Paint Color Ideas & Tips

Kristi recently remodeled her kitchen and didn’t give her toe kicks a second glance. Then she got a glimpse of Oh Joy’s recently remodeled studio kitchen, and was inspired to try something new… Switching up the white to black is a subtle but significant change. Rather than painting the actual toe kicks again, Kristi came up with a temporary solution that lets her try out a color, and change it up again down the road. Renters, take note!

We’re nearing the end of our whole-house renovation, so I thought I’d share some of the products that have helped make our dream house dreams come true— and those that have thwarted us at every turn: Favorite Paint To Work With: Valspar Latex Gloss Porch & Floor This stuff went on like a creamy dream, and I declared that I was only going to use floor paint from now on, on everything.

Shauna loves to experiment with bold choices on walls, and she got permission from her landlord to paint. Rather than choosing a safe neutral, she went with…..well, you need to see for yourself! It took Shauna about three or four hours to paint (by freehand!) the length of her hallway. After testing a few different designs out on large sheets of paper, she chose this super graphic black and white pattern.

Caitlin over at The Shingled House has some mean DIY skills and recently took on a shed in her backyard. The 10 x 10 room had concrete floors, wood paneling, and a lot of stuff, but she wanted to turn it into a cozy and functional office space for her family. See how the conversion went, after the jump. Although the bones of the original structure were nice, the shed is so much more intimate and comfortable after the renovation.

During one of my many trips to the paint counter at the hardware store this week I spied a very curious item from Glade. Since I’m a sucker for scents and it was under $5, I just had to try it and see if it was as exciting/exotic as it seemed. For all you Scratch-n-Sniff enthusiasts, yes, the “smell for yourself” sticker actually smells like the end product.

This worn, old wardrobe had seen better days, but Beau wanted to cheer it up for her daughter’s bedroom. So she add some fun colors, painted on a perky pattern and completely transformed this old piece into a fun addition! From Beau: This little wardrobe was well beaten up and really sad looking, not solid wood in parts so it needed a paint job.

Karisa’s guest bathroom was not a disaster by any means, but it didn’t fit her dream look. She *almost* felt guilty for wanting to undo all the hard work that someone had previously put into the space. Still, it wasn’t so bad that she needed to do any demo, or spend too much money by starting fresh. So, Karisa decided to try a couple of new products and techniques and give it a new look… This makeover is the bathroom equivalent of a manicure.

With such a large and in charge antique headboard, Chelsea’s bedroom was looking one-note. Deciding to create an accent wall behind it, she fell in love with, and then rejected, some really expensive wallpaper. See how she transformed this bedroom for $40! From Chelsea: For years I have had the pleasure of owning an antique family heirloom bedroom set, (my great-great grandmother was born in the bed….TMI?)!

This tallboy dresser had been relegated to a garage to store junk, but Polly saw some potential. Inspired by the beach, this dresser got a wavy makeover. From Polly: I got this beat up old tallboy from a lovely lady on Gumtree. She used it for junk in her garage. I kew the draws and feet would make it a really interesting piece to upcycle and I have been wanting to try a really different paint technique for a while.

Amy’s 3-year-old was ready for a big kid room inspired by the high seas. This thrift store dresser could’ve walked the plank, but a nautical makeover turned it into a hidden treasure. From Amy: I started by giving the entire piece a thorough cleaning and painting it with Annie Sloan’s “Old Ochre” chalk paint. I sketched the ship graphic onto the front and painted it in with Annie Sloan’s “Coco”, then did a wash over the entire dresser with Coco.

Kind of hard to believe this is the same house, right? When Kezia and Jonathan bought their home, they were seemingly stuck with a material they hated that couldn’t be removed. Instead of throwing up their hands in despair and settling, they got creative and gave the facade of their home some major curb appeal. From Kezia: We bought a cookie cutter house and redid the kitchen and facade ourselves – we call it the Kimono Project (because our house is on Kimono Ridge Drive).

When Alex moved into his cozy and bright uptown New Orleans rental apartment, he was faced with great architectural bones—beautiful wood floors, big windows, two fireplaces and more. What wasn’t so hot? The builder beige colored walls mixed with other colors that did really work together and made the place seem darker than it needed to be.

I’ve always been a huge fan of 1950s style kitchens, and was lucky enough to score a tiny vintage refrigerator from a few years ago. The small size made it a bit of a challenge (we had to be very cognizant while grocery shopping!) so, when we added a member to the family this year, we also decided it was time to upgrade to a bigger refrigerator.

Almost a year ago, my husband and I moved back to our hometown of Long Beach, CA. We found a gorgeous two bedroom 1930s apartment in our favorite neighborhood. Our landlords updated the space with grey floors and fresh paint. It was almost perfect . . . except for the terribly outdated entryway. It’s the only carpeted, unpainted space in the entire home, and the first thing you see when you arrive.

