White painted brick: Our home makeover

I've been dreaming of white painted brick homes for years now.  I've pinned and drooled over hundreds of pictures of painted brick homes hoping to maybe one day have one.  My aunt and uncle lived in an old white brick cottage and when I visited them as a little girl, I just fell in love with that little house.  The love affair has continued but I knew living in an old home was not for us because we don't have the ability or money to maintain and fix it up.  So here is the home we have decided to settle down in.  It is only 15 years old and although it is a pretty and traditional red brick home, it wasn't the white cottage I dreamed of.  We finally decided to take the plunge, follow our my dreams and paint the brick.

Here is the before:

From red/orange brick with a green door.  I recently added the black shutters.

                                       To freshly painted white brick and a classic black door

                   The color of the entire house now including trim is Moonlight White by Benjamin Moore.
                                                    

 We hired a painter to do this because we wanted a professional's advice and expertise for this one.  He sprayed on Sherwin Williams Loxon Masonary Primer first, then sprayed on two coats of Sherwin Williams Super Paint in Satin.  We had deep mortar lines so it was tricky to get those covered well.

 The painter estimated that it would take 8 gallons combined of primer and paint.  It ended up taking 17 gallons total!  The brick really soaked up the paint.  He thought it would only need one coat of paint, but it needed two coats to really cover and give it a nice sheen.

 The next step in the makeover will be these columns.  They are fluted and round now but I think they need to be square to give it more of a cottage look so we are going to frame them in  hopefully in the next few months.

 I need to take some more pictures during the day, but I just love how it looks at night especially with the Christmas lights.  I am loving my new white cottage and it is a blank slate now to add color.  I am now dreaming of red geraniums and maybe a porch swing with fluffy pillows for spring.

If you have ever dreamed of painted brick, but don't live in an old home, here is proof that you can get that old-house character in a newer home.

Some barnwood framed mirrors

 Now that was a nice long blogging break!  Where have I been?  I'm not sure; just was having a blogging block in addition to getting a new laptop which I am still learning how to download pictures onto it.  Technology is not my thing!  I have also been super busy transforming a house for a client as well.  Can't wait to show you the before and afters.  I have a few new projects around my house to show you.  We FINALLY have two bathroom mirrors.  I went with my original plan and did barn wood framed mirrors. A friend of mine discouraged me from going with them in the first place, but I know now to listen to my instincts and go with what I love.

Here was the first mirror I chose.  It was a chrome swivel mirror from Home Depot.  It ended up being less than perfect as far as functionality goes.  I liked the look of it, but I wanted something with a little more texture.  My hubby did not want this mirror so he was without a mirror for 1 1/2 years while I decided what I wanted....

 I custom ordered these barnwood frames from this website and then used our old mirror inside the frames.  We got a great price doing it that way.

My hubby scored the old mirror with a glass cutter then snapped it.  It actually made a good clean cut.  The frame was ready with brackets to hold the mirror on the back.

 I love the texture of the old wood on these frames.  It is a great contrast to the shiny black granite on the countertops.

  I love unexpected contrast to make a room more interesting.  These are here to stay!  Our bathroom is almost complete except for the hole in the wall from a water leak, and tiling the shower.  Good thing I am patient!

A Buffet Makeover

before

I found this buffet in a trash pile at someone's house and I knew it had lots of potential. I almost forgot to take a before picture so I had already started sanding the top and I removed the broken drawer that was in the middle. It had a wheat stalk carving on it, so I didn't mind if it was broken. This is a solid wood buffet but it had a bad, thick white paint job.

after

I almost forgot to take After pictures too! Here it is in my booth on the day it sold. I left the opening in the middle and added a piece of thin wood to the bottom and painted it the same color. I thought it would be a great t.v. cabinet for a flat screen and the t.v. "stuff" could go in the front opening.

As a buffet, I had dishes stacked up inside of it and I also bought the basket to fit in that space for linen storage etc. Sorry it looks a little junked up. I was trying to move everything around to get it out of the booth and onto it's new home

I mixed some light gray paint I already had with some black until I got the desired gray I wanted. I sanded it all over lightly just to smooth the surface and take the sheen away, then I gave it two coats of that gray paint. I then distressed it and glazed it with some "Antiquing Glaze" from Lowes. I stripped the top down to bare wood using my hand sander and then stained it with a dark walnut stain.

