Oh, the difference paint makes!

I recently worked with some clients that had so much going for them. They had a beautiful home they just recently moved into and new furniture ordered that was to arrive shortly. The only problem was they didn't feel that the colors that the previous owner had painted on the walls went well with their furnishings and style. They were open to any ideas I had for them because they just didn't know where to start!
After they gave me a tour of the home and I was able to see their personal style and the colors that they seemed drawn to, I began laying out some base colors for them. I like to start with one color that will be the "new white". They agreed they didn't want any white walls but rather something warm that complimented their furniture but didn't make the rooms too dark. I chose Sherwin Williams, Latte #6108. They would paint everything this color except for the few areas we decided to add a punch of color to.


These were the pillows that I used as inspiration for the accent wall in their living room. They had samples of the sofas they ordered and together with those, the pillows and the area rug that also had some blue in it, I chose S.W. Meditative #6227.



This would go on the wall in the living room that was the natural focal point with the beautiful fireplace and also housed the TV. I also recommended they paint the sides of the fireplace white to match the mantle. This would allow the fireplace to stand out against the accent wall.
We discussed window treatments and it was my recommendation that they get some soft white panels to keep the windows light and to allow them to not be in competition with the other colors in the room.



In the dining room, they had a beautiful antique buffet table. The room has a niche in the wall where they placed a large mirror. I recommended that they leave the mirror there (love it!) and to paint the inside of the niche black to match the table and chairs and to stand out against the frame of the mirror. They looked at me a little strangely when I suggested that, but I explained that the wall opposite the dining room was the living room blue wall and that it would be important to keep it somewhat neutral while still showcasing this fun space. The black is S.W. Caviar #6990.



They carried the Latte color throughout the rest of the lower level and on up the stairs.
It really warms up the loft area and looks great against the bookshelves they chose to put there.


The other place that we decided to add color to was the loft office.
This was the piece of art that I used as inspiration here.



The Meditative color ended up being the perfect choice for this room as well. They loved only needing to purchase 3 total colors while still having each space look special on it's own.
I just love their beautiful furnishings and accessories. This home certainly reflects their personal taste and personality now. I believe they'll choose to live here for many years to come. If not, I want to know when they're selling! I love this home!

Creating a gallery wall

I often have clients ask me for ideas of what they can do to fill a large wall with art. One of my favorite ways is with a gallery wall. A gallery wall is a group of pictures, hung somewhat close together so that they are a display within themselves. The subjects in the photos don't have to be of the same nature and the frames can be different colors, styles and sizes. My personal favorite kind of gallery wall is one of family photos. I also like for the frames to at least be the same color.


In my heritage gallery wall that you can read about here, I used all of the same frames and placed craft paper inside to fill them. Then I attached the prints on top of the craft paper with double sided tape. This elimates the need for expensive mattes and also allows you to use different sized photos. I like this type of gallery wall not only because I love having family photos displayed on my walls but also because it doesn't cost a lot to create it.


I have this grouping in my "Grandchild room". The frames aren't all the same size but they are all black. The top photos are their newborn pictures and the pictures below each one are of their sweet baby feet. I LOVE baby feet, especially theirs!


I recently created a design plan for a client and gave her this example of how to fill a wall in her home using family photos of their Disneyland trips.


Here's another gallery wall that I did in a home office seen in this post.


Another look that I really love is to take different frames (hello thrift stores!) and paint them all the same color. This beautiful display at my cousin Melissa's house is so beautiful that they don't even need pictures inside them. What a fun and creative way to fill a space!

There are so many different ways to create a gallery wall. Look around on blogland and you'll find a ton of them. The next one that I'm going to work on (in my next house) is of our family trip to Europe. I've already printed an old map of Europe so I'm starting my collection now.
I'd love to hear about gallery walls that you've created or want to do in the future!

These are a few of my favorite things...

