Color Swatch App

I came across this app the other day and thought I would share. 

It can really be helpful if you are trying to find colors to use in a room. 

It's a Sherwin Williams app called Color Snap.

It works on my iPad and iPhone but I think it will work with any smart phone.

You can take a picture using the app or you can use a photo you already have.

Then you hold your finger over an area to find a color.

And keep adding colors that you want to include in your palette.

When you save them it comes up with paint samples. 

These are the 3 colors I picked. But Im not liking the last one too well.

No problem, I can adjust any of the colors by lightness, hue or saturation!

You can scroll left of right for more colors. 

There, a little less peachy!

Isn't that cool?

I'm still fiddling with it but I think I can be really usefull.

Let me now if you try it out. 

Oh, and it's free!

Now to get on track with that kitchen!

I’m Dreaming of a White….

no, not Christmas.

Kitchen!

Maybe something like this….

source

Love the blue island. I don’t have an island but if I did, I’d want it to be a color.

source

I love how neutral it all is except for the pop of orange. Oh and those pendants!

source

Blue bead board ceiling! Genius. I could paint my ceiling. 

Since it’s one of the few that don’t have popcorn in this house.

I don’t have the original source for this one. But I love the blue backs to the cabinets.

That, I will be doing.

source

And glass cabinets. I need to put in some glass panels on a few doors to open up the space.

I know I have mentioned painting my kitchen before. They have been bugging me since the day we moved in almost 3 years ago. They are dark and they suck the light out of a room that already doesn’t get a lot of natural light. So they must go.

I even bought a paint sprayer.

I just need to figure out how to use it. But it seems pretty easy.

I’m going to work on priming the bases. It’s been raining so no spraying right now.

Which is why I don’t have the before shots yet either.

 I keep forgetting to take them when the sun pops out. But I will.

And one more thing....

How about a GIVEAWAY? 

All of you magazine obsessed people will love this one!

(I know there are a lot of you)

So be sure to check back and see what I have for you.

See you soon!

China Cabinet Reveal!

Are you ready to see the china cabinet? I’m sure you are all tired of me dragging this on and on.

I am so very thankful for everyone’s wonderful suggestions.

I thinned the paint just a bit like Emily suggested.

I kept the vacuum by my side when sanding like Debbie suggested.

I wish I had known about Kristy’s suggestion to use a wet scrubby sponge for sanding. 

Great idea to cut down on the dust.

Oh and just a warning, this is a long post so get comfy. :)

Here she is!

And for a refresher of what she used to look like.

She’s quite a bit lighter and brighter now don’t you think?

 

I had a few panicky moments along the way.

I ran out of paint. I had some knob issues.

It took me a lot longer then I had thought. 

Mostly because that shelf doesn’t come out so I had to have my head in the cabinet and cut in all those edges.

I showed you the other day how we beefed up the molding on the top of the cabinet. 

It’s really very easy to do and can make a huge difference on lots of cabinets or shelving.

The knob problem was solved but cutting down the bolts and finding a thinner nut for the back. 

Then the little magnet assemble was moved forward just a bit.

Hubby discovered that late at night when we kept trying to get them to latch.

The idea to counter sink the nut was a great idea but I had forgotten that there was a metal plate behind the door and it was what was actually sticking to the magnet.

Not the screw head that I originally had said.

I still have not found anymore, there were only 6 in the box. So for now the rest stay wood.

I know I worried a lot of you that I did not cover up my floors.

No need. It all cleaned up very easily. I just wipe as I go. 

Even if some spots dried, it just scraped right off.  

Let me show you some of the tools that made things easier for me.

1. Sanding Blocks: top is 320 grit for between coats and the bottom one is heavier grit for distressing the edges if needed. 

2. An old sock slipped over your hand make it easy to buff out the wax.

3. Bolt cutter. I knew we had some tool in the garage for this!

4. My Pampered Chef scraper got those dried bits of stray paint right off the floor. I swear!

5. An emery board is great for getting the chalk paint off the hinges. I left them on thinking I would paint them and then changed my mind. So this got off where I wasn’t so careful.

6. A razor blade. I taped off only one side of the glass doors. It was much much easier to just scrape the paint off the other side then it was to carefully place the tape, then score it to get it to come away from the door.

Are you still with me?

Just checking.

I just want to mention a few things about my experience using Annie Sloan’s chalk paint.

The first can I ordered through Robyn Story Design. They are super fast with their orders. 

The second can I found locally.

I had a hard time deciding on getting the paint because of the higher cost. I had rationalized this in my head with not having to prime, dries fast and easy to sand back. Not priming being my biggest draw.

But using Pure White on top of a stained piece caused some coverage problems. I had some odd spots that bled through. You can see where I tried to cover them with multiple coats but it wasn’t until I spot primed it that they went away. I also had to use 3 coats in most places to get good coverage. Now, if you’re laying one color on top of another this won’t be needed. So keep that in mind if you are using any of the whites.

I loved the way it sanded. Smooth as a babies bottom. Smooth but yet you can still see my brush strokes. Odd? A bit. The brush strokes bothered me at first but then I got used to it.

Would I use it again?

Yes!

I might stick with pieces that aren’t so hard to paint. 

I would have to consider the cost factor. I used almost 2 cans of it on this one piece. 

Yes, I could have primed it then did another coat but for me that defeated the purpose of buying it in the first place.

I’m anxious to see how a color goes on. I haven’t used my French Linen sample yet.

