Evolution of A Mantle: The Final Edit?

Knowing me, probably not.  But I painted the two silver mirror frames this weekend and I love, love, love the result.  Finally, so happy with how our mantle looks!  The brown makes some real sense without being jumbled up with a bunch of other colors.  I think my instinct is to add more and more different colors into a room when a lot of the time, just two or three can be best.
The larger frame I painted Benjamin Moore "atrium white" and sanded very gently so that the silver paint underneath showed through in a weathered way.  The smaller frame is Kilz "parchment wax" (I think Kilz paint is actually very good) and I put a layer of antiquing glaze over the top, to bring out the details in the frame.  The large mirror is spray-painted in "Heirloom White" from Rustoleum.  I hope you like it as much as I do!

Oops, I'm in the photo!
Here you can see a little more detailing on the frames, click on the photo to enlarge:

So, Everything I did to this mantle:
Bought the three photo frames, small medium and large
Took frames to local glass company and had mirrors put in them
Painted and hung the large mirror (three times in three different colors, the third time's the charm!)
Painted and sanded the medium sized mirror
Painted and glazed the small mirror
Painted mantle from dull builder's white to Benjamin Moore "coffee beans"
Painted wooden scroll-y embellishment pieces and added them to the mantle
Cut branches from our tree out front and spray painted them "barn door red"
The candles, vases and candle holders I actually bought!
Arranged the whole thing over and over again until I liked it.

Next up I will post about the gorgeous, natural, textured, embellished curtain panel pair I made for a total of $22.  Can you guess what they are made out of?  I know at least one of my "regular readers" can!

Evolution of a Mantle

2003 - March 2009: Crammed on, random too-small photos and too-high cheese ball wreath (or as Brandi calls this type of thing "goosey-ducky" which I think is hilarious). 

 July 2009:  Mirror in its original black, looking like King Kong next to strange assortment of too-small glass stuff; mantle painted from blah builder's white to "coffee beans"

August 19, 2009: Mirror hanging on the wall rather than resting on the mantle, painted some kind of neon wierdo blue color.  Various mantle items getting closer to being the correct proportions.

August 21, 2009: Could not handle bizarre blue and re-painted it two days later.  Incrementally better.  I love the brown mantle but can't figure out how to make it work with everything else.

March 2010: Repaint mirror for the third time and it finally makes sense.  I am finally liking it.  Already planning to change silver-framed mirrors to various shades of creamy white.  I think that will do it.  Taking the color out from the mantle display finally makes the brown mantle feel right.  So happy because I truly do love the brown, as unusual as it is.

A shot of the whole room.  It is looking kind of pretty, no?  This is the room we spend the most time in, aside from the kitchen.  The brown sectional sofa will move into the basement when it's finished.

Antique Sale Finds

This Sunday I went to my first antique show.  It really was more of an antique show, less of a flea market, as we saw lots of really high-priced collectible and truly antique items.  I am looking more for "old" furniture and things to refurbish and craft with, and I did manage to find a couple of things that I love.  We also collected up flyers and brochures for several local markets and antique shows throughout the summer, which I am super excited about.  I am already starting to think about all the wonderful old junk out there that will fit right into our home!  Since we will have the whole basement to furnish, and I already know which pieces of furniture I am planning to move down there, we have space for a couple "new" things upstairs. 
Anyway, I have been pondering this table at Wisteria:

Even though it is not terribly expensive, I hadn't committed to the purchase. I am so glad I didn't because at the antique show, I found something similar with a lot more history and two great, old black wooden folding chairs to go along with it:

The whole set cost $40 and has so much more depth of character than a brand new table purchased online.  This table is two simple metal legs and a piece of wood screwed to the top.  Not only do I love the look and feel of this kind of furniture, but it is so easy to have with 3 small children.  I do not worry about how they treat these pieces.  Honestly, if one of the children did something to damage this table or chairs, it would be no big deal.  It might even make them look cooler.  If I had to throw it out, I have lost very little.  That's the fun of do-it-yourself cottage style!  Click the photo above to get a better look at the set and you'll see what I mean.
The tabletop was a dark blue-black color which I liked, but didn't really fit in with our home and the black chairs.  I have been thinking about Layla's dry brushed dining table and how great that project turned out, so I decided to try the dry brushing technique on this little table.  It was moderately easy and I am really happy with the results.  Basically, you fill your paintbrush with paint and then squeeze as much of the paint out of it as you can.  Then you brush what remains onto your piece.  It is time consuming but actually fun.  Here's a close-up of the dry brushing:

Finally, here's a shot of the whole room, with my antique sale finds in their home:

You can see the former photo wall has also been painted...which is another story for another time!

