Need some opinions from those who like to decorate!

[ruffledfeathers]

OOh how did I miss this one? I go in spurts of keeping up, depending how busy work/life is. I feel like the past few weeks have been a blur.
I love the quaint country/cottage kitchens too (obviously depending on your home and what fits in it.) Not sure if you are still debating the painting of the antique white in the kitchen but I think it could work. My kitchen is almost entirely white (beadboard on walls, white cabinet, white counter) and I added a black island and window shades with rich color. Amazing what creativity and paint can do!!!!

 

[Kiwibird]

@Ruffledfeathers- I did in fact paint the 2 little stands and mirror in my kitchen. Got some cute little accessories at the goodwill too. Since we rent, those were all I could paint or change since those actually belong to us, not the landlords. It looks pretty nice now, but I'm waiting on a new toaster oven and want my husband to move our mini washer into the storage area, since this apartment has a full size washer/dryer. That'll free up some space and make it a lot nicer I will take some pics when I get the new oven (it's a really nice countertop convection oven [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CCSUTOU/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]Amazon.com: Solo S2000 Extra Large Professional Countertop Convection Oven 1.5 Cu. Ft. Stainless Steel with Insulated Door: Kitchen & Dining[/ame], and is a lot bigger than our current toaster oven). I'm *so* excited to have a nice 'oven', even if it isn't a full sized one lol. I have had the *worst* luck in the kitchen department. Our first 2 apartments had nasty, old kitchens and this one doesn't even have a kitchen at all! At least the laundry room we use as a kitchen has decent counters, cabinets and floors. Not 'luxury' by an means, but not old and disgusting either. That said, the whole space is really not too bad for being a laundry room-turned-makeshift kitchen

 

[GW.Joe]

So, I WAS going to wait and do a whole post that shows all the stuff I've done (which is a lot, and I still will), but the trunk just came out too awesome to wait I painted it a pale blue and spray-painted all the nasty old hardware with rustoleum, so it's a metallic black now. I removed and replaced 120 rusty screws (I miscounted at first, because there were ones missing and the internal higes and replaced all of them with new stainless ones)! I also hand-painted the monogram, which is why it isn't *perfect* (but good enough). After all of that, the hideous, beat up brown trunk now looks like this-

I know I'm late getting back over here but that is just totally WOW, It Looks GREAT!!

 

[Kiwibird]

Just an update with this one- I have been doing SO much organizing, obsessive deep-cleaning and projects since this post. But I keep getting sidetracked with other things. It's like an avalanche of frantic-ness and general 'if I'm doing this, then I have to do this'. I have got the 'kitchen' redone to a point it is unrecognizable from the before photos and about a million times more functional. I had no intention, but I ended up giving the bathroom a little face lift, a little more spa-like even though it's not very spa-sized lol. If the kitchen looked so nice, out bathroom was clean, tidy but just *so* bare bones minimal. After Kiwi's talon clipping disaster, I got his area re-done ASAP so all his stuff (especially that styptic) is easy to locate. I've been needing to 'address' that nightmare of a toy bin for a while. I found 2 brand-new looking rope perches I had no clue we had in there, not to mention enough toys/toy parts to keep 50 parrots occupied:52:, the spoiled thing:09:. Still putting off painting the desk, but I will get it done (someday). I will try to post up some pics of Kiwi's area. Kind of had a stroke of genius with organizing his toys/supplies WHILE not taking up any more room than his stuff already does.... Try to get some kitchen/bathroom redo pics too I have to thoroughly vacuum though after organizing the toy bin today (talk about a mess!).

 

[RavensGryf]

Can you come over here when you're done? :52: I'm feeling a bit lazy lately and procrastinating a lot

 

[Birdbrain91]

I'm with Ruffledfeathers the past 2 weeks have been a blur for me also. The table and chair looks great. The trunk looks like an expensive designer trunk. Great job !!!

 

[Kiwibird]

Haven't updated this thread in a while, but I am still slowly working through my projects Yesterday I finally got around to painting my deck set. Was so torn on whether to keep it black or paint it one of the more "modern" metallic browns you're seeing on deck sets now. I did some research into it, and found out this set is out of the 1960's and is likely wrought iron (I initially thought it was extruded aluminum). I did end up going with the oiled bronze paint (which is more of a black than a bronze) and it looks brand-new! Photos don't do it justice. I also swapped out the awful glass top on the coffee table for a wood-look TILE from Home Depot that is supposedly durable enough to hold up outdoors (we shall see about that).

