Sassy Surfboard Coffee Table!

I found a fun little piece of furniture for the Sassy Seagull one day when I was killing time waiting to pick up a granddaughter from her skating party. I was bumming around a nearby store and came across this mid-century modern coffee table.

With its long oval top it reminded me of a surfboard and I thought it might be a fun piece if we painted it.

  I'm not the most talented when it comes to drawing but I found an idea on Pinterest that I liked and thought would be doable.

I was thrilled when my husband decided to take on the project of painting and striping the table....

I wish I had taken pictures of the entire process but I didn't think to do it in time. Henry sanded the table all over and then he used a tack cloth to clean it up. The paint contained a built-in primer. However I decided after he put the first coat on that I preferred the background to be white--so he repeated the process and painted two coats of white semi-gloss paint. (Such a patient man--thanks honey!)

Once the paint dried for 24 hours Henry used FrogTape for delicate surfaces--the yellow one--to mark off the stripes. Once he measured and was satisfied that the lines were exactly where he wanted, he painted the stripes with blue. We used a sample pot of Behr P460-1u called "Morning Sky" for the stripes.

Behr P460-1u   "Morning Sky"

Last step was a topcoat of glossy clear coat that is intended for use on painted surfaces. We felt it would make it look like a shiny surfboard and add durability to the

top of the table.

Here it is!

Good job Henry!

A Happy Accident!

One thing I've learned about decorating:  No matter how much measuring and planning and dreaming you do, sometimes things don't work out the way you expect them to--you may have to change things up---and it's okay!  Just keep working til it's right.

That's just what happened with this little cupboard...

The cupboard comes in two parts but my original plan was to use them together with the TV and equipment in the top and DVDs, etc. in the bottom.  Once it was in the space--it didn't look quite right so they were separated.  I moved the lower half to another location and designer Jane Coslick suggested adding legs to the upper half. 

 So I made a trip to Lowes for the furniture legs and after a quick paint job...voila!

Much better now!

Split personality! 
Have you ever had any happy accidents in decorating?  

DIY Tutorial: Stenciling With A Freebie Seahorse Stencil!

 I bought this piece to use in the living room at Doc Holiday.  I thought It would be great to put a TV, DVD player and cable box in the top and store other stuff in the bottom half.

I loved this little cupboard in all of it's rustic goodness but I decided the black was just not going to work in the color scheme I had planned, so I decided to paint it.  This is how it went down.

First the piece (or pieces--it came apart into two pieces) was sanded with a medium grit sandpaper and my friend Loretta brushed on Zinsser Cover Stain primer--the one with the gold label.  Then it was sanded lightly with a finer grit sandpaper to eliminate brushstrokes.

Next I painted the piece with Sherwin Williams' Duration acrylic interior paint in semi-gloss.  I had some left over from painting another piece of furniture for the Coral Cottage.  The blue is 

SW 6485 Raindrop and the white on the drawers is SW 7005 Pure White.  I let the first coat dry for a few hours and then applied a second coat using a good brush.

 I had a little bit of lighter blue paint--SW 6763 Retiring Blue--from painting a dresser so I decided to try putting some stripes on the white part of the cupboard doors and drawer. 

 After measuring I marked off the lines with Frog Tape, a painter's tape that would come up without damaging the fresh paint.

Next I found a free printable seahorse stencil online to use on the doors.  I printed it and my son Jordan cut the stencil for me using an exacto knife and blue transparency-type stencil "paper" that I got from Michael's. 

 

 Jordan is very meticulous and exacting in all he does and he did a 
great job getting the stencil just right!

He was supervised by Rafael and Lucy so how could he go wrong?

 I measured and placed my stencil on the cupboard door.  Then I taped it in place with 
painter's tape....

 The key to stenciling is to use paint sparingly and to apply it with an almost dry applicator.  I used a pouncer sponge but you can also use a stencil brush.

 Get as much paint off the brush as you can and then apply to the surface in an up and down motion.  If you use too much paint or brush it on in a side to side motion, paint will creep under the stencil and it won't be a clean image.

I was using latex paint and I had a little too much paint on my first attempt so it is not quite as crisp as I wish it were.  I cleaned the stencil and did a mirror image sea horse on the other door with better results.  I am still fairly happy with the overall results so I left it--after all it's handmade!

