First Project 2017

A couple of years ago I transformed my Broyhill Fontana family room furniture with chalk paint. You can read about it  here. 

But...a couple of years have passed and I was ready for a lighter top. The family room receives little light and the dark table tops seemed to soak the limited light right out of the room.

The tables were acquired via Craigslist and were from different locations. Some had been used as a pounding board for little kids apparently. The coffee table was the worse for being "distressed". I decided to do it "right" this time. Using the Dremel sander I used three different sand paper discs to sand the distressing away.

It really wasn't as bad as I had dreamed. I broke up the sanding into two days. The only issue was I decided to do this project when it was 10 degrees outdoors with snow on the ground. My car was living in the garage so the family room became my work room.

I decided to strive for a whitewashed farmhouse look. I picked up this arrow at Hobby Lobby and used it as a visual reminder of what I was duplicating.

I like to make my own chalk paint. First, it is so much cheaper. And it seems to be much smoother in texture. I don't know what Annie Sloan uses in her recipe but it ends up with a sandy texture and I constantly have to add water to the paint. With my use of latex paint and calcium carbonate it applies just as in regular latex. Like chalk paint it dries in a few minutes and can be recoated in minutes.

I googled to find a recipe and used this one here.

There are several places to find close matches to Annie Sloan with different brands of paint. Since I prefer Behr I used this sight to match the colors I chose.

Vienna Pink site was the one I saved on my Ipad to take to Home depot for purchasing the latex paint.

My first two coats of paint were Behr Ethiopia PPUS-6d (ASCP CoCo match).

I then dry brushed Behr Dainty Lace MQ3-11u (ASCP Old Ochre match).  If I thought it was too light in places I dry brushed some of the Ethiopia back on. Once I was satisfied I let it dry for a few hours. I don't know if that was necessary or not but I could relax for a bit so it was a win-win!

The final steps were adding the wax. I didn't have any of AS dark wax so ran into Lowes and picked up the Valspar antiquing wax. This was applied with a cheap chip brush in a dry brush technique. After it dried a bit I rubbed it with a soft cloth. Next came an application of AS Soft Wax.

All in all, I am satisfied with the result. With the lack of light in the room, it is difficult to acquire a good picture of the actual result.

I may go over the bases and legs again in the future. But for now--the first project is complete.

2016 Home Front Memories

It's fun to go through pictures from the last year to see what happened on the home front. A little trip down memory lane...

In January we were still enjoying our newly painted WHITE kitchen cabinets. We did add trim to the island to give it more definition. Also adding under cabinet lighting definitely brightened up the space. Since it was the dead of winter with dreary days this was a perfect winter project.

 By the time February came Tennessee had been covered with days of snow. Projects had to be of the indoor type. Spending days viewing the walls gave me a chance to brighten up the spaces by lightening the wall color. Previously I had painted the open space living area Mindful Gray. I was searching for a warmer and lighter gray tone. Agreeable Gray (SW) looked so light on the paint sample but proved to satisfy my need for more light.

Mindful Gray (SW)

Agreeable Gray (SW)

March rolled in and I was still striving for more white in my life! Target came to the rescue as I found the bookcases to flank the fireplace. It must have been meant to be because the bookcases barely fit in the space. Of course I would rather have custom built ones but these satisfied my needs. The mirrors above each do reflect the light from the windows.

I sold the tables that had been stained and added new ones. The sofa table, coffee table, and end tables all have cabinets with windows. I am still not sure of how to decorate inside but have placed the many remotes my husband has accumulated. A win is a win!

Spring arrived finally! When the days warmed and the time to think of outdoor projects arrived, I was singing on the inside! Ferns are my favorite plant to begin the summer planting season.

The dogwood trees blossomed and all was right in my world!

May arrived and we traveled to Vegas. Talk about pretty decor--is a moment in time of enjoying the beauty of nature. Vegas is a wonderland!

