A Teal Transformation

Before I get into the meat of this post, I want to again thank everyone who came to our house "cooling" party over the weekend. It was such a fun night and I am still just tickled so many of you took the time to visit our home! We're so lucky to have such great family and friends, love you all!  

OK, back to business.

A few months ago, Eric and I picked up these Rast chest from IKEA for our bedroom. I wanted matching nightstands, and the extra storage these provide is an added bonus. 

Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, and soon started formulating a plan to give these unfinished dressers a glam new look. 

The paint color I chose was Beta Fish by Behr. I fell head-over-heels for this deep teal and knew it would be perfect in our bedroom. 

The whole process was easy enough, and took 3 coats of high-gloss paint to get the coverage I was looking for. 

Since I knew I wanted to swap out the wooden knobs the dresser came with for something a bit prettier, I filled the holes and sanded everything down nice and smooth before painting. 

These little beauties came from the Ohio Valley Antique Mall. I LOVE looking at the vintage hardware they have, and I was able to snag a 20 count bag of these pulls for only $8! 

Before and after! Another example of the incredible power of a fresh coat of paint. 

These bring a smile to my face every time I walk into our bedroom. This space is now another step closer to looking like the mood board I shared in our last bedroom post. 

I think the next project in here will be to tackle that stenciled wall. Honestly, I have no idea how that will go, I've never done any wall stenciling before. But hey! There's a first for everything.  :) 

Suit up! Banister Goes Black and White

You guys, I am BEYOND excited to share this transformation with you! 
Since Eric has been off of school for summer break, he has been KICKING BUTT AND TAKING NAMES! Words can't begin to express how grateful I am of him and his incredible handy-man skills. I know I don't thank him enough. So honey, if you're reading this THANK YOU!!!! 
Yeah, he's a keeper. 

This weekend we are hosting our first official house party! Yes I know, it only took an entire YEAR for us to get around to it, but better late than never right? 
Now I'm at that "anxious excited" level where I keep thinking of ridiculous things we need to do before everyone comes over. Do you ever get that way? I am fully aware that NO ONE will notice how our coffee table books are stacked...but that didn't stop me from rearranging everything last night and separating them by size and color. 

My absurd habits aside, this party has been a excellent motivator to get our butts in gear and complete some of the larger projects on our to-do list. I shared how we finally rid ourselves of all that unsightly brown trim in THIS POST, which was extremely satisfying, and Eric also painted all the doors upstairs white to match. 

One task that I didn't have on my radar, but Eric cranked out in a couple weeks anyhow (again, note the amazingness that is my husband) was the banister on our stairs! We knew we wanted to give it a paint job (especially with all of that new crisp white trim around it) and I've always been attracted to the dramatic effect of black and white stairs, so of course I pounced at the chance to reflect that look in our home!

Source / Source / Source / Source 

So armed with a plan (and some advice from his Dad) Eric went to town demolishing our stairs.

Since these stairs have been painted a dozen or so times, the detailing on the spindles was getting lost. To bring those details back to life, the strategy was to take everything apart, strip, paint, and then reassemble. 

Layers and layers of paint. 

Once everything was torn down, Eric started stripping *cue sexy music*  NO NO not that! Jeez you guys... 

I wish I knew more of what chemicals he used, or the exact process it took to get all the paint off, but I DO know that all his hard work left us with these wonderfully bare spindles.

One coat of primer + two coats of paint = one incredible dapper banister! 

You guys!!! I am OBSESSED! 

Every time I walk up the stairs, I run my hand over that sexy black banister in awe and whisper sweet nothings to it. 

Adios strange mix of wood, brown paint, and...well...more brown paint. Hello black and white tuxedo bliss! 

The next thing to conquer in the foyer is painting the backs of the steps white, and replacing that runner with something a little less brown and a little more "us". 

Seriously, there has been SO MUCH BROWN in this house.