Doormat

I'm all about personalizing everyday decor items.  And when I can do it with spray paint, watch out!  I first saw this project on Gorgeous Shiny Things.  She got the idea from Martha. 

I already had the mat.  I already had the spray paint.  I already had the painters tape.  And what's better than a quick project that you do not have to do any shopping for?

I printed out our address in Word.  So easy!  I used Rockwell Extra Bold font in size 630.  Yes, 630.  That's not a typo.  I cut out the numbers and taped my new stencil to the center of the mat.  Using painter's tape, I taped a border on my mat.  I just made it up as I went and used a straight-edged ruler to keep the tape nice and even.  Here it is all taped up and ready for paint:

I used Rustoleum's Camoflage spray paint in Deep Forest Green.  It's a little darker than my inspiration, but my original mat was darker than Martha's.  A few coats of spray paint and a coat of spray laquer later and here is the finished product:

Try to ignore those smudged-looking spots, those are just my hallway casting weird shadows.  I'll try and get a better picture in the daylight this weekend.

Painting Vanities

Our house has the same cabinets in two bathrooms, the kitchen, and extra cabinets in the same style in the basement.

Matt and I have been talking about painting our kitchen cabinets since the very first time we walked through the house.  But, we keep going back and forth on if we want dark or light cabinets in the kitchen.  Honestly, I can see it both ways and it will look beautiful no matter what we chose.  In an effort to help us make up our minds, I painted the cabinet in one bathroom white (Sherwin William's Pure White) and the cabinet in the other bathroom dark brown (Sherwin William's Turkish Coffee).  Both cabinets look much, much better than they did when we moved in and we're still no closer to making a decision for the kitchen.  So, dear readers, if you have a preference, lay it on me.

Here are the before and afters of the vanity in our small bathroom:

Much improved, no?  We ordered the new knobs in bulk and planned to use the same ones for the cabinets in the larger bathroom and for the drawers in the kitchen (coordinating handles are on the cabinets).

And here is the before of our bigger bathroom:

It's a huge vanity.  We've talked about replacing it in the future, but there are more important projects to work on right now.  For at least the next couple of years, this coat of paint will do just fine.  Here are the afters of each side of the vanity.  Note the fancy new knobs and hinges too. 

And, for referrence, here is a partial shot of those same cabinets in our kitchen.  Look at all of that wood grain!

The debate over light and dark still rages on for these cabinets.  As of right now at least, the knobs have been changed.  Someday we'll make up our minds and buckle down and paint the kitchen cabinets.