guest room: red, red bed frame

I painted a bed. 

this is what happens when I have red paint in my hand... ducks get lipstick-ed

I also painted lawn ducks.  But that is neither here nor there.

Back to the bed frame.  Do you ever try to get the perfet paint stroke?  Or lack of visible paint stroke, I guess... and then 15 minutes pass and you are still trying to get rid of that one brush stroke?  Ahhh the joys of painting.

That was the biggest struggle with the bed frame.  Oh man, especially with all the rungs and bumps and crevices.  The WORST!

So, let us back up.  The fourth bedroom started out like this:

Yup, blue-on-blue stripes.  With dark blue window molding and doors.  Oh, and don't forget the drop ceiling and the laminant flooring.  Never forget those... never.

This was the cursed room.  I tried two other colors, (the above being one of them,) before landing on the current color.  Trust me when I say, that picture does not do the color justice.  It was A LOT brighter and more fake-mint-chocolate-chip color.  Not ideal.

This is how the room stayed for quite some time.  Post-painting and flooring, but pre-housemate and pre-beau-mate.  As you will see soon, this color is very hard to photograph with a small point-and-shoot.  Use your imaginations, k?  Or, just keep reading for a better color capture.

So this is what the room was like, with the new shipping crate, for most of the past year.  The bed flip-flops from being against one wall or the other depending on my mood.  I haven't been happy with the comforter set for a while.  The material is kinda rough, and nothing you would want to cozy down on and read a book.  My thought for this room was to be a little more bold and less two-tone.  So, first stop was painting the bed a bold, candy/apple red after seeing inspiration A and B (blogged about here.)  Excited?  Ok!  Lets get this party started!!

Step 1:

Erm, disassemble the bed frame and move to your painting area.  I guess this was pretty obvious, huh?  Moving on...

Step 2:

Sanding.  All of it.  All the cracks.  Yup.  You can feel my excitement about this step.

Step 3:

Priming!  So, from here on out I will tell you I had no idea what I was doing.  You should probably check out those with tons more experience (and awesome results that speak for themselves) if you want a real how-to.  But here is how I did it.  And it worked.  The world didn't implode....

As you can see, I used a spray primer, (because I am lazy and impatient.)  It worked.  Went quickly.  As with normal spray paint, make sure you do continuous strokes, holding the can 6-12inches away, and starting the spray before you get over the furniture piece.  After it was fully covered, (don't worry if it isn't a solid white, that doesn't matter,) it was paintin time!

Step 4:

As you can tell, I started by using spray paint.  Started.  This became a pain within no time.  That's because it takes quite a few coats to get it properly covered, and in doing so I made quite the mess of the drop cloth AND got a light dusting of red all over the patio.  Which was lovely, really it was.  A pink patio.  Additionally, the spray paint wasn't giving me the thick and glossy feel that I desired.  So, I switched to the old-fashioned can & brush (as luck would have it, Rust-o-leum makes the same colors in canned paint, so no color matching was necessary.)  

I really love how the red plays off the green-with-a-touch-of-blue walls

Which, as you can see, looks awesome.  It took longer to do this by hand, as very light coats are required to prevent drips and pooling.  Again, the bumps & crevices took a while to cover.  I did use a foam brush because... well, because I had a bunch of them on hand.  And I thought Why Not?  Maybe that was amateur mistake #59?  Who knows.  

no, those blue sheets ain't workin' no more

But it looks pretty!  So win!  

I also flipped the comforter over, to reveal a basic, tan, cotton underside.  Ideally, we would replace the comforter.... but for now this works!  

Now, this is where things get really, really Scandinavian.  Or Ikea-ian.  Whichever. 

Step 5:

DECORATE!  Yes, two of those pillows and the throw are from Ikea.  I must confess, I love Scandinavian folk style.  True, Danish modern or clean Scandinavian style is great, but there is something about the folk that I love.  Am I alone on this one?  Anyone?

The red pillow has been with me since college, I believe.  It was definitely a good aide in visualizing how the bold red would go with the room when considering the frame.  The white pattern pillow and the throw have been on my wishlist for a while, until I couldn't take it anymore and HAD to have them!  And they are mine, now!!!  Victory!

the beau says it looks like baboon heads on the throw...

Whatcha think?  I am still rolling around ideas for what kind of comforter I want- something plush like the other guest room or something more quilt-like? and in what color?  I fear white covers in both rooms would be dull/predictable...  Definitely want to replace the curtains with something lighter, as there is only one window in this room.

These pillows aren't permanent.  In case you were worrying about that.  Something more should be here...

Now for the rest of the room:

I really love this dresser.  It came with the beau as part of his bedroom set.  And the hurricane lanterns on top are real oil and wick lanterns that ROCK!!  Especially after the power outages over the winter, we are super thankful to have these.  They give off a TON of light!  I urge everyone to have a couple of these on hand for emergencies.  We are clearly low on oil (which comes in assorted colors,) but other than that... perfect!

  

This is another great find from my own personal free flea market (i.e. hand-me-downs).  I love the retro, clean lines!  It needs a little wood glue & clamping before any weight should be put on it.... should probably do that soon, before a comic episode occurs.

We have three of these units, (the third is in the other guest room).  As you can see, we really put these suckers to good use.  I would love to find a way to re-do the blue basket-weave and fit it into our house... any suggestions?  Is it easy to replace the inserts or am I best just painting over??

Look how fast Rita is!  Shes like a blur... she IS a blur!  ZOOM ZOOM!!!*

LOVE.

Anyone else painting furniture?  I gotta say, I am really excited to tackle the dressers in the next room...  Just have to pick the perfect color.  Anyone inspired by something kooky?  How about feeling the need to go bold with color??

quack quack

*The beau recently bought a new Mazda.  You know the awesome-ness that is his new ride?  It reads Zoom Zoom on the little screen as it is starting up!  How cool is that?!