I Painted a Faux Brick Wall!!!

In an effort to make my Newmarket builder box home look a little more like New York , I decided it would be a good idea a few weeks before Christmas...what was I thinking?... to sponge paint my front hall.

  I absolutely love brick walls...every time I'm out and see one I take a pic because I just love that industrial look...I thought about doing the faux brick wall panels, the peel and stick wallpaper, or using plaster and tape.  However, if I decided I didn't like it or got tired of it in three months (which happens a lot around here), then I would wreck my walls and be stuck with it.  So I decided to buy a sponge and bought one that was for the end of a mop, like this one, which co-incidentally happened to be the exact size of the brick on my house.  Then I left the dark grey on the walls (Metropolis by Ben Moore) and used some paint left over from another project and just went for it.

So here's what I did:

1.  dampen sponge slightly.

2.  put a light coat of paint on the sponge with brush.

3. start in far lower corner and work up the first four or five rows.

4.  place sponge on the area and move back and forth slightly (lightly wetting the sponge helps with moving it).

5.  try to keep each brick above the other in alternate rows as you move up.

6.  once you do a few rows moving up, then move horizontally across the wall keeping them straight as you go.

7.  when all the bricks are on the wall, then put a little bit of paint on the sponge and dab it in between the bricks.

Bricks are very forgiving...they aren't perfect.  Don't be afraid if you screw up.  You can go back over it and make it darker. Just remember to keep your bricks straight.  If the bricks start to become uneven, you can always lengthen or widen a brick...again, bricks are imperfect.   I also did this over a few days, an hour or two at a time.  

So now my challenge is finding the right mirror and lighting...I shopped my home for lighting and like this one (above) from Homesense, but I'm not sure about the mirror....  (I know, I'm missing a drawer pull.)  

And then I decided to paint my doors a beautiful black called Vulcanite by Ralph Lauren.   This is the colour I'm going to be using on my lower cabinets for the kitchen (I know it's been a very long time coming but they are finally being painted in January...patience, people).  So it was an opportunity to test it and make sure I like it and I do, I really really do. ...I've wanted to do this for years too.  

Oh, and we got the most ADORABLE Christmas tree ever...and to bypass the annual hours and hours of the Christmas tree falling over,  I just stuck it in a basket...It might turn brown but it won't fall over! 

Isn't she the cutest little tree?   Axel has been circling it like a shark...which is why it's now up high and in a basket.  

Very Cool DIY - A Headboard Bench

 Photo taken by me with my iPhone

So my love for benches continues....spotted this bench a few months ago in the lobby of a restaurant.  It wasn't until I got home and was posting it on Instagram that I realized that it was actually a headboard made into a bench...very cool, right?   I always love a good DIY and even better, repurposing something.  The bench I saw was made from just the headboard, but some of the ones below have cut the footboard in half and used it on the sides for arm rests...such a great idea...love this!  

If you're thinking of making one, I would suggest that to really get the full impact of the headboard you should paint it dark if it's against a light wall, and paint it light if it's against a dark wall.  These can be real show stoppers if put in the right surroundings.  The light ones below would look stunning against a dark wall.  Here's a tutorial if you're interested in making one...you can see more on my Pinterest board.

via shabby2chic Etsy

via recreatedesigncompany.com

via afewgoodpieces.blogspot.ca

Some of you have sent me pics of things you've painted and DIY projects you've done, and please keep them coming.  I love seeing what you've all been up to, and I'm always happy to hear if I've inspired you in some way.

Have a great week!

I Did It...I Painted My Stairs Black!

So my stairs finally got painted...and wow, what a transformation!

I know I say this all the time, but I can't believe what a difference a little bit of paint makes. 

This was a pre-owned home so unfortunately we weren't able to choose any of the finishes.   When we first moved in I painted the railings a dark grey (Iron Mountain by Ben Moore) to make them a little more bearable (see below).   The light floors and railings wouldn't have been my first choice, but I was very grateful for the hardwood.  Also, the stairs had beige carpet running up the middle of them (yikes), which over time was starting to look a bit nasty.  

I delayed taking up the carpet because sometimes builders cheat the hardwood on stairs to cut costs, and put a cheaper wood where the carpet is.  Fortunately, we had hardwood all the way up...whew!   The next challenge was taking all of the staples out of the stairs.  This next step took a really long time and it was a lot of hard work.  Let's just say that the guy that had the staple gun went a little crazy...some stairs had over 20 staples. .

Next I had to choose paint, and had heard about Fusion Mineral Paint on Instagram from The Learner Observer.  I saw that she was painting her stairs with Fusion Mineral Paint, and she was nice enough to answer all my questions.  This paint is used mainly on furniture so it was great to see it used on stairs.  The good thing is it really adheres to rough surfaces and goes on smoothly...so no brush strokes.  Also, it's not very thick and is very runny so a little goes a long way...one small jar did the railings and stairs.   I wanted the colour to be an off-black so I mixed equal parts Ash (dark grey) and Coal Black (very black) until I got the colour I wanted.