Thanks  much for sticking with me to the end.

I know I bombarded you with a ton of pictures.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Linking up to:

Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk Interiors: SNS 105
Savvy Southern Style: WUW
Primitive and Proper: Piece of  Work Wednesday
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday

Knobby Issues, Help Please

I’m still here. Painting and waxing.

I’ve come across a bit of a problem. I have this stash of knobs. It’s a little weakness of mine.

But they all have these sort of posts on the back that require a nut.

Not so much an issue with drawers but with the cabinet the screw head on the old wooden knobs hit the magnet and kept the door closed. With the new knobs I would need to cut down the screw (or is it a bolt?) and then the nut would make it stick out a bit from the door.

Do you think this would still work? Also, any idea how to cut the darn things? 

I may have to wait until hubby gets home since I’m sure there is a tool in that garage that does this.

Are there any pretty knobs out there that have the regular screws? I know there are the traditional kitchen cabinet ones but I am wanting something a little sparkly. 

The ones I see all seem to have the nut on the end.

These aren’t bad though if I can get them to work.

What do you think? 

Thicker Molding, a Sneak Peak and Angels Singing

This is taking a wee bit longer then I had thought.

It’s because those shelves don’t come out so there it lots of cutting in.

But I am hanging in there even with a couple of glitches.

First, I had to wait for #3 son to come home to help me move the top off of the bottom.

After all the dust and dog hair was cleaned I got started.

When we got it down I remembered that we had beefed up the molding many years ago.

It had such whimpy molding for such a large piece.

So I thought I’d show you how we did it.

Here is where the original molding ended. It just was too thin for my liking.

Here is a shot of it from the back. 

We just added a piece of square molding on top of the old molding. 

That gave us something to add the small piece of crown to.

Here is another view. I have no idea why we used screws. 

I can barely remember what I did 2 days ago. 

It seems we use both screws and nails. We bought it unfinished about 12 years ago and I stained it.

So, I’m sure you’re wondering how the chalk paint is going,

 I’m having a love/frustrated relationship with it.

I’ll give you a little peak.

The back is all the same color. Trust me. It all looks like the the left side.

This is it with one coat of Pure White. I was prepared for applying 2 coats. But really, I need 3. 

That is where the frustration kicks in. I am getting near the end of my can. It’s late Saturday afternoon. Robyn Story Design, which is where I ordered it, is closed. 

They don’t open again until Tuesday. I wanted to get it ordered fast so it could get here fast.

Frustration turns to panic. I start looking for another stockist that might still be open. (stupid time zones) Then I see one in Tallahassee. But wait, what is this? One even closer? Like 30 minutes away? My heart jumped. Then, when someone actually answered the phone I think I might have heard the angels singing.

Hallelujah!

It was Elaine. My angel of mercy. Or my angel of Annie Sloan paint.

Elaine explained to me that her shop, The Sonshine Studio, isn’t opening until Nov 1. But that she had the paint and she would sell it to me! How sweet is that? I hurried my little butt over there and got my hands on another can of Pure White. Thanks so much Elaine!

When Elaine gets her website up I will pass that along.

I’m just excited that I now have someone local. So keep checking the stockist list. 

They seem to be adding more and more all the time. No more shipping fees. 

Yippee Skippy!

(Here’s a little treat for you. You must hear KD Land sing this song. I know, I’m a bit all over the map today. Sorry about that. I would blame it on the paint fumes but there really aren’t any with this paint!)

I’ll be back with more pictures soon.

I am loving how it’s turning out!

I Took the Plunge

Yep, I finally did it. I ordered some of this.

I hemmed and hawed about it for so long.

I was waiting for Annie Sloan to come out with the pure white.

I also picked up a sample of another new shade, French linen.

I haven’t a clue where I will be using the French linen yet.

But I will be introducing the pure white to this big boy.

I thought it would be a good piece to try it out on.

Start big right? Crap, what have I gotten myself into?

The back is bead board and I will be painting that the color of the walls.

I still am not sure what I’m doing with all of those knobs.

Because there are so many I was thinking I should be a bit more subtle, but not boring.

Then maybe get some pretty ones for the glass doors. A little more bold

If you have any ideas for the knobs or if you have any tips on using the chalk paint I would love to hear them. I didn’t buy their wax. I have some Johnson’s wax and some Briwax. 

Has anyone used either of those with the chalk paint?

Okay, wish me luck.

Newel Post Fern Stand

I remember finding this post at the market in Mount Dora.

You have to buy things early if you want the good stuff.

I had the seller hang on to it until the end of the day.

It would have been a bear to lug around all day.

Rose showed us her post and it was then that I realized that what I thought was the mark from and old number 8 was really where the hand rail had been attached. You can see it on her post.

That was a palm smack to the forehead moment for me.

Ever have those?

It looked like this when I bought it and stayed that way for a long time.

They are great to add a little architectural interest to a rather nondescript space.

But it was a bit dark in this house so I decided to lighten it up.

Martha Stewart’s Heavy Cream to the rescue.

  

It has these great little details on the corners.

I shined up the champagne bucket while I was at it.

I like the mix of the shiny silver with the old wood.

I’m not sure if the fern will stay but I picked it up the other day and it fit right in there.
I'm picturing a big pumpkin or some tall wheat for Fall.

The post fits into this little corner that is part of my foyer.
And it doesn't take up much space.

I have a very little foyer. I can’t really even call it that.

But I guess I just did.

Linking up with:
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday