An Easy Way to Paint Small Areas

You are going to learn two things about this post. One, I can procrastinate with the best of them, and two, our refrigerator probably almost qualifies for antique status. However, This post gave me an opportunity to find an easy way to paint small areas without making a huge mess and share it with you.

(This post contains affiliate links)

I recently did a post for HomeRight on their site about their HomeRight Quick Painter Pad Edge Painter. I was looking for places that I could use it, and I realized that there was a spot in my kitchen I had been putting off painting for almost a year. Yes, a year.

When we repainted our cabinets and did a mini-kitchen makeover, LAST FEBRUARY, I re-painted the walls. I did of the walls except for a really small area over the fridge, which I totally forgot about. I had put everything away, brushes washed, and then I looked up, I almost cried. I struggled with just pulling everything out again to paint it, but tiredness and laziness totally won out, and  I let it go, thinking I would tackle it in the next week (even though it really looked bad.).

So you know how there’s one little detail on something you miss, and then whenever you see it , it makes you mad, but not mad enough to do anything about it, because you really don’t feel like it? Let’s just say every time I noticed it for THE NEXT YEAR, I cringed, but was still too lazy to do anything about it. The HomeRight QuickPainter was a great way for me to stop being lazy and finally do it!

I also learned it’s really hard to take a picture on top of the refrigerator in bad lighting, but I wanted to show you how the QuickPainter worked as an easy way to paint small areas.

What I liked about the QuickPainter is all of the paint goes right in the painter, and squeezes out through the pad. Since I wasn’t all about taping and drop-cloths, that worked out pretty well for me. I didn’t have any paint drips or splotches.

I like how it squeezes out right onto the pad. Clean up wasn’t any different than having to wash out a brush either.

I have to admit, it was so nice to have it finally done!

It looks so much better!

I know a lot of bloggers (and most normal people) have fancy fridges, and it’s not that I’m not a little jelly, but we still have the same refrigerator that came with our house over 18 year ago, which is why I don’t really share it in pictures too often. It’s pretty much a dinosaur. It was here when the people before us bought it, so it’s at least 25 + years old. She does still run like a champ though!

We’ve talked and talked about upgrading, but one, like I said, she still runs, and two, with the cabinet configuration, we’d have to either get the same size to put it in the same place,or we’d have to figure out something else. Since our kitchen is only 11 x 12, it limits where we can put something larger. I know it’s not a very sexy fridge, and I’ve even toyed with painting it. One of these days, its either going to totally die, and then we’ll be forced to make a decision, or, I’ll finally get sick of the broken drawer inside, and we’ll bite the bullet. Now, you know our deep, dark, kitchen secret, and how to easily paint a small area!

This post was sponsored by HomeRight, opinions are my own.

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An easy and custom DIY headboard (I did it again!)

Well hello! It's about time for some DIY up in here! I'm in the mood to start tackling the bigger projects in this house and this was a good start!

You may remember our son's room I shared last week:

I told you then I have big plans in here -- especially on this wall. The first thing I wanted to get finished was his headboard, for comfort reasons and just because it's one of the easier projects. ;) He had one in the old house but the fabric was bleached from the sun. We knew we were getting him a bigger bed too. 

I've been making my own headboards before this blog was a twinkle in my eye...this is a totally doable project, even for the novice DIYer. I promise! I shared a very detailed tutorial years back complete with a list of the items you'll need -- be sure to check out that tufted DIY headboard post here. I will go through the basics in this post but that one is more detailed. 

I spent $20 on a piece of 4x8 wood at the hardware store, and then had it cut down to the size I needed for the headboard (they will do it there). I can use the remaining pieces for future projects (already have one in mind). I had this cut to 32 by 60 inches:

This stuff is pretty thin -- I usually go with something thicker, but I realized there's really no need. This was even easier to work with too. 

Foam from the craft store is NOT cheap. However the egg crate toppers you get for the bed aren't too bad for smaller sizes, so I always use them for this project!:

I ordered from Amazon because I didn't feel like going to the store again. ;) This is what I used and I was VERY happy with it. Leave it out for a good hour or two to fill up and get it's shape. I spent $20 on this but have some extra I can use for a bench. (Side note -- it feels like the stuff they use for the squishy toys. You know the stress ball things? I may have to DIY a few with my scraps!) 

Lay your board on top and then cut out the size you need: 

I doubled up on our king headboard to make it extra cushy, but I was using really inexpensive foam (you can find these for cheap at back to school sales -- they go on clearance after college starts). This one was plenty soft as is. 

Quick tip:  If you do choose to go with thicker foam from the craft store, you can cut it like buttah with an electric carving knife. ;) 

I had some scrap muslin for this part, but any cheap fabric will do. Don't spend a lot here. You'll start wrapping your board (with the foam on the other side -- bumpy side facing the board):

I used a staple gun I've had for years. I actually bought plug in version years ago but this works WAY better in my opinion. You gotta put some muscle into it but it's cheap and I've used it countless times. 

I forgot to share this part, but I happened to find some extra batting I had as well, so I ended up using that over this muslin. Batting is just another layer to make it softer and it also softens the edges a bit too. (More of a concern for your fabric if you use something thin that may break through at the corners eventually.) I cut down the corners on this wood ever-so-slightly so they weren't super pointy. But it's not necessary. 

The corners can be tricky sometimes, but you start by pulling the fabric back in the middle, secure with the staple, then pull one side over and secure, then the other:

Cut away any excess fabric after you add a staple. I don't recommend cutting away before you start a corner, just in case you cut it too short. Then you're kinda screwed. ;)

I shared how to (very easily) cover buttons yourself in that original post as well. They just add a nice, inexpensive detail:

The tufting part is easy too -- the only difficulty comes in figuring out where you want your buttons. I go over that process as well! 

I went with four buttons on this one because the top is the only area you can see when the bed's made. Pick your battles folks! I added more to our master headboard but that one is bigger:

I just had a thought that I may add four more to the bottom so I can flip this eventually and prevent the sun damage on this deep color. 

Hanging a headboard is easily the hardest part! I attached D-ring hanging hardware to the back -- three across the back at the same distance from the top. Then I used a level to mark where the rings were to hang it: 

I purchased nailhead trim to use around it, but thought it looked great without! So that will go back. I have more plans for this wall so I may add a wood frame around it later:

I love how tall it is! I went a bit bigger than I originally planned and love it. It will grow with our boy. :) 

The red and white bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids but they don't sell it anymore. I did find this star bedding option which is even cuter (love the stripe underneath) and for sure cheaper. Kind of love that one. They have it in blue too. (It's on sale right now.) I can't remember where I got the duvet cover but I think it was HomeGoods. 

The sheets are from Target and are super soft and also on sale right now. They are a really fine navy stripe: 

Can't wait to tackle the other projects in here! This is a great start! I did the whole thing for less than $70 and it's the exact size and fabric I wanted. (His bed is a queen size.) Plus I have extra wood, foam and fabric to use for other projects. I did look into some headboard options online but they were at least double the price and were all so thick! His bedroom isn't huge so I didn't want to take up even another five inches. 

Here's a reminder of how this space looked last week:

By the way, yes the lights are different heights. I still need to fix that! 

And how it looks with a custom DIY tufted headboard! Be sure to check out that link for more detailed instructions if you want to tackle this one:

You know what's cool? That original post has been viewed more than three million times! Wow. And when I was looking into ordering the foam mattress topper I saw that someone used the same stuff to replicate our master headboard. (They added a pic and it looked GREAT!) That just tickles me to no end -- how fun. 

If you have any questions let me know! Again, make sure to check the tufted headboard tutorial for all the details. 

Affiliate links included for your convenience! 

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Ten beautiful printable works of art!

Hey there everybody! I can feel it coming...only about three more weeks till spring!! I don't even mind the winter -- I quite like the cozy days and nights the cold weather brings. But after the crazy back/health issues I had over the winter, I've never been so ready for fresh, spring weather and all of the beauty it brings! 

It truly feels like a new beginning for me this year and I can't wait! Our weather has been pretty mild for the past week so I've had the windows open quite a bit -- just the fresh air affects my mood for the better. 