The final change to our living room was the addition of a white slipcovered sofa and loveseat. I researched the pros and cons of white but I only read of pros. Since they were slipcovered it was possible to wash them as needed. After living with the Ikea Ektorp set for six months I can totally agree. It isn't a pain to wash them and it gives such a feeling of lounging on CLEAN furniture. The smell is also wonderful--especially since our schnauzer thinks they are his sofa too!

The last small changes to the house this year were both in the kitchen. A glass front corner cabinet became a black hole because there was no light and the inside of the cabinet hadn't been painted. I painted the inside of that and also changed the breakfront from dark wood to the same West Highland (SW) color of the cabinets. I think my home has been transformed by the use of paint from dark and dreary to a warm and sunny white!

All in all, my trip down memory lane for 2016 has been a refreshing one!

Christmas Kitchen and Dining Room

Christmas will be here before I snap pictures of 2016 Christmas at Home Front Thoughts.  The days are cloudy so I have decided to give the camera a try. It has been a year since we updated our kitchen with hardwood flooring and white painted cabinets. I can absolutely say that I haven't regretted that decision for a second.

The pop of color really seems to stand out against a white background (as well as fingerprints and smudges).

The kitchen and dining room are all part of an open space concept. We have removed a wall between the spaces to open it up.

The kitchen cabinets were originally oak and were painted a Sherwin Williams color--WestHighland. It is a creamy white. On the cabinets and island it appears much more white than the buffet.

I painted the buffet with the same color paint but used chalk additives. That may explain the more creamy appearance than traditional white.

The dishes on the shelves were my mom's. She loved decorating also and would have many plates in her kitchen and dining room. These are some of those that I will treasure forever!

The JOY candlesticks came from a department store about twenty years ago. She had a set and gave me this set. I have used them ever since. The plates are some from her visits to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

May Peace be more than a season. I can imagine that of all years our nation needs a little bit of this! These were from Cracker Barrel a few years ago.

My recent addiction to Rae Dunn dinnerware is overtaking my space. I admit, I have a problem! The hunt for the next piece is keeping me busy and entertained!

The dining area is somewhat of a mismatch to me this year. The tree is decorated in a winter theme--complete with top hat, white and blue ornaments, and snowflake ribbon. I couldn't find a table runner that suited the decor so I placed some silk flowers in a white vase to transition the many Christmas colors. I always say I am going to leave this tree up through January but I also seek a fresh start with the new year. That means I am usually stripping decor and simplifying.

Merry Christmas at Home Front Thoughts 2016!

Christmas in the Family Room

December. Time to change the decor. Instagram is igniting the beauty of the season. But...can I even attempt to make my home resemble those I see?

I sit back and take a breath--time to think gratitude. Thankful that I have a home to call my own. Thankful to have made changes this year to it.

I am loving all the white I've added since last Christmas--the white bookcases that flank the fireplace and the white sofa. It certainly gives me the ability to create color combinations of any I can imagine. Red, white, and black are the dominant colors. I have added buffalo check ribbons to the tree and the fireplace.

Target dollar spot had several buffalo check items this year and I purchased the tree garland. I like the way it plays off the fireplace.

Gingham pillows were an easy addition and I found those on Amazon. I like that they have zippers so I can easily store the covers. The other pillows I found at TJMaxx. Seems like buffalo check is in style as Old Navy even had blanket/throws so I grabbed one of those. My puppy loves the cozy flannel feel of it. I do too!

Seeing the red truck decor does bring back memories of searching for that perfect REAL tree. This pillow cover was a steal from Decor Steal! I found the truck and tree at Hobby Lobby and with the 50% off it was quite a reasonable purchase.

Next year I may move to a more neutral decor. But this year I need the brightness!

I did pick up a few Santa Clauses to place around the room. Some belonged to my mother and others I found on EBAY. These are the Possible Dreams Santas that are released each year. 

My favorite is this one with the American flag! Proud to be an American!

Merry Christmas from my family room to you!