There are just certain items that I use over and over again. Some of them I use for their intended purpose. The others...not so much! Here's a list of my favorite gadgets, tools and things:


1. Sticky Tack - I know that teachers love this stuff to hang up kids art and posters but you can't beat this stuff for keeping pictures straight on your wall. After you hang a picture, make sure it's level and then stick a wad of sticky tack on on the back of the frame in one of the corners. It doesn't show and it also doesn't damage the sheet rock. Crooked pictures drive me crazy!


2. Small reusable containers - Each time that I paint a room a different color, I fill up one of these little containers with the paint so that every time I need to touch up the paint, I don't have to go out and search for a big can and look for a can opener, etc. This is especially great for parents who have kids that tend to mark up the walls a lot or even if you're like me and move pictures around often. Just keep a small craft sized paint brush on hand and then it's only a matter of popping off the lid.


3. Spray paint hand gun - I spray paint...a lot! I can't believe that it took me so long to find this amazing item. It was under $6 at Home Depot and is seriously a spray painters best friend. Not only does it help your finger not feel as though it'll fall off, it also helps spray on a nice, even coat of paint. Love it!


4. Laser level - I don't even remember how much I paid for this thing because I've had it for so long. I know that they come in many different price ranges. It's great for hanging pictures level when you have more than one hanger on the back. It's also great when you want to hang pictures side by side. I have the kind that suctions onto the wall. You simply turn it on and when you see the red laser light, you line up the level and laser light. It displays a red laser light onto your wall showing you where to nail your next hole.



5. Black sharpie pen - I use a black sharpie whenever I need to touch up small scratches on any surface that is black. It's so much quicker and easier than getting out paint and a brush. Above is a picture of my black wall screen that had gotten a little beat up when I took it to a home show. The scratches were only on the edges so I just took my sharpie and colored them in. It's a quick and easy fix and you can't even tell where you did it!


6. Needle nose pliers - I use these all the time! They're great for so many things but here's one idea that is worth mentioning. When you need to get a plastic anchor out of sheetrock, one side of the pliers go right into the hole and then you can just pull it out with minimal damage to the wall.


7. Foil - Great stuff for more than just wrapping up leftover pizza. Every time I paint (whether it's a whole room or one paint brush for a piece of furniture) I wrap the brushes and even the paint tray in foil until I come back for a second coat. If you're going to wait for more than a day between paintings, I recommend sticking the brushes with the foil on them in the refrigerator. It'll keep them fresh longer.

These are just some of my favorite things that I use often. Please share some of your favorite ideas with me and my other readers here! I love simple ideas that save time and effort!

Planter boxes

If you read my blog a few posts back, you remember when I had the brainy, but oh - so - cute idea of growing herbs in my kitchen. You can view that here. If you know anything about growing herbs, you might have laughed at me when I showed you that idea. They might have survived if I wanted to have a grow light hanging from my ceiling. That's not the look I was going for.
This is where this wall shelf comes in. I purchased this for the very purpose of turning it into an herb garden. I should have stuck with my original idea, but sometimes I have to learn the hard way. Cute just doesn't always work!



I bought the wall shelf for $5.99 at Salvation Army.
I started by drilling some good sized holes in the bottom (what was originally the back) for draining. I also drilled four holes for the feet that I purchased at Home Depot for $1.00 each. I also bought the cute emblem at H.D. and glued it to the side. Then I sprayed it all with primer and after that dried, my favorite Black Satin from Rustoleum.



The rest is obvious. Soil, herbs, cute little snail from Real Deals. The little labels are plastic, white garden markers that I spray painted and wrote on with a white correction pen.
If these herbs don't make it now, it won't be from my lack of trying!


This is another cute box that I purchased and couldn't wait to paint! I followed the same steps as the herb box minus the feet.


Now...if only I had a green thumb!