As I do a few times a year, I've gathered ten beautiful printables from some talented bloggers and this time they are spring-themed. I think you will love them! I talk about printables a lot because they are SUCH an easy and inexpensive way to add some seasonal decor to your home. They make great little accents or you can create an entire gallery wall with them. All you pay for is the paper and printer ink. ;)

Here we go! I link to each one under the photo -- make sure to visit each site for the high resolution images to download. This one is a favorite -- I just adore this sweet print Julie created:

My Wee Abode

Lauren shows you how to create a wall of art for next to nothing with her spring prints -- of course you do need the frames. But otherwise it's an inexpensive project!:

Blesser House

I LOVE these herb prints from Kati -- these would totally work all year in the kitchen. I'm trying to figure out where I can add these in ours:

Houseful of Homemade

I love the bright pink in this sweet print Rachel created:

Maison de Pax

I really like the simplicity of the fern leaf print that Monica created too. If your taste leans more modern this is perfect!:

Monica Wants It

Goodness, this one from Katie is another favorite -- just so pretty and lovely. Great for a pop of pink in a room:

Little House of Four

This one is the cutest!! Jenny suggests this one as a computer screen saver too. Precious!:

Paint Yourself a Smile

Now this one from Susan is awesome -- if you're going to spring clean your house, at least you can cross off a beautiful list! I already printed mine out:

Oh My Creative

Alicia's dainty printable is another lovely option:

A Burst of Beautiful

And last but not least, the Lolly girls created this beautiful water color option as well:

Lolly Jane

A simple search for free spring printables will give you hundreds of additional options! These would be lovely here and there through the house or layered leaning against the wall on display.

I will continue to sing the praises of the printable and we're lucky to have so many talented bloggers sharing these with us for free!

Have I convinced you to use these around the house yet? ;)

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than www.thriftydecorchick.com or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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Flu Fighters

Well, the flu finally hit our house. We are officially the “flu fighters”. If you’ve been following on IG or FB, you know we’ve already been in quarantine for a few days.

Having a group of tweens over for a sleep-over, during flu season, seemed like such a great idea a few weeks ago. Two days afterwards, I was rethinking that decision, as Little spiked a 102 degree fever, and started hacking like crazy. Then Oldest started. Luckily, (so far) Middle has stayed healthy, and wasn’t here for the sleep-over, so she spent a few days with my mom.

I feel like my kitchen will never be this clean again. At this point, the dirty dishes are marching across the countertop in protest across the stove.

I’ve had kids huddled in blankets the last few days,with humidifiers and steam showers running. I normally don’t run to the doctor for everything, but with Little’s bout of pneumonia, I wasn’t taking any chances, and the first day we popped over there. Afterwards, we headed home to load up on fluids,essential oil and a few other remedies, and a watchful eye.

So far, after days of high fevers, they are finally subsiding, but still have lingering coughs. I am keeping  close eye on them, since pneumonia seems to be a real threat behind this flu. Even though my kids are older, I still get so nervous when their fevers get too high. At one point we hit 104.3 and I started to get a little worried. Luckily, we were able to bring it down.

I feel like I’m out of the loop at the shop too, since I’ve been home since Wednesday. I worked a bit from home, and I’ve been downing ACV in water, probiotics ,sanitizing,and anything else I can do to keep myself healthy.  I might also be medicating with a little Gin drink (I figure if it worked for the settlers in the old timey-days,it can work for me too.). I’m tired, but the upside is, the exercise I’ve gotten going up and down stairs for the two sick-os over 4 days has really toned my buns. Winning.

So, we’ve almost won the battle (fingers crossed), and are officially “flu fighters”. Everyone is a little more “chipper around here,” and is starting to finally feel hungry… and they are starting to fight again. All good signs. I’m always thankful and feel incredibly grateful for good health.

I hope your home is staying healthy, and you’re able to avoid this nasty flu. Spring can’t get here fast enough!!

 

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What I have I done in four months?

Well hello! Long time no talk! I had the flu this weekend -- thankfully not as bad as most. I was over it pretty quick but took it easy for the remaining long weekend. Then our boy had some minor sickness as well, so needless to say...I got very little accomplished. 

I have SO many big projects planned...I was going to start one over the weekend, but I hope to get going in a day or two instead. Since we've now been in our home for four months, I thought it would be fun to look back and see what I've accomplished in that time. So far I haven't tackled any major projects, but the little ones have really made a difference! I think it's encouraging to see that even minor DIY projects can change the whole look and feel of a room. You know I love big transformations but my focus has been on getting things organized and functional.

