~ A Little Bit of Paint ~

Over the weekend in my tiny bit of spare time, I got the urge to paint something! You see, I am not the biggest fan of our living room right now (it's super dark in there with the green carpet and brown couches and I just hate the wall color. Hmm, maybe I'll post some pics and a blog about that!) Anyways, so I am slowly doing little projects here and there to make it more like I want.
I have recently been inspired by a gal I know named Kurstin. She will literally paint and re-paint anything and everything in her home at least twice! If you want, go check out her recent paint project it's beautiful!
So with the goal of lightening things up in there and making it a bit more cottage/shabby chic... I decided to grab some craft paint and go to town!



Like I said, I only had a tiny bit of spare time so I decided to start out small and re-do some picture frames! These frames were all a sad brown or wood tone, and like I said, I just need to lighten some things up in my dark living room!
Even though these frames had a small shine to them I decided not to sand them. Now for a different surface like a table, bench, chair, etc. I would have done a little sanding. But for these, I just started painting......



I gave each frame 2 coats of paint and then let them dry completely. Once they were dry I took a palm sander and sanded down the edges, giving them a really nice soft, antique look. I think a little sanding definitely helps bring out some gorgeous detail on the edges.



And really that was it! A little bit of paint and some sanding can go a long way!
Here is what the shelf and frames looked like before......



And here is what the shelf and frames look like now, with a little bit of paint...... (see, the wall color definitely needs to be changed! It is so drab & dull.)


It is slowly but surely getting better in the living room. I still love the warm country feel I have goin' on but I would love to try some new things and incorporate a bit more cottage into our home!
It's possible I can mix those two styles, right???

It may be a long process but I have some ideas in my head that I think will make my living room more like I had imagined it!
Has that ever happened to any of you? You move into your house and have to make so many split decisions on decorating and paint that you end up going back and thinking... wait a second... "this is not quite the idea I had envisioned for this room?!" Plus I think in the last 3 years my style has changed just a smidge!

Well anyways, the moral of the story is... don't be afraid to make some changes by adding a little bit of paint to an existing object in your home. It might be that exact little change or "pop" you were looking for!

P.S. I've been inspired now to do a little blog on my living room re-do/re-model. Look for an upcoming blog about it... I may need your help and opinions!!!
Oh and of course this little re-model is also in the mix of the kitchen re-do! So I might have to post pics and some questions about that as well!

*Oh the joys of home projects and decorating! If only I was single, unemployed, and had no kids! Hahaha!