I added some new brushed nickel hardware and there you have it! A new, old buffet/tv stand that someone was going to throw away. Ahhhh, the thrill of the rescue! I really wanted this piece somewhere in my home, but I decided to take it to sell it in my new booth. It already found a new home, so I'm working on my next piece. Stay tuned!

My Christmas Home Tour

Well, Christmas is just about here and I am finally getting to share my home with you. I have so enjoyed gettting to peek inside other homes all decked out for Christmas, so I wanted to show you mine. Thanks for stopping by!

The weather has been really warm for Christmas this year. It kinda put me in a "fresh coastal Christmas" kind of mood. I used lots of cedar clippings from the backyard and added my favorite blue jars, starfish, and some ornaments in the dining room.

This produce box is a decorating "staple" I use year round to hold different seasonal arrangements. I found it at a garage sale for $2; can't beat that!

I finally completed my set of this brown transferware after a few trips to the thrift store, then stumbling upon the rest at a garage sale. They are a classic for every season too!

I planned to have my new stockings finished this year too, but that didn't happen. Maybe next year...

I love these glittery snowflakes from Target. They have so many different colors and I put them throughout the house at Christmastime, and sometimes all winter long.

I made these bird ornaments from book pages using this tutorial.

This is my favorite tree in the house. It is in my favorite room, the sunroom. I am partial to this room because it is officially "my" room and it stays pretty neat and tidy unlike the rest of the house. It has an outdoor feel to it and so does this tree. I might leave it up all winter. We will see.

Our little elf, Jingle, has been hanging around our house this month and he decided to hang out in here with me and have some tea.

I hope you enjoyed my little tour, and from my family to yours, MERRY CHRISTMAS! We went to our local Christmas pageant tonight. It is outdoors and they use real animals, so the kids love it. I was reminded that Jesus coming to earth for us is such a GIFT! No wonder everyone was so excited that night! May I never lose that excitement about what Jesus did for me and for all who will accept His gift. Now, go unwrap your gift!

Our Outdoor Thanksgiving

For several years now, my sister and I have dreamt of an outdoor table set for Thanksgiving just like you seen in the magazines. It always has ended up being too cold or windy, but this year, it finally happened. The weather was just about perfect, so we moved the tables outside and we celebrated our Thanksgiving in my sister's backyard.

We had a kids' table and an adult table simply adorned with a white sheet on one and a matlesse on the other with a few fall runners I made a few years ago. I topped them with some free pumpkins and gourds that I got at a church pumpkin patch the day after Halloween.

My neices were in charge of the "thankful" bucket and they had everyone fill out what they were thankful for on a sheet of paper and drop it in the bucket. They read these aloud to everyone once we finished eating. It was fun to hear what everyone came up with, especially the kids! Their answers were so sweet and simple.

Our simple harvest table. Did I mention that I love Fall?!!

All the most important people in my life...I feel so thankful for family.

These special peeps make every holiday more fun...We ate till our bellies were too full, then I crafted with the girls, the boys played football, and we sat around the fire outside and just talked. What a fun day!

I had a very enjoyable and memorable Thanksgiving. I feel God has blessed me beyond what I can even measure or fathom. I have so much to cherish here on earth, but the best gift still awaits, and that is eternal life with my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so thankful to know He is preparing a special (and perfect) place for me in heaven with Him. Wow! Now that is good news!

I hope you had a good Thanskgiving too. Now onto Christmas decorating, shopping, and birthday planning for a special little girl...tis the season to be busy!

A Chilly Halloween Night

Here are the kids sporting their costumes last night ready to trick or treat. Makenna's clown costume is one that I wore as a kid. My mom made one for me and my sister. It was neat to see her wearing it!

My hubby has a bum knee, so we did the latter part of trick-or-treating like this. It was so cold riding on the golf cart that we stopped at my mom's for some hot chocolate and a blanket. I so love having her close by. You're the best, Mom! (If you are wondering what my costume is, it's a "fork in the road" It was starting to fall apart by this point.)

I haven't showed much of my fall decor on the blog this year, so here are a few pics. The kids added the Frankenstein pumpkin and some spider webs for an extra special touch ;)

Our mean carved pumpkin. Bryce is into the "scary" stuff this year. I think it's a boy thing...

Here is what I did on the little buffet table in my kitchen. I finally did some of those DIY zinc letters and they turned out great. Go here for the tutorial if you want to make some. I got these clay letters at an antique store for $1 each, but you can get cardboard ones at Hobby Lobby for a few dollars. Hope your Halloween was memorable. Happy November!