Jesse Coulter

Over a year ago I purchased a french provincial furniture set off of Craiglist. $180 for two dressers and a night stand. Months later I found a matching nightstand. From the beginning I knew I wanted to paint them white, but it was a big project that I dreaded. After painting my bedroom walls, trim and restaining my bed frame, refinishing the furniture was mainly the only project I had left. Although, I still need to hang curtains, frames/art.

When it came to this project, I knew I needed to do it right because I was only going to do it once. I reached out to Leslie from Vintage Fresh Design Co., who I've been a big fan of for a long time, and she's local! I messaged her for her best painting tips, and I'm so thankful for her amazing help! I couldn't have done it without her.

It took me about 7 days to finish including drying. Below are the steps I took.

1.) Remove hardware
2.) Clean hardware
3.) Wipe down furniture with liquid deglosser
4.) Sand lightly with 220 grit sandpaper
5.) Primed with Zinsser Shellac w/a small foam roller, let dry overnight
6.) Sand
7.) Repeat steps 5 & 6
8.) Apply paint (using a small foam roller again). I used Sherwin Williams Pro Classic Latex in Snowbound which is the same white used on my wall trim and doors.
9.) Sand
10.) Repeat steps 8 & 9
11.) Apply Minwax Polycrylic in satin with foam roller
12.) Sand

Hardware:
1.) Apply Zinsser Shellac (thankfully comes in a spray can), allow to dry and spray back side
2.) Apply Rust-oleum spray paint (dark gray)
3.) Allow to dry and Repeat step 2 until you have full coverage

Now on to the before and after photos! I still have yet to decorate the dressers, but I love the simplicity in my bedroom. What do you think?!

This weekend I did something I've never done before. I chose a bold paint color! I usually stay safe and always choose neutrals when it comes to my home decor and especially wall paint.  I had this old bed frame lying around and thought I would paint it for fun, maybe for Turner's future big boy room.  I have been seeing a lot of green lately, so I finally decided to take the plunge since it wouldn't kill me if I hated the color.

Now, NOT every room in my entire house is gray. My laundry room was painted using Sherwin-Williams SEA SALT.

Find a full tour of my home here or search the hashtag #THECOULTERHOME on Instagram.

After painting for hours and hours, days and days, finally getting a paint sprayer was a life saver. I used the HomeRight Finish Max Pro Fine Finish Sprayer on the french doors for my master bathroom. Prior to the renovation, our vanity opened right up in to our bedroom, which was horrible in the morning. These doors were my favorite addition to our bathroom.  I was a bit intimidated to use a sprayer, but it was actually very easy. The finish was consistent and it looked like a professional did the job! This sprayer is great for large projects and perfect for doors. I'm itching for another project...just waiting for warm weather and a weekend with no plans.

Where do I begin.  Lets just say my 4 day vacation/weekend did not go as planned. My in-laws took Turner for the weekend, so Alex and I could celebrate our anniversary and work on our master bedroom/bath.  My original plan was to finish painting all of the trim/doors/cabinets.  There was a small piece of trim in the bathroom that was slightly detached from the wall.  Friday morning, I asked Alex if he could secure it to the wall before I began painting, and in the process he started peeling back the layers. To make a long story short, we had a water leak.  If you know Alex, you know he immediately took action....with a sledge hammer.  He might have accidentally broke the toilet with it in the process...what's another couple of hundred dollars at this point!?



Here's a post and another post on my previous painting vacations.  You get the picture, anytime I have free time I'm painting.  My goal is to have the entire interior (every room/every piece of trim/every wall) of our house painted by our 1 year anniversary of owning it. I'm so close!

Have you ever had a project turn in to something much bigger than you ever expected? If so, what are your tips for handling the stress of it all?

I did it! I successfully completed my list of painting projects this past week (minus painting the inside of the closets white).  I painted non stop Wednesday through Sunday from 8am to around 6pm. I can't wait to show you the finished projects, but here are a few pictures that sum up my "vacation".

1. Removed all doors, cabinets and hardware (this took me forever

2. Deglossed EVERYTHING, and wore this hilarious mask.  Alex told me he wants to have at least one more child so I should probably wear it.

Painting Power Stance!

1 of our completed guest bedrooms

8. Did a happy dance and then collapsed to the floor malnourished from not eating most days because I wouldn't...couldn't stop painting.


Alex and I tried to go out every night to make use of our time with out Turner.  It was so nice being able to take our sweet time at a restaurant.  We saw Wolf on Wall street (loved it), went to the George Strait concert (Amazing, although he didn't play our wedding song : ( ), hung out with friends AFTER 6pm, and slept in till 10am (oh wait, that was Alex).  I tried not to look at pictures of Turner on my phone, so I wouldn't miss him so much.  On Sunday when he finally came home, I couldn't wipe the huge smile off my face.  We got in the car to head to dinner, Turner is screaming in the back, and we ate in 10 minutes flat. I looked over at Alex and sang "Back to life, back to reality..."

 
Before and After pictures to come soon!

My vacation officially begins today, and it will consist of painting, painting and more painting.  I took off Wednesday through Friday to paint as much as possible in our house, and Alex will be joining me on Thursday. I'm taking Turner to my parent's house tonight, and we'll be picking him up on Sunday.  Painting really does suck, but I love the finished product.  My co-workers ask why I would use vacation days to paint my house, and I say, "Why Not?!" Alex and I can't afford to go on a big vacation, so we usually take a 3 day weekend and go to the beach.  This will be a great vacation for me, seeing my house projects get completed so I can finally decorate, and spending quality time with Alex baby less (love you Turner, but you're a lot to handle sometimes).

Here are few pictures of our first round of painting when we moved in to our home.  First task was to paint the entire kitchen.  Before and after pictures to come soon. To date we've painted;

• Kitchen: Cabinets, Walls, Trim 
• Laundry room: Cabinets, Walls, Trim, Pantry Door 
• Living room: Walls, Trim, Built in Shelves & Cabinet doors
• Hallway: Cabinets, Closet, Trim, Doors 

These next 4 days my goal is to paint;

• 2 Guest Bedroom Walls, Closets, Doors and Trim
• Guest Bathroom Walls, Trim, Door and Cabinets