Then whitewash it.

Then strip it again.

Ok, maybe that strategy isn’t the best approach.  ;)

You’ve all seen the whole mood board concept, right?!?!  Where people put pretty images all in one spot and use it as inspiration to design and decorate a room.  And then the room ends up looking eerily similar to the original mood board.

I honestly have no idea how people do it.

I think I have more “mood moments”.  And they can be fleeting.  :)

To take you back to when we moved into this house in the beginning of April and there was paneling Ev. Ry. Where.

We got busy tearing down all of the paneling only to find drywall (painted pink in spots!) so we took a leap of faith and started tearing down the drywall, knowing there was a chance we would need to just re-install new drywall.  I definitely prayed to the DIY Gods about our work not being a waste of time and money and energy and potentially my sanity.

But it was the best decision ever!  Like ever ever, even.

We uncovered beautiful wood slat wall after wood slat wall.  And their paint colors even made me a little giddy.

I can’t even tell you how many different design places my mind has wandered with these planked walls.

How fun would it be to salvage the original colors?

But how cool would it be to strip a couple to expose the beautiful wood?

What about a dark stain for contrast against light painted walls?

Or what about a whitewash for a more nautical/beachy look?

And when my mind is shifting through these ideas faster than Kim K is getting press over another questionable pregnancy outfit … I’m just sitting in the middle of the madness.

Do you do that?  Just immerse yourself in your space to try to see it.  I mean see it how it ends up?  Not how it is right now.

Unfortunately, it seems that Joel has a tendency to come home from work as I’m just sitting, staring, imagining what will be.  We have this exchange about 3 days a week.

Joel: (as he walks in the door from work) Is the house done yet?
Me: (as I’m sitting) Yep.
Joel:  I don’t know how you expect to finish by just sitting in it.
Me:  Do you want a glass of wine?

Whatever … it works for us.  :)

Anyway, there are so many reclaimed wood wall looks that I love, I just needed some time to decide what we were going to want to live with.  I showed you a few looks I was loving here.  And once we finished the board and batten wall, with all the white trim, it helped pull the vision together.

I did give whitewash a stab on the small wall, but in the end we decided that we really like the contrast of the stripped walls against the nicely finished, painted surfaces.  Check out the whitewash wall on the left compared to the stripped wall to the right of the board and batten wall.

It adds so much character and depth to the space, we find it perfectly rustic without going overboard. And it’s very Key West quirky, adding to the charm and appeal of the property here in the Key West real estate market.  Which never hurts when you’re working on home improvement.

For anyone gearing up to tackle your own stripping project, here are a few of my favorite tips.

* use a good quality stripper, don’t buy the bottom tier option, we use this kind, it took just over a gallon to strip the 3 walls of two coats of paint

* pour the stripper into a paint tray (if it is used like mine it will strip the dried paint in the tray, but that won’t be detrimental to the project)
* use a paint brush from the dollar store to apply the gel, it will get ruined, no need to use a good quality one

* read the safety instructions on the stripping product, I can attest to the fact that you will not die if you get some on your skin, but it will burn and itch, a quick wipe down with a wet rag does the trick

* keep another wet rag close by to wipe off your scraping tool, I use my favorite 6-in-One, you need to scrape before the stripping gel dries so the gunk (technical term) will accumulate on your scraper

* apply two coats of the stripper gel before you even start stripping if you are trying to remove 2 coats of paint

* let the stripper do the work, the container will have instructions for how long to let the gel set, but if you try to start stripping and it doesn’t come easy, give it more time

* I found the idea of a drop cloth futile, something about all of the droppings landing exactly where the drop cloth ends at the bottom of the wall didn’t work out.  But we have floors that we weren’t worried about ruining, it worked great to wait until all of the stripped paint globs (yep, another technical term) dried and then scrape them loose from the floor and vacuum them up with a shop vac.  Or maybe use a plastic drop cloth and tape it up about a foot on the wall so it would catch-all of the scrapes … if you try that idea, let me know if it works.  :)

This little video might be helpful for those looking for some tips in a more visual version.  And yes, clearly I am still working on the camera height as I do my self-set videos.  But it’s more about the tips than me really.  :)

And, for anyone questioning the lack of gloves, goggles or anything else that might be considered ‘safety precautions’ might want to check out the duma$$ disclaimer.  ;)

We are nowhere near done with this living / dining combo room, (What, did the random unstripped paint spots make that obvious?!?!) but having these beautiful hardwood walls exposed has dramatically changed the feel of the whole space.

