Thursday, July 15, 2010

buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....


Yellow, black and white. When designing with these colors, there is a fine line between a pop of sunshine and looking like your room is home to a family of bumble bees. 

I've had my eye on a jewelry armoire for a while now. I finally purchased one thanks to the wonders of craigslist. With no room for it in my bedroom, it found a home in my bathroom. However, the light wood was not meshing with my black and white decor. It had to be painted. 

Turquoise? Red? The same celery green that punctuates the majority of my house? Nah. I kept going back to yellow. 

So, thanks to the ridiculous "no spray paint" laws in Chicago, on a trip back from Indiana, I purchased two cans of sunshine   yellow paint at a small town hardware store. Once home, I prepared to paint. Let me tell you, I think there are two reasons spray paint is banned in Chicago: 1) of course, graffiti 2) it is ridiculously hard to paint in a tiny courtyard without totally covering your neighbors deck in Sunshine Yellow gloss paint. 

But after much blood, sweat and tears -- well just a lot of sweat -- I finished it and couldn't be happier. It totally gives my bathroom the pop of color I was hoping for, and the yellow is a nice happy color to see first thing in the morning. Behold... 

My bathroom is not conducive to picture-taking so this is the best shot I have. The yellow goes perfectly with the black and white design I have going. The bath is attached to the master bedroom and the bedspread and accent towels have the same damask-like pattern. 

Even after my issues with the spray paint, this was a fairly easy project. I removed the handles, and it was a miracle I kept track on the teeny tiny screws. I sprayed it with the drawers intact - simply because I was too lazy to tape off the inside of each drawer so I wouldn't spray the fabric yellow. It actually worked out fine, nothing stuck together. The only problem I discovered was with the side doors. Closed, they look great. Open, that's another story. But you live and learn. 

Maybe I'll fix it someday, but really no one but me sees it and I'm cool with it. My little burst of sunshine is a bright sunny spot for me on dreary mornings before work, and I couldn't be happier with it. But I am officially retiring my spray can until I have a yard or really cool neighbors who don’t mind yellow speckled cars.

-j


10 comments:

Denise Marie said...

awesome job to make it fit in so nicely. I have had a similar jewelry chest for probably 25 years and never thought to paint it. thanks for the idea and now I'll have to courage to try it.

Jenna said...

Thanks Denise! It was my first real attempt at painting something a bold color, but even with a few hiccups it worked out great! It totally breathes new life into the piece - I say go for it!!

Susan Glover said...

Great job, Jenna! I have a dry sink that's been in the family for over a hundred years. It's seen better days but your post has inspired me to paint it! Thanks!! :)

Katherine @ Grass Stains said...

I don't even love yellow, but I love THAT! It's beautiful! What a great pop of color in the house. It certainly has more personality than the original, too. Great job!

Jenna said...

Thanks Katharine!

Cassie {Hi Sugarplum} said...

I love that shade...and the gloss finish is perfect! I'm redoing my daughter's room and her dresser got a coat of 'cheerful' yellow by Sherwin Williams.

xoxo, cassie

Jenna said...

Thanks Cassie! I'd love to see how your daughter's dresser turned out!

Charity said...

It looks great, I love the colour!! In fact I think one that size would suit me just fine:) Thanks for stopping by All Things Beautiful.

Sarah@budgetfriendlydecorating said...

I love this jewelry chest. Looks great!

Unknown said...

Wow-what a fun surprise that color makes-following from TDC-stop on over when you get a chance!