Painting | Design Happens

ALL POSTS TAGGED "[painting]"

The Nursery Files: Painting a Graphic Accent Wall

by Marianne Canada April 12, 2013 19 Comments

As you may already know, I’ve been planning to paint one wall of the nursery a rich indigo blue with a graphic herringbone-meets-chevron pattern, inspired by this wall on the Brick House Blog. I started by measuring the accent wall so I could figure out the width of my panels. It turns out the room is a perfect 12′ x 12′ square, so I decided for simplicity’s sake to make 6 2-foot-wide panels across the accent wall. After taping off the sides, ceiling, door, and molding, I used a laser level to ensure that my vertical tape lines are straight. Taping wall for paint Once the panels are measured out, it’s time to start adding the diagonal lines. I started by eyeballing the angle of the first line. After that, it’s simply a matter of measuring out the stripes. I like the varied width in my inspiration photo, so I worked with 6-inch and 4-inch stripes with the occasional 3-inch stripe thrown in. Once my first panel was complete, I used the laser level again to mark out the adjacent panel’s first stripe. Once your angle is established it’s pretty quick work to tape off all of the stripes. Adding diagonal tape lines Have you ever tried to tape off a stripe pattern, only to have the color bleed under the tape and look messy? Hoping to avoid this, I followed Jenny from Little Green Notebook’s advice and painted a thin coat of my base color over all of the tape. Is this extra work? It sure is! But I spent so much time taping the wall that I didn’t want to risk anything. This seals your line and gives you a crisp, professional result. Also recommended? A cute assistant. Painting base coat Now it’s time for two coats of my color choice for the room: HGTV HOME by Sherwin Williams in Indigo Batik. Then, the moment of truth. I let the paint dry overnight and then oh-so-carefully started removing the tape. And…voila! I think I held my breath the entire time we were pulling tape off, but thanks to the base coat of white there were only a couple of spots with bleed through and I touched those up in a snap. What do you think? Removing the tape and seeing the finished wall. We’re in the home stretch now! Time to start moving the furniture in and tackle a few more small projects.

Follow The Nursery Files from the beginning:

The Nursery Files: Prepping the Room for Paint

by Marianne Canada March 22, 2013 9 Comments

Well, it took some heavy lifting (not on my part, don’t yell!), but the Room of Shame is now empty and ready for a fresh coat of paint. It’s been a while since I took on a paint project at home, so I revisited our Painting Dos and Don’ts to make sure I was prepared. Armed with those tips, I headed to our local Sherwin-Williams store to pick up some HGTV HOME paint and supplies.

HGTV HOME Paint and Supplies for the Nursery

I wanted a nice deep blue with gray undertones that wouldn’t read as purple in any light, and HGTV HOME’s Indigo Batik is perfect. I’m only using this on one wall (more on that later), so the other three walls are getting a fresh coat of HGTV HOME Interior Satin in Extra White.

The empty room, waiting for paint.

But I’m getting ahead of myself — before we start painting, there is prep to be done. We — or rather my patient husband, Chris — started by wiping down all of the baseboards, windowsills and light fixtures. I patched old nail holes and lightly sanded. Then we removed all of the switch plates and outlet covers. We took down the curtains, and taped off the floors and windows. Lastly, we laid a drop cloth over the entire floor. I don’t want to risk getting even a drop of paint on our beautiful wood floors.

Prepped and ready for paint!

And now it’s time to paint! HGTV HOME paint is zero VOC (though some colors are only low VOC), so I am able to help out, which is good news because I love painting. This weekend we will finish the white and next week I’ll show you how I’m tackling the paint treatment I showed you in the mood board here.

Well, I know what I’m doing all weekend! How about you, readers? Are you taking on any painting projects in your home this spring? Spill the details below (but not the paint!).

Featured

House Diaries: Quick Front Door Makeover

by Liz Gray November 15, 2012 23 Comments

Moving into a new house or apartment is like trying on someone else’s clothes. You might like your friend’s patterned dresses or covet her high heels, but her outfits likely don’t feel like “you.” That’s exactly how I felt when I came home every day to a front door decked out in maroon and white*:

Front Door Before Shot
Is it the ugliest color combination out there? No. Does it speak to my love of bright colors? Also no. Luckily, adding fresh front door paint is a super-quick update; mine took about half a day. Read on to see my new and improved front door hue.

See the Updated Front Door

Daily Delight: Paint-by-Numbers Wall Murals

by Grant Dudley August 18, 2012 14 Comments

Create whimsical hand-painted wall murals for your kids, or beautiful stylish ones for yourself (the kid ones are so darn cute!).

Kid Wall Mural

Images From Elephants on the Wall

A LOOK BACK: WALL MURALS ON DESIGN HAPPENS

Designer MacGyver: 5 Easy Paint Chip Crafts

by Briana Mowrey June 11, 2012 16 Comments

Maybe you’ve been painting in your home recently. Or maybe you’re like me and take a handful of paint chips whenever you run across them in the hardware store. (Hey, they make great bookmarks!) Whatever the case, today’s mission is to show you how to use those colorful strips in ways you’ve never imagined. The best part? You can probably knock these crafts out in an afternoon or less!

