And that's why life is awesome! I have a major post in the works from Santa's workshop.... Aka, my living room is chaos! Coming up tomorrow.... Meanwhile enjoy some links from my brother... (I might make that a segment on my blog.... We find some good stuff!)
This is a talent I wasn't even aware I didn't have!
And I believe in Bigfoot, up Provo Canyon... Amen..
Did you know you can paint tile? Well as Drew's work will show you, you can! This pink tile was really well done and has lasted 40+ years. However with the rest of the house getting face lifts this is one of the last rooms in the house that doesn't match the rest. I know some fans of the original pink will be offended.... For the rest look at this transformation.
We went to Sherwin Williams and the people there were very knowledgable and walked us through the whole process. We bought a paint called Tile Clad. It is a two part epoxy mixture. That is all you will need. You can get this paint tinted to any color. We matched it to Benjamin Moore's Galveston Gray for the floor and white for the wainscot tile.... The Galveston Gray paint turned out much much lighter. I'm not sure if that's because the epoxy tints differently, or the match wasn't exact. That is something I would check before purchase. The color still looked good so we didn't bother returning it or asking why it was lighter.
Preparation is key! Drew taped off everything, including the thing grey pencil tile on the wainscot. This detail was tedious but this kept the detail in tile work. Then Drew took a 400 grit sandpaper and sanded each tile.... This is to gap take away the sheen and give the epoxy something to cling to. This is where I would have lost my mind. Drew is so good at prep work..... I get a pit in my stomach when he starts an intense job like this. He just cruises right a long.... He's a different one this guy!
But it is all so worth it in the end. After he sanded with a fine sander, (you do not want to use a heavy grit, every mark you make with sandpaper you will see in the paint. This step is very important) he mixed together the two parts of epoxy in a 1:1 ratio as instructions suggest. He let the mixture settle for 30 min. (This was what the paint man told us.... Instructions may vary!). Then he rolled and brushed on the thick paint. The man at Sherwin Williams said it would just take one coat. However Drew found the epoxy was so thick it was running. So he opted for a lighter base coat and did two. That was the walls. For the floor and countertops he did one heavy coat. The paint will go on thick and textured, however as it dries it flattens out and ends up hard and smooth.
After the first coat dried and Drew nearly asphyxiated himself he went back and lightly sanded all of the tile again. Then applied the top coat.
When that was done he removed the tape. He had to score the tape to remove it so the epoxy wouldn't come with it. He did have a few places pull up,with the tape. So he went back through with a brush and touched up the spots. These touch ups he put on fairly heavy.
And that is a new bathroom for about $200 in paint!
Our painted linoleum floor project was featured on BetterAfter blog. Love love love this blog! Check it out!
I came across this house (via) this blog.
This is the house of my dreams.... It was designed by Heydt Design, the interior design was done by Benjamin Dhong and photographed by David Duncan Livingston. It is all incredible. Everything about the exterior is perfect. I love how the front/entrance is the first thing you see. I'm so sick of seeing garage first homes. The porch with the detail in the post, the header and the curved barge rafters add so much to this porch. The side lights on the door are small, yet the sphere porch light is enormous. Love the sitting area off to the left with French doors and side lights. The porch above with French doors and detail added in the pergola. I love the dimension the porthole windows add. The mud room access off to the right, pergola and porch again. So much outdoor living. I love that this is a 2,700 sqare foot home, but appears smaller and every detail is there.
They continue the outside in.... That for some reason seems hard to come by these days. The sphere chandelier is beautiful. The grey island with yellow barstools make me happy. The beveled subway is lovely and the off white/griege cabinets are simple and perfect.
The mercury glass mirror above the mantle is beautiful. I love the different fabrics on the chairs flanking the fireplace. The desk and hutch with the dish display tie in well.
Love these stand alone tubs. The detail on the vanity doors and the grass cloth wall. I appreciate it all. Eye candy! All of it!
The dogs had a blast and have found ways of getting warm after their romps in the snow. I got to try out my new hobby with my very favorite boots. They were the best present I have ever received from Drewpy, my Joan of Artic Sorels... Just like these Sorel Joan of Arctic Boots (Taffy) - Women's Boots - 5.0 M (Google Affiliate Ad)... I do think next time I will use some other boots, I want to keep these pretty. That is what boots are for after all!
A dollop of Polly... Have you ever read the definition of dollop? It's perfect for this picture above... A shapeless blob or mass of something. Ha!
This is why having three dogs in an 800 sq/ft apartment isn't too bad.... They love each other.
And come on? It's just almost TOO cute!
For a nursery I have been working on for the last little bit (full reveal will be later), one of the projects I took on to complete the room was to paint the crib. I started out with sanding the crib with a 100 grit sponge sander. To clean up the crib and prepare the wood for paint to attach. When every nook, cranny and baluster was sanded I painted the crib with this Wagner sprayer.
I was pleased with the Wagner Spray Fast Plus Power Airless Sprayer - Paint Sprayers (Google Affiliate Ad), it did sprayed the paint on with almost a textured finish. That could have been more operator error than anything, I have to put some research into it. It did however, make the job go by much faster than hand painting it would have been. The final outcome was not as smooth as I would have hoped, but I was able to finish the in a day.
For the paint I used a low VOC, water based, stain blocking, primer and paint in one. It worked great. It blocked the stain and I was able to skip the priming step. After each coat dried I used a 120 grit sanding sponge to knock down some of the high spots. This helps for a smoother finish.
After the paint set for 24 hour. And sprayed it with Rustoleum Enamel Clear Coat (non yellowing). Again, sanded in between each coat.... All for this finished project!
What?! Are you so psyched for the whole reveal? I am!
