Five Kinda Crazy Things I've Painted (Or Wanted To Paint)!
As a Mama of 7, practicality has almost become my middle name. For example, I was at the grocery store the other day struggling to open those little thin bags to put the produce in. Of course, you can't lick your finger to help open the bag because of all the stupid COVID stuff going on! So I walked over to the veggie area where they spray water on vegetables and touched the shelf that was all wet. BOOM! Open veggie bag! Some lady watched me do it and thought it was a genius idea. (Ha! Ha! It's the little things!)
With a big family without an unlimited budget, I've learned to improvise in a lot of ways. It has helped teach me to think outside the box and has served my family well. It makes me feel good to think of creative ideas to save money! That is especially true with decorating. I can't justify buying stuff for the house all the time. But, if I can paint it, restore it, sew it, recreate it, or build it and save money, I will! Thankully, I am married to the world's best handy-man and I can talk him into just about anything to help me out!
It's not just the saving money part, I like putting my own touch on things to make them exactly fit our needs. My home is very important to me. I feel like it is a reflection of who I am. I pour myself into making it beautiful. It's not perfect, but little bit by little bit things come together to help others feel loved and welcomed when they are here.
The number one thing that has the most transforming power is, of course, paint! There are so many different types for so many different uses, with every color imaginable! It is cheap and easy to learn how to use! I have painted so many things to help transform them into something useful and beautiful. My family thinks I'm a little bit crazy with the paint! Nothing is really safe around here! So I thought I share a list of some of the more unusual things I've painted (or wanted to!) to help inspire you to think out of the box for your own home!
I'll do a countdown from least crazy to most crazy, ha ha!
5. Lamp Cords
I've taken a lot of teasing from my family because I've painted lamp cords. My sunroom is a really light room decorated with a lot of creams, whites, and blues. You can see it here...
Years ago, the furniture was arranged a little differently and there were end tables on each side of the couch. I found the perfect set of lamps to use on the side tables (on clearance of course!) and brought them home, but the cords were black and could be clearly seen and they stuck out like a sore thumb!
So I did what any normal human would do, I painted them white! It was super easy, I just used some leftover paint I had on hand, and I was careful to avoid getting paint on the prongs that plug into the wall. Done! It looked so much better and has held up very well over the years. I moved them to different rooms now, but I'm still using them. I've never needed to touch them up.
4. Ceiling Fans
When we first moved into this house, our master bedroom had this huge tropical-looking ceiling fan. The problem was, even though the blades on it were huge, it produced almost no air from it. Here is the room when we first viewed the house...
So when we gave the master bedroom a makeover (and the fan had actually broke), we replaced the fan with one that we had taken down from our living room. The problem was that the new fan blades were an oak color on one side and a dark cherry red color on the other. Needles to say, they didn't match the master bedroom.
So I whipped out the ole paint brush and painted the blades and switched out the glass globes. Voila! It looks much better in the room (although it's a little hard to see in this pic)! I would love to buy a new one but for now this one works.
3. Ceramic Tile
*Disclaimer* This one I haven't actually done myself, but I seen it done many, many times and read it holds up well! In our master bathroom we have decent white 12" ceramic tile. In other words, boring! I wanted something with a little pizazz. While we were remodleing this bathroom we didn't have a big budget. We were just kind of giving it a face lift. So when I found out you can paint tile and it holds up well, I was estatic! I couldn't wait to try it! I thought it would be perfect for out project. You can kinda see our floor tile here...
And here is a picture of another blogger who painted their tile...
When we were remodeling I did tons of research and I was so close to doing this, but my husband talked me out of it. He couldn't see "ruining" perfectly good tile for something that is trendy. And he didn't want to have to rip out our floor in a couple of years when we got sick of it. I saw his point. Since he doesn't usually ask for much while we are doing a project, I let it go. We didn't go through with it. But if you have some truly hideous tile around your home, whether it's floor tile or a backsplash or whatever, and you don't mind painting over it, give it a try!
2. Bathroom Vanity Tops
Hold on a second...I just have to make sure the coast is clear. Ok good. No husband in sight as I'm typing this. Phew! Here is another project that I haven't done myself...yet. The main floor bathroom in our home is in need of an update, a little face lift. We haven't really touched it since we moved in 4 years ago other than painting the walls and we putting in the new vanity (literally the 2nd day we lived here!).
This is the bathroom that most of our kids use and also the bathroom that most of our guests use. I have been dreaming of painting the vanity a navy color and adding white beadboard to the walls with some pretty floral blue and white wall paper above it. But, that would make the beige countertop stand out like a sore thumb. I want to paint it white. Of course I've done my research and found a product that can refinish vanity tops and also tubs and tub surrounds and I've read it holds up really well, although it's really stinky to use. I'm up for it!
Buuuuuut, I have to get the official ok from my husband. We will see if I can make that happen! ;) Here is a picture of another blogger's before and after of her bathroom vanity.
Just know it is possible in case you ever want to try it and you have an understanding spouse!
And now, drumroll please...The craziest thing I've ever painted...
1. Leather Chairs
Yes, I've actually done this! Several years ago we remodeled our living room. (Some day I'm actually going to post about it!) I had bought 2 leather chairs for $40 off of craigslist that were in great condition, but the leather was very worn out and cracked. The original leather was a mottled purple color, which I wasn't a big fan of. Here is the best picture I have of the original leather. (The left side was unpainted, the right painted.)
I found this product called Re-Luv that is formulated for painting leather. There is a limited selection as far as the color goes and it was kinda stinky, (I painted them in the garage so it didn't matter to me) and it worked! I painted them about 3 years ago now, and they have held up great! It feels like real leather, not like paint or anything. It hasn't flaked off or chipped easily, and these chairs get tons of use. They need a touch up where the cracking was the worse originally and I plan to do that maybe this summer.
Definitely worth the time and money to restore some inexpensive chairs. Here they are in our living room.
So that was it! My countdown of the craziest most unusal things I've ever painted around the house. The secret is out! I covertly paint things to save money! But, hey, it's worth it! A little practicality goes a long way! Anything to make home a little prettier and a little sweeter! Thanks for following along!