This week Camille is sharing her real life rental challenge and how she transformed her dingy carpeted entryway stairs (with her landlord’s permission!) into something more welcoming, yet still temporary. If you want to see the first post, check out the before photos here. My husband and I decided to DIY this project ourselves, and broke it down into manageable steps, each of which could be completed in a weekend.

This week Camille is sharing her real life rental challenge and how she transformed her dingy carpeted entryway stairs (with her landlord’s permission!) into something more welcoming, yet still temporary. If you want to start by hearing all the plans, check out the before photos here. Updating an old home is filled with challenges.

When you’re lucky enough to live in a home with beautiful historic architectural features, you probably want to highlight those features with your decor. Paint can work, sure, but maybe not in this icky green color? That’s what Danny and Lyndsay faced when they moved into this Portland, Maine rental. So they used the power of paint to cover up the unpleasant green, refresh the space, brighten the home and turn the focus on one charming architectural feature in particular.

It may only be matter of time until wall-to-wall Tuscan faux plaster makes a comeback (Olive Gardens everywhere rejoice). Until then, we prefer these easy, natural-looking antiquing methods to give new furniture an aged look that doesn’t feel dated. Speed up the “Aging” Process: Sturdy materials like wood and brass look great with age (we think humans do too). Get creative by envisioning your furniture’s past lives and layering a variety of finishing techniques.

Chalk paint may be the undisputed champ of aged, vintage-style furniture, but this matte medium is actually incredibly versatile, and can be used to revamp pieces in a wide range of styles. From mid-century modern apartments to artsy bohemian interiors, this easy-to-use, environmentally-friendly paint is showing up everywhere. Find inspiration in the projects that follow, then learn everything you’ll need to know about mixing up homemade chalk paint.

These closet makeovers look expensive and difficult to pull off, but are actually extremely easy. In addition to being gorgeous, most are also affordable, and super renter-friendly. Here are nine ways to get your storage style in line with the rest of your decor…. Above, this closet is a major improvement, both inside and out. Room for Tuesday both did a massive purge and re-organization effort, and then finished the space off with newly framed doors and agate pulls for added style.

I love both blue and black kitchens and all their loveliness and drama, but after seeing 50 million of them over the past couple of years, I start itching for something new to make my eyes happy. So it’s refreshing to see another shade emerge lately as contender for the role of hottest kitchen color. We’re calling it “bruised” green —anything from olive to army to deep forest.

For years, well-intentioned renovators have been painting over wood trim of all kinds. White trim was good, or ever colored trim or even black. But wood trim, of the kind found in so many beautiful old houses, was deemed heavy, old-fashioned. Well, I’m happy to report that the pendulum seems to be swinging back in the other direction. So before you paint over that woodwork, take a look at these beautiful examples of wood trim done right.

It’s a fact of life that things tend to get dry and crackly in the winter: your skin, your lips, even your wooden furniture. And if you think your apartment feels like a dry, cold, relatively inhospitable place at this time of year, chances are your furniture agrees.

These small-space projects really pop.

Giving everything from an IKEA shelving unit to a foam model hand the Midas touch is as easy as picking up a can of gold spray paint. With a gilded finish, every surface suddenly looks much more expensive—and no one has to know it’s all thanks to this $5 hardware store staple. To make the IKEA VITTSJO bookshelf match the glam-quotient of the rest of her Austin apartment, Whitney spray-painted the frame gold.

In the quest to create the most eco-friendly paint and most innovative, LEED-platinum buildings on the planet, one Spanish company is throwing it back with one of the oldest building materials known to man: lime.

I’ll just start off and say that there’s a lot to love about exposed brick walls. I’ve lived with many over the years, and there’s no substitute for the warmth, texture, and authenticity they bring to a room. But those are just the pros, because exposed brick can also be kind of a nightmare. So, read on to decide if all that historic charm is worth the headache.

Stephen and Amy bought their first home together in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood in 2013. Their home is adorable inside and out, with many of the elements crafted by the couple. There is one small element that I think has a big impact on their home’s curb appeal — and it’s an easy and affordable DIY! “When we bought the house, there were ugly numbers nailed to the door.

No one doubts the transformation that painting an entire room in neon pink would have (bold, to say the least), but tell someone you painted an entire room white, and they might wonder what the next coat will be. These rooms prove, however, that white is its own standalone color that can make a huge impact on a space. Perhaps white paint’s biggest super power (other than being affordable and versatile, of course) is its ability to brighten up a space.

Mila participated in a recent round of the One Room Challenge, but didn’t want to get overwhelmed by a major hard-core makeover. So, instead, she chose to redo the single wall just inside her entryway, which is also part of her living room. As is, the space was fine, but she was bored with the current gallery wall of photos, and wanted instead to make it as impressive as possible with just a little work and money. Her goal for the end of the project?

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