Painted Floor Rug

Our porch progress has been coming along swimmingly and I thought today would be a good day to share what's been going on under our feet. Our long term plan for the porch is to enclose it and make it added year-round living space, so we've been trying to keep the cost of our current face lift low. We thought about tiling the floor - but it's not really recommended in our area due to the hot summers and cold winters. We thought about carpeting or a rug - but it's just gonna get dirty and drive me bananas (plus we couldn't find one I liked that was affordable). The floor is plywood so we decided we might as well just paint it for now and once we actually enclose the space we'll figure out a more permanent solution.

We had a bunch of exterior paint left over from the walls, but we bit the bullet and invested in actual porch floor paint - we don't want it chipping and bubbling over time. I taped out a simple white border with a grey centre. Nice and simple...and boring.

We can do better than this! I was inspired by a project on Making It Lovely and after debating the merits of a kooky floor I figured 'what the heck?' It's only paint afterall, and if it doesn't work out then I can just paint over it and start again. I did some quick sketches of some different patterns and chose to go with petals (just like Nicole).

I used some chalk as a guide to help figure out the flow of the petals and help me determine a good size for them before committing with paint.

This was a slow, patient process that really turned into a labour of love over the 6 hours it took me to get from this...

To this!

I did have a couple helpers. Jeff chalked in petals as I painted and Kuro sat on the windowsill meowing in her confusion as to why we were outside and she was in.

Now that the floor is finished do you know what that means? Time to accessorize! Be back later with some COLOUR!

DIY Project: Paint Chip Art

First off, I cannot take full credit for this project. I found it on Curbly (which is a DIYers paradise), and then linked to the original tutorial on the 3 R's blog. I was looking for inspiration for our 'in progress' laundry room and this project was calling shouting my name.

This project was so easy to do and the best part is that the plans are super versatile and can be changed according to any colour scheme.

What You'll Need:

• Cutting Mat or Board (something heavy that the knife won't penetrate and scratch your table)
• Straight Edge (metal rulers work well)
• Boxcutter or Exacto Knife
• Glue Stick (try to get a clear one, not the blue or purple kind)
• Lots and Lots of Paint Chips

I chose the paint chips I used based on some fabric (that I later turned into a ironing board cover, which is a DIY post for another day). The fabrics had some great colours; pumpkin orange, pea green, teal, grey and sunny yellow. I wasn't too concerned about the chips matching exactly, they just needed to be in the same family.

After choosing the chips you want to use, slice them into sections. It would have taken too long to measure each slice so I just eyeballed it and everything worked out fine. Repeat this step for every paint chip you want to use. I just threw a movie on Netflix and went to work. It probably took me an hour to slice all the chips.

As a 'base' I used a single sheet of plain old computer paper. In retrospect I would have preferred something a little heavier (like cardstock) but I was just working with what I had. Next thing I did was decide the angle I wanted the strips to be on. For easiness sake I went corner to corner...however, there was a slight problem. A single strip wasn't long enough.

An easy enough fix was to join two strips end to end so that the gradient continued in both directions. I just cut off the last colour on one of the strips and laid it down to continue the line. Once it was glued in place you can't notice the seam and the effect is neat.

Repeat. Approximately a billion times.

I didn't really follow a pattern when choosing which colours I laid down. I tried to make it as random as possible. I think the hardest part was the sticky fingers caused by the glue stick. I kept a damp cloth on hand to help keep my hands (and worksurface) from getting too gummed up. When all your strips are laid down, trim around the edges and you'll be ready to frame.

Walmart had a surprising selection of good quality, wallet friendly frames. We picked up these brushed aluminum pair for $10 each and wasted no time hanging them. I love love love the way they turned out. So cheerful and a perfect accessory to our laundry room - which is still being worked on but I hope to share pictures soon.

And the fabric that started it all?

The ironing board and pictures are a lovely match! Can't wait to share the DIY tutorial for this project too!

Living Room: The Reveal

When we first viewed the house there was a very small room at the front of the house, originally it had a couch, coffee table and tv. It felt really small, but we figured that we could make it work. Because this is the first room you see when you come home and the last room you see when you leave I wanted the space to be welcoming and cheerful, something that would put a smile on your face as soon as you walked in the front door. Choosing the right colour combination was tricky but I am so happy with how everything turned out.

I think I'm going to paint the front door red - surprise surprise.

We can now fit a 7' couch, 2 chairs, coffee table, 2 bookshelves and a fireplace and the room feels 2x larger.

Walter proudly guards our awesome fireplace and to hide some of our clutter we snagged some bookshelf doors from IKEA and found some 'coral' fabric from Designer Fabrics for a funky new look.
 

Jeff's favourite couch has secured its place in our home - for now. And Jeff's 26th birthday present is the perfect 'family portrait.'
 
I love how the light streams through these front windows, it's the perfect place to curl up with a book.

Most of the objects on our bookshelves were carefully chosen because they mean something to us or work with the palette of the room. All the books were wrapped with plain white computer paper for a less cluttered look.

We have plans to make this 'message centre' a little more functional, but for now we're just happy to enjoy our finally completed living room.

Before + After

{click on the images to enlarge them}

Basement 1/2 Bath: The Reveal

Despite how crazy frustrating it was to paint the stripes in our basement bathroom (check out that saga here), I am totally thrilled with the results. We managed to turn a boring, basic bathroom into a chic and sophisticated powder room without spending a ton of cash.

Because this is the basement bathroom with no windows I wanted it to be bright and warm (not dark and dank). Orange and yellow seemed to be a naturally cheerful combination and the gray added a touch of style.

Just because this is a bathroom doesn't mean it has to have typical bathroom art (florals or seashells).We went with a couple unique and quirky pieces for visual interest.

Before + After

There you have it, classy style on a budget!

Cost Breakdown:

• white paint - free! (old owner left it behind)
• Chinchilla White (gray) paint - $5 tester pot
• orange hand towel and facecloth - $10 (on clearance from HomeSense)
• large painting - $40 (on sale from local decor store)
• lightbulb print - $11 (from Etsy shop Rococco Co)
• frame - $8 (from Value Village)
• toilet paper dispenser and garbage can - $30 (from Home Outfitters)
• soap and lotion - free! (christmas gift from the in-laws)
• TOTAL: $104 (for a completely new look!)