Using up some leftover paint...

If you follow with Facebook, you saw on Sunday that I started work on our fireplace.

I posted a sneak peek and expected to hear from many of you telling me not to paint it.

Even McG was skeptical - brick, like wood, according to him, should never be painted.

I was taking my chances.  We had discussed taking out the brick and replacing it with some

of the new light weight stone options that they have on the market.  I knew that this could be

done for almost FREE since I had paint left over from the master bathroom project.

And if I didn't like it, we could always take it down and replace it.

Here's what she looked like before...

This was in her Christmas glory...red reclaimed brick with oak trim and carmel colored concrete inset.

I decided I wanted to freshen her up and give her a lighter and brighter feel.

I grabbed the leftover craft paint that I had from doing the bathroom countertop project.

I put some onto a paper plate and used a damp round sponge to paint each brick individually.

Here she is as I started...

The afternoon sun was making the paint look blue in every picture I took, but I assure you, in person she is a lovely grey.

Once I had finished painting the brick, I used some of the leftover wall paint from the bathroom project as well.  I painted out the caramel concrete section that lovely light grey.

This room makeover is not on the list to complete for sometime, but I couldn't wait to see how painting this out would change the feel of the room...

I'm very pleased with how it turned out and can't wait until we paint out this room as well.

Are you using leftover paint in any projects at your house?  I'd love to hear about them!

Cheryl

Linking Up @:
Bless'er House
Embracing Change
It's Overflowing

ALMOST THERE....Master Bath Reveal!!

Boy it seems like forever since we started this bathroom makeover!!

It's not quite finished yet, but I decided I can't wait any longer to share...LOL!  

McG is working on the crown molding which is proving to be a little more difficult than we expected as most of the walls are not square...go figure!!

Anyway I will let the pictures tell the story...

Here's a look back at the "BEFORE"

 Peach and mint green wallpaper, walnut cabinets and trim, 
shower doors with sailboats etched on the glass,

 and white four inch wall tile on the floor.

and now for the "AFTER"...

There's still some trim details to be finished but I have to say that I am in LOVE with this room.  

It's probably my favourite one of all the rooms that McG and I have done so far to any of our houses.  

The transformation of this room is just magical. 

 And knowing that we did all of this on a tight budget makes me so happy!

Don't you just LOVE how it turned out??!!

Cheryl

Linking Up @:
Coastal Charm
Our Home Away From Home
Bless'er House

Painting a Countertop...and other Sneak Peeks in the Master Bathroom!

If you follow on Facebook, you know that last week I was attempting to paint the countertop in our

Master Bathroom.

 Here it is in it's previous peachy glory...

I cleaned it well and sanded it with a sanding block. 

Next I painted it with two coats of Zinsser Primer.

I purchased six different colors of craft paint from our local Michael's store and a package of sea sponges.

I dampened the sponge and poured out small amounts of each color onto a paper plate. 

Then I channelled my inner '80's girl and sponged painted the countertop. 

 I chose four different shades of grey, a putty color and white. 

The process went very quickly, but I made sure to leave it and walk away several times. 

 That gave me a fresh prospective each time I came back to it and

 I was able to see areas that needed more of one color or another.

I let the paint dry for a couple of days and then 

McG gave it three coats of water based Poly-acrylic sealer.

We left that to dry thoroughly for almost a week.

  This past weekend we re-installed the old sink because it was still in great shape.

The faucet we chose to replace.

I'm very pleased with how the project turned out.  It was definitely not a blog-fail!

The whole project was super cheap - the craft paint was on sale and cost 50 cents per bottle.  

The primer and sealer were leftover from another project, so basically free.

  We purchased the faucet in Michigan on one of our cross-border shopping trips back in the fall. 

 It was just $29.97 - so much cheaper than it would have cost to purchase it here in Ontario. 

 All in all, this project cost less than $40 - a great bargain, because a new countertop would have been at least $60 for laminate and even more if we chose to go with granite.

I will keep you posted as to how the countertop holds up.

Here's one last before and after look.

We have started a couple of other projects in the bathroom as well...

I'll be back later in the week to reveal this project!!

Cheryl
Linking up @:
Cozy Little House
Bless'er House

Sloan and the Sun.

This weekend brought us a ton of snow...over 15 inches to be exact.
The sun is coming out today, you can just see it peeking through
by the neighbours yard.

Earlier in the week the sun made an appearance and Sloan took advantage of it.

 This guy loves to soak up the sun.

He's such a cutie!

I'm so glad that the snow has finally stopped, hopefully the sun will melt it soon!

Have a good week!!

LINKING UP @:
My Little Home and Garden