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12 Reasons I Went CRAZY This Year & Discovered 50 Shades of Grey
by
Adele Kurtz
(IC: homeowner)
2 Materials
This year took an exciting turn after I opened up and experimented with 50 Shades of Grey.
Being an intense, passionate kind of gal, I went over-the-top crazy.
We shared so much together in daring rediscovery.
It all started with a gallon of Benjamin Moore's Regal Select Matte Grey and a quart each of Polyvine Satin and Dead Flat Wax varnishes.
I'll share a dozen short stories of how we intermingled, give you a peek inside our private places. Please tell me if you want to know more of the details in future longer posts.
I'm still kinda new to Hometalk so I thought this inside intro could offer a preview of coming attractions.
Here's the condensed version of where it all happened, and what we learned together.
Being an intense, passionate kind of gal, I went over-the-top crazy.
We shared so much together in daring rediscovery.
It all started with a gallon of Benjamin Moore's Regal Select Matte Grey and a quart each of Polyvine Satin and Dead Flat Wax varnishes.
I'll share a dozen short stories of how we intermingled, give you a peek inside our private places. Please tell me if you want to know more of the details in future longer posts.
I'm still kinda new to Hometalk so I thought this inside intro could offer a preview of coming attractions.
Here's the condensed version of where it all happened, and what we learned together.
It all started in our Music Room, a Collector's Living Room. Earlier this year the walls were tasteful, boring, off white. Don't worry the walls to other side still are. The ceilings are 2-stories, so I'm certainly not going to paint them!
Ready to turn the corner into the stairway of more collectibles. I framed the entry to the stair in the solid matte grey. This is MATTE, not flat. Which offers the greatest contrast in depth of finish, to set off shiny textures in interesting ways. I LOVE IT!
Now it's time for a RUSTIC TURN. I added a rough cedar header plank above the entry and continued the frame in matte grey.
Welcome to my GUEST BATH. Have a seat. Now that my confidence is slowly building.... I'm ready to try refinishing furniture. Scour off the grime & varnish -- just til the gloss is down.
This bathroom cabinet is 25-year old oak. Why replace it if you can tone it back a bit? Allow more or less of your prior stain colors to show through. Same technique as I practiced on the seat. I feel my confidence growing from my toilet training.
ALAS, but then the countertop looked poor in comparison. It was a tan tile with white grout. I could rip it out & buy new.... Or I could experiment some more.
Also used metallic blue with matte grey over it on mirror. Used solid Matte Grey on light fixtures. This shows how that lamp we adapted changes the colors in the room. The wall is painted a soft grey blue, but the lamp is now in it's yellow green phase. See my separate post about color-changing drama.
Well if it works on counter tops, how about the most abused appliance in the kitchen? My TRASH COMPACTOR is heavy duty, outliving the other appliances which are now in gleaming stainless steel. This was white at the beginning of this year, but I didn't want to replace it. (The oaky tones you see reflected are from the stone floors in the kitchen.)
Greywash became the quick easy way to tie art together. Problem: cheap wood frames that don't match. Now they hang better together after just one coat of diluted MATTE GREY. Drawings POP. Self portraits by my kids when they were young, and one portrait of my step-son by his father.
On to GUEST ROOM furniture. Made this desk long ago with my daughter, above, out of a wooden file, oak planks and half-round. Cool trick is that the left side is turned around to handle clutter (faces library shelves). Very abused over the years. Nice update with same grey-wash technique..
Solid oak is one thing, but what about cheap modern furniture? This dresser has some real wood, on drawer face & top, but the rest is the masonite-type where the wood grain is just printed on.
Now I have the confidence to work on my MOST PRECIOUS Furniture. I made this table over 12 years ago with that same daughter right after we built that desk. I wanted her to not be intimidated by "men's projects," as I had been for most of my life. See that confident smirk she drew into her face? ... drawn about the same time we were doing these projects...
So now it's time to head off to our OTHER PROPERTY. I honestly think Rich bought it so I wouldn't run out of projects. It's a golf & fishing retreat on the Spring River that we use for vacation rentals. See it here: https://www.vrbo.com/819262
We tested the diluted grey technique on our kitchen island and everyone is very impressed with how classy and fresh it looks in comparison to the old oak.
While we're adjusting to the change -- and waiting for poly to dry -- I went into the dining room and mixed the grey into white chalk paint 50:50 and used it on the dining room table and chairs. It blends in beautifully with the stonework. 4 coats of Satin on the top, two on base.
Enjoyed the project?
Suggested materials:
- Benjamin Moore Regal Select Matte Finish (paint dealer)
- Polyvine Dead Flat and Satin Wax Varnish (online, US Paint Supply)
Published September 29th, 2016 6:34 PM
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3 of 12 comments
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Pandalana Williams on Jan 03, 2017You have inspired me to repaint my den! Beautiful homes! Well done!
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Nancy Flemming on Oct 18, 2017
Thank you, will now have to wait until hubby is gone for a couple of weeks, so I can do the kitchen uninterrupted.
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