Afternoon Project: One Living Room Wall

Since moving into our first house in February, we've really gotten behind on the millions of projects that we wanted to do.  I guess that's what happens when you move in, do weeks of non-stop projects then "take a break" from it all.  Well, our break has lasted most of the Summer and while I've gotten things done here and there, nothing major has been updated.

Like our living room.  It's a big, rectangular space and is in serious need of a couple coats of paint, curtains and wall decor.  I've been really trying to make to do lists for each day and my weekends since they help me stay focused and on track.  There is such a sense of accomplishment from crossing everything off my list!

So, one of the items on this weekend's list was to paint the back wall of our living room.  It's located behind our little bar and since I know that painting the whole room in one weekend would be too much for my busy schedule, I decided to do it one wall at a time.  I decided on the same gray color we used in our bedroom.  It's warm and not too dark and we LOVE it!  I filled the craters holes in the wall which required wire mesh, spackle and a ton of sanding.  I touched up the white trim and painted had the whole wall finished in a few hours.

Then I thought to myself, "I really should hang something on said wall that is freshly painted and ready for something pretty."

But what?  Oh, and let's remember that I'm not the most crafty gal around even though I try every now and then.

So, I headed to one of the many local flea market/antique shops that my awesome town has to offer.  I knew I was looking for frames and the only size I knew I needed was for a poster that I've been dying to hang for, oh, about 2 years now.  I hit the jackpot!  I scored a mirror, 1 small, 1 medium and 1 poster sized frame all for about $30. 

 I ran to my local hardware store and bought a bunch of spray paint.  I only did this after doing some extensive research on how to spray paint items properly from savvy do-it-yourself gurus.  The last time I tried to spray paint something, it ended up being a drippy, sticky ugly mess.  I was READY this time, y'all!

 My first challenge/project was the hideous red lamp that hung above our bar.  It was there when we moved in and while it went with the previous owners' decor, it does NOT go with ours.  I wanted something different and since we had already talked about replacing it, I wasn't as scared to try to refinish it.  Hey, if it looks awful, we can just go get a new one!

Red Lamp Shade 

Puppy helps with taping off the inside

After the 1st coat of primer

220 grit sand paper was needed in between coats of primer

I used Krylon paint for the lamp shade per another blogger's recommendation.  The stuff really is great!

TaDa!

After a few coats of primer and another few coats of Krylon Nickle spray paint in satin, I had a brand new lamp shade!  Here's what I've learned about spray paint:  don't buy the cheap stuff, spray lightly and evenly, several lighter coats as opposed to a couple of heavy ones (this avoids drips!) and don't be afraid to use a fine grit sand paper during the priming process to keep things looking pretty.

Project manager, Frank

 Now it was on to those frames and mirror!  I made sure to use newspaper and painter's tape on the mirror and 2 frames that didn't come completely apart to avoid getting paint on surfaces that didn't need it.  I also had a LOT of help with all of that...Frank makes a great project manager, no?

Tools!

After taping everything off, I went back outside and used a couple coats of primer before using white Krylon spray paint with a glossy finish.  I've decided that I really like using spray paint because it allows my not-so-patient self to get projects like this done in one day.  Each coat dries in 10 minute or less, y'all!  I was a happy Helen!

In between coats, I would come inside and ponder what it was that I was going to put inside the medium sized square frame and the smaller 5x7 frame.  And then I remembered (like I ever forget) that my favorite color is orange and I should incorporate that into my wall art.  Plus, there's a bit of orange on the poster I wanted to frame so it all made sense.

I've seen all over the internet where savvy gals simply frame a really fun piece of scrapbook paper with a print on it.  So, I picked one with a fun orange stripe and BAM!  Art.  And it's art that I can change out whenever I want to!

I love the detail on this frame!

Next was that 5x7 frame.  I thought about using a wedding photo since I have yet to do the gallery wall I've had planned since November....  However, I knew that I was going to do said wall and didn't want a trillion pictures all over the place.  What was the next best thing?  The logo that J made for our wedding.  It went on everything from our invites to our I Spy game at the reception.  It's simple, my favorite color and it means so much to us because it's uniquely ours.

I think this is my favorite!

Thumbs up, y'all!

3 out of 4

Love this print!

I was super pumped to put everything back together and see how my afternoon project turned out!  Without measuring (I'm SO bad at not doing that), I just poked a couple nails in the wall, hung everything and was really happy.  I love it when, as a non-measurer, I get lucky and don't bang a million holes into the wall!  

I got the mirror and all the frames up, but my little wall was missing something.  Then I remembered that J had gotten me a little "E" (our last initial) after we were engaged as a gift for when we finally had a home to hang things in.  I had been having a really hard time trying to figure out what to do with it, but the silver letter paired with everything so well!

Here's the finished project.  **NOTE:  I'm no photographer, obviously**

Love these!

What do you think?  I'm pretty excited for a first timer!

Frank was pretty happy, too....