I'll get you my Pretty. .

If you have seen the rest of this Blog, then you know that all of the rooms were painted before we moved in, with 2 exceptions. The two bathrooms. This place has actually what is considered one full bathroom sink, tub/shower/commode. and one 'half bath' commode and sink. 

First a few little repairs

I have been going back and forth with what theme to do the bathrooms. I wanted to start with the front and larger of the two. Some of the themes I have mulled over have been Alice in Wonderland, Nightmare before Christmas or a sort of Skull & Crossbones theme. 

The bathroom was all white, with a dark green tile floor which I had put in years ago and actually still like. But white on white is pretty boring, when the whole house is full of bold colors. My daughter & Step daughter Angelina and Sarah said last Saturday afternoon "lets paint this thing". Who am I to turn down such an offer?

So off I went to get some paint. And while paint shopping, an idea that had been in the back of my thoughts popped up and said 'Pick me!'

It's the perfect color and theme. Wicked Witch Green!

Angelina hard at work!

Even a bold color like this needed 3-4 coats to really cover.

The old pale gold framed mirror gets a fresh coat of shiny black from Sarah.

 The mirror in back in place

Black & White skull towelettes 

Add a few Wicked Witch mementos

And POOF! all done!

One bathroom all done. One to go.

Making New with Old- Trash to Treasure!

I am trying to make a dent in all the projects that I have plans for and last Sunday I thought I would try to get some spray painting done.

This beautifully shaped mirror was a yard sale find. It started out as a faux gold leaf. I had a particular idea in mind. First a thick coat of purple!

Because blue painters tape isn't supposed to stick to other paint but usually does, I had to do a couple of test runs on how to get straight lines since I wasn't going to push the tape down with a firm edge. So first I taped up the mirror face and edges. Then decided how thick to place the stripes and how to get the lines to stay clean.

 The trick was all in the angle of the spray.

I call this my Beetlejuice Mirror. It is going to be my dressing table mirror. I am quite happy with how it turned out.

Here it is hung in place on my dressing table. Jeff hung it up for me today.

Next, I have had this 4 panel hand carved wood screen for over 20 years. I actually found this standing next to trash cans on trash day on the way home from dropping my kids off at school. Someone had thrown it away! Trash to Treasure!

In all the years I have had it it has been used as a headboard, room divider, wall decor and more. It was always missing some panels at its top, and has just one hole in it. But it is still very pretty.

I decided to give it a coat of paint and it is going to become our headboard. I wanted it to fit in with our black, white, purple and Grey color scheme so I painted the panels alternating black and purple.

This screen is very heavy, much heavier than it looks.

The wood was very dry so it took a lot of paint to cover but it turned out nice. Here is a close up of the detail. Beautiful work!

Here it is in place as the headboard. The doll shelf I painted is just above it awaiting dolls!

Moving Day & The day after that

Thomas our Orange tailless tabby awaits the movers.

The Movers arrive. We hired these guys because they are all young with strong backs. Our furniture is super heavy. They were GREAT by the way! We highly recommend them if you need reliable, careful, good movers.

The movers had a crew of 4 for our move. It took them only 3 hours total. From arrival to pick up to placement in the new house. And they pad & plastic wrapped almost everything! Again- If you need movers- Hire these guys!

It was hell getting 5 of the 6 cats moved. Two had been born at the Townhouse so they never knew another home. They thought they were being taken to slaughter the way they fought when Jeff confined them in the upstairs bathroom.

This is Jack. He is a very handsome Black and White tuxedo cat. But this is all we saw of him for a good 24 hours. He was trying to get the couch to swallow him up. He has finally come around. 

Now we are in the process of getting them used to the sounds and scents of the new place. And they have a big yard to play in too!

Temporary closet. 

These people sure have a lot of black clothes!

Filling the Curio with Skulls!

Progress 

Pio beside a Haunted Mansion curio box.

Look! 1 finished area!

I really needed the big mirror hung up in the dining area so I could progress. Jeff was sweet enough to  hang it even though he was still in his dress clothes.

