My Rental Livingroom

Well, being in the new house has taken me 2 months to finally decorate my living room. It's finally starting to come together, although I plan on updating a few things here and there. 

The home sign I made with some pallet wood and chicken wire. 

Then I added the letters.

I also made the lantern thingy. I used the cheap pine and a plant hanger. I think I got the lantern from Family Dollar for $5. 

The frame is a yard sale find ($1) and the key is cardboard. I got it from a craft store. I think Michael's...  

And the chalkboard is a mirror I refinished. 

Yes, I also made the faux barn door. 

I don't do anything that costs too much.  Most of this stuff is clearance Isle, or thrift store hand me downs that I've given new life to. 

I'm sure there will be more to come, but it's nice that it's starting to feel like a home.

My Rental Livingroom

Well, being in the new house has taken me 2 months to finally decorate my living room. It's finally starting to come together, although I plan on updating a few things here and there. 

The home sign I made with some pallet wood and chicken wire. 

Then I added the letters.

I also made the lantern thingy. I used the cheap pine and a plant hanger. I think I got the lantern from Family Dollar for $5. 

The frame is a yard sale find ($1) and the key is cardboard. I got it from a craft store. I think Michael's...  

And the chalkboard is a mirror I refinished. 

Yes, I also made the faux barn door. 

I don't do anything that costs too much.  Most of this stuff is clearance Isle, or thrift store hand me downs that I've given new life to. 

I'm sure there will be more to come, but it's nice that it's starting to feel like a home.

Chalk Painted Couch

       

Hi everyone! Today I took the bull by the horns and decided to do the unthinkable. I painted this faux leather couch. I bought the couch for $30 off of a Facebook buy, sell, and trade group.  It did it's purpose, but it's dark red barky color just didn't do justice to my decor.

Just not my cup of tea.  There were some areas where the couch had cracked and showed it's age too. 

Today on whim, I decided to try and paint this thing.  I mixed up some homemade chalk paint.  I used a grey base and added brown to it for a nice neutral color. I had a sample can from lowes on hand and some leftover colors i mixed together. I diluted the paint with water. Just to thin it out a bit. I used a large soft brush.  (It's a 3x10.) This helped me get into all the spaces and cover more ground.

Here it is with the first coat:

 It looks kinda scary... but I worked past it.  Usually my projects look ugly before they take on the full effects of their beauty within. ;)

Oh yeah, I dis not haul the monster outside. I think the thi g weighs 400 lbs.

The second coat was much better.

I do have to say, it was a bit harder then painting regular upholstery.  There are a lot of cracks and creases to get to. All together it took me about 3 1/2 hours.  The chalk paint dries so fast. The coats are done very thin.

I love how it turned out.  It brightened my whole living room up and cost me a total of $4. 

Here soon I do plan on adding a sealant of some sort to it.

Any luck painting faux or real leather furniture with chalk paint?