Painter Girl

Basement Stairwell Makeover

I realize this is far from the most glamorous makeover I've ever posted, but it is a huge improvement for my basement stairwell, the gateway to my studio, aka The Dungeon. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit, but I had never touched this stairwell in the 20+ years I have lived here, safe to sweep the stairs occasionally. I thought I had taken at least one "before" pic, but now cannot locate, so you will just have to take my word for it, that it was truly dark and dingy.

I had a zero budget for this project, so started by mixing a few left over paints together to make a peachy/light orange color.  The walls and slanted ceiling are in very bad condition, so I did the best I could with the prep work and joint compound.  I applied 2 coats of this paint to walls and ceiling.  I had all of these hooks and storage units already, so just cleaned them up and rehung in new locations.  

 

As you can see, only the top portion of the walls are actual walls to paint.  The bottom half is stone block from our foundation on the right, and some miscellaneous wood slats on the left.  I decided to keep this rustic look and not try to glamorize in any way. The ceiling is stenciled with my new favorite stencil from Royal Design Studio, the Large Endless Moorish Circles.  I used this previously for my dining room Roman Shades and am currently stenciling some drapes for my living room with it.  

 

Here's a closer look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did find one "before" pic, of my sad door.  I had a cat door here before, and since I no longer have cats and have no intention of acquiring any soon, I decided to remove and board up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Painting it all Linen White definitely helped to lighten things up in this dark space!

 

 

 

 

 

I've had this Two Bad Ants poster in my basement for years.  My daughter has always been petrified of ants, so her Uncle Chris gave her this book and poster as a child to try to ease her fear a bit.  She is STILL petrified of ants and did not want this poster in her own home, so I decided to hang it here.

 

It's a very clever book and the illustrations are great!

 

 

 

 

Lastly, I painted the stairs with some left over floor paint and added the numbers for a little interest.

I should have done this years ago, because it is so much cheerier going up and down these stairs now to my studio and to do laundry!

 

 

 

Quick Fix for Medicine Cabinet

I do not have a before photo of my medicine cabinet, but it was very similar to this one pictured, except the mirror had a small crack in the bottom right hand corner. I looked around and could not find a replacement cabinet that a) would fit in this recessed space and b) that I really could get excited about, so I decided to give mine a little makeover.

 

 

Here is the finished project and a closer look:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted a mirror that would coordinate with the lighting.

 

 

 

 

To make the frame, I used some yardsticks I've had forever in my studio.  I cut them to the lengths needed, lightly sanded, and painted with gray paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cut four smaller pieces to cover the seams in the four corners, sanded and painted.

 

 

 

 

Next, I applied a sizing and some silver foil to all the painted wood pieces and sealed for durability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cut four strips of wire mesh, from a sheet of WireForm I bought at an art store.  I then glued these strips onto the four frame lengths with spray adhesive.  As soon as I did this, I decided I did not want the mesh on all four sides of the frame, so pulled off the mesh on the 2 longer frame lengths. This left the impression of the mesh, which I liked!

 

 

I added these cap nuts to each of the 4 corner blocks with glue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, I used Liquid Nails to adhere the wood pieces to the mirror and gave the entire frame another coat of sealer.   This was a quick and inexpensive fix for this mirror!  The crack is covered by the new frame and the design goes well with the new lighting. 

 

My New Bathroom

I showed you a glimpse of my bathroom upgrade in the last post, where I featured the stenciled window shade, so today I thought I show you everything I did in this small bathroom.  I'll put a before and after shot, side by side (click any photo to enlarge):

   

My tile and tub were in very good condition, so I did not replace.  I replaced the vanity, floor and toilet.

My old toilet had an oblong seat, which often was hit by the door opening!

   

The new toilet has a round seat, so a smaller footprint, and it is "comfort height", like a chair!  Also, that "s" shape is hidden.... you know, where it is very hard to clean?  I now know a little too much about toilets from my research! Eventually, I will replace this traditional door with a barn door style, such as the one featured on the right. Still researching the track and doors.

   

 

Replacing the vanity made a huge difference in this tiny bathroom.  This vanity is from IKEA and is much narrower than my old vanity, but the sink is twice as big!  It is also at a better height.  I tell everyone my new bathroom is my "good posture bathroom" with the chair height toilet and the higher vanity, no more slouching! 

  

 

Replacing the floor made a huge difference.  Although I was not a fan of lamintates, this floor by Mannington won me over.  I just did not want to deal with tile and grout again.

             

There is not a whole lot of wall space in this bathroom.  What little there is, I painted with Ben Moore's "Cinder", which is a deep gray.  Two areas received wide horizontal stripes.  I am looking for a piece of driftwood to mount above the felt baskets, which were also an IKEA purchase.

