Slap some paint on it: A Quicky Blog Squad Project

Ohhhhh how we love a quick, cheap project!

What do you get when you mix an outdated brass floor lamp and a bottle of XO Rust spray paint? An awesome-up-to-date  floor lamp that can live in any room!

The floor lamp was a hand-me-down from Joey's Amazing Aunt who gifted us all sorts of goodies this past Fourth-O-July! This piece we all collectively cringed at, but I had plans for this dated wonder. 

True Value told us about XO Rust, and we were so excited to try it out. We have a bunch of updates we can't wait to slap this paint on, but first we needed to fix our sad little floor lamp before we battled the elements outside to spruce up the outdoor light covers, which look a little drab. 

This project is super simple:

Any metal, rusty, brass, or brassy item you want to give a facelift to.

A bottle or two of XO Rust indoor/outdoor spray.

- That's it! The paint has a "built-in" primer - so you are good to go.

Step away from you object! Only a couple feet, and with soft strokes about two feet in length(depending on what you are spray painting, I am using the floor lamp as an example) - spray back and forth! That's it. It was so over the top easy to transform this trash to treasure - I am for sure, newly addicted to this stuff. I will be hitting the junk markets soon - in search of rusty treasures to restore! 

Lets get legal: We were one of the 10 bloggers True Value has chosen to work on The Blog Squad , and we are way excited to take on the challenge of showing you exciting DIY projects.  They have compensated us for our time and writing, and provided materials for the projects we have worked on. However, our opinions are entirely our own and we have not been paid to publish positive comments. Did we mention we are excited to show you our DIY Blog Squad Projects?

A shopping we will go

One of the best unexpected things ever is when we come across a piece of furniture we have to have, and can afford. Such is the case this past weekend. While running around to Moon River Chattel in Brooklyn, then off to Build it Green in Queens, we stopped at ABC in the Bronx and fell in love. Two huge club chairs called our name with their tufted bottoms and oversized stature. They were big, mean, and soft at the same time. They demanded "sit on me and be cozy". They were made for our living room. They were also $3,500 a pop plus $1,500 for the ottoman. That's $8,500 for a non-expected purchase. That's a down payment on a car. Clearly we did not spend $8,500. The wonderful thing about the ABC Home in the Bronx is that it's the warehouse, strategicly loaded with goods the massive city store can no longer house due to overstock, no longer carrying that specific brand, custom orders never picked up, etc. We got these puppies at $900 each and $350 for the ottoman ($1,250!). Yes, you read that right. Now you ask, what do these "puppies" look like. Sadly I couldn't find a photo, but if you use your imagination and look below...

...you can get a good idea. They are the grey to the left, same size and shape, but they have the arms to the right. They are from an amazing organic furniture company, Verellen. I was so in love with these pieces, I had to learn more about these guys and what other beauties they produce. Boy did I i have to use drool control today. Take a peek.

Pretty diverse, right? They really know how to work both modern and classic pieces. The craftsmanship is pretty amazing as well as the style. My wheels are turning, and perhaps furnishing the downstairs may not be as big of a challenge as I first thought. It's always exciting to find a "new" brand both Joey and I agree on 100%.

In addition to our super find in the seating arena, we also bought a not-so-practical item, which made me physically squeal when I noticed it across the room. Imagine, if you will, 1840 solid wood pillars imported from India. Cream and blue paint pealing off it's ornate details. Now imagine this in a bedroom, framing a massive king sized bed with lux curtains draped behind it. That my friends, is the project we have ahead us us (yes, another one!). We bought this incredible piece and of course there are no photos for me to find online which are exactly like it, but I posted some below to give you an idea.

We also got some awesome reclaimed wood at Build it Green in Queens, which Joey will work his magic on and turn into an amazingly and huge table for the foyer. I think our theme in the house is "super size" it. Less furniture, just really big. Have any of you tried this method while decorating your home? If you have, we would love to know. Please tell us about what you got and how you used it to fill dead space!

Animal Attraction: Quickie Project

We love some good animal decor. Notice the word "good", emphasized. In a recent episode of the Nate Show, a woman was obsessed with bunny decor, and Emily Henderson (Design Star Winner) saved the day by mellowing out the bunny infestation, and toned down the room to a more tasteful space. Joey thinks we are going the route of overly obsessed with animal decor, but somehow I got him on board with this simple project.

While visiting Brooklyn, we popped into one of our favorite store, Moon River Chattel, and ran around like little children, until we found ourselves in the children section ironically. While inspecting the amazing selection of hand crafted looking toys (yes, we buy stuff for our non-existent child), we notices these little plastic beasts and were brought back to our childhood. "Wouldn't these make great hooks." I said. "Yea, we can cut them in half and mount them to something." Joey replied.

So, we adopted our new friends, gave them a new home, then cut them in half. Though our original intent was to use them as hooks to hand the dogs' leashes, and sweaters, I liked the box Joey made to house them in - and use them as art in my office instead.

Easy peasy. All you need is some wood, paint, glue, and plastic animals to make this happen. We totally plan on popping this in the 'ol kids room one day. Do you have a cheap project you have done? Please share! We would love to know how it turned out!