If you you're been around here for awhile you know once I figure out the way I like accessories, they stay that way for a long time. I've already moved stuff around quite a bit though, and I expect that to continue as I get a better feel for how I want rooms to look.

Here's a before of our dining area, the room I'm now calling our "morning room" because it just sounds lovely (and that's the best time in this room anyway):

I shared the full tour of this dining space a few months ago, but as you can see I've changed out a few things:

I found a long, pretty wood tray at At Home and layered items on it. The table centerpiece is something I'm ALWAYS messing with -- but I really like this! I have a big candle, herb plant, some votives and salt and pepper on the tray.

I found that mirror for the master bedroom but brought it in here and just fell in love! Now I want another one for the master. ;) I'm on the lookout for art or something to fill the wall space on either side too. 

Speaking of the master, if you missed that tour you can see it here. This is how this view looked the day we moved in:

I remember being so thrilled I was able to find the box with our sheets! :) 

Here's the progress so far -- hanging window treatments and FINALLY finishing those nightstands made a big difference!:

As I said in that tour post, I'm still looking for something over the bed. Nothing has hit me just yet. 

One easy project that was pretty quick (and made this house feel even more like home!) was the big chalkboard I put in our mud room: 

I will forever love chalkboards. I LOVE the placement of this one! I use it more than any board we've ever had. I love the size and that I can jot down stuff as I come in the door or leave. 

I've mentioned that I've been asked many times what I'll do with myself in a brand new house. Projects like that chalkboard are what make a house a home -- little details that add fun and character!  Just like our old house, I'll be adding and layering to give this house that same feel. 

I added a light on this kitchen wall instead of the cabinet that was supposed to go here:

You can see how I hung the shelves and the materials I used in this post! I've changed things up just a bit:

I had our everyday dishes on there like I did in our old kitchen, but in that house the shelves were right in the middle of the kitchen. Here they're further away from the dishwasher, so we figured it's easier to keep dishes in the cabinet. Instead I put some of the items I use most often up there -- a mixing bowl, serving bowls, recipe box, etc -- along with some pretty stuff. 

You can see how I stained and treated our butcher block island countertop if you missed that project. It's holding up beautifully, even with the sink!

We LOVE the windows in our great room but we thought for sure it would crazy expensive to add window treatments and hardware. You can see how I did it for a great price in this post. Here's a look from the stairs:

I love this view! I still plan to move that drape over a bit so it's not crowding the table. 

I feel like all I've done is hang things. 😂 Drapes, art, mirrors. Lights. But again -- that's the stuff that makes a BIG difference! Here's the great room before we moved in:

Here it is with the drapes, mirrors and furniture from the upstairs:

I have matching pillow covers coming this week and I'm excited about those. You can see more about the consoles on either side of the fireplace here and more about the furniture layout I ended up with here. 

I've hung a few lights so far and I talked about a couple of them last week. If you missed the one over the tub, check out this post!:

I hope to share more of our master bathroom in a week or two -- I still don't have the mirrors hung. I went back and forth on what I wanted to do, but now I think I've got it figured out. :) 

Here's a before picture of the little hallway off our kitchen:

And here's that view now, with a gallery wall around the thermostat and the light I was able to hang from a recessed light fixture:

I finally got the light for our son's room up too. (There's a link to it here.) It's a little smaller than I thought it would be, but I like it and it was easy to hang:

We have BIG plans for his room. That wall around his bed is going to be a really cool focal point when I'm done with it, and we'll have a tad more storage as well. 

I've also installed five dimmers so far -- I was on a roll one day a couple weeks ago. I shared how to add a dimmer in this post -- that soft light is SUCH a lovely addition. I have plans to add at least five more...you know me!

I've hung a TON of art too. I found this at HomeGoods a few weeks ago and like that it's plenty big. I also like that it's a circle -- with all those straight lines this wall needed it:

I'd like a little more contrast though, so I'm thinking about giving it a wash of darker color. We'll see! I envision prom pictures on these stairs someday! 💗

I didn't have mirrors installed in our bathrooms to save a little cash, so I hung these in our son's bath:

I wanted something very simple and modern -- they were super easy to hang and (affiliate) only $20 each! I have plans for that wall behind the mirrors as well...eventually.

