NOW I can safely and happily shout a “Good morning!” to you!! This morning was my first since having the power restored yesterday and, let me tell you…It was A-W-E-S-O-M-E. To be able to sleep in my own bed again (and not be boiling), to be able to take a hot shower and use a hair dryer…Electricity is something that I now realize can be so taken for granted – I hope that I am able to appreciate it more from now on. The safety of it, the ease of it, the COOLNESS of it. I am a changed woman.
But before I jump into today’s spraypaint foray, I just want to thank you guys. THANK YOU for your outpouring of well-wishes and sympathy after Monday’s post. It meant so much to me to know that I had your support. One comment I will never forget was from Stacey (of A Goode House) who told me that, after being battered by hurricane Rita, she was without power for 22 days. 22 DAYS!!! I seriously felt like slapping the back of my hand for complaining so harshly about our measly little 3 days, but I guess it’s not fun no matter how long it’s gone.
Seriously, how did the pioneers do it??
But anyway, enough about that. Let’s get this painting show on the road!
So a few weeks ago (I know…Sorry it took me so long to tell you guys about this…) I decided to add a little somethin-somethin to our coffee table in the living room. It initially had little piles of books and magazines along with our television and DVD remotes, but I knew it needed a little more. I’ve been lusting over beautifully styled coffee tables for ages and decided to put a little effort into our own thrifted surface.
You may have seen our new vignette in that photo above, but let me give you a few more detail shots.
Not wanting to wait a few weeks until I could scrounge something up at our local thrift stores, I decided to check out the immediate selection at one of my go-to Big Box Stores: T.J. Maxx. After meandering the aisles of their home section, I came away with a metal candle holder, a decorative glass orb and a white serving bowl. I knew I wanted a tray, but the store didn’t have any – Not in the traditional wooden, rectangular sense, at least. This low profile glass kitchen bowl would do pretty much the same thing, so into the cart it went. I liked that it was a little different then the average coffee table tray, with its stark white color and upturned corners. The candle holder and glass orb were different heights (a must when styling pieces together) and completely different sheens and textures – Loving it.
The only thing I WASN’T loving was the finish on the candle holder. It was a little more “rustic” than I typically go for, but I picked it up anyway because spay paint could easily remedy the issue.
While I was getting my spray paint supplies out, I decided to grab a few other pieces that I had been meaning to fix up – One of which being Mrs. Goose. Ever since posting about her in April, I’d been meaning to give her a fresh lease on life with new gold paint. If you remember, her tail feathers were chipped and many different original colors were showing through the wear in her top coat of fake brass.
I also grabbed this little owl from my studio closet. I liked the shape, but the painted details read a little “childish” to me. Imaginations of a solid bold color had me motivated to cart him down to the garage along with the candle holder and goose.
But I wasn’t done yet…The fourth and final spray paint update I did that afternoon involved a couple of wooden candlestick holders that you might remember from this post of yore. I had initially thought to give them some hand-painted stripes for a bit of interest, but that didn’t turn out so well. Something about the optical illusion created by the curved shape of the base left me feeling like the project wasn’t there yet. So into my already crowded arms they went.
Next up, a trip to the garage where I set everything on old pieces of cardboard. Each piece got its own separate spray treatment out in the sun before being carefully dragged into the garage for overnight dry time.
As evidenced below, I got a little spray happy on the owl – You can see little drips coming down from his eye on the right. His destination is the back deck anyway, so I wasn’t too concerned. Although now I feel like I should rename this post “How NOT to spray paint”…Learn from my mistakes people – Light, even spray. Patience is a virtue, one that I clearly do not have.
The candle sticks were sprayed two different colors, one in bright green and the other in more of a pastel teal. I taped them off about half way up and gave the edge a slanted look (you’ll see some details a little later on). Mrs. Goose came away with a lovely new gold look, one that made her feel all fresh and new once more. The new layer of paint really did mask the broken chunk out of her tail feathers, just as I’d hoped.
For the chunky T.J. Maxx candle holder, I decided on a neutral black. We don’t have a TON of black going on in our living room, but we do have the television, DVD player and record player in close vicinity. I was hoping the extra pop of black out in the center of the room would make it all feel cohesive and intentional.
I am loving the dark new color. I think the rich black and shiny finish feels more modern, plus I added a taller candle to make its function more obvious (you can hardly even see the two inch tall glass candle surround in the first couple of photos at the top of this post).
Mrs. Goose actually got a post-spray-paint-party remix – After her new gold paint was all dry and she was brought upstairs, I realized how monotone she would look on the brass side table. I went a little wild after that, putting on a fresh coat of bold teal, which matches the entry way lamp only a few strides away (seen in the background at the end of this post).
Isn’t she lovely?? I adore her.
But my favorite transformation of all was the candlestick holder redo. They turned out exactly how I WANTED them to look (the first time) – A sophisticated, modern take on the trendy wood dipping that has been catching like wild fire lately on Pinterest. I love the slightly competing colors and how they play off of the colorful plate wall and the yellow chevron runner (a new staple in the house after using it at the wedding).
Can you see now how the edge is a little tilted? I didn’t want a hard, level seam, thinking the off-kilter look would be a little more edgy – Pun intended.
Isn’t the power of spray paint wonderful? My favorite DIY tool of all time…
And happy Fourth of July to you and you families!! I’m at work today (life of a page designer at a 365-day-newspaper…) but we are ringing in the holiday this evening with pigs in a blanket, corn on the cob and fun sweet treats. Hope you enjoy your own celebration!
