Door details! First off, I need to tell you  that I did this while my husband was off having (fun?) with the boy scouts on a 50 mile hike. I like to do these types of projects while he’s gone because sometimes questions come up like, “do we really want to get rid of the screen door?” or “the lights work fine, what’s wrong with them?”

I always need to do a little, “d0-able” project when I’m beginning a huge project (like the kitchen!) to get me motivated. I thought this little nook above the desk in the kitchen would be a perfect start. I’m not sure what it was originally used for~cookbooks? canisters? holding a big old boombox?

Painting the furniture in Lauren’s room was our trial run for the kitchen cabinets. I would suggest always doing a practice project before hitting a big one that you really don’t want to mess up.

We had purchased this paint sprayer to stain our deck and fence this summer and the reviews were good for people using it with paint, so we decided to give it a go with the primer. I think you can find it in many stores as well.

This is THE oil based primer to use for the most durable results and it is actually quite thin, so it was perfect for the sprayer.

Here is a wall of mirrors in my daughter’s bedroom we’ve been working on. She has high ceilings, so we needed something with a big impact, lots of color, and little money.

I am super excited to announce a fantastic new blog that my sister has started called Favorite Paint Colors.

It is an invaluable paint resource that lets you look through beautiful pictures of paint colors that real people have used in their homes and loved.

You can view paint colors by room or by color and you can submit your pictures as well if you have a favorite paint color.

When I heard that Ralph Lauren was discontinuing their paint at HD, I went into a bit of a panic and decided I had better get my hiney over there to pick up the color cards before they were all gone! When Martha Stewart discontinued her Living line at Kmart, I was so sad that I didn’t get the cards of some of the colors~they are so hard to find now! I wasn’t going to let that happen again, so I went and started collecting:

Hi everyone! I was hoping to have a finished laundry room to present, but I'm not quite there. I'm shooting for next Monday. As always, things seem to take a little bit longer than expected around here :) Hang in there with me!
I wanted to share some paint tips that you shared last week that I love:

Kara said: Here are two tips I used just this morning.
1-If you get interrupted in the middle of a paint job, you can wrap your brush in a plastic bag. When you come back, you can just pull it out and start painting.
2-After you finish rolling on the first coat and are waiting for it to dry, just leave the roller in the tray and wrap the entire thing in a garbage bag. No time wasted rinsing out the darn roller!

Cheri said, :When ever you get paint, pick up an extra paint stick and brush on some paint to the end of the stick, let it dry then on the unpainted portion of the stick write the name of the paint, where you got it, the code, and what room/s you painted that color in. Tie all of your paint sticks together and hang then in the garage and if you ever need to pick up an extra can of paint you will know exactly what you got last time. It is also great for anyne who purchases your home, if they like the colors they know where to go for extra paint.

Gina said: "If you ever have to rush away for a few hours (like a kid breaks a finger...) then wrap the brush and stick it in the fridge. Pull it out when you're ready to paint again (like 2 days later after surgery)."

Rhoda said, "Like Gina, I wrap my paint brush as well as the paint tray in plastic wrap & stick it in the fridge, sometimes for days. Great trick! ...And I don't ever tape off my trim either. I've learned to be pretty handy with those angled brushes."

Fantastic~thanks to all of you!
And a final tip to start your Monday: Michael's has the little foam brushes that are great for touch-ups on sale for 15 for $1 this week~go stock up!

Remember this lovely birdcage?

I simply stripped it down, gave it a coat of black spray paint and let it just be simple.

I put it on top of my hutch in between two fabric storage boxes, both from a yard sale.

Happy Monday!

I decided I wanted to have some storage in the empty space between my washer and dryer, so when I found this shelf at a yard sale last month for $7, I snatched it up.

It's not real wood, but for the laundry room, it will do the trick and the price was right. I primed it with 2 coats of Kilz Premium, and then used 2-3 coats of leftover paint from my bathroom cabinets, using a small foam roller. I also knew I wanted to utilize the space behind the shelf with easy access, so I screwed in these wheels on the bottom:

you can buy them in packs of 2 for about $4 something each at Lowes or HD:

It's really hard to photograph black painted shelves in bad light, but here they are after the paint and wheels. I also didn't want to expose everything on the shelves, so I knew I needed some fabric. I looked online, at JoAnn's, Hancocks, and Hobby Lobby here in town, and really couldn't find anything I loved for under 17.99 a yard.