The Basement Is Painted!

I have only a second but wanted to put up some photos of our PAINTED basement! Dear Benjamin Moore, your palladian blue is actually green. But it's all good because I still love it. Our basement feels like a verdant spring paradise. With concrete floors. Enjoy!
By the way, if you want to see the colors well, click on the photos to enlarge them.  Admittedly, it is hard to really see it in these small photos.
The bathroom (is Benjamin Moore Gossamer Blue, and actually blue)

Kevin finishing up - we did the job with two friends in less than 3 hours! We really busted it.

Kevin and Jake painting the soffet

Here you can see the contrast between the main room (palladian blue) and the bathroom/closet color (gossamer blue). The color flow is fab. I am loving the two together.

Our painting crew celebrating.

Finishing Up

The beautiful sunshine today is reminding me that spring is around the corner.  Kevin and I have (of course) a bazillion projects we want to do outside this spring and summer, so I need to finish up my inside projects pretty quickly here.  I only have two really - well, two aside from the whole basement thing.
One is this dresser, which has been two colors for about 6 months now:

Apparently, it also has not been dusted for 6 months.
It is too heavy for me to move by myself, so I painted the drawers and changed the hardware, then left it in its sad state until now.  I think I can get it finished up and all in its flat black splendor before the weekend is over.

The other is our photo wall, which has gone from this:

To this:

And this morning, I moved all the furniture, covered it up, sanded all the drywall patches (from all the photo frame holes), wiped it all down and put up blue painter's tape:

The top half of this room has only been sprayed with "Construx Beige" by the builder.  It was never primed or given more than one coat of paint.  I actually like the color especially with the darker brown below, and chair rail.  I suspect that once I prime and paint this wall, I will have to do the entire room.
We have one more night until the almighty palladian blue arrives for the basement, so I am hoping to sneak this painting in tonight - it is probably only 2 hours' worth of work. 
Once it is painted I am going to hang shelves just like this.  That is Jennifer's kitchen/dining room from The Old Painted Cottage.  Her photo also shows the lights we are getting for our basement ceiling, although semi-flush and not pendants as shown.  (It will be a combination of can lights and these fab ones.)

Primed and Ready

Kevin is finishing the last bit of priming on our basement walls as I type.  Just a simple coat of primer has changed the feeling of the space so much.  It is starting to feel like a real part of our house:

 

 

And finally, here's Kevin finishing the job on the staircase:

Jake and Stephanie have agreed to come and help us get the painting started on Saturday night.  I can not wait to see what it looks like!  After the painting, we will install the final lighting fixtures in the ceiling and prime, paint and hang the ceiling boards.  My idea for the ceiling comes from The Twice Remembered Cottage.  I am also planning to paint the kitchenette cabinets in our basement brick red, just as she did, check out this fab photo of her great work.

Vintage Milk Glass

I am taking a break from crazy house projects this week to finish reading our book club book before Thursday's meeting! 
I've started collecting a few pieces of old milk glass and thought I'd share the photos.
I found these lattice edge milk glass plates at various sites online and hung them in a display in our kitchen.  I love the thickness of the glass, the texture of it and of course, the different beautiful patterns.  I am going to keep looking for different ones online to add to the collection.

For my birthday, Kevin treated me to this beautiful vintage milk glass cake plate, with hobnail detail.  Can you imagine it topped with delicious cupcakes?

This weekend, my mom and I saw a trio of milk glass spice jars, and she said they were exactly the same as my grandmother used to have.  I decided to search for those next, and see if I can collect a few.