Daily Delight: Old-Timey Paintings Are The New Old-Timey Photos

by Briana Mowrey February 24, 2012 9 Comments

Did you ever go to a theme park or a boardwalk and pose with your family for one of those old-timey photos? You know what I’m talking about, right? You dress up as cowboys and saloon gals or gangsters and flappers and you get a sepia-toned print of the photo? Well, 18th.me has elevated this kind of thing to an art. Now, instead of being cowboys and saloon gals, you can be the Mona Lisa or Napoleon Bonaparte! And it’s not just photo magic — we’re talking hilarious hand-painted portraits here. You select a famous work from their gallery, send in a photo of yourself similar to the pose in the original and 18th.me artists hand-paint your portrait and mail it to your door.

18thme portraits

They’re kitschy, but that’s what makes them fun. I could envision these cheeky paintings over the stairs, in a small powder room, or in a game room. As the site states, they’re great conversation pieces. Or a seriously impressive gag gifts! As someone who spends the entire day on the Internet, I can tell you that there are tons of people who’ve Photoshopped themselves into these works of art, but I can’t think of any who’ve taken it to the next level like this. (And if you follow memes like I do, you will recognize the Ducreux self-portraits from their use with archaic rap lyrics.) Personally, I’d go for the Marie Antoinette, though I’d probably look more at home in American Gothic.

Daily Delight: Love Print

by Briana Mowrey February 14, 2012 3 Comments

I kinda punted on Valentine’s Day this year. Sure, I got my boyfriend a heartfelt card and stuff, but it’s not quite the expensive restaurant reservation or romantic bed & breakfast extravaganza that it used to be. Time is an issue (we’re both busy!), as is money (hey, taxes are coming up!), but the sentiment is still there, which reminds me of this Love Print by Katie Daisy on Etsy.

love print

I like the energy and whimsy the print has, and the feeling it gives me when I look at it — it just makes me feel happy. Not unlike the feeling I get when I look at the man I love. So, Happy Valentine’s Day, Buzz. Here, I got you a blog post!

Thrifting: Paint It

by Rashon Carraway December 16, 2011 19 Comments

The year is drawing to a close and I am sure many of you have projects sitting in your garage or storage closet waiting to be tackled. Today I’m offering one simple suggestion: paint.

A good paint color can transform a drab item into an amazing statement piece. Best of all, all it takes is some patience and a little bit of money.

Most people think painting furniture is only for wood or plastic pieces. Not true. Almost anything can be painted.

Just recently I painted a set of wing-back chairs. At less than $10 for supplies, I updated them in just one weekend.

In its past life this desk was probably the life of the room, offering substantial storage and a sturdy writing surface. However, years passed and trends changed. Natty by Design brought this gem back to the modern era with a fresh coat of paint. Its high-gloss finish adds just the right amount of pizazz without being overpowering.

You can also use spray paint to give something new life. While these particular lamps weren’t thrifted, Janel Beals knew the blue color wouldn’t work in her space, so she fixed that dilemma with a nice coat of white paint. Thrift stores tend to have reasonably priced lamps with great shapes.

Perhaps you like the idea of painting but want to go the extra step. Take this secretary that received a facelift for one of Amy Meir’s clients. Yes. I know. Spectacular.

Now I know the secretary was a quite daunting. Some of us are not quite ready for that experience. How about this boot jack? I found it while browsing a local thrift store and was not a fan of the color. I simply spray painted it gold and now I am using it as a paper weight. How easy was that?

Have you also painted a thrifted piece? Share!

Daily Delight: Michelle Armas’s Etsy Store

by Briana Mowrey November 8, 2011 5 Comments

Guys, I meant to tell you about Michelle Armas‘s energetic abstract paintings a long time ago, when I first was tipped off to their existence by Cassandra LaValle of Coco + Kelley, I really did. But I’m a little selfish. Her paintings always seem to sell very quickly, and I didn’t want my favorite pieces to be snatched up before I had a chance to consider them. I apologize for withholding information. To make amends, I’ll give you this hot tip: Michelle’s got a new Etsy store.

droid painting

Okay, I’m still protecting my best interests. This wild riot of color and motion (“Droid”) is one of my favorite $100 paintings on her Etsy page, but not my absolute favorite. I hope you don’t guess which one I’m crushing on before I buy it, or I’ll be crushed.

Daily Delight: Joël Penkman Food Art

by Briana Mowrey August 23, 2011 4 Comments

UK-based artist Joël Penkman’s colorful painting of popsicles hits just the right note of nostalgia in me for summers of my youth, spent chasing the ice cream man’s siren song. And though these sweets are specifically Fabs — “a classic British ice-lolly,” as he notes on his site — I’m sure the good feeling the piece inspires is universal.

penkman fab print

The dreamy colors and food subject matter have him being mentioned in the same breath as artist Wayne Thiebaud, but I think all the little details in Penkman’s work make his paintings come across more as straight still lifes than Pop art. Though if there’s one thing Penkman and Thiebaud have in common, it’s that everything in their portfolios makes me drool.