Ebble's Guide to Painting...and Maybe Prunes

A few years ago, the Queen of Garage Sales found us a TV cabinet at...a garage sale. One of my favorite things to do is bargain hunt, so restoring this $10 find was a great project during my free time. Unfortunately, this project has been on my list of things to do for years. At first I painted it black and white and hated the end result, but I never had time to fix it because we moved into our house soon after. Then, we were consumed by other, more immediate projects. And now I present...the final result!

We picked the paint to match our carpet, and these awesome knobs we found at Anthropoligie.

We painted the inside a light, contrasting color. This was to make the inside appear cleaner with all the cords and technology (video game systems), and the bright color makes it easy to see what is inside the cabinet. It's a peachy, creamy color that I LOVE. Everett loves it too.

Here are a few things I've learned about painting over the years. Much of this has been trial and error, so I am sure this list will expand.

• Really take the time to decide what colors you would like in your spaces. The worst thing you can do is go straight to the paint section and pick out the color you like most. Just because it is a pretty color does not mean it will look good in your space.
• If you live in the Northern Hemisphere and have a north-facing room, avoid bright colors and white paint. These colors tend to look dingy with the lack of sunshine in these spaces. Try gray tones and pale colors instead. 
• Rooms with a lot of natural sunlight (like south-facing rooms) can handle brighter tones. If you want to go bold, these are the spaces in which to do so.
• If there is fluorescent lighting in your room, you may want to do a color test for a couple days. Make sure you observe the room in all lights at all times of day. Bright colors could turn into neon colors at night when the lights are turned on.
• Avoid high gloss paint in brightly lit spaces. I prefer egg shell or satin. We will never use flat paint again, as it scrapes off when wiping down the walls (even with high quality paint). We do use gloss paint when updating furniture. 
• If you are decorating a baby's room, opt for Low- or No-VOC paint. We used Valspar's option at Lowe's, and our baby hasn't died yet...And it's a good idea to get the nursery painted well before the baby arrives to make sure the paint fumes have had time to air.
• Make sure visible rooms coordinate. It might look silly if adjacent rooms have hugely contrasting colors. If you are set on weird color combos, make sure your decor and accessories tie it all together. 
• Use an edger along the ceiling and baseboards. For painting furniture, I suggest these rollers.

And now for my next motherly trick. If your baby is starting solids and having troubles with "solids," your doctor might suggest prune juice. CAUTION. Everett had a tiny sip of the juice and spit most of it out while saying, "Blehk!" Not 30 seconds later, he went diarrhea all over the place. In conclusion, beware the prune juice.

On that note, bye.