  

Lastly, I replaced my lighting and added a frame to the medicine cabinet mirror.  I need to look for a "before" shot of the medicine cabinet and when I find one, I will post a tutorial showing how I made this frame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm loving my new bathroom! :-)

 

Stenciled Bathroom Shade

I have this window in my bathroom that has always been a problem.  It's just a poor design where the window is framed in wood.... in the shower.  Who thought was a good idea?  I've always had an outside mounted window shade in this window, but the wood still gets wet, and eventually the paint cracks and peels right down to the raw wood.  I have come up with an idea that seems to be a good solution.   I added a piece of wood to the top of the window frame extending out about 2" on each side of the frame.

 

I painted it to match the frame, which blends in with the tile.  So far, so good.  The frame and the sill no longer seem to be getting wet.   Of course, then I could not just leave this plain, boring shade as is, so I decided to stencil it.

 

I used a stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils, called Birds on a Branch.  This project probably took all of 15 minutes since I used a small foam roller and only one color of paint.  Once dry, I sprayed the design with a clear, acrylic sealer to waterproof.

 

 

 

When the shade is up, light comes in through the frosted window, and some of the branch design is still visible on the shade.

Next, I'll show you my completed bathroom make over, Phase 1.

 

Window Weekend

Over the weekend I tackled my window treatments as part of my continuing bathroom and dining room makeover projects.  For the dining room, I started with two off-white roman shades I purchased online, from J.C. Penney.  The quality is surprisingly good for the money. 

I purchased this stencil, Endless Moorish Circles, just before Christmas when Melanie was having her fabulous 50% sale, highlighting a different stencil each day.  I bought it in two sizes, the large and small and am sure this design is going to be seeing a lot of use!

Originally, I thought I'd put this design on my bathroom window shade, but once my dining room started to come together, I decided this pattern really belonged in this room.

 

 

 

I put a drop cloth over my dining room table and went to work.  Because the fabric is a bit slippery and there are rods inserted in the folds of the shade, it was a bit tricky to tape it down.  I probably should have used spray adhesive but a)the only can I have left in my studio is defective and b) I hate gucking up a brand new stencil with glue, so I opted to tape and just be careful.

I found it best to use a stencil brush vs. a small foam roller for this project.

For paint, I used the left over wall paint from this room, mixed with a little textile medium.  I'm not sure I even needed the textile medium, because I'm not ever going to be throwing these shades in the wash. I think they would just be spot cleaned, should something happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here they are, finished and hung.  This project took about 1 1/2 hrs to do, then about 20 minutes to hang.  Quick and easy!  Of course, I made one mistake when ordering the blinds... you have the option which side you want the cord to be on, left or right.  I thought I ordered one of each, but instead ordered two "rights".  I did not notice this until after they were both stenciled and I began to hang them.  I can live with this error. I also read that the "proper" length for Roman Shades, when all the way down, should be just hitting the sill.  The length is not custom on these blinds, so I would have to shorten, if I want that look.  Again, I decided I could live with this longer length.  The plus side is, the longer length keeps out some of the drafts in this colder weather.

 

 

Here's another view.

The valance is detachable, secured with velcro, which was great to remove and stencil flat on the table.  I used the smaller version of this same pattern here, to mix it up a bit.

Unfortunately, when the shades are up, I have only this lovely dumpster to view until our construction is complete... which should be very soon!  Even without the lovely dumpster, my view is dismal from this room, just looking out at the driveway and the neighbors house.  I am thinking of frosting the bottom windows.  I did buy a can of spray frost some time ago and will experiment on some sample pieces of glass to see what that looks like.

I also stenciled a shade in my bathroom, which I will show you in my next post.  For all you DIYer's, these are inexpensive and quick ways to customize your windows.

Buffet Makeover

In December, I told you about the little huge, renovation project going on upstairs at my brother and brother-in-law's apartment.  You may recall, a few of my walls had to be opened up to insert some support beams.  Since my dining room was already trashed, I decided to give it a little makeover.  Today, I'll start by showing you the buffet/server piece.


The only "before" pic I could find was from when I first painted this oak bureau with black chalkboard paint.  The hardware is off, at the moment.  The bottom drawer was broken, so I removed it and painted the bottom shelf orange, which went with my dining room at the time.  I also had a little lime green band around each leg.  Note my black and white diamond floor, which is long gone and about to be repainted for the 4th time, probably this weekend.  I did like those diamonds!

Here it is today, with a sneak peak of my new board and batten in the background.  I kept the black chalkboard paint and added a distressed silver foil finish to the top, framing, and bottom shelf where I keep my wine.  I did find some wooden wheels that are original to this bureau, which I will add, after I paint the floor.  This floor, paint job #3, did not work like I had hoped, so it has got to go. 

 

 

 

Here's a closer look at the top.  The top is sealed with C-500 so it can take some wear and tear, as I use this piece as a server when I have company.

 

 

Here's a close up of the framework and wine shelf.  The piece is a little dinged up, but it adds to the distressed look of the silver, so luckily seems to work.  Next week I will be showing you more of this room's makeover and maybe I will be able to complete the new floor over the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

My inspiration picture for this black and silver buffet project came from this photo, which I found on Pinterest.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to find the original" pin" and who created this beautiful piece, with no luck.  If anyone does know, please advise, as I would love to give the proper credit.  Even though I used chalkboard paint on my buffet, I am not going to write on it.  I just like the look of the paint and the color.  I want to keep the look simple in my dining room, at least for now.