For knobs I used these glass starfish knobs from an online source.  For more info check out this recent blog post.

This is how the lower part of the cupboard turned out...you likey?

Stay tuned and I'll show you what happened with the top of the cupboard!

Aiming For Plu-Perfect!

It's time to show you the second master bedroom at Doc Holiday--at least what it looked like right after we moved all the furniture in.  At first I thought maybe I should wait to blog about this room until I had it exactly the way I want it to be--"plu-perfect" as my hubby calls things when they are exactly right.  But then I decided to be honest--it's pretty now but it is a 

work in progress.  Here goes!

 In July when I brought the U-Haul to Tybee for the move into Doc Holiday, there were a few frantic days trying to set up while last-minute construction was still ongoing and I knew I had family showing up in a few days for a fun week at the beach.  Not much time to shop.  And strangely not much that worked for my house when I did go to my favorite stores. 

So I took what I had and did my best.  The adults in our family prefer king size beds so I found a headboard I liked for a great price on eBay and painted it with Sherwin-Williams semi-gloss paint in Frolic SW 6703.  This is what it looked like right after painting. 

Sorry about all the furniture in front of it--we had quite a few pieces awaiting their turn to be painted.

 I like lots of vintage things but vintage mattresses--not so much!  So we bought a new mattress and bed frame in Savannah.  There is no footboard by design.  In a small room it is best to go with just the headboard--a footboard would take up too much room visually and make the room feel even smaller.  

 This was my first attempt at arranging the bed with the pillows I had on hand...

On my next trip to Tybee, Jane Coslick and I rearranged things a bit and the lamps were swapped out.  This photo only shows one lamp--that's all Savannah's Kirkland's had but I had one on hold at the Conyers store.  So here's Take Two...

Like I said, a work in progress...

This is the dresser I posted about here.

   And because you always need clothes and towel hooks at the beach...

As you can tell from this photo, we decided to leave that old, deliciously chippy-paint door that leads from the bedroom to the bathroom.  As Jane would say, it's perfectly imperfect!   It was too good to discard but beware tall people:  You need to duck your head!

 And that is where I am currently with this master bedroom.  It's pretty, comfy and a nice place to lay your head...but am I finished?  Am I satisfied?  Nope.  Not yet.   I am not going to stop working on it until I think it is "plu-perfect".  (Perfectionism...It's a disease.)

What about you?  Do you have any works in progress? 

Without Further Ado!!!

Four months ago, on a whim, I decided to write a blog to document the progress being made on our cottage, The Coral Cottage.  I've been amazed at the interest so many have shown in following along.  Thank you so much for reading!

Today I'd like to take you through the last room--it's actually the first room when you walk in the front door....so without further ado, here's the living room!

BEFORE

Looking straight ahead as you walk in the front door

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I kept the end tables--just painted them with Sherwin Williams' Raindrop.

BEFORE

This window behind the sofa used to look out to a screened porch but the room was enclosed and now is a sun porch where there is a dining space and another seating space.

AFTER

Because this is a small space I found this lucite coffee table on eBay--it takes up no space visually and it is small so people can walk past easily on their way to the bedrooms and bath.

BEFORE

AFTER

Dressed up for the Jane Coslick Holiday Tour of Homes

BEFORE

AFTER

The chevron-striped dresser was a DIY project.  For a tutorial click here.  There you have it--The Coral Cottage BEFORE and AFTER.

 CAN'T RESIST--ONE MORE :)

A great space to sit down with a good book and a glass of iced tea!  Come on over!

Worth the Wait!

Can't wait another minute--I've gotta show you how the Coral Cottage front bedroom looks in all her glory!  Remember my recent post where I asked you "What's Behind Door Number Two" and showed you the BEFORE?

Today here is what is behind door number two...welcome in.

Over the bed we hung the wonderful art project made from a window recycled from The Coral Cottage. I blogged about it in this post.

This montage of photos shows the placement of the repainted dresser that I salvaged and had painted with coral paint as well as the nightstand that was a flea market find.

One more

Sigh.  I just love it.  

The Coral Cottage is ready for guests and Jim Heflin at Tybeecottages.com is taking reservations.  We'd love to have you if you're in need of some Tybee Time!