color me coral

By some sort of magical miracle last year, the little boys went back to school after Fall Break two days before Jaci started back.  We jumped all over that opportunity and decided to paint her bedroom while we had some uninterrupted time.  We decided on a light gray, with big white stripes for the accent wall behind her bed.  Here is a great picture right before we got started.  Wow.  Just keeping it real.

After painting all the walls, we taped off some big stripes with Frog Tape.

The biggest tip I can give you when using Frog Tape is to lightly wet the edge with a sponge before painting your accent color.  This really helps the tape adhere to the wall, and almost completely eliminates any seepage.  This simple step has saved my sanity more than once!

Who knows why we don't have an "after" picture of the striped wall, but it was a success.  We were probably too excited about getting ice cream and pedicures.  We had a lot of fun that day, and were glad to get one thing checked off the very long list of things we want to do.

Fast forward to this past weekend.  Jaci had the opportunity to go to Chicago with her high school dance team.  I happily helped the little peanut pack up until midnight the night before she left, but was biting my tongue about the condition of her bedroom.

Even though she was freezing, she kept sending me cute pictures of all the fun she was having.  Chicago is such a great city!

As a surprise while she was away, I decided to tidy her bedroom and tackle something on our long list of projects for her room.  At this rate, we will wrap it up by the time she turns 28.

The first thing she sees when she walks into her bedroom is this little bedside table I bought in Scotland about 14 years ago.

I had a friend who took a two year assignment with Motorola in Edinburgh, and I was fortunate enough to go visit while she was there.  She took me to all the best places to shop, and promised she would ship anything I bought back with her stuff.  She was guaranteed the same size of overseas shipping container when she came home as when she moved over there, and she had only filled about 1/4 of it going.  I know!! The luck, right?  So, I found some amazing antiques for dirt cheap and they all came back with her 6 months later.  It was a long 6 months to wait!

It was time to spruce this little piece up....  I toyed with the idea of new hardware, but in the end decided to use what was already on it.  I took it all off, washed it well, and positioned it on an egg carton to paint.

First, I used Kilz (oil based) primer in a spray can, then a high gloss white paint, and finished it with polyurethane.  The key to all of these steps is allowing proper drying time in between coats.

I decided to paint the nightstand in a high gloss coral color, to really make a statement.  This was a bold choice for me.  I've never used a color this bright but I'm so glad I took a chance.  It helped turn this very traditional piece into something a little more youthful and modern.  When Jaci walked into her room after her trip, she was so appreciative and excited.

It will all make perfect sense when the room comes together, I can almost promise you.  I did a {tutorial} on the thrifted lamp and ruffled shade about a year ago.

Next project for the bedroom is a revamp of this little treasure.  Just to keep me honest and motivated.