Glammin' it Up

So far, this has to be one of our most favorite things we have changed about this house yet.  Intrigued?  We think you might even be surprised.  One of our original house lights has bit the dust and has been replaced with a much bolder lighting choice.  That said light happens to be our master bedroom light.  So it's time for the step by step replay and new light reveal that we know all of you are anxious for.

Here's a quick before shot so you all can refresh your mind with our awesome original lighting:

First off, we went over to our non-labeled fuse box and played around with the fuses until we had the right one turned off.  Then, we discussed how we need to start labeling these things so we don't take fifteen minutes trying to figure it out each time.

Next, we simply removed the old light cover by screwing off the cap and exposing the actual light fixture and also a missed spot from a previous ceiling paint job (not done by us).  We have already found that we will have to eventually re-paint our ceilings one day - not something we are looking forward to.  In the meantime, we could use one of those ceiling medallions instead to cover this area but we haven't don that yet either.

After that we just unscrewed the fixture and disconnected all of the wiring.

Then we screwed in the new bracket that will hold the new light in place.

(New Bracket)

Next step was to start wiring the new light into place.  Just match the colors - white (neutral), black (hot wires) and green/copper (ground).  Then cap all of your wires to hold them in place.

Finally, we hooked our new light to the bracket and screwed in the base to finish.

Now came a confusing part for us, the light bulbs.  We purchased our light at Ikea and decided that we would just buy some bulbs once we got ready to install it.  Hmmm, didn't check to see what kind of bulbs, we just assumed and guess what happens when you do that, you guess right - we assumed wrong.  So, off to the store to buy the correct bulbs.  After we had the bulbs in and the fuse back on we were ready to gaze at our new light fixture...aren't you wondering what it looks like?

Ta da...It's a sparkly, pretty chandelier!  

Not kidding, we are absolutely loving this light and loving the feel it gives our new bedroom.  I had to kind of talk Justin into it, but once it was home and up he was loving it too.  I'm telling you, adding a new light fixture will do wonders for your room, it can absolutely change the entire style and feeling.  It's also fairly easy to replace lighting fixtures so don't be afraid of this kind of project.  If we can do it, you can to!  This room has gone from master cave to master glam.  I can't wait to show you what else is going on in there, it looks so totally different than when we first moved in. Until that day, I will leave you with some more shots of our new favorite thing.

Before

After

Bye, Bye Master Cave

We knew immediately when first touring this house that we would be painting the paneling in the master bedroom as soon as possible.  The paneling that existed in this bedroom was the cheapo fake kind - not real wood.  The thought of sleeping in a dungeon cave just didn't sound too appealing to us, but maybe for some it would - to each their own.  Our master bedroom - if you can really call it that is small to begin with, so the paneling wasn't helping the overall smallness factor.  Instead, it was making the room feel like it was shrinking in on you.  After buying the house we quickly got to work on painting our master bedroom and to my surprise painting paneling wasn't that different from painting regular walls, it was quite simple.  So, if you are thinking of painting your paneling don't fret, it's not hard!  And, you will be totally blown away at how much bigger and brighter your room feels after.  I actually feel like the painted paneling gives the room a beach cottage type feel and I love the beach so that is a plus for me (I promise -no beachy themed decor will pop up here.)  Here are the steps we followed for painting our paneling:

Step 1:  Fill in all those holes!  (We learned this the hard way from previous painting experiences)  Holes = ugly finished walls.  It's harder to see holes in paneling so do a thorough check and just fill them in with a putty and sand them up when dry.  After sanding you need to wash off the dust so your walls are nice a clean and ready for paint.

Step 2:  Prime them up.  We used an oil based primer, and I think you need it for paneling, so you can be extra sure you are covering up all the darkness and any stains that might exist.  Don't worry if it looks a little streaky or see-through, one coat will do the trick.

Step 3:  Get your paint rollers out and watch that cave disappear.  One issue with paneling are the grooves, so you will need a brush handy to fill in any spots that the roller doesn't get.  After you let your first coat of paint dry, give it a second - this is when it starts looking really good.  Just a note, we used Olympic no VOC paint and it worked beautifully.

Step 4:  High five, let out a sigh or a laugh, lay on the floor where your bed will be and admire you new walls (that's what my dear husband did) or whatever it is you do when you finish a project and enjoy it.  You're done!  It's that easy.

Now, on to the picture portion of the post - the before and afters.  Disclaimer - we are still in the early stages of decorating - aka we have no decor going on in this room.  We are however working on that so we will share new things as they come along.  But, in the meantime we are quite pleased with a new fresh wall color.

Before

After

This is the other side of the room (which also was our storage station while we were working on the kitchen)

And After (Yes that is a shell and it doesn't count as beachy themed decor, just saying)

 So the next pictures are part of a design dilemma we will be facing soon - it's called the pull down attic is in our bedroom and it is equipped with a chain pull.  Nice isn't it?  We have lots of ceiling friends here.

So what about you?  Have any paneled rooms you are itching to paint?  Do you possess awesomely wicked painting skills and would like to share them here with us?  Comment and share!

Linking up Here

DIY - Painting Knotty Pine Cabinets

This is a project that ended up being a lot more time consuming than originally thought, so goes the life of diy remodeling I suppose.  Like I mentioned before here, I have been very surprised at the number of people who enjoy the knotty pine look of our cabinets and had many question my idea of painting them.  But ultimately for us they just were not our style and a fresh white coat of paint needed to happen.



So, the first step in our project was to remove all the doors and hardware, simple enough.  The first little issue that arose was the weather.  My plan was to paint all of the cabinets outside but of course it was raining the weekend we had to get it done.  So we just set up a drop cloth in the kitchen and laid all of the doors out on the floor.



Our next step was to apply a good coat of oil based primer.   You really have to use an oil based primer for knotty pine in order to get a good coverage on the dark knots.  The primer actually didn't take very long to dry and we were off to painting.  I chose to use a water based no voc paint in eggshell finish.  After  one coat of paint we realized we had issues.  Streaking issues and hole issues to be exact - this is after we also realized that all new holes would need to be drilled for our new hardware, more on that later.

Whoops, I think we might have jumped the gun on the painting and forgotten some crucial steps.  Luckily we had some wood putty handy (from all of the other numerous holes we have found in this house - which I think my dear husband will be writing on soon).  We filled in the holes, sanded those cabinets down and primed again and painted them twice.  It took forever and was a little frustrating when we realized we had to pretty much start over but, we love the end result.  They look five million times better and I absolutely do not regret our decision.  So, if you are thinking of painting your wood or knotty pine cabinets, here are the steps I would follow:

1. Remove your cabinet doors and all hardware
2. Fill in all the holes with wood putty!!!
3. Sand those babies
4. Give them a good coat of an oil based primer
5. Next is two coats of any paint of your choice
6. Give your cabinets a good 24 hours to dry, at least
7. Re-hang your cabinet doors
8. Admire your lovely fresh and clean cabinets

We still need to add the rest of our hardware, hopefully that will happen this weekend!

  

Chatham snuck in on this one.

Looking at the journey these cabinets have been through and seeing them now all fresh and white and new, it reminds me of the journey we take in life with Christ.  Like our cabinets, we all have issues and we have sin.  The amazing grace of Jesus can cover a multitude of sins.  By the precious blood of Christ we are made white as snow, new.  It's pretty cool that now when I look at our cabinets I am reminded of the redeeming and cleansing love of our Savior.  You can even see God in cabinets, who knew?

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool".  Isaiah 1:18