~ Home office makeover ~

Do you have any idea how much fun it is for me when I have a client that says, "I don't have any ideas or colors in mind, just decide for me because I trust you?" That's what the owner of this home office said to me. This level of trust means a whole lot to me and I'm so grateful for that. Her husband was out of town and she wanted to surprise him when he got home.



Click on pictures to enlarge


The first step was to remove the wallpaper border. It had been up for quite some time so it was a bit time consuming, but I was so happy when I pulled off that last strip.


These art pieces were the inspiration for the colors and the completed look of the room.



I choose to paint the room in Sherwin Williams Portabello. It's a warm color that looks good with the contrast of the lighter wood of the furniture. I bought black frames for the art. The room also needed a couple of lamps to soften the atmosphere. I took the hutch off of the desk so that I could reposition it by pulling it away from the wall. This room only has one wall that doesn't either have a door, a window or closet on it. By pulling the desk out and away from the wall the room less "lop-sided" and the floor heaters are partially covered. In the corner behind the desk, you see a piece of furniture that I brought up from their basement that they weren't using. By removing the back panel and placing it in the corner, I was able to put both printers inside and close the glass door. They stick out slightly in the back but because the cabinet is cornered it works just fine. After hanging the art, the wall across from the desk needed something. Since this is the wall that the desk now faces, it was the perfect place for a family photo gallery wall. These black 8x10 frames were $3.00 each at Walmart. I purchased craft paper to place the photos onto (an inexpensive alternative to buying mattes.) These photos were taken before the client's son in law came over for "cord control!" Any time you move around an office or anywhere there are TVs, stereos, etc. there will be CORDS and lots of them!


I replaced the yellow curtains with 2 bamboo shades in a dark tone to compliment the wood trim.

Here is one more look of the before and after.



This room was done on a budget and is an example of how it does not take a lot of money or time to create a new and updated look to a room.

If you're in the Portland/Metro area and are interested in a Redesign, please visit my website at www.myrenewedspaces.com.
Thanks for looking!

It isn't just for ovens...

I've got several fun projects going on right now but none of them are complete. You'll be reading about them very soon! In the meantime, I want to share a wonderful household hint.


It's this product. It's awesome, but I don't mean to clean your oven with. It is the most amazing tub and shower cleaner I've ever used! Maybe I'm the last one to know about this trick but I recently discovered it and it's great. I started to take a before and after picture for you but then I realized that no one wants to see my shower scum! You know what it looks like.
Make sure that you use Easy Off, fume free in the blue can. Just spray it in the shower or tub. Let it sit for at least a few hours. I like to spray it on at night and then take a sponge into the shower in the morning. You won't believe how the dirt just wipes off! No, I don't work for Easy Off. I just love to share about products that make my life easier. I hope that it helps to make yours easier as well!

Square coffee table makeover

On another one of my thrifty shopping sprees, I came across this great square coffee table.


It was really heavy and solid but the top was scratched and worn. It was a dark green marble but I knew it could be painted. I loved the uniqueness of it so I bought it. The fact that it was half price day helped to convince me as well.
Since it wasn't made out of wood, I decided to figure out a different approach to the top surface other than a typical paint job. I removed the top from the base, and sanded it to rough it up and allow the paint to adhere better. Then I applied Rustoleum's Multicolor Textured spray paint in a black granite looking finish.


After that dried, I brushed on a poly coat to seal it. This particular poly seal goes on blue and makes you think that you've just ruined your paint job. It fools me every time! Then I remembered to wait and it would definitely dry clear.


I was originally going to sell it when I finished the makeover since I already replaced my coffee table that I showed you here. After I finished it, I decided that it would make a great patio table.
I'll see how it holds up to our very wet climate. The positive thing is that as heavy as it is, It would take a lot of wind to move this baby. We do get some big winds here which is why I replaced our other patio table with this one. It was light weight and the wind just picked it right up and blew it into the front yard. I want to believe that this table can handle the severe weather. We will see. I'll tell you one thing though, it looks really cute out there!