DIY day!!

It's FINALLY pretty outside on a day I have off from work! Although still a bit cold for me :) I was planning on starting my herb garden in our front yard, but I think it's still a little cold to put anything in the ground.

So I've decided to do a few minor DIY things that I've been meaning to do, since my main goal is to reuse anything that we can instead of spending money and creating more waste by buying new.

Today's project, our house numbers.

The style of the previous owners of our house is a little too traditional for us. We've just about taken care of the inside (except the kitchen...) and now that it's "spring" it's time for the outside.

The address plaque outside looked like this:

I have nothing against Country Style or ivy in general...just not for us.

We checked out a few new address plaques at Lowe's/Home Depot/etc, but it seemed kinda dumb to spend at least $30 on something that we had already.

Solution...yup, paint!

First I cleaned it well with my homemade vinegar/water solution. Then I used a sponge brush and black acrylic paint to paint the whole thing.

Then after it dried, I went back with silver acrylic paint and a smaller brush to paint the numbers and lightly paint the details to make them stand out more.

I'm not sure I like the leaves being silver. But the great news is if I decide I hate it, I can always paint over it!

Hopefully more DIY/Recipes to come today, we'll see what I get accomplished!

Easy living room update

So as previously discussed, I believe that paint can fix a lot of flaws in a home. That being said, choosing the right color (from the selection of oops paint, of course!) as an accent in a room can totally transform a room in a few hours.

An easy way to chose an accent color is to look to the furnishings and decor you already have. You will be able to tell at some point from my pics that S.O. and I both share a love of the color teal/turquoise/blue-green...whatever you call it. So when I stumbled across a pint of this color in the oops pile at Wal-Mart, I had found my answer to our beige living-room.

Now, on that note, the living room was already painted a cafe aulait type color when we moved in. I am not usually a fan of neutrals, but it really works in here with all of our bright colors elsewhere. Maybe i'll repaint it someday, but not in the near future. Come to think of it, I think this was the color of the living room in the house I grew up in...hmm.

So here is our built-in/fireplace wall before...

And here is after

(Man, I have the HARDEST time getting these pics to go where I want them to!!) I will try to take some pics later today of the rest of the living room so you can see how this color really works in here with all of our stuff.

PS- the one on the right is current...the pic above the fireplace on the left was a bit too much, even for us.

A different kind of "green" paint.

So when we moved into our house in mid December 09, it was livable (thank god) and in fabulous structural condition (thank god again) but there were a few minor changes we needed to feel really at home. After the closing costs, moving costs, food while we had none costs etc. there was little left to work with.

Solution? PAINT!!

Seriously, paint can fix most minor issues...and some of the major ones too! I was that person who used to paint all of our rentals and then just not worry about getting a deposit back, it was worth it to feel at home.

I know that there are a ton of green paint choices out there. Our main problem was financial. Now paint is definately one of the cheapest ways to change a room, and if you hate it just repaint! But even $30 a gallon x 6 or so rooms that need to be painted = a lot to us.

I'd like to introduce everyone to my favorite decorating secret of all time.

"Oops" paint. This is that large collection of mistinted paint located in the paint department at your local home improvement store. I know I have bought a TON of it at Lowes and recently discovered quite a stash at Wal-Mart. A gallon of oops paint usually runs about $5 and you can get high quality paint for a super discount. The secret is to only paint rooms/walls that you can finish with one gallon (practically impossible to get the right tint again if you need more) and to go in with an idea of the colors you want, but be flexible!

This is also a little known way to be green. What's going to happen to that paint if nobody buys it? Thrown out baby. So save your wallet and some landfill space and go for the Oops Palate in your home!

Master Before Master After "Oops" Paint

Bathroom Before Bathroom After "Oops" Paint

We even painted the terrible yellow/brown sink/vanity with white latex...seems to be working fine until we can find a replacement for free!

Now go forth and empty out your local "Oops" Paint Department, before I get there 1st!