Before (faded, chipped, worn):

After (pictures don't do it justice, but it looks like a factory-finish):

Still undecided on what to do with the cushions. It is *so* expensive to buy the foam and fabric and even more expensive to buy them pre-made. I do have some time to decide though, since I have to wait until next month to afford it anyways:09:

 

[GW.Joe]

GREAT Paint Job, They look PRO!!

How many coats?

 

[Kiwibird]

GREAT Paint Job, They look PRO!!

How many coats?

Thanks I did 3 coats on them, so it should hold up for quite a few years.

 

[Kiwibird]

... And the challenge of this one begins! 10 seat cushions to re-cover by the end of next week! Some of my husband's family is coming to visit, so I definitely want to have the deck set up Good thing I waited though- Joann had 50% off the foam cushions and outdoor fabric THEN I had another coupon for 20% off my entire purchase, so I ended up getting ALL the cushions and fabric for 70% off:11:! I spent literally half what I expected Now to sew all of these cushion covers:52:

 

[RavensGryf]

Wow, 70% off is amazing. I hope you feel like sewing!

 

[olgalednichenko]

It's that time of year again!- when I decide a bunch of our furniture simply does not look good anymore, and I drag it all outside and refinish it (and my husband sits there shaking his head and rolling his eyes lol). Somehow, in our last apartment, everything being really bright colors "worked", but here it just looks stupid and like teenagers live here. I am trying to tone down a couple things and create a more uniform look. My husband could *care less* about how I decorate, just as long as it's not pink-theme or something. I haven't really met anyone since we moved to ask, sooooo..... I thought I would ask everyone (who wants to comment) opinions.

First up is the 'new' deck set (well, new to us at least). I found it at a garage sale for $15 and couldn't NOT get it at that price:09: Anyways, I am repainting it in "oil rubbed bronze" (basically a metallic black) but I also want to do custom deep-seating cushions that actually fit it (unlike the seriously mismatched one on it). Looking at 2 potential colors for the cushions- pure white or mint green. Both are waterproof, outdoor fabric, and neither should stain, but I'm wanting a relaxing type look going on. I am naturally drawn to the mint, BUT I know white is the color they use at spas/resorts and stuff and I am trying to tone my love for ridiculous colors down a bit.

The mint fabric-http://www.ebay.com/itm/271473594063?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


Then there is my makeshift kitchen situation. Too many different color woods and that big green mirror! I like the way the little stand my pots and burners are on looks, so I want to leave that alone. I want to paint the stand with the granite top instead. I am thinking of painting the mirror and granite-top stand the same kind of warm-white as the rooster decoration. However, since the granite is such a light color, I don't know if a warm white would look gross, and if it may be better to paint all 3 (stand, mirror and rooster) a darker brown color. Opinions?

Moving on, there is the desk and my sewing stand (which is also orange inside but I didn't take a photo). I don't want to repaint the outside, just the orange part. Kind of torn between a dark brown or very light turquoise or any other color besides orange or white really. And whatever color I use, I have several smaller pieces of furniture of all random colors I will be repainting in the same color so everything matches better. Any ideas on a good color? (please excuse the mess)

Finally, this little gem here obviously felt a bit left out that I was taking "before" pictures of stuff to refinish, and decided he too needed to be "refinished":54: See, he even stuck a little feather up on his back to show just how in need of attention he was:. I'm thinking of repainting the green part pink and the yellow part purple. What do you all think......

whats your deck made of? pressure treated wood? also, whats the stain color there ?

thanks

olga shulman lednichenko

 

[Kiwibird]

Wow, 70% off is amazing. I hope you feel like sewing!

I haven't sewn anything for a while, so I'm up for the challenge:20: Wish there weren't 10 of the darn things!

 

[Kiwibird]

whats your deck made of? pressure treated wood? also, whats the stain color there ?

thanks

olga shulman lednichenko

Hi. We rent, so I'm really not sure what the deck is made of, but it looks like the kind of decking material my parents have (called Trex), which is like a wood-look weather resistant material. It's not regular wood.