I was in TJ Maxx and saw this yummy twin quilt for 19.99~I was wishing that I could find fabric that looked exactly like this and a light went on. Great inspiration happens in that store, I'm telling you! Use the quilt for your fabric, Melissa! It works out to be about 7 dollars a yard, PLUS the edges were finished, AND it was the perfect pattern that I had in mind.
I bring it home, and start cutting it up. {gasp} I know, but if you have been with me long, you know I'm not afraid to whip out my trusty scissors (like I did here and here) if I have a crazy vision of what it could be in the end.
I cut two sections, leaving the cute scallop for the side and bottom and then bring out the glue gun and fold and glue the top and side that I've cut. If you know me "sewing maching" is not in my decor vocabulary. As I'm taking these pictures I realize I've folded the wrong side over! Brilliant me.
So, I rip it off and start it over. The beauty of hot glue. Then, I take a small tension rod (it's like a miniature shower curtain rod that gets longer or shorter when you twist it)
and run it through the top of the fold I created with the glue gun

Then, I adjust the tension rod to the inside of the shelf, and ta-da:

we have hidden storage! Just what is behind that curtain, you ask? I love to know what is on people's shelves as well:

Top shelf: Laundry soap and softener, in the black bin (from dollar tree) is stained clothing that needs extra attention.
2nd shelf: plastic 3 drawer holds my glue gun, glue sticks, measuring tapes, and extension cords. The black bin holds home dry cleaning stuff, and extra laundry stuff like goo gone, fels naptha soap, and Zout stain remover.
Bottom shelf: black bin holds birthday candles, decorations, and gift bags. The bucket is used as a garbage.

Then, if you wheel the shelf out, you'll see lots of Christmas gift bags from Target clearance hanging on a nail, an extra drill battery charging, empty boxes (I'm a box monger~I love having the perfect box on hand if I need it), a bag full of papers and packaging for sending packages, and lots of empty frames and yard sale finds waiting to be made over.

Whoa, this was a long post, but I'm so excited things are getting accomplished little by little. Do you see my painted walls? Yea, yea! It's coming along! My sweet friend (thank you Sherilyn!) took my oldest 3 for the whole afternoon while I got me a sonic chiller, put my babies down for a nap, and went to town in the laundry room.

I'm joining Kimba's DIY Party today:


Go, and be inspired by all the DIY projects!

So, y'all know I'm in the middle of painting, and I thought I'd share a few tips I've learned along the way:

* always keep a wet rag handy to quickly fix mistakes or wipe up paint drips. I just keep mine on my shoulder while I'm working.

* I always paint in bare feet so I can feel if I have wet paint on them before I go tracking it in on the carpet (not that I have ever done that :)

* keep some small disposable containers in your paint stash to use when you're cutting in along the edges with your brush. My choice for today? An old Easy Mac container :)

* When you are finished painting a room fill a little container with a tight fitting lid with some leftover paint. Stock up on the small foam brushes when they're on sale (Michael's has them on sale about twice a year for 20 for $1) Keep the little container and a few brushes in every room so you can quickly do touch-ups without hauling out a big can and looking for a brush. I found these little baby food containers at the dollar store~they work perfectly!

* don't get rid of those ugly old sheets! Keep them and use them to cover your floors when you paint.

* a good angled brush and a steady hand can be your best friend. No more taping off if you practice enough. My friend, Lynette in Idaho never used tape and went to town with her angled brush. I never thought I could do it, but I finally got the guts to try it in here and I may never go back to taping trim off. Just keep that wet rag close by! A good, quality brush makes all the difference and was worth the extra money.

What other great paint tips have you discovered?

I'm linking up to WFMW :

Have a great day~

Meet Tracey from Notes from a Cottage Industry:

She has a beautiful blog and has her own custom made robin's egg blue color that she has used throughout her home:

Meet Layla from the Lettered Cottage:

I knew that somehow I wanted her to be a part of "my favorite paint color" week here at 320 Sycamore because of her fabulous eye for the right colors. I am so thrilled that she is beginning the week for us! She has a true passion for decor and the details~if you haven't been to her blog, it is a must-see. She and her husband are transforming their home room by room and the change is just remarkable. You've really got to go see the befores to appreciate what they've done so creatively on a budget.

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Remember JoAnn, the giveaway winner ? She got her package ~go see what she did with her bathroom:

And I love what Christina did with a $5 table she got at a yard sale:
Thanks for the inspiration, ladies! I love your makeovers~so much that, are you ready for this? I started priming the master bath this weekend! Now that it's started, I have to finish. :)

I may just turn this into a regular feature~send me your way if you've got something great!

Happy Monday~

The house needs a lot of work, so we started immediately. The color doesn't really show up accurately~we got it from Greta & Danny's new home. It's called "Crisp Khaki" by Kwal Paint. We'll be adding a lot more before and after pictures as we finish things!

Everybody! We were all a mess...even our baby had paint on him and his car seat got some drops too. Carpet got torn out the next day...