Paint Transformations!

I love painting, absolutely love it! My favorite is taking an old space and making it feel new simply by choosing great colors and using quality paint. Here are some fun places I have done recently.
(All paints colors are made by Benjamin Moore)

PROJECT 1:
This home is absolutely beautiful with wonderful architecture and gorgeous furnishings.  The owners had opted for a very simply palette (and by simple, I mean white) when they built 11 years ago. Since it needed new paint anyway they decided it was time for a change and were willing to take some bold steps. The results were stunning!

Master: The loft style master suite sits a top a flight of stairs. It held some great art but needed some color to really showcase it.

A vibrant red-orange (Salsa Dancing) paired with a green-grey (Meditation) are the perfect compliments. 

The staircase wall wraps around and becomes the feature wall behind the bed. The red carried all the wall through and down the hall creating a lovely backdrop. 

The Meditation color is carried throughout the rest of the room.

Living Room:

The staircase to the master was beautiful but left the rest of the house looking very, very white.

We carried the Meditation color down from the stairs and warmed up the room with a rich cream (Flawless) all round. The splash of red above the built in bar ties it all together.

PROJECT 2:
This other place is an older condo that desperately need some updating. The new owners opted to replace the old carpet with nice new bamboo flooring in the living room and master bedroom along with some fresh paint.
The results are a nice clean palette that renters are sure to enjoy.

Master before: The headboard had grasscloth wallpaper on it that had been painted over with sunshine yellow. The texture was nice so we decided to keep the paper and avoid any costly surprises about the condition of the wall underneath.

Master After: We chose neutrals-Frappe and Butte Rock, for the bedroom to keep it clean and calm. A zen style platform bed will be filling the space soon. (curtains were already there)

Living Room Before:

The living room had furniture that was way to large for the space and didn't allow for any eating area. The Paint was yellow as well (hard to see but was actually quite bright)

                               

Living Room After: A fun red accent wall (Salsa Dancing) added life and style to the space and paired nicely with the new neutral wall color. (Frappe)

I was only involved in picking the colors and doing the painting but it was really fun to see this place transformed!

The Power of Staining

I have been doing quite a lot of refinishing projects lately. I'm not a big fan of all the sanding involved, but it really pays off when you can breath new life into something old and worn out.
This lounger was in pretty good shape, but to protect it from the weather it needed to have a good coat of stain and a UV protectant top coat.

These teak benches were in desperate need of TLC. They had been sitting on a front lanai for a looong time and as a result turned grey and water stained. Behold the power of sanding! and a beautiful finish of course

These chairs were in a similar condition to the benches and even had some paint splatter to boot!

Entry way stairs

HOW TO: Refinishing Basics 

Step 1: Sand! This can be with a power sander or by hand depending on the size and condition of your project. I usually start with 220 but when it is really bad 120-150 can be a good starting point. 

Use a mask-your nose will thank you :) Sanding away from the place that you want to stain will make clean up easier. 

TIP-pick a place to start and a direction to work and try to follow that same process for each step.  Example-turn chair upside down, do everything you can reach, do sides. Flip it over, work from top of chair to feet or left to right. Do that when you sand, stain, clear coat. Hopefully you won't miss anything if you follow the same pattern rather than jumping around. 

Clean your area thoroughly before staining. Vacuum area and furniture and then wipe furniture down with a soft cloth to make sure there is no extra dust. 

Step 2: Apply Stain- this is the pretty part. Using a good quality ox hair brush will ensure that you get a nice even finish. Apply stain in the same direction as the wood grain. Once stain is tacky do not try to fix anything you will have to wait for it to dry and then sand it down. Let dry thoroughly, usually overnight. 

Step 3: More Sanding! Finish sanding is key to getting a nice silky smooth finished piece. Using 400 sand paper rub lightly over entire piece. Don't spend too much time in one spot. Usually 1 time back and forth in one location is just right. Use your fingers to feel where you have sanded, it will be nice a soft where you have finish sanded. 

Don't worry if it turns white, that will disappear when you apply the clear coat. 

Clean area thoroughly again. Vacuum & wipe down. 

Step 4: Clear coat. Apply clear coat over entire piece following the wood grain. Check for dry spots. Let dry! 

Voila!! You have a  beautiful like-new piece of furniture! 

Happy Staining!!