My original thought was to paint them all black and then I decided I liked the look of the light stairs and the dark risers...oops!...(like a really big oops!.. like run

 to your neighbours' house as fast as you can and borrow their sander oops)!  The last step, once they were sanded, was putting  a light coat of sealer on them.

Before

Ok so here's the before and after...keep in mind that the before is quite a 

few years ago...big difference!

After

I just realized that I've never really shown this front room's before and after pics...probably because it changes every week....before and after pics coming soon.  

Also, I really want to try another project with this Fusion Mineral Paint.  I'll give you a hint...it has to do with the bathroom but it's not the vanity.  Can you guess what it is?

Quick Fix for Old Faded Outdoor Cushions

Hey I'm back....I've taken a little time off just to relax and enjoy the summer.   Hope you're all having a good one.  We're currently experiencing a heat wave, but other than that we've had great weather here (just north of Toronto).

This post is for all of those who have tired, old worn-out cushions on their outdoor furniture.  That's what these white cushions once were.

 If you follow me you know that last year I purchased a pergola for the space, and a few months ago, got these amazing striped cushions. Problem was, the cushions on our patio set (also from the SuperStore end-of-the-season sale a few years ago) were originally dark brown and had faded.  I was never a big fan of the colour, but liked the style of the furniture and it was on sale.  Anyway, I was looking at them one day and thought, how do I change the colour to white without slipcovering (too expensive) and without buying new ones (hard to find the exact size and not in the budget).   Of course, my go-to is always to paint the fabric (I've done this before here and here) so I had some latex paint left over from another project and decided to try it...AND it worked!   Now they are a little crunchy but they look amazing, and I couldn't be happier about this quick fix.  They're also super water proof now so that's a bonus.   Hey, it saves me buying new ones or having slipcovers made.

Here's the crazy ugly before pic.  (Oh and the floors have to be repainted too...I need to find a really durable outdoor deck paint).

More of my backyard/pergola updates coming soon...have a great day!

(This post is also for Rana my crazy friend/follower who had worn out canvass runners. She remembered my post about painting fabric and painted her sneakers instead of throwing them out.  Glad I inspired you Girl!)

More Changes to My Daughter's Teen Room

 This room is slowly, and by slowly I mean very slowly, coming along.  My daughter is learning patience.   Hey it's a good life lesson to understand that we can't always just go and buy whatever we want. Some times we have to wait for things...what a concept!  If you follow me on instagram you've seen this pic before.  I found this cute gold accent table at Target for under $80.00 and thought it just looked amazing against the black wall.  Then I decided that all that gorgeous Kate Spade framed paper would look amazing above it.  I also found a cool metal hashtag and "at" sign at HomeSense  and along with the "B" I made earlier, decided to make a collage above the accent table.  I originally had a bookcase here but I thought the gold table looked so much better, so I moved the bookcase to the other side of the room.  Then I wanted a light for above the bed, and was thinking about making one, but spotted this one at Ikea.  The cord and shade combined total was under $20.00.

This is what the light looks like fully assembled.  Pretty cool right?  I love it against the black wall.

One other project I completed was fixing this old bulletin board.  I decided to paint the inside black and add gold thumb takes to the edge.  I then rubbed gold paint into the edges to just give it a bit more gold.  Easy to do and the result was a big change.  It actually is one of my favourite things in the room, and again, not expensive.  You can see the process of this room here and here.

Teen Room - Painted Furniture & Cheap Decorating

So it's been quite a while since I updated you on my daughter's teen room (like a couple of months).  If you haven't been following along, you can see where I started from here and the progress here.  I painted 1 1/2 walls black (which was custom but very close to Ben Moore Black Iron 2120-20) and the rest of the 2 1/2 walls white ( Ben Moore Soothing Mist OR483) so it's quite dramatic. 

 I finally got around to painting the furniture as well, which I'm absolutely loving. Keep in mind that all these painted pieces of furniture were purchased at garage sales, auctions or found.  The dresser we found at an auction about 20 years ago, and it's been white and green and now black.  The book shelf we found at a yard sale (before pic is below) and I painted the outside black and the inside white.  Then I found this amazing Kate Spade double-sided gift wrap at Chapters.  It's got gold polka dots on one side and black and white stripes on the other.  Beautiful!!  So beautiful, in fact, that I decided to line the back of the bookshelf with the black and white and then frame a swatch of each.  Talk about cheap decorating.  I had these frames I wasn't using, so I was able to just take the pictures out and leave the back on and glue the wrapping paper to it. 

Before

Since this book shelf is long and narrow,  I decided to attach the paper with the stripes going horizontal instead of vertical.   I absolutely love the black and white stripes against the dramatic black wall.   Oh ya, I also decided to tie a feather boa around the boring lamp shade to add some drama.   

Here's one more update - I also got some big, over-sized fur cushions from Pier1 Imports and a couple of chevron cushions at Fabricland ($10 for just the cover).  If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that these chevron cushions keep moving to other rooms.  Not sure if they're going to stay in this room or not.

So there's your update!  

I just want to remind you that decorating does not have to be expensive, and painting a piece of furniture can really bring new life to a space.  You can check out some other furniture I've painted around my house here.

Have a great day!!!