POP! O'Color: Easy DIY Art...

Our guest bathroom has a very neutral palette except for one lone fuchsia orchid on the counter. 

And there was always this blank space above the toilet that was calling for something. I could never find exactly what I wanted, so I decided to DIY my own art. 

I am by no means an "artiste" but I had a clear vision of what I wanted -- a bold pop of color to play off the orchid. So I gathered my supplies: 12" x 24" frame, paint, foam brush (not roller), water and paper towels. 

I forgot to take in-process photos but the instructions are simple:

1. Paint a large thick band at the bottom of your piece, gently blending as you move upward. This will be the darkest area of the painting. 
2. Wipe any remaining thick areas of paint off your brush then dip it in water.
3. Gently run your brush along the remaining 2/3 of your canvas trying to create an ombre effect as you go. It is important that the foam brush is wet for this step. 
4. Then immediately take your paper towel, starting at the top of the canvas, and begin gently wiping off paint as you make your way closer to the thick band of paint. 
5. As you move down the canvas, decrease your wiping pressure until you reach the thick band. You shouldn't touch that area with the paper towel. 
6. It should look like a nicely blended painting that goes from light to dark. 

The beauty of this project is you can really mess it up and any color will work. If the bottom isn't dark enough, add more paint. If the top isn't light enough, add more water. Then just blend using your brush and paper towel or rag.

It only took me about 10 minutes to make and it's the perfect piece to bring the room together. 

See, anyone can be an artist! 

A little paint goes a long way: a facade facelift...

Let's take a walk down memory lane. This is what the house looked like when we first bought it. Overgrown landscaping and faded paint. Notice the brick red door and the faded burgundy shutters. What a palette. 

We took care of the landscaping last year, so this summer, painting the house was on the agenda. Our house is vinyl siding and some of the trim is plastic, so only the wood trim, front door and shutters needed to be painted. Thankfully we had an old can of the trim paint in the basement so we didn't have to play the "does it match?" paint guessing game. The porch itself was one color but the door trim and window cornices were a lighter color. Basically they just blended right into the siding.  

In an effort to make them pop a little more, I decided to paint the trim and cornices the darker color  -- like how mascara makes your eyes look bigger and brighter. And we all know the windows are the eyes of the house. Or something like that...

And pop they did. It really brought the house to life and to my delight, perfectly matched the window trim. It also made the door the focal point of the porch. 

Now there is a differentiation between the siding and the trim. 

Speaking of the door (and the shutters), we didn't try to match the original color exactly, we went a little more burgundy with it. Antique Burgundy from Valspar was the color we decided on. It had a lot more purple and a lot less red/orange. It even coordinates with the coleus plant. I LOVE it!  Color coordination makes me giddy!  

We are so happy how the colors work together to brighten up the facade. 

Before. Sad and faded...

After. Bright and cheery...

It all feels so much more balanced and coordinates so well with the tree in the front yard.

Home Sweet Home!