Gold Duck Tape Striped Bed

The girls bunk beds have been in a state of limbo for a few months now. I got around to a couple of quick updates to polish it up a bit this past week. The last we saw their beds it looked like this.

After completing a few projects for the room like painting the lilac campaign dressers, a glossy lamp makeover and creating a Les Touches inspired cork board, I took a few months off from working on the room. One area that had been bugging me was the plain plywood that supported to upper bunk. I did not enjoy looking at it while reading stories to my girls on the lower bunk but wasn't sure what to do with it.

First I decided to simply whitewash the plywood to cover up the orange undertones while still letting the wood grain show.

Using leftover wall paint, I mixed 1 part paint with 2 parts water in a medium bowl. After removing the bedding and mattress the mixture was painted on with the plywood still in place on the upper bunk. I wanted this to be a quick update and didn't want to break out the power drill or deal with moving the heavy plywood to the ground. After 2 back to back coats the deed was done and all was good.

But it was a little boring. So boring I forgot to take a picture.

It needed a little something extra so I headed over to Hobby Lobby for gold Duck Tape to add some stripes. At this point it became necessary to remove the plywood to have straight lines and clean edges. Two and a half roles were needed which resulted in an additional trip and an extra day for the project. Tabs of blue painters tape were used as spacers. The stripes took a little longer than anticipated to tape on but it was super easy and turned out great.

Here is an up close shot of the stripes. They are reflective but not too shiny.

I also sewed two fabric panels for under the bed to create a faux bed skirt. The fabric was a Nate Berkus sheet that was used for piping on the slipcovered bench next to the bed. Plastic storage boxes no longer take center stage in the room - yay! Now I do have a little secret, they are only taped on at the moment. I plan on adding velcro but for now a little Duck Tape is doing a pretty good job at holding it up :)

Greek Key Frame and Foo Dog Update

I love Greek Key and have wanted to incorporate it in my home forever. I stumbled across this frame while thrifting for $7. At first I put it back on the shelf but kept thinking about it and decided it was worth it.

It sat in my house for a month while I tried to decide what to do. Paint it? Maybe one color for the raised Greek Key and another for the rest? Swap out the art for something more colorful or modern? I had no idea and then decided to simply highlight the key detail with my favorite Antique Gold Rub n Buff leaving the rest of the frame in its original condition. The red art had to go and I left the frame empty. As a temporary experiment I also taped some grosgrain ribbon to the back so a little would peek through for contrast.

I propped the frame behind a new Foo Dog found on Craigslist for $5. It was a cement lawn decoration in not great shape so it received 2 coats of Rustoleum Night Tide Enamel. This spray paint was leftover from painting a campaign chest that sits in front of the Greek Key stair railing seen in this post.

Along with my newly made over 70's lamps I am finally happy with the bar area. An update on the lamps - I really wanted barrel shades but was having no luck until I stumbled upon some cheap RE base/shade combos at Target. They were on sale for buy one get an additional one for 1/2 off. Even though I only needed the shades it was still a great deal. Plus they were missing a base so I walked out the store with 2 shades and one base for $14! I also nixed the gold/ivory trim because it was weird.

With the exception of paint and the blue glass twig object that was my husband's grandmothers, everything on this bar came in at $36 -lamps, shades, tray, brass vase, foo dog and frame. I love it!.

Sharing this at HomeFor4SweetHome.

70's Lamps Spray Paint Makeover

For a while I've been on the hunt for two matching lamps for the bar in the living room. It only had one lamp so that area was dark plus it looked a little off balance. This was during the holidays and not much changed except removing the mini gold tinsel trees.

I would have loved to find the matching Nate Berkus lamp but wasn't having any luck. Finally this week I stumbled upon these harvest gold and brown beauties while thrifting.

I loved the chunky bases and size. They are 12" tall from base to light socket so just right for a bar table. They were only $3 each and to find a pair of thrift lamps is not always easy. Immediately I primed and painted them Heirloom White.

After taping off the socket and cord I sprayed 3 light coats of primer followed up with 3 light coats of paint 40 minutes later.

Finally a glossy clear coat was added with a heavy hand the next day. It amped up the glam factor and added an extra layer of protection. This was similar to the method used for freshen up the girls glossy double gourd lamp.

Here is a freshly painted lamp in its new home.

Last minute I decided to add a bit of ivory and gold trim to the top of the lamp. It's binder clipped in the back while I decide if it works. Ooh, glossy...

A few other changes were made to accessories so the full shot of both lamps plus updates will be soon!