 

On the Home Front

A little progress has been made in my apartment from the upstairs renovation taking place.  The support beams were installed and the gaping holes in my walls have been filled in.

Now I just have to wait for the plasterer to do his thing.  It's definitely much warmer in here now!                         

House Happenings

My house is currently undergoing some major rennovations.  While the majority of the rennovation project is taking place upstairs in my brother/brother-in-law's unit, my humble abode, is umm..... affected.

Upstairs, they are adding on a dormer, so they can make the third floor usable living space. 

 

To do this, the entire roof was removed, the pitch changed, and a new roof put back on.  All this took place in a four day time span! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The house now needs some additional support, so large beams are being added to the inside walls.  My furniture has all been moved to one side and wrapped in plastic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My dining room wall has been cut out for the beam and the chair rail removed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The same "look" is also in my bedroom.  So far, my livingroom is being spared.  The inspection will determine if one more support is needed in there.

I will also being doing an upgrade of my bathroom, replacing the floor, vanity and toilet and repainting. 

Since the dining room is already a mess, and I've never been a fan of the chair rail,  I have decided to add board and batten to all walls, running two thirds up the wall.  I love this look, and will paint the wood an off-white, doing a gray and white stencil design above, like this photo.  I figure if I have suffer through this construction too, there needs to be a little carrot at the end of it all for my unit too. I pulled this pic off of Pinterest, pinning it from someone else, who attributes it to an "unknown source".   Does anyone recognize this stencil?  I love the very large scale and this would be perfect in my dining room!

As our project progresses I will be posting more pics.

My Alphabet Wall

I have been meaning to share this with you for some time now.  A few months ago, I finally finished my Alphabet Wall.  I had been seeing this type of wall on many of the home decorating blogs and in magazines, so decided to do one in my home office.  The wall took me about a year to complete, mostly because I would collect a few letters, then completely forget about this project and get involved in another project.  I'm sure you know how that goes.

I wanted a variety of lettering, so I bought some, made some, and some were given to me.

The "W" is a stencil I've used, the C, D,S, B, and M are metal letters I bought at the Brimfield Fair.  The O is a tile, the Y was cut from a sample board, the I is a printer's block letter, the P is a wooden letter I foiled and added Swarovski crystals, and the N is a blank puzzle card that i colored in with markers.

 

 

These letters are a combination of more metal letters (T,A,Z, J,E L);  the Q is something I made from picture framing wire, the R was a template I downloaded from the internet and put together; the framed letter is one I etched on the glass; the F is a letter I bought, the V is from a sample board, and the U was cut from a sample board and put in  a paper frame.  My favorite letter is the H, which my mother quilted for me.  It's a fun project and I'm sure if you try it and stay on task, you'd be able to get it done in a weekend vs. a year.

My Dining Room Chairs

Ok, this is life # 3 for these dining room chairs, but who's counting?  I truly love the shape of these 2 chairs, so see no reason to part with them, but of course, I do tire of the same old thing, and must occasionally do a little rehab!  I started off with a rough sketch of my idea and thought I'd make some slipcovers using linen and a lime green fabric.

When these chairs first arrived in my home they were a set of 4, two different styles.  Two chairs were upholstered in bright turquoise pleather and two with a bright orange pleather, so I guess, technically, they have had 4 lives that I know of. The frame was painted an off white.

This will be the third time I've recovered and painted these chairs.  I know I have pictures of their former lives somewhere, but am too lazy to hunt them down, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  This is what they looked like just before I recovered them this time.

I removed all of this fabric and added a little more batting to the seats and backs to plump them up a bit, making those long dinners with friends and family, much more comfortable.  I also decided that I would give up two of the four chairs, as I was not crazy about the overall design of these two, and had enough other chairs to go around the table. 

My original sketch for the pattern had to be revised once I started sewing.   I did try this, but in the end, found it too bulky with the bottom ruffle and just did not like the overall look.  Discarding the one I made, I opted for an upholstered look for the backs. Oh, and instead of using linen, I found these great burlap coffee bags, for $1 each at a salvage/closeout store. 

I pulled out my trusty old sewing machine.  This machine has to be at least 30 years old, maybe closer to 35, because I have had it long before my daughter was born and she is 27. I should really have it tuned up, but outside of being a little slow, it works fine. 

I can't remember what happened to the foot peddle, but this blue painters tape seems to have solved the problem, as it has been on here for years!

Here the new seat cover is being fitted.

I popped out the backs and just used a staple gun to cover with the burlap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The seats are slipped cover, so can be easily removed to clean.   The frames are painted with a metallic copper paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is what the backs look like. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here they are, at my dining room table.  I have two upholstered chairs at the ends, one of which you can partially see.  I also have 2 clear, Starck chairs that I can bring to the table if needed.