White or light colored woven rug...I found mine while we were moving :)

2. Fabric paint, choose any color you like but I used: Tulip Soft Matte Fabric Paint - Ebony

3. To make your own stencil you'll need cardstock, thin chipboard or contact paper...anything thin enough to go through your printer but sturdy enough to stand up to multiple layers of paint. You could also use a store bought stencil if you want to make this project a little easier.

4. Utility knife (if you choose to print your own pattern onto cardstock, you'll need to cut it out and scissors are hard to use if you have tight curves or angles in your design)

5. Foam brush or brushes, I used: Foam Brush Value Pack

6. Paint palette or plastic lid, this will work just fine: Plastic Paint Palette

7. Blue painter's tape

8. Ruler or measuring tape

Here's how to do it:

1. Look how grungy, stained, and boring this rug was before I got my hands on it! So I washed, bleached, and dried it before I applied any paint.

2. I made my own stencil template by finding a pattern online, re-sizing it to repeat across the short end of the rug, and printing it on 8.5" x 11" white cardstock.

3. Print the pattern onto separate pieces of cardstock, and use an x-acto knife to cut the pattern out.

4. Use blue painter's tape to match up and secure the pattern into one long stencil. Tape the long stencil onto your rug so it doesn't move while you're painting. (This is also recommended if you're using a store bought stencil).

5. Squeeze out a healthy dose of your fabric paint onto your plastic palette. Saturate the foam bush with paint but make sure it doesn't drip. Dab the foam brush over the stencil in a straight up and down motion. This will ensure a crisper line and help prevent the paint from being pushed under the stencil.

6. After your first section of stencil is painted, carefully remove the stencil and shift it over to match the pattern up to the point where you left off. Re-tape the stencil to the rug so it doesn't move while you're painting. 

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 along the other end of the rug...or wherever you decide the pattern will look best for your project.

8. Let dry overnight or at least 24 hours before walking on it. If the rug will be placed in a high traffic area of your home, I would suggest spraying a clear matte finish over the painted sections. I haven't done this yet but I probably should. I'm also not sure what product will work best or what washing instructions would be appropriate but this stuff looks good...? Clear Acrylic Matte Sealer. You might also want to invest in a rubber non-slip rug pad to go underneath your new beautiful creation.

TA-DA!

DIY Cabinet Pull Refinish

After                                        Before

This was my first DIY project in the house and I actually finished it!

I couldn't stand the "dirty-brass" colored cabinet pulls in the kitchen or the back plates, but I didn't want to pay over $4.00 per pull to replace them...so I just refinished them.

This is what you'll need:

1. Screwdriver

2. Soap/cleaner/detergent

3. Wire brush and/or light sand paper

4. Metal primer spray paint, I used: Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Primer - All Purpose Gray

5. Metallic decorative spray paint, I used: Krylon Brushed Metallic - Oil Rubbed Bronze 

6. Blue painter's tape or masking tape

7. Drop cloth (cardboard or newspaper)

8. Well-ventilated area

Here's how you do it:

1. Remove all pulls and back plates from each door/drawer...save the screws!

2. Clean each pull with soap (I had to use heavy duty cleaner and wire brush to get the gunk out of the crevices, yuck!)

3. Let each pull dry completely after washing

4. You may have to sand the bare metal to remove the sheen...this is will allow the primer to adhere better

5. Wrap masking tape around the porcelain part of the pull. This will block the primer and paint from adhering to this part of the pull (I actually liked this accent of the old design)

6. Lay out each pull on a drop cloth and space them at least 3 inches apart

7. Spray primer evenly on all sides of the pulls...read the instructions carefully on the back of the can

8. Wait until completely dry (according to the primer's drying instructions)

9. Spray decorative paint evenly on all sides...read the instructions carefully on the back of the can

10. Wait until completely dry (according to the paint's drying instructions)

11. You may have to turn them over to spray the "underbelly" of each pull when priming and painting

12. Remove tape from porcelain

13. Place new and refreshed pulls back onto each cabinet...enjoy!

Kitchen Wallpaper Removal

Kitchen Walls

Before

After

My mom helped me remove the beautifully "petite-petaled-pastel" wallpaper...say that five times fast!

Good thing peeling this vinyl wallpaper off was fairly easy. Unfortunately, the second layer of paper backing needed to be steamed/scrapped off.

After removing the paper backing we discovered that there was raw drywall behind the wallpaper, so I had to patch a few holes and put two coats of primer on the walls before I could paint on the color. I used: Kilz Latex 2

Now the fun part....color! I ended up being able to use a gallon of left over paint that I initially bought for our farm house. Luckily the color selection went well in our new home too.

I also ended up applying two coats of paint. After hanging some of my grandfather's art on the walls...this is what it looks like now!

Sooo much better than before :-)

Before Photos of House

These are a few photos of the house as it currently looks. I will be using these as "before" photos as I continue to furnish, design, and update these rooms.

Front Yard

Front Walkway

Back Yard

Living Room

Formal Dining Room

Kitchen

Full Bathroom