Here’s a little rundown of where we’re headed:

* remove drop ceiling, paneling and old drywall, here

* prep old cracking paint to resurface, here

* prime and paint the ceiling, here

* create a board and batten accent wall to cover up old hallway opening, here

* expose some of the wood slat walls to add accent

* paint the other walls

* remove the carpet, carpet pad and linoleum tiles underneath (we have been working on this on and off for a week or so now … picture me scooching around the floor on a pillow because our carpet pad happens to be glued to the hardwoods)

* re-finish the hardwood floors

* add a set of French doors to one wall for easy access to the outdoor living space

* widen the opening between the dining room and the kitchen

* install crown molding around entire room

* install baseboard around the entire room

* finish it off with 1/4 round trim

* replace all outlets, switches and plate covers

* add architectural details to cover termite damaged wood slats

* add built-ins to create functional workstation

* built-ins or open shelving on the wall between the dining room and the kitchen

* replace windows

* replace window trim

Ummmm, that’s all I can think of for now.  And that doesn’t even include decorating, updating a few of our current furniture pieces so they fit in with the look we’re going for in the room and the biggest project of all … working with a contractor and an architect to raise the roof on that front part with the awkward lower ceiling.

How about you?  Been doing any stripping lately? Do you like the contrast or prefer the whitewashed look?  Or is fresh drywall more your speed?

The post when life hands you a wood slat wall {paint stripping tips included} appeared first on the space between.

Would you believe it if I told you that we moved to Key West in January and I haven’t been to the beach once?  True story.

That could have something to do with the fact that we moved here from a Caribbean island with the most beautiful water on earth.

Or, more accurately, that I’m not really the lay on the beach type … I’m more of a scour-the-beach-for-seaglass-and-driftwood girl so I can whip them into easy craft ideas.

And this easy craft project is proof that there are projects that can take less than 15 minutes and have a huge presence in a room.

I’m super excited to be participating in a series called Craft Lightning, where a group of bloggers is putting together a great resource of beautiful craft projects that can be completed in 15 minutes or less.

Now, if you count the time I spent meandering the beaches of Curacao, this project doesn’t qualify.  But if you are a driftwood collector and have a backdrop and a glue gun and a spare 15 minutes, this is the project for you.  :)

The first step is picking a backdrop for your craft.  It could be a frame with craft paper in the back or a painted piece of wood or anything, really, that fits with your style and is flat.

I had just the perfect thing for us … another piece of driftwood.  :)  It started as a 16 foot long board I found at the beach in Curacao and last year made into a desktop.  After a quick chop down to size I had the perfect backdrop for my easy little craft project.
Please just ignore everything else in that picture, this side of the house hasn’t gotten much attention since we moved in.  :)

And I’ll take this opportunity to apologize to our neighbors who have no idea I have a blog for whipping out the circular saw after 9pm.  My bad.  :)

Once you have your backdrop, plug-in your hot glue gun and layout your pieces of driftwood in the shape you desire.

I knew I wanted a fish shape, but how about a tree shape for Christmas or a heart for a child’s bedroom or even a monogram would be fun!  You’re really only limited by the sizes and shapes of your driftwood.
Then just glue each piece one at a time.
 And hang.
We just screwed eye hooks into the back of the wood and secured a heavy gauge hanging wire, then screwed a heavy-duty hook into the wall … we have wood slat walls, but depending on the weight of your project you should probably look for studs.  :)

Super easy, right?!?!
And this piece is 37 inches wide and 25 inches high, not only is it the perfect statement piece for our new board and batten wall, but I love that we can create something so unique and meaningful to us in less than 15 minutes and for nothing more than the cost of the hot glue.

