First project for 2012 The Basement

I needed to update the basement. And I went a little Frenchy.

I started with paint.  I know bad blogger I didn't take before shots. Sometimes I get overwhelmed and excited and just dive in!!
The bottom half of the wall was wood paneling similar to the floor, which is a medium to light wood laminate. (It had been carpeting but we changed that out about 5 years ago.)
The top half of those walls were wallpaper which  we had too much trouble getting off, so just painted over. I like how it turned out...The wallpaper had a texture so the paint looks neat.

The fresh coat of paint was nice but needed a bit more. ...I did get that before picture, after the paint was done..

After some organizing, hanging paintings, and cleaning up, time to get to the finishing touches.

I took an old cookie pan that was almost destined for the recycle bin,

 And mod podged it into a tray for cocktails

 With images from the Graphics Fairy

I gotta tell ya those sofas are slipcovered with a faux leather,that comes with separate seat covers I bought from Surefit 3 years ago and they have withstood the test of time and teenagers... boys no less! These slipcovers have held their ground on 2 totally different sofas, that are too old to comprehend.
Trust me you don't want to see them as a before!
One is a T cushion seat and one is a regular seat. These cover a hodgepodge of leftovers, they are the best slips I ever bought and have a soft suede like feel. I highly recommend them.

The seat with all the throw pillows, lift ups for storage and I just covered four kings size pillows

with dropcloth for seating

  I added a mix of pillows we had with a few new ones from Home Goods

The old trunk has been around forever and was painted pink when I purchased it.
 It got a fresh coat of a Behr color called "calming retreat", the same as on the walls.
It's a nice soft neutral beige with a tiny hint of pink, like soft sand, at sunset.

And a calming retreat is what the basement actually feels like now, when I want to get away from the noise above.
 It even reflects more light the minute I open the door to head down there...( which I avoided when it was dark paneling )
A Frenchy candle here and there adds to the effect. Also mod podged with images from the "Graphics Fairy"

hmmmnn... maybe I will just start working down here in this space. It turned out pretty cozy.
What'ya think?

Joining the parties below:
Making the World Cuter Monday {January 9}
Metamorphosis Monday
good life Wednesday's

Mary's room Finally Complete

Well, I can finally say Mary's room is completely done!

Thanks so much for all your input. I enjoyed all your ideas and selections.

I painted the headboard white and
together my daughter and I painted one

 wall blue ( Behr sapphire berry) and 3 walls  green.

I have started the transformation of the Black laminate cabinets

My last post I showed pictures of the cabinets that are in the Dining room of my Florida house.

I lamented about the way the cabinets just stood there hovering with no legs, like an alien spacecraft.

Personally I would have never put cabinets in the dining room, I would have purchased an old sideboard and painted her white.  But what's a girl to do when it's already there and a waaayyyyyy too much trouble to remove? Well my answer is paint her white and make her look as much like a piece of furniture as possible.
So that's what I have been up to.

• lightly sanded every inch.
• used a primer called the "gripper" from Home Depot

• picked out a pretty Behr paint called "Table Linen"premium plus with primer in satin finish see Behr color center here
• Picked up some 9 inch legs from Home Depot  and painted them. (The legs didnt need primer it's in the paint)

I completely taped and primed the cabinets. The back of the entire thing is mirrored so that is what you see in the background the reflection of whatever item is in front.

This is how it looks with one coat of the gripper primer and one coat of "table linen" by Behr

( I honestly thought this would be harder!) You just have to wait a while so things dry!

 Second coat goes on tonight.

This was a really hard black laminate high shine lacquer.... with gold trim. eeeiiikkkk!

I am hoping to be finished by tomorrow and then I can show the whole thing. The big reveal.

I kinda like the open shelves so I may not put the glass doors back on. I sprayed the gold hinges a brushed nickle and bought new brushed nickle knobs just in case I do want to put them back on. 

But really I am liking them open. I think that my milk glass will show up so much better if they are open! 

What do you think?

Any other touches I might add to cottage it up?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

65th Power of Paint Party