While the Husband's Away...

My very lucky husband, Kenny

got to head for Austin, Texas last week

to attend the Inaugural Circuit of The Americas 

He was gone for a week, which left me time to tackle some projects

in our own home...much like the cobbler's children with no shoes

our house always comes last

With no one to talk me out of it, 

I jumped right in..

First, I painted the walls a pale grey

the color is called "Abalone"

from Ben Moore

See that giant mirror? The perspective is odd in this photo,

but it's over 5ft long, solid wood, and weighs a TON!

I avoided painting it because there are about 200 tiny staples

holding the three mirrors in place

I didn't love the gold finish against the new wall color,

so I just dove in...

Mack and I spent two hours with Exacto blades, razor blades, and our finger nails 

scratching off all the paint from the glass

(see all those beautiful carved wood details that flow out onto the glass?

Yeah, totally NOT fun trying to get all around those!)

I typically don't paint things white...

but in this  case, it works really well

It's soft and elegant 

I love that it makes a statement, but doesn't hog all the attention

The couch slipcovers stayed the same, as did all the pillows...

 Around the corner, at the front door

we have a closet whose door mysteriously vanished

(ok, *maybe* I tossed it because it was hideous!)

This curtain is actually a shower curtain

It was too short, so I added a gorgeous bit of antique lace

(salvaged from a nightgown!)

I used a tension rod, which meant I needed a pocket

instead of the hook holes you normally find on a shower curtain

I quickly stitched a length of canvas along the top, creating a pocked for the rod

works perfect and looks adorable!

We had a very plain cedar chest under our bay window...

I dragged this gorgeous French cedar chest home from the studio

and painted it Paris Grey with lots of dark wax

the raised details are painted in Pure White

This might be my favorite new piece...

it's definitely Kenny's favorite!

I purchased this fabulous chair at the Salvation Army

it's new (I've seen them at HomeGoods)

but I didn't have to do a thing to it!

I grabbed that table from the studio, too...

you can see it here

Once I finished all of this, I noticed our buffet-turned-entertainment center

looked so DARK...especially with the giant flat screen on top!

The TV is actually going to be wall-mounted, but that is beyond my skill!

(Kenny mounted a flat screen in our bedroom and it's awesome!)

So I stuck some cardboard under the feet, and started painting before I changed my mind!

In the "before" pic, you'll notice some drawer faces are missing...

we removed the body of the drawers, and mounted the drawer faces

with hinges that allow them to fold down so we can store electronics inside

 I wanted a chippy, milk paint type finish

but only brought chalk paint home from the studio...

plus, I did not want the mess of milk paint in my living room...

so I tinkered around and ended up with THIS!

Can you believe that's chalk paint??

Totally looks like chippy, distressed milk paint to me!

The room was looking a little too feminine, so I wanted a rustic,

very old looking piece here...
I couldn't be happier with the end result!

(disregard lack of staging and cardboard STILL under the feet!)

I accomplished all these projects primarily on my own,

in about three days time...

so stop procrastinating, and tackle the things you want to change in your home! 

What have YOU been dying to change but just keep putting off??