The Dining Rumba

We don't have a dining room table and chairs yet, so our poor dining area has been a little neglected. It was a blank wall that spanned 8 ft high by 12 ft 2 in and was highly visible from most parts of the house. In fact, here it is in its original state at Beth's wedding shower.

 

It wasn't horribly offensive, but it wasn't jiving with the rest of the house. It was a little dark and I just couldn't bring myself to just paint and forget it since it was such a big space.

Instead, I decided to do something a little fancier. I found a pin on Pinterest that caught my eye and I decided to go for it. Unlike the normal chevron pattern, it was broken up a bit, which I really liked. I also decided that since the wall was most highly visible from the kitchen, I would use the bottom cabinet color to paint the wall. That way, it kept the room kind of cohesive, but also meant that I didn't have to buy more paint! (You all know how I love practically free projects!)

First, I painted the wall white. I knew that I wanted the lines to be white, so I gave it two good coats to get it to cover. Then, I found the center of the wall and used a level to place my first line. I continued the process until I had all of my vertical lines placed like so.

Then, you measure from your baseboard to your ceiling and divide it so that you will get the width of the chevrons correct. Remember to keep in mind the size of the tape when doing this. We used Home Depot blue painters tape at 1.4 in. to create good bold lines. After you have your magic wall-dividing number, measure down each of your vertical tape stripes that you've already created and mark it. When all was said and done, we ended up making 7.75 inches down from the ceiling to the floor, making a mark on the tape at every additional 7.75 in.

Once that's been done, you start taping....again. If you're working with a partner, make sure you decide if you are placing the tape centered, under, or over the lines that are marked, just for uniformity. We decided on under and got to work.

Hi Beth!

This part needs to be semi accurate. Just be sure that the tape isn't folded under in any areas and that it adheres completely so you don't have any paint running under it when you give it the first coat. I would also recommend having a ladder or two on hand (and turning off your fan so it doesn't attack you!).

When this step is completed, you should end up with something like this.

It's a bit dizzying, yes, but the cool part about this next step is what you can do with it. I had already found a pattern I really liked, but if you just want chevrons, you can cut out the select lines you don't want to give endless horizontal stripes. You can customize the tape so that you can make it your own. Over all, I think it's kind of neat.

My pattern involved cutting out the vertical line in every other chevron in a column. I grabbed an exacto knife and a piece of stiff paper that I had cut to the angle of my chevrons and started cutting.

When I was finished, this.

Had turned to this.

It's very difficult to explain the template until you see it. It did take about an hour and a half to finish just the taping part, so if you are unsure as to what pattern you want at first, I would sketch it out. on paper to save yourself some time. If you are working on a smaller wall, or you want a larger pattern, it will take less time. I even painted one of the chevrons so you can see just how that shape repeats and how its size compares to the wall itself.

Next thing to do? Paint. My grey/blue ended up needing two coats, but when it was all finished, it looked like this.

Phone photos. Never as good as a real camera!

Time for the fun part. The reveal! What made it that much more fun (because let's face it, tearing down tape or stencils to show the final product is always super satisfying, like popping bubble wrap), was the fact that our friends Casey and Daniel had come over and got to take part.

We had a tape-pullin' party. By about 10pm last night, though, it was all finished.

Boom! Just what we needed! It has a lot of texture and pattern that just feels right to have in such a high traffic area. The lines turned out much better than I had expected (there are maybe two touch ups that need to happen), so I am over all quite pleased. It also looks great in the front room.

 As well as the living room/addition.

It doesn't seem to excite the pup that much, though. Oh well, Leels is pretty hard to please anyway.

Rub A Dub Dub

 Our guest bathroom was looking pretty good. I had painted the tiles with Beth and changed the small room from a 50's style monstrosity to a slightly more sophisticated wash room. Most of the pink was behind paint, but the tub and the tub surround were still haunting the room from behind the (shower) curtain. Something had to be done. Even a website such as Save the Pink Bathrooms couldn't stop me.

First, I started off by using the same technique that I had used on the rest of the tile on the shower surround. I had been paying attention to how the rest of the bathroom had been dealing with moisture and feel pretty confident in how it will hold up. I primed and painted the tile, which only made the pink bathtub stand out more.