Thank You Sweetheart!

The Hutch

I have had this Hutch for years. I received it as a Mothers Day gift about 15 years ago. At that time it was probably at least 40 years old. It is very well made and a one of a kind piece, handmade.

 It was a dark brown when I first got it. I then painted it pale green as an under color, then a light colonial blue. It has faded a bit over the years. 

it is a huge piece of furniture  and requires at least 4 strong guys to move it. It measures about 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide, all one piece. I absolutely love it.

Unfortunately, It has had to sit in my garage for the last 5 years because it it too big to get through any door in my townhouse. 

There is a wall exactly big enough for it at the BCR! And the back sliding doors can be removed to allow it to be brought inside!

 So first it needs a little fixin up to bring it into line with our dining table which will be its companion.

We have finally cleared it of excess kitchen ware and it is ready for its new coat of black paint. I am going to paint it right where it stands since I can now get to all sides. This way the paint will be dry by the time it gets moved in a weeks time.

Here it is about halfway done. Just a small roller and a brush.

Here it is completed! I left the blue inside the lower storage cupboards. I like the way it looks and its easier to see whats inside! This will be going up against the bright yellow wall. that you have seen in the front room. It's going to look marvelous! I will add a photo of it in place one it arrives!

Refreshing the Mexican Saltillo tiles

I arrive here at Home Depot for supplies. As you can see it is a beautiful sunny day! Perfect for when drying speed is critical.

Shopping done. Stripper/Cleaner, Wet Look sealer, Mop, Roller, and a Peruvian lily in Orange.

Oh and my Starbucks of course, this is L.A.

Here is the 'Before' floor after I vacuumed it.

The mopping, scrubbing and bucket toting begins. It is also 80 degrees, and I have to leave this stripper on the floor for an hour without allowing it to dry. So basically I kept mopping for an hour.

It took many buckets of clean water to mop up the stripper. Angelina took over mopping up the stripper giving me a much needed break. Here is the floor after it dried. The mopping and scrubbing were a LOT of work.

This stuff looks just like non-fat milk. It is applied with a roller, coat by coat but not more than 4 coats the instructions said.

After coat one.

The 'After' floor with a final fourth coat. Now it dries for the night.

I love this floor and all its imperfections. The yellows, golds, reds and terra cottas are so pretty.

Front Room and Bedroom and Hall- Oh My!

Ford- The Boxer was visiting to help us paint on Friday.

Another trip to Home Depot to buy paint for the other walls in the Front Room. The one wall you remember is Teal and Black stripes. So we had decided on a Saffron yellow. My daughter wanted to go with the third from the top on the Yellow card. I was looking at one just a shade lighter. Jeff was not with us to add his opinion in. So I asked a lady looking around for colors to match a carpet sample that she had. She concurred on the Yellow above so I went with it.

The Purple is for the hallway and the Grey at the top is for the other wall in our Bedroom.

The first coat on the hallway below seems dark at night , but above is how the color looks when finished.

The hall looking into our room

After getting most of the Black stripes completed on this wall, everyone agreed that we would keep this wall Black and White, rather than the Black and Hydrangea Blurple stripes that were originally planned.

So the Blurple was added to the opposite walls. It is such a beautiful color, far different from the Haunted Mansion inspired Purple of the hallway.

Smashing in Stripes!

I have 2 stripy walls to paint. One Black and Teal, and one Black and a sort of Hyacinth purple. First the Black and Teal. This is in the front room.

 

First I taped all the edges

 

 

Then I started with the Teal, so if I screw up up the black will cover. I am leaving white in between for extra contrast. The trim in this room will be white. I am using a 3 inch roller and lots of patience!

 

I am painting over some rough wood paneling that has been white since the beginning of time. The white space between each stripe is indented. My daughter Angelina was helping me so I wouldn't hurt my arm again. We have discovered that painting walls is not her forte. I told her to please not be offended, but not to touch the black paint at all.

 

Teal is done, now for the black. Here it goes!

 

The more I do, the better it looks!

I Love it!