House of Hydrangeas

The painting is all done in the entry and halls! I need to do a new coat of paint on the trim and crown molding, but I'll save that for next week. For now, I'd just like to marvel on the finished walls. Here are the final pictures of the newly painted walls called Weathered Wood by Valspar. And here's one more before and after look (sorry I forgot to take several before shots-look in the top corner to see the most accurate color). Before After Have a great weekend!  I'll be back next week with more updates and the paint color for the kitchen!

My friend is in the process of purchasing a new house and has asked me to help her pick out all of the paint colors for inside. She already had an idea on a lot of colors she liked which gave me a great starting point.  I took a look at what she liked and then made a few tweaks until there was a good balance in the color story. After selecting my favorites, I put them all together on a board to show my friend how they would all work together.  Laying them all out next to each other allows you to see how they all relate and play off of one another to achieve a cohesive look.  If you're looking to update your home with new paint colors, I would highly suggest laying out your options this way as well.  It doesn't take a fancy program.  PowerPoint and Microsoft Word will give you everything you need. Besides the color samples, I also showed a real life room on the board that was painted in each of the colors chosen.  This helps you see the true value of...

In case you plan on being productive with your long weekend and tackling some paint projects, here are a few tips for you! Place a rubber band around your paint can to help rid the brush of excess paint. This also helps keep the rim clean making for much easier cleanup. via Martha Stewart You can also attach a heavy duty magnet to the brush to minimize the mess of dripping paint.  Again, less mess to cleanup!  via Martha Stewart If door knobs are in your way, just wrap them tightly in foil and go! via Real Simple Paint wood chips from the craft store in your room's colors.  Throw them in your purse so you'll have them for reference when shopping for fabric, accessories, etc.  via Honey + Fitz Here are a few more tips I've learned over the years:  -When you're done with the brushes and rollers for the day, but not quite finished with the job, wrap them up in cellophane and place in the refrigerator overnight.  No cleaning--and you'll be able to pull...

Artwork can make or break a room.  A little bit of wall art is necessary in almost any space.  I'm sure you think that means spending a lot of money.  But before you get overwhelmed, let me stop you from tallying up the cost of all this artwork and show you how you can create some yourself.  Some of the best artwork is simple and sculptural and can often be found and/or created in your own home. A grouping of this geometrical canvas design creates a bold statement.  Frame a scarf for to add color and interest to a space.  Use pieces of driftwood for a sculptural design. Take inspiration for James Mares and get out the paintbrush to create your own artwork.

I have been plagued by this blank wall in our house. It's a horrible thing to have a room just the way you want it except for one problem wall. I knew I had to fix it, but I had nothing to hang there, nor did I want to spend any money to find a solution. I then remembered that I had four unpainted canvas that I could put to use. I chose one of the larger ones to fill the space and got out the paint and brushes! Here is the finished product. Ahhh much better. Another view Now to just figure out what I want to do with the other canvases...