When it comes to easy painting ideas, paint can be the best friend you didn’t know you had.
Paint is the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective way to transform your walls or pieces of furniture. Here are five ways to use paint to breathe new life into your home.
Start with a smaller project
This vintage dresser was sitting in a garage waiting for some love. Inspiration for the project came from the patterned wallpaper. The yellow colour was selected, the dresser was given a quick sanding and the painting began.
The handles were removed and replaced with more updated ones. Now this dresser has a prominent place in the front entrance looking fabulous.
Update a tired-looking fireplace
I hear from so many homeowners that they hate their fireplace. The colour of the brick is tired or they can’t stand the dated brass fireplace surround. Paint can come to your rescue!
It doesn’t take any special skill to paint your brick fireplace, just a lot of patience. And the effort is worth it, as you can see from this before-and-after photo. The details of the brick and the beautiful wood mantel are highlighted even more after the brick is painted.
Painting the brass surround around your fireplace is an easy project that will have a great effect. And the best part is you can do it in under 30 minutes. Apply painter’s tape around the brass to protect the areas you don’t want to paint, use heat-resistant black spray paint, and voilà! You have an updated fireplace for under $15.
Console table redo
This hall console table needed a new look. A dark grey was selected for the transformation and what a difference it made.
Grandma’s dining room set
Many of us have pieces in our homes that have been handed down from family members. While there are usually emotional attachments to these pieces, many times there is also the feeling that they are out of date. We are torn, as the pieces mean so much to us, but we want them to fit in with our style. Paint is the answer.
It may seem like an overwhelming task to paint an entire dining room set but take it from my friend Lisa — you can do it.
Break the project down into smaller bits. Start with a chair, then paint all the chairs, then the side board, then the table and then the buffet and hutch. With each piece that you paint, I assure you, you will gain more confidence.
I love this transformation. I can see the love that went into painting the pieces, knowing that the family will use and treasure the set for many years to come.
Kitchen cupboards
Living with dated kitchen cupboards is frustrating. The good news is you don’t have to spend big dollars replacing them. You can really save a lot of money by painting them instead. You can hire a professional like I did or paint them yourself.
As you can see, my kitchen cupboards were the same colour as my walls, making the cupboards disappear into the background. I selected Benjamin Moore Fusion grey (AF-675) and just love how they turned out.
The inspiration for the colour came from my backsplash. I didn’t love it, but knew that if I pulled out the grey colour for the cupboards that everything would flow together.
Remember to change out your door hardware to something more modern to complete your transformation.
Ditching the yellow oak
Here is another huge transformation. The very dated yellow oak cupboards were driving the homeowners crazy. They decided to have them professionally painted a nice espresso shade to complement their backsplash and floor. Looks pretty amazing.
Affordable painting supplies
Painting supplies don’t have to break the bank. I thought I would share this cost-effective tip — many paint supplies can be purchased from the dollar store. You can buy trays, drop cloths and many other items there to save money. But be sure to spend where it counts, particularly on good brushes and rollers.
Come to the dollar store with me in this short video to discover cost-effective items:
I hope this inspires you and makes you more comfortable about paint and what you can do with it. Here’s to your own transformation project!