I hung a gallery wall around the TV in our master bedroom:

And I've started our new Disney art wall in this house...we've got room for a lot more! I have plenty of art and photos to add, we just need to get more frames at IKEA:

Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing a whole lot, but it's because I've been busy with a ton of little things. It's different for me and honestly kind of nice. Starting from scratch is no joke! There are SO many tasks that pull you in different directions after moving and I'm often flitting from one to another. I'm feeling really good about where we're at though, so the bigger stuff will start soon! 

I'm going to share a source list for everything in the near future, but you should be able to find links to the products in the posts I reference for each space. If not, let me know in the comments. :)

Do you have a favorite "little thing" that you do as far as decor or DIY goes? I think mine would be lighting -- I HATE hanging lights but I always love the outcome! And even just adding a dimmer always makes me so happy -- it makes the house so pretty at night. 

Affiliate links included for your convenience! 

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Using a lamp shade as a light fixture

Hello there! This is a quick lighting change that makes it easy to customize the lighting in a room. I'm sharing how I adapted a drum shade to create the look of a flush mount light in our bathroom too! 

We have a recessed light above the tub in our bathroom, which is great. I always had plans to covert it using a light kit. Here's a night time view before I started:

First I used the converter kit -- it's a simple change! You screw it into the recessed light like a light bulb, and then there's a part that hangs down so you can hang a pendant fixture on it. (You buy those separately.) Here's a look at the converter kit I used:

I actually used this years and years ago over our kitchen sink. It works great and you can adjust the length of the cord easily. 

I'm OBSESSED with some beautiful lamp shades at IKEA called Nymo -- every single time we go in I drool over them. They're the most beautiful colors and have such pretty detail. They have a really large size that I fell in love with for our master bathroom. 

I ended up getting a large black one for that room, and hung it using the converter kit. It was plenty high, but I did some checking on electrical code and found out it was going to hang a little low for the measurements required above a tub. 

We couldn't touch it (you want to make sure you can reach for it if you're falling) but I was still wanting it to be higher just in case. So I thunk and I thunk about how I could still use the fixture without that being an issue. And I came up with a plan! 

I used (affiliate) my pipe cutters (I use them more than you'd think -- they're great for cutting down drapery rods!) to cut off the round part in the middle off of the shade frame: 

Yes, that is a cat butt you see. 

He's always with me:

I was able to remove the center part:

I had a plan to use cup hooks in the ceiling to hang the shade but couldn't get my ladder under the shade just right to reach. So I traced the shade on some paper, then marked where the cup hooks needed to be: 

I used painters tape to tape it to the ceiling (centered on the recessed light) and then marked where my cup hooks needed to go. I took it down and added my hooks where I marked.

I was able to hang the shade directly from the ceiling so it looks like a flush mount:

This way I'm using the recessed light and just hanging the shade around it, so no worries at all! I cut the wire mount out of the middle because I didn't want it in the way of the light bulb. 

I LOVE IT! Gah, aren't these shades so pretty?:

I ended up cutting the metal down a bit more because you could see them sticking out from underneath (although we're the only ones who will see that part): 

It gives us the look of a flush mount light without it hanging down over the tub. It's SO pretty at night especially!:

That gold inside just makes it! 

Because I still had the recessed light converter, I went ahead and added another shade (I already had it for my husband's office -- but he'll need a bigger one anyway) to our little hallway I showed you earlier this week:

Goodness I just love these! Somebody please stop me from adding them all over my house. The price is great for the detail and size. So pretty! 

If you have a recessed light that is centered nicely in a spot, these are a great option to add a little detail and customization to your house too! 

Have any of you used these kits? Of course you can use anything as the pendant -- shades, baskets -- so many fun options! 

You can see how I used a lamp shade to make over our old ceiling fan here -- what a difference that made!!

This content is property of Thrifty Decor Chick LLC. If you are reading this on any other site other than www.thriftydecorchick.com or one of her social media platforms, please contact her immediately (thriftydecorchick at gmail dot com). Any other use of this content is strictly forbidden.

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