Primed for action!

Then, using the leftover paint from refinishing Beth's tub with her last week, I decided to give the the same process a try on ours. I was a little worried, to be honest, because their tub had been white and ours was a darker color. I wasn't sure it would cover that well, so I figured it would need way more coats than were left in the can. Thankfully, the process turned out better than expected.

First, I used #1 size steel wool on the entire tub. I scrubbed pretty hard in a circular motion to get it looking like this. The kit originally came with #000, but #1 is what I happened to have had in the garage. I felt like it worked really well, though, and didn't damage the surface more than scuffing it up to receive the paint.

Yes, the steel wool will give the tub a gray-ish tint. That's okay, though, because it will be covered up with your first coat.

I then used some tub and tile cleaner on the entire tub, rinsed, and dried the tub. I repeated the steel wool/washing steps three times (like the instructions said), then taped off the tub from the surround and the floor to give clean edges and avoid splashes.

There was slightly less than half of the can of paint left. It is a little more watery than normal latex paints, so you really have to pay attention to slopping it on versus using thin coats (which is what are recommended).

I would also recommend using a better quality, new brush that is made for the paint. I used a nicer brush that was clean, but because it was meant for latex, not oil -based paints, it felt as though it seized and became difficult to work with pretty quickly.

When the first, thin coat had been applied, it was looking so much better already.

As per the directions, I had to wait and do the second coat between 2 and 4 hours after the first, otherwise I would have to wait until three days after the first coat for the entire tub to completely cure. I began applying my second coat 2 hours after the first, but unfortunately ran out of paint. I did manage to cover the interior portion of the tub with little issue, though, which is where most of the water will be anyway. I was then able to remove my tape and allow it to cure.

I will have to get another kit to finish the outside and possibly recoat the interior just for my own peace of mind, but thankfully that doesn't have to be in the near future. Working on a tub is hard on your back and I am definitely not looking forward to having to apply the 2.5 and 3rd coat.

After the second coat, the pink was a little less obvious. This is what it looked like after the first.

Overall, I'd give the Homax Tough As Tile Refinishing Kit and A+. It covered the horrible pink really well and for a fraction of the cost. If you'd like more information on the product, you can visit their website or even Beth's write up of her experience with it on a white tub. She says that showering in it feels super sturdy and not like paint at all. Honestly, I'm just glad I can end a post with something like this.

Oh, and of course, this.

We're Big Fans...

...of our new fan!

My brother came into town this weekend for his (gasp!) 30th birthday and the Fest Of Ales here in downtown Lexington. He walked into the house for the first time, saw the living room, and realized that the fan was a little lack luster right away. He wasn't being judgmental...it really was, see?

It blended in with the ceiling and was also far too small for the large room that it was supposed to be cooling. We briefly considered doing two fans (because of the size of the room), but soon decided that the effort (and cost) was lost on us and a general upgrade would be just fine. The old white fan was only a 42 in, which is a size normally used in bedrooms, so we knew that we were looking for something in the 52 in. range. We ended up coming home with this guy.

The ELEVATION (Who names this stuff?!). We liked the fact that it wasn't too dark for the room, but wasn't white. We also enjoyed the modern style, dark or light wood options for the blades, and the fact that it came with a remote.

We then proceeded to take down the old fan. It was slightly more difficult than originally anticipated, but after having your arms above your head while standing on a step stool for a while, any amount of time is going to seem more difficult.

First up, we installed the base portion of the new fan.

We used a small down-rod because even though we do have a tall ceiling, it's not tall enough to warrant the longer extension. After we had it wired, mounted, and in place, it was then time to decide: light or dark wood.

Sorry about the terrible picture. Also, our carpet is gray, not brown. Like I said...bad picture...

After a bit of thought, I decided on the lighter wood. The darker would probably match more of our furniture in the living room, but the lighter wood looks much sleeker against the white ceiling, so the decision was made.

Honestly, it's exactly what the room needed. Thanks to the Bro and his housewarming gift, we not only have a fan that actually works and is the correct size for the room, but something that adds some style to our little living space.

Still working on that accent wall, yeah.

How awesome! Have you ever added an element that really completed a room? Let us know in the comments!

This week I'm working on the guest bathroom more, so make sure you check for updates!