And if you’re wondering exactly what ‘statement’ this piece is making I think it’s “I love driftwood, and fishes and chippy wood and pizza” … or something like that.  ;)

If you, too, love driftwood check out how you can make your own driftwood Christmas tree, driftwood and seaglass Christmas craft or other random driftwood craft ideas.

And be sure to check in with Angie of Country Chic Cottage and Carolina of 30 Minute Crafts to find so many more easy craft ideas that you can do in 15 minutes or less.

Do you craft with beach finds?  Or would you rather just lay on a comfy beach chair soaking up the sun?

The post easy craft idea {driftwood fish} appeared first on the space between.

The ‘any ol’ color will do’ or ‘I can’t paint anything until I find just the right shade of perfect’ end?

I would have said I was closer to the end where as long as I liked the color I was fine with it … until this house.  I’ve never really been stuck with analysis paralysis when it comes to paint, but I have two strategies that have worked basically fool-proof for me over the years.

Strategy #1 – For the two homes we’ve previously purchased and lived in I found a paint card that I liked and picked all different colors off of that one card except for one accent room.

Easy peasy.  It creates a nice cohesive look throughout the house and really took the stress out of the whole process for me.

For our first house I went shades of beige.  AHHHHH!  Should I shudder in shame?  Well, the way I look at it is that it was the perfect place to start for us.  It was our first house, we knew we would need it to appeal to the masses for resale and I really thought (at the time) that the dark Jute tone we painted the dining room was really going out on a limb colorwise.  And our accent room was grey.

When we evolved to our second house I went with another earth tone, more in a green color spectrum.  The nice, light Fennel color was perfect in the kitchen and bright (with lots of windows) family room and the darker shade was nice in the living room and guest room.  We had a cute little sun room off of the living room that we painted a great shade of sky blue (I think we’ll use a similar color here) and we even added a second ‘accent’ room, the third bedroom that I used as a craft room in this yellow color.

Honestly, I didn’t like the color in the bedroom, but the leftover paint was the perfect touch for this kitchen upgrade.

Strategy #2 – If you’re living in a rental and want to update the color, but want to do it on the cheap, I use the easiest strategy of all.  Anything on the mistint table will do.  :)  And, I stock up when I see light shades, because they mix well with any color and you, more often than not, need more than one gallon for a room and chances of finding multiple gallons of the same color on the mistint table are slim.  So, keep those light shades on hand and then just mix with any color you find that will work.

Obviously, this strategy isn’t for anyone who is super particular about paint colors.

Strategy #3 – My new, untested strategy that I’m trying here in Key West … visit a lot of open houses for homes on the real estate market and see what I like.  :)  It may seem silly, and even somewhat remedial, but we are working with a lot of old architecture and charm with the Dade County Pine walls and ceilings, and we’re hoping wood floors.  We really want these features to have the spotlight, and not a paint color.

So, we decided a fun way to peek into our neighbors’ houses get inspiration for looks we love with Dade County Pine is to see what others are doing.  :)  So far I’ve learned that if we’re going to paint the wood, I really like the lighter shades, almost just a tinted white.  That leaves us open to strip a few walls and have fun accent walls without be overwhelmed by wood everywhere.

Here are a few fun looks we’ve seen.

These photos are from a great Key West real estate blog and our realtor’s site.

Wish us luck.  :)

I’ve also enjoyed reading these other great resources that you might find helpful.

10 tips for picking paint colors by HGTV.com.

Favorite tips and tricks for choosing a paint color by The Creativity Exchange

How to pick paint colors by Domestic CEO

How to choose the right colors for your rooms by This Old House

How to choose the right paint color for your home by Apartment Therapy

And, if you already have an inspiration piece in mind that you want to pull colors from, the Chip It tool could be helpful, there are lots of details on it in How to pick paint colors {where to begin} from Jeanne Oliver.

And for the color we ended up using above our board and batten wall … Sherwin Williams Rainwashed mixed 50% lighter in Glidden eggshell paint.

And tell me, how do you pick your paint colors?  What shades do you think we should go with in this old Key West conch house? We want Key West charm, without it being Key West tacky, ifyouknowwhatImean.

The post how to pick paint colors appeared first on the space between.