Wednesday, August 5, 2009

DIY Thursday-Why is the Paint Purple???

It's that day again, DIY Thursday at A Soft Place to Land and Transformation Thursday at the Shabby Chic Cottage. Head on over for your weekly fill of fun projects and great ideas.


DIY Day @ ASPTL




So I decided this past weekend that it would be a good time to paint the vanity in our hall bath. The bathroom we hardly use, but keep pretty for any company we have over. I've been planning to give it an overhaul by changing the floor, light fixture, and mirror and slightly changing the paint color. But for now, I figured I'd paint the vanity using my free Glidden paint from their recent promotion. Or that was the plan anyway.



Picture 541

So the first step in most painting projects is to sand. I hate sanding. It's messy and boring, but my vanity cabinet was not glossy so I just gave it a little light roughing up followed by a nice rinse.


bathvanity 001



I also layed down a plastic dropcloth, although since I'm going to cover the floor with vinyl or laminate, I wasn't too concerned with keeping it clean. It's always imporant to cover your cats when you paint too. It helps prevent all those kitty tiptoes through the painting tray followed by a trail of pawprints.





bathvanity 003



Once plastic bubble cat was banned from the bathroom, I added a coat of oil-based Kilz. I learned the oil-based primer does not hold up well in a hot garage. While I expected it to separate, I did not expect it to form a thick crust on top and adhere to the sides of the can.


I stirred it away and hoped for the best, although I had to watch for random clots of primer crust goo ruining my smooth finish. Yuck.


bathvanity 004



Then it was finally time to break open that glorious free can of paint. The color I picked was "Dark French Chocolate." Doesn't it just sound yummy?








Ummmm, wait a second. Does it look purple to anyone else? More like "Dark French Eggplant?"




Now I'm not a big chocolate eater. I like a little dab now and then, but give me a bowl of fruit over a candy bar or vanilla ice cream over chocolate anyday. (Yes, now you know that I am officially weird, and if you can't stand people who don't drool over chocolate you are welcome to leave, but I would like it if you would keep reading.) But I don't remember my chocolate ever being purple and I don't think the French like it that way either.





bathvanity 015



Well, maybe it will dry darker and more brownish.





bathvanity 006



Or maybe it will still look purple. I wish these photos showed better just how purple the paint was.





bathvanity 011



It was time for battle now. I did not want purple cabinets interfering with the spa-beachy-calming-pretty vision I had for this room. So I drug out two cans of paint I had left over from other projects. One was a medium brown interior semi-gloss(which also came out the wrong color of brown than I was going for, but at least it wasn't purple.) The other was a black semi-gloss exterior. I figured interior, exterior, what's really the difference. We can have a mixed blending of the two. So I poured different amounts into my tray until I got the color I was after.


Of course all this pouring and mixing left paint splattered basically all over the bathroom.





bathvanity 020



Then I proceeded to paint everything one more time with my new special "Sara's Dark French Chocolate Special Blend." Ooh La La. Can you see just how different the brown is against the purple?


bathvanity 018



While I never expected this project to take on the drama it did, I like the finished color.





bathvanity 022



And one more shot with a furry model showing off the brown paint yumminess. That's what I call good chocolate.





bathvanity 024







Now I just have to buy some knobs or handles and finish with the rest of the bathroom transformation. And while I'm bummed about my free paint not being what I want, I did sort of cheat and order two free samples. So I have another free quart of Blue Sky to use for the walls. (I checked too, it's not purple.) So maybe God is telling me to follow the rules or I may end up with something different than I planned for. Like purple paint.







23 comments:

  1. Very nice...what color did you use on the walls??

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  2. Oh, I look forward to seeing the finished room! Love the idea of dark brown (not purple!) cabs!!

    Suzanne

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  3. I love it! I look forward to seeing the finished room! I love the idea of dark brown (not purple!) cabs!

    Suzanne

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  4. Your chocolate mix looks terrific! Now you'll have to find a project that you want to paint eggplant. ;~)

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  5. My free paint from glidden was completely different colors too! I LOVE your bathroom! Where did you get that shower curtain, I love love love it!

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  6. Ok second time adding this comment, there are 2 comment boxes and the other did not take, I don't think?

    Anywho my free glidden paint was completely a different color from what I ordered too!

    I love your bathroom! Love that shower curtain!!! Where did you find it?

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  7. Nice job - cute cat, too! My cats like to "help" me when I am trying to work, too!

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  8. it looks great! glad the purple didnt stay...brown is SO much better! :)

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  9. Wow! That was definitely eggplant. Love how you custom made your own paint.

    You're the only other person besides me I've come across who doesn't really fancy chocolate. Everyone thinks I'm strange because I don't like it...as a food. As a paint colour, yessiree!

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  10. Very very nice, I love that shower curtain! Beautiful bathroom!

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  11. I bought the shower curtain at Bed, Bath, and Beyond 3 years ago. I'm not sure if they still have it there or not.

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  12. Looks very nice! Love your gorgeous shower curtain!

    Have a wonderful day!
    ~Michelle
    (Treasure the Moment)

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  13. Ugh. I did the SAME thing on our front door using Benjamin Moore's Bittersweet Chocolate. I had a purple door for a year and finally just got around to painting it black. Looks beautiful now and very chocolatey--the way a brown is supposed to look. I love chocolate but I'm not even sure I would eat a chocolate covered eggplant :). (BTW-love your plastic bubble kitty comment. LOL.)

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  14. I have that same shower curtain! Thanks for the post, it's sparking my inner creativity! Maybe I need to get to work in our bathroom soon :)

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  15. So gorgeous! My favorite color is BROWN. People think I am crazy when I say that. I would never have thought to paint the cabinets brown. Great idea.

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  16. That's looking great! Can't wait to see it all finished!

    Thanks for linking up with me today!

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  17. Yep, it was eggplant! Like the chocolate.

    I made my own expensive looking Pottery Barn inspired typography basket~come see.

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  18. I've thought about painting my bathroom cabinets too - yours look great! (nothing is ever easy, is it?) :)

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  19. Hey Sara! Thanks for the comment on my blog. Loved your post -- the color turned out great. Good job. Also thought your shower curtain and kitties were very cute, too! xo

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  20. Looks great! Good thing you didn't give up at purple. It is frustrating when your paint doesn't show up as the color you wanted. Believe me. I know. It's the story.of.my.life.
    The new color looks fantastic!!

    XO*tricia

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  21. I'm sorry but this was a funny post. I love Emma--bubble cat! The result is really nice. I think that purple was just wrong. :)
    And seriously fruit over a candy bar...I so need to understand that choice. :)

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  22. I just came across your blog after opening my free can today. My can was very purple looking, but I thought after some stirring and drying it's got to turn brown... NOT! I think I will follow your lead and mix in some black and other brown shades... thanks!

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