Lessons Learned - Trends, Likes and Seashells

Every once in a while, do you have a question that seems to have no answers? I'm in one of those places right now, in more than one area of my life. One of those areas has to do with the repainted and updated furniture we do.

Have you ever finished a piece, sat back, admired it and then.....sat back and scratched your head when something so gorgeous just doesn't go out the door? I have had this happen more than I like to admit lately; a Seize the Day Table that we revamped with a chalkboard-looking top and also with a periwinkle butterfly stand.

Why do some pieces fly out the door so quickly, while other sit around like the wallflower at your junior high dance?  Is it color, shape, design? Who knows? Maybe it's all of those - or none. What's not to like? Chalkboard, butterflies, periwinkle blue.  

Maybe it's just a fact of a DIYer's life: there are just some pieces that have a hard time finding a new home! I just don't get it. 

Maybe it's just MY emotional attachment to the colors and pieces. Or the time invested.

Remember opening a new box of 64 crayons? Yep, the big one! That periwinkle blue was one of my favs! That's why it didn't make sense to me that the butterfly stand wasn't selling.

Finally coming to grips with the fact that the pieces weren't going to sell as is, and putting our faves aside, we repainted. UGH!! The Carpe Diem table hasn't gone live yet, but the butterfly stand sold within 24 hours of repainting the periwinkle a soft black.

I think the hardest redo of a redo was a pair of cabinet doors that we repurposed for wall art. I thought it was a great idea. I spent hours learning the transfer technique for the shells. I loved the soft arch at the top of the door. That, coupled with one of my favorite colors, sea-glass green, LOVE!

I still like them, but they just wouldn't move. Well, the other pieces moved after a redo of a redo. Maybe these would, too. (Insert sad face here)

I took the leap. I mixed up some chalkboard paint. Don't hate....I did try some spray paint chalkboard, but it came out shiny and the chalk wouldn't work on it. So I mixed up my own. (Insert happy face here)

We all are aware that chevron is so trending. The charcoal, coral and white desk we revamped soled almost immediately. You can read about it here:  http://bit.ly/1hI8O3H  It was worth trying.

I also found a chevron painter's tape, made by Frogtape. It's not cheap, and it's not easy to find, but it's so easy to use. It comes in three different shapes. I will definitely be using it again!  

(I pulled this image from their website.)

The centers of the doors were repainted with the chalkboard paint. The chevron tape went over the sea-glass green and was painted with a dark teal.  They looked so different!

And, guess what? They were gone within 5 minutes!! No kidding?!

Sometimes it pays to put your emotions and likes to the side, and take an objective look at things. Hmmmm....that sounds like more than a painting lesson; that's a life lesson!  Lesson learned!

Mirror, Mirror

With the holidays approaching I'm seeing a lot of white, shimmer and glitter. Here's our contribution. A white, shimmery, lux-looking, but affordable piece. This entire project cost was around $15. I love projects like that!!

if you're like me, sometimes, you just need to do something a little different now and then. If you DIY long enough, eventually, you'll find yourself branching out to try new things. This was one of those projects. Ready for a break from detail painting such as our Count Your Blessings Cabinet - http://bit.ly/GC3TFg

This is one of the projects where the idea was great, but the actual process made us break a sweat. It was a LOT of work. I have to admit that we did do another project very similar to this not too long after. Some of us just don't learn very easily.

That was the case with this vintage round coffee table. We found it in a local antique shop in the clearance section. As you can see, the top was leather, but had seen much better days. It was ripped up and had burn holes through it.