To Paint or Not to Paint? That is the question!

Today's lesson:

Painting projects are ALWAYS bigger than you anticipate, but can often times be worth the time and trouble!

The other night we took a family walk after dinner.  We were less than one block from home when I noticed a small dresser on the sidewalk with a "free" sign on it.  Sometimes I see things like this and I'm tempted to pick them up just because they are free, but with this one it was different.  I wanted to pick it up because not only was it free but it looked like something that the Nester would change into something brilliant.  I wanted to see if I was up to the challenge as well!

Unfortunately I didn't get a very good "before" picture.  The entire thing was painted a very pale mint green.  It was cute.  I thought about just distressing it a bit and calling it good, but then I pictured it a robin's egg blue and knew that I had to somehow find a way to get it into my kitchen! I loved the handles, the simplicity and the old fashioned feel of the piece.  The drawers are not deep, but for the size of the dresser I knew it would be able to hold a lot...

The project in and of itself was not as complicated as I would have though.  Unfortunately the fact that I had two little artists who also wanted to paint which lead to me stopping every 15 minutes to tend to their needs extended the project time line for me! However they had so much fun painting together that I'm glad I said yes rather than jumping to my typical "no" answer.

All things considered it didn't take me a long time which as partcially due to the beautiful California sun drying my paint within minutes after applying it!  And for the first time every I finally picked out the perfect paint color on the first try!

I initially began sanding it and decided it was too much work, so instead I sprayed a primer that I already had on hand over the entire thing.  Then I spray painted the handles "Antique White".  I was able to purchase a sample can of the color I needed from Lowe's for only $2.95! (It's supposed to cover a 4'x4' area, so I figured it could do this little dresser). So for less than three dollars, I took a fairly drab piece and turned it into this ----->

Hmmm, next project? The dining room hutch?

New Ideas

Oh dear friends, am I ever excited about this one!!!

A friend emailed me this Martha Stewart link and I'm anxious to try it!

I've been looking for an idea for my kitchen door to the garage and 

I think this is just the thing.

I will post pictures when the adventure is taking place.  In the mean time leave me a comment and let me know where you might use this idea in your home!

From Drab To Fab

A few weeks ago I got fed up with wishing I could paint our children's room, and decided to take the plunge.  I had ZERO dollars to spend and so I had to get really creative.  All three kids share a room, so I wanted it to be fun for both the boy and the girls... this is what I came up with!! (Oh how I wish I had "before" pictures!)  But I'm sure you get the idea...

Polka Dots!!

I mixed basic paint colors to create a variety of shades that both genders would like, traced three different sizes of circles on the walls and voilà! A totally transformed room!

Silhouette ~Step-by-Step

I am not an artistic person, but I LOVE art. I want to be an artist. I also want to have a beautiful home full of inspiration and creativity. That's why I "paint by number"! It's been so fun, I thought I should share!


In the past three years since we've moved into this home I've made a few drastic changes to our decor. But I suppose when you start with blank white walls, anything you do is drastic!



One year when my husband was away directing camp for two weeks, I completely re-did our bedroom. I painted the walls, dresser, and nightstand. Had a new bed frame made and installed by our good friend, and painted a mural on our closet doors.






Recently I had a Thankfulness Tree on our wall for the Thanksgiving holiday. I loved the tree so much, I decided to paint it on the wall!







Again, I am NOT an artist, but since I love beautiful things, I've figured out a four step process to make this work for me! First I find the picture that I want on my wall. (sometimes from google, sometimes from an "inspiration piece") Second, I copy that picture onto a transparency. Third, using an old school overhead projector I place the image on the wall and trace it with a pencil! Fourth, I use paint to "color in" the pencil image.







As you can see from the images below, both times I have chosen a silhouette of sorts. I haven't "branched out" much since it worked well for me! I hope this has given you inspiration or ideas for your own home! (More to come on painting tips as well as future painting projects I have planned!)This is our "Friends and Family Wall". It's in our entry way and as you can see, I put up pictures of our friends and our family. It's a beautiful reminder of the people we love that are both near and far.


This is in our newly (two years ago now) decorated master bedroom. Our closet doors are floor to ceiling, so I decided to go BIG with the mural in here, grabbing the image from an inspiration piece I will show you in a future post ... I used a lighter version of the paint on the walls on the closet doors. You can see the contrast more in the picture than in person.

No New Ideas

I believe there are no new ideas in life. I like to take other's ideas and make them my own by adding my own "flare" to them. That's why when I read this blog that mentioned a thankfulness tree, I had to make one of my own! I used this general idea, and here's what we've got! I thought it was perfect to put it on our "Friends & Family" wall.

I'll post more again as we put our leaves with our many thanks on this beautiful tree!

Oh, and feel free to copy this idea; it's not mine!