Black Tie Bathroom Transformation

I'm extra excited to share this post today!  

• One because I actually get to check an item off my 2012 to-do list.  
• Two because I want to encourage everyone to follow their design bliss (Just Do It girls!).  
• And three because I think this project turned out more fabulous than my wildest dreams!

You might remember my uninspiring old powder room...

 

Well I finally took the plunge and painted that baby black after thinking about it for oh, only 8 months!  Check it now!

It's unbelievably difficult to take a good picture of a small, windowless room that's painted black.  But this shot with the lights off gives you an excellent idea of what it looks like in real life.

Along with painting the whole powder room Cracked Pepper by Behr, I also added a silver mirror that I found at Goodwill and crown moulding.

Above the towel rack I added two photos that I took when we were in Hawaii last year.  The white mats help to break up all that black.

I also hung two white picture ledges above the commode and accessorized with topiaries, towels and a fun printable found here.  I kept the accessories warm and natural to complement the wood vanity and floors and balance the black.

A little side by side comparison...

I think the powder room just might be my favorite room in the house!  That sounds a bit weird but it's true.

So got any bold design ideas you're hesitating to implement?  Go ahead and do it!  I give you permission to make magic in your house!

Thanks for visting!

Spring/Easter Wire Nest Tutorial

A couple weeks ago I shared my family room Spring mantle.  Today I'm back with our living room mantel decked out for Spring.  (We are lucky enough to have two mantels - hate me!)

My favorite part is the wire nests made with dollar store floral wire and spray paint!

These little nests are perfect for displaying seasonal printables or photographs or as Easter table place cards! 

To make your own wire nests you will need Dollar Tree floral wire and a pencil.  A pair of jewelry pliers or wire snips might also be helpful.  I could not for the life of me locate mine!  

1. Start to make your nest shape by wrapping the wire around the pencil a few times.
2. Slide the wire off the pencil and continue twisting the wire into a nest shape.  You don't want the nest to be too perfect - keep it natural.
3. Once you have a nice nest shape and several inches of wire left start winding the wire around the outside, back down to the bottom of the nest.
4. Push the remaining piece of wire through the bottom hole in the nest.

Next wrap the top half of the remaining piece of wire around the pencil to form a coil.  The coil will allow you to display pictures, photos or name cards.

If you're not loving the gold finish of the floral wire, you can hit the finished nests with a shot of spray paint.  I used some Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint I had on hand.

Here are the nests ready to be accessorized!  To make the larger size nest I used two packages of floral wire and twisted them together. 

Thanks for visiting!

Big Girl Bed Reveal and Room Sneak Peek

My daughter's big girl bed has been finished and set up in her room for a few weeks now.  I can't believe that it's taken me this long to share it!

You may recall the bed before...

I love that my Mother-in-law passed this antique Jenny Lind bed down to my daughter AND that she was cool with me painting it!  The finish was in great condition since it was refinished shortly before being stored by my in-laws.

I brushed on the first coat of Antibes Green ASCP and realized just how tedious hand painting all those spindles can be!   So I experimented with running chalk paint through my sprayer.  I was able to get the second coat of paint on the whole bed with the sprayer but chalk paint dries so fast that it was constantly gumming up the nozzle.  I also wasted a lot of expensive chalk paint in my little experiment!  (If you have used ASCP and a sprayer I would love to hear about it!  What's your secret?)

I did not distress the bed after it was painted since I wanted a bright, saturated green for my daughter's room.   After a few coats of wax and a new box spring and mattress the bed moved into Olivia's room.

 Here's a reminder of the before...

 ..and after-bye bye crib!

So far this room makeover has cost about $65 for paint, sheets and the little bookshelf.  Next up: the new dresser!

Thanks for visiting!

Not JUST a Houswife