March | 2014 | This Old Colonial Home

March 31, 2014
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Shades of Gray

I’ve been wanting to paint our master bedroom gray, but little did I know how hard it would be to find the right shade. I picked up a few paint cards from Lowe’s. But I really didn’t like any of them once I had them on the wall.The problem with gray is it has so many different undertones – brown, blue, green, etc. I was really looking for a true gray without an undertone. After doing a lot of online searching, I then started looking at Benjamin Moore paints. After going through several options …… my husband and I finally decided on Cliffside Gray by BM. It looked to be the truest gray in the lighting in our bedroom.

Of course, once we actually got the paint on the walls it was a little darker and had more blue in it than I wanted, but it still looked nice. I think part of the problem was that our blue bedding was affecting the color.I hadn’t anticipated needing or wanting to change our bedding, but I had to do something so the room didn’t look so dull.

In between that search, we also planned on adding an accent wall using a stencil. I found this one called Marrakech Trellis from Cutting Edge Stencils.Jamie had painted the whole room in a matte finish. For the stencil I used the same Cliffside Gray color, but in a semi-gloss finish. This is a shot taken during the process.It was fairly easy, but painstakingly slow. The main thing I struggled with was getting each section to line up. But I love how it turned out! Here are some pictures of the transformation from when the room was all white to where it is today.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Did you notice the improved bedding as well?! Instead of breaking the bank by getting a whole new set, I made 3 simple changes. I added the white and gray chevron patterned sheets, which I found at Kohl’s for only $30 (after a 30% off coupon). I added the colorful pillow, which I found at Marshall’s for $17. And I simply changed the way I make the bed – pulling the comforter down and folding it halfway up to expose more of the sheets. I feel this helps break up the blue. Doesn’t the bed look so much more inviting now?!

March 18, 2014
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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

A few months ago I was visiting a friend and I noticed she had window-pane mirrors in her finished basement. They looked awesome! I immediately knew I wanted to incorporate something similar in our own house. After doing a little online searching, I realized it would be more affordable if I took matters into my own hands. Besides, I already had a 6-pane window going unused. (It’s the bottom half of the window that’s on our mantel.)Now I had to figure out how to turn the window into a mirror.

Solution found: Rust-Oleum Mirror Effect spray paint!I ordered it from Home Depot. It’s a little pricey at $8.50 for a 6 oz. can (and I bought two), but when I consider that $17 is all I spent for this project, I’d say that’s pretty good.

So I started by taping off the window. It has dark wood on one side and light wood on the other. I wanted the lighter side to be the front so I taped off the back. You spray paint the reverse side to create the reflective mirror-like finish. Taping the window was pretty time consuming. You might even say it was a pain! Haha get it?!My first attempt at trying to paint it back in January didn’t go so well. The can says it needs to be between 50 and 90 degrees with 85% or less humidity. I tried doing it in our garage on a rainy day and I think it was just too humid out. The paint was very runny. So I had to wait for better weather, which meant I had to wait awhile since it’s Winter in the Northeast. Spraying inside definitely wasn’t an option. The smell is very strong. But finally, this past weekend was nice enough, and this go around was much better! It took several light coats to get the desired mirror effect.It doesn’t have a perfect mirror finish, almost an aged look to it. But I love how it turned out!After adding some hardware to the window and using anchor screws, we decided to hang it above the love seat in our living room.There actually used to be a window along this wall (most likely this very window) but it was closed up after an addition was put on the back of the house. I kind of like that part of it is now back where it used to be!

March 15, 2014
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Another Paint Job

Our family room is still very much a work in progress. But at least now it has new paint color, and we can check another all-white room off the list! We went with Honey Butter by Olympic. Here are some before and after shots. (Please ignore our current TV setup. It will eventually get changed when I get that dresser redone.)

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After (We also hung some wedding photos)

Aside from the dresser, I’m also working on trying to find a coffee table and end tables for this room, as well as décor to fill the other blank walls. Little by little.

Meantime, next up on the paint list is our bedroom!! I’m thinking a light gray. What are some of your favorite colors for the boudoir?

March 8, 2014
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Displaying a Little History

I think it goes without saying that I love our house. But one of my favorite things about it (and one of the many reasons we chose to buy it) is the original chestnut trim. You can see some of it in this picture I took for my Gallery Wall post. Original chestnut trim in colonial home Upon closer inspection, the trim is a little beat up and worn, but that’s what gives it character. And luckily it was never painted over (except in 2 rooms, which I hope to strip someday). That’s not bad for a house that’s pre-war. Along with the chestnut trim are chestnut doors. In fact, we have a total of 18 chestnut doors in our house if you include the closets! That’s a lot of doors! But you know what goes with all of those doors? These awesome skeleton keys!I couldn’t just let these beauties sit in a drawer somewhere. I knew I had to put them on display! So here’s what I did. I used this picture frame that I had just sitting around. It has some depth to it, almost like a shadow box.The flower picture is actually glued to the backing, so I had to cover it since the keys were going to be displayed in each square window. I wanted a vintage feel to it, so I simply cut up a brown paper bag and taped it around the backing sort of like a present.Here’s what it looked like from the front.I put the matte on it and then worked on the arrangement of the keys. Once I was satisfied, I used these handy 1/2″ Craft Glue Dots from A.C. Moore for about $3.00. (You could also use a glue gun.)I stuck a dot on the top and bottom of each key and then adhered it to the paper bag backing. I didn’t mark or measure each key’s placement, I just eyeballed it. And then I reassembled the frame.I actually gave this to my husband for his birthday! Here’s the final product now properly hung in our upstairs hallway!I love having a little piece of history on display! What are some of your favorite items to showcase?