MY THREE YEAR ANNIVERSITY

 This week marks my three year anniversary

of moving to Fayetteville and in with my parents 

to be their caregiver.

In anticipation of my fourth year, I decided to 

tackle a few decorating projects.

The first one was and is risky,

but I did it anyway.

I've always liked this chair but not the color.

I did some reading and found that 

chalk paint works on fabric,

I plunged in.

The first coat went on pretty easy.

It took four coats before I was satisfied.

I also put two coats of wax on, which made it 

much more soft.

I don't know if I would have been so quick if this

chair got lots of use, in fact it's really just an accent chair.

Sandy, our helper is probably the only person that

sits in it regularly.  Time will tell if it will hold up,

down the line it can easily be recovered.

Second project this little chest.

A big problem for my sensibilities here is that

there is just too much brown wood.

Wood floors, wood doors, wood walls, wood furniture.

I chalk painted the drawers of the chest only and

it works well against the paneling.

Next I took on our little kitchen table and chairs.

The chairs were a bit harder, they didn't seem to want to

cover as well.  After four coats I had had enough...

it'll do.

The table legs were much easier, I added a little

water to the paint which helped lots.

By the way, I had never chalk painted before and

the fact that chalk paint tends to be a little pricey

has kept me from trying my luck.  When I found this

Waverly paint in the craft section at Wal-mart

I thought, why not. They have it in two sizes, 8 oz. at $6 

and 16oz. at $10.  The smaller size was enough paint for

each of my projects with some left over in each bottle.

I'm not quite finished yet, my table legs still need

to be waxed and the chairs buffed but I am

already happy that I went for it.

As I look around the house, I'm thinking...

what's next.