It sounds impossible, but painting straight lines is easy to do. I helped my friend update her master bedroom with a few straight lines and a strie paint technique. This only took about three hours of work and a thirty minute trip to TJ Maxx for Accessories. The secret to a great line when you’re painting is getting the right tape! Scotch’s Blue Painter’s Tape with Edge-Lock will give you great results each time if you do this secret extra step. Check out my little video on how I tape off lines (please disregard the fact that I think my [...]

I came across this cute little cabinet on Craigslist for free about a month back. Did I have a *NEED* for a new cabinet? No. Could I leave it helpless on someone’s curb? Hell no. Ha! Okay, maybe it wasn’t that serious, but I’m a furniture nurse and this little lady had a long road to recovery with no health insurance. I couldn’t sit idly by! Luckily for me, the previous owner did most of the stripping/sanding; there was very little left to do! I think this used to be some kind of mid-century built-in cabinet because it had some [...]

…And you thought I’d be bored on my Maternity Leave… This dresser was a wedding present from my mom, and we’ve had it for over 7 years. I love this dresser. I even loved it white but it was getting pretty dirty after so many moves. Here are the highlights: The dresser was almost raw wood so dusting and very little sanding was needed I had four of those little knobs left over from another project, so I decided to save a little money and use these knobs instead of purchasing a whole new set. I was able to purchase [...]

I was approached recently to do a paint review for Glidden. I do a lot of painting and have used several brands, but this was my first attempt at using Glidden paint: it passed the test. It was a good excuse for a much needed project. After hanging my T-shirt art, it became ever apparent that the my stark white master bathroom needed to be painted.  I used Glidden’s interior satin in Haystack and it was a painter’s dream: I only needed ONE COAT! Since we are the first owners of the condo we live in, all of the walls [...]

I wanted to do some geometric shapes on the wall in the baby room, so I created a stencil. Start to finish on this project is about 1-2 hours. Pick your shape You can trace fabric, freehand, or create your own shape. I used one of Tristan’s Photoshop brushes. Trace your shape Trace your shape onto the stencil surface. I used leftover shelf-liner {contact paper}. It has a sheen on it, which means it won’t get soggy or ruined like paper would. You can also use posterboard to create the stencil. Cut out your stencil I added thickness to my [...]

By now, I am half-way to Oahu, but I wanted to share some trusty tips that help me get through painting a room. Over the Labor Day weekend, I decided to finally paint our guest bedroom grey. And I found the PERFECT grey (Behr Premium Plus Antique Beige). To my surprise, Behr (At Home Depot) has a new line of paint that is primer + paint in one. The walls are so new in our condo that I’ve had to prime EVERYTHING, which turns into a big fat hassle, and is probably why it has taken me a year to [...]

It is becoming popular to paint stripes on walls, and rightfully so. The technique has the same feel as wallpaper, but in my opinion, looks better and is easier to replace. While noticing this trend, I have also noticed the good, the bad, and the ugly. My theory on wall stripes is: less contrast is better. It is easy for your striped wall to morph into a circus-tent-feel if you aren’t cautious with the colors. For example: painting a baby boy’s room – it might sound cute to paint the walls blue and brown. Naturally, blue and brown look good [...]

My sister, decorative painter and interior designer, was featured in this month’s issue of Sunset Magazine. In the article, she helps Sunset’s editor, Allison Arieff, choose a wall color for her dining room. Allison’s sister is daring with color and picks palettes on a whim and it always turns out great. Allison has had bad luck with colors, but was ready to take the plunge. Here is an exerpt from the article: So what does Kaye suggest? Well, it’s somewhat ironic, really, because in this case, the color consultant’s cure-all is the very antithesis of color. “You have a lot [...]

Picking a wall color seems to stump everybody. I get asked to pick wall colors frequently and I always use the same logic to pick the right wall color to suit a client/friend/family member. Unless it’s a brand new room, I don’t pick any random color in a deck. It has to make sense. I will look around the space, and find things that the homeowner is most fond of that has patterns or colors that they feel signify them and the feel of their home. This is usually a pillow, painting, rug or other piece of art. From there, [...]

My extremely talented mother made me some gorgeous curtains for my much-neglected guest bedroom. This teeny-tiny room is home to a queen-sized bed, an adorable re-vamped vintage dresser, and every other posession I own that I’m not quite sure what to do with. Well, her beautiful drapes have left me with no option: I must do them justice and finish the room. I’m calling it my flea-market bedroom, because the pieces in the room are rare, well-loved and unique! Also, see the pillows my mom whipped up with some scrap fabric I had, and a burlap pillow I made to [...]

My adorable and talented sister was on View From The Bay on ABC Network yesterday. She did a spot on creating your own stencils with posterboard, tracing paper and an X-Acto knife. This is such a great way to make patterns in your home. You can design your own, or Shannon says she gets her inspiration from fabrics and artwork. Check out the video here… click on the segment titled “Personalize Your Space with Stencils.”

Wonderful Graffiti creates all kinds of different vinyl lettering for a range of projects. I love this set of vinyls as applied to a painted vintage highboy. screenshot from http://www.workstatetest.com/.

Still in dire need of small decorative items, but the transformation is nearly complete. Here are the before and after pictures of the living room in our new condo. Highlights: Walls painted a warm beige color (Lady Finger) by Benjamin Moore. Ceiling painted slightly darker for a cozy feeling New dark chocolate hardwood floors New ceiling fan with dark blades to match the flooring, brushed metal finish on the lights Brushed metal star lanterns hung from the ceiling New sofa from Basset Furniture Refinished vintage dresser with drawers removed as TV bench Mounted TV Velour drapes from Ikea Inner drapes: [...]

Okay, I know stencils can sound hokey. But in moderation and good taste, stencils can look phenomenal. I have put together a collection of excellent uses for the stencil. Okay, so how can we learn from these successful applications of stenciling? those that have the ENTIRE surface covered in stencil chose a low-contrast color combination. Choose two colors that are close to each other in the color family, to keep it from being overwhelming. If you want blue – chose a blue and a lighter shade of that blue. Those that had smaller applications of the stencil treatment could afford [...]

The Scoop: bought this dresser at a garage sale for $30 (thanks Clare!) sanded down all of the paint the wood was a little too dry and spotty to stain, so I colorwashed the piece with latex paint and water. sealed the paint, and protected the wood with varnish removed the drawers had MDF cut at home depot ($7 total) into two shelves for the cable box, dvd player, etc. covered the MDF with calico fabric from JoAnn’s Cut holes in the back of the dresser to feed the cables to the electrical outlet Voila! Our new TV Bench before [...]