[reader request]: The Perfect Gray

Laura is one of my friends that I met while living in Milwaukee. While my hubs was doing medical school, her hubs was doing residency. Long story short, she's having fun decorating a new nursery for a brand new baby, probably buying things I would be jealous of. Her husband has a real job. My husband is still a resident. I'm not bitter.

I digress. Laura is decorating a nursery and needs the perfect shade of gray for the walls. Gray can be a tricky color, because different shades can look brown, blue, and even purple--none of which Laura wants. My favorite grays for a nursery are subtle and not too dark, like the colors listed below. 

I'm sure you all know this, but I like to hear myself talk so much(or I guess type in this case) that I'm going to tell you anyway. One: It's SO worth it to buy paint samples and try it in your space. You never know what the paint will look like in YOUR room with YOUR natural and artificial lighting. And, two, use the brand of paint that is your favorite. I always use Behr paint, but I use swatches from all over the place. I've never had issues with matching a swatch from a different brand. Just my opinion...

Have fun for me, Laura. I'll just be here in St. Louis for two more years while my husband finishes residency living vicariously through those of you that are DONE

image from 6th Street Design School :: Hazy Skies by Benjamin Moore

image from Emily A. Clark :: Silver Chain by Benjamin Moore

image from 320 Sycamore :: Fossil Gray by Glidden

image from Sharps Farm :: Dolphin by Martha Stewart

Would you ever?

These floors are absolutely bea-u-ti-ful! But, would you ever dare do that? Maybe in a small space, maybe. On the other hand, it's just paint. If you didn't like it, you could just paint right back over it. Even Nate Berkus himself paints his floors white every few years. He said so himself!

all images from Material Girls

Painted Rugs Gone Right

image from La Factoria de Plastica

image from Curbly

Rug Redo: Painting Rugs

Wow, I've been obsessed with rugs! I promise this will be my last post on rugs--for a while, anyway! Ever heard of painting a rug? Well, my curiosity got the best of me, and I tried it. Here's how it went down:

I started with this 4x6 jute rug in sage. I also started with the idea that this would be a little project that would probably only cost about $20. After all, it was only a 4x6 surface, right? Wrong!

To appease my navy mood, I chose a shade of navy. I started with a quart of latex paint (not even close to enough) just to see how this little project would go. As you can see, one coat could not finish the job. I ended up buying another gallon. The fibers of the rug soak up the paint. I painted on the first coat, and then rolled on the second coat. At this point in the process, I didn't know if this would work, but there was no turning back!

When the navy dried, the rug actually looked really good, so I decided to move forward with the stripes. I taped on the stripes and painted them white. I was going for a less formal, faded look with the stripes, so I only did a couple of coats of the white. It took hardly any paint.

I pulled off the tape, and I was quite pleased with the finished product. My little project: $65-$70. I should also tell you that I simultaneously painted another jute rug in orange, but I didn't have enough paint to finish it, so it's upstairs in a closet. I'm guessing it will eventually go to the dumpster! This is typical of a lot of my DIY projects--they end up costing more than buying, or they end up in the garbage (or both)!

Now, the question is, "Would I do this again?" Though I would not cover an entire rug in paint (it took FOREVER to dry), this technique would definitely work if you wanted to add stripes or other patterns to a rug. It would also be a lot cheaper! Important things to remember: use latex paint; use an outdoor, sea grass, or jute rug; and don't try to paint a green rug navy!