White Washed

It is interesting to look back and see how my decorating tastes have changed.  As a newlywed, I was all country.  Remember the country red and blue?  That was me, along with the teddy bears, baskets and hearts. I even used to make country crafts and sell them at craft fairs for awhile.

We lived in rentals, moving 7 times in 6 years.  We could never paint so as soon as we bought our house I couldn't wait to paint.  I was never afraid of color.  After the blue and red stage I moved to Victorian pink.  Then later I moved on to my burgundy and evergreen phase.  That's where I got stuck.  The kids came along and life got crazy busy.

I'm not dissing any of these styles.  I liked them all at one time, but it was time to move on and I was so ready for change.

I've come full circle now, and after years of color, I am back to white.  There is something so refreshing, yet calming and soothing about it.  I'm not a fan of stark, modern white, but I love the play of soft whites, creams and light tans against each other, along with some texture and a few wood pieces.

I can't afford to go out and buy everything new, but a can of white paint can fix that.  If I don't like it, I'll white wash it, which brings me to the subject of this post.  I found this little galvanized pail at a Goodwill last year.    

I also white washed (sprayed with white primer) the wreath, which I recently posted here.

 I love galvanized anything, so I snatched that little pail up without blinking an eye.  I wasn't so crazy about the brown basket rim however, so I gave it a white wash.  

  It now holds my frequently used tools by my sewing machine.

Oh, you want a tutorial?

1. spend 10 minutes looking for masking tape that should have been in the desk drawer
2. tape off under rim
3. unearth white paint from the boxes of craft supplies stacked in the basement awaiting the new craft room.
4. ditto for the paint brush.
5. slap a bit of white paint on the rim, not too much, you want some of the original color to peek through.
6. rip off tape
7. make a chalkboard label from chalkboard contact paper...love that stuff!
8. using chalk, write on said label, erase, rewrite x 10 until you get it right, or throw the chalk against the wall because you can't stand your writing.

Easiest remake I've ever done...relatively speaking.

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