I came across a few really great DIY Paint projects that I thought would be fun to share. I’ve found over the years that doing design work for others or writing about here on ::Surroundings:: it has sapped my energy for rolling up my own sleeves and getting my hands dirty. So, I’m going to start rectifying that and I hope you’ll join me!
DIY Paint – Hold the door!
How fun and Dorothy Draper are these painted closet doors with applied molding and the amazing flower knobs – made from foam ceiling medallions? This was a project by House & Home magazine’s assistant style editor Jennifer Koper. You can see detailed instructions here. I do wish that the molding weren’t mis-aligned, that really takes it down a notch. But the medallions alone are truly spectacular and so easy! To add to the instructions – if you don’t want to do the sawing yourself for the molding strips, most hardware stores will cut them for you for a nominal fee if you have all the measurements.
DIY Paint – Bottle that up!
Amy from Homey Oh My put together this great tutorial for the PB Teen blog on how to make these really cute striped up-cycled bottle vases. I think what really works with this is that they are in multiples in several different colors. Of course, the pretty flowers and photography helps! This would be a fun project for kids and teens – maybe as a craft project for a slumber party. These would also be a fun and easy idea for center pieces for a wedding reception if done in the colors of the wedding.
On a more elegant scale, these matte black bottles have been painted with blackboard paint and paired with metallic candles. I just love everything about this image! A little rustic and moody and a lot romantic! Read here on Nouba for how to get this whole look – which was styled for an outdoors New Year’s Eve party. In additional to blackboard paint you could also use black chalk paint.
DIY Paint – Update the outdated
I’ve been working on a sitting room/library/home office project for a few months. My lovely clients had this huge 30 year old Harden House wall unit with armoire/bar cabinet, side book case and display cabinets. It’s at least 12 feet long!
As part of the update, my client painted the entire cabinet Chateau Grey chalk paint from Annie Sloan. He also applied a tinted was to seal and give it a slightly more aged look with a sheen.
He did such a great job with this project! This was a very expensive piece of furniture, in great condition and very functional. It was just dated and tired looking. So many people are afraid to paint wood furniture and younger people are famously anti-brown wood furniture these days. But really, unless it’s a fine antique, I say go for it. The results will breathe new life into a piece (or in this case, pieces), isn’t that hard or expensive and in this case, these cabinets will be good for another thirty years. Great for the pocketbook and the environment.
A few months ago, I wrote about repainting my parent’s old tv armoire that I use to store china and linens. Still haven’t done it yet. Will this be the weekend for my DIY paint project?
Are you a weekend warrior? I’d love to hear about your DIY paint projects!