Farm Fresh Blog

     Other Half has been out of town (again!) and I've been juggling everything at home (again!)  But this time I've chosen to take advantage of the time alone and start renovating this house! I've been painting since he left! 

     As you recall we sold my little farm to move into the "cow house" and buy the big property in North Texas.  I was completely on board with this except for one tiny little detail . . . I didn't like the "cow house." 

    The "cow house" needs lots of work both inside and out. At first I wasn't planning on doing it simply because I have neither the time nor the money for home renovation, but then I discovered Annie Sloan paint. It all started innocently enough, you see.  Our furniture didn't match. Mine didn't match his. At first I just planned to send a few pieces off to get them distressed and painted.  ("distressed" is a relative term in this home. We have dogs, therefore ALL our furniture is "distressed" in some way.)

     I love the look of distressed and "white-washed" furniture, and the more I looked around the house, the more furniture I wanted painted. I soon realized I didn't have enough money to hire someone to do this.  :(

Enter Annie Sloan.

     On my way to work every day I pass a little cottage on the highway that recently put out a banner which read:

"We sell Annie Sloan chalk paints."

Hmmmm... what is Annie Sloan paint?

     So I got on the internet and discovered that Annie Sloan was the answer to my prayers!  Here was a type of paint which was easy to work with, easy to distress, easy to white-wash, and didn't require me to strip or sand! In fact, with this paint, you are only limited by your imagination. ("Hot Damn, Loretta! Sign me up!")

While researching Annie Sloan paint, I stumbled upon this:

Be still my beating heart!

    I LOVE this woman's website! I was so inspired! Not only was I planning to re-do my furniture, I was planning to re-do the whole damned house!

     I went back to the little cottage to buy some paint and ended up signing up for a class on painting techniques. That was Saturday. My life hasn't been the same since. 

     I've mentally painted everything in the house, from the walls and furniture to the lamps. I literally painted the dog. This dog now sports a sage green line down the side of her face. Don't tell Other Half. (That's what he gets for leaving his new patrol dog at home.)

     The kitchen, which was a dark place with pine cabinets and holly green walls, was my first victim. (If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'!) Other Half apparently was more concerned with putting in a new roping arena than with re-painting the house when he first bought it, (Single men think that way.) so those walls have been that dark for years. Ladies and Gentlemen, I white-washed those suckers today!

     It was so easy I almost cried. I've suffered that kitchen for years and all it took was 4 hours and one can of paint. Tomorrow I'll put on the wax. I still need to re-do the floor and put knobs on the cabinets, but the room, ahh, the room!  I can SEE in there now!  It's like God said, "Let there be light."

     I'm so happy with this paint that I wish I had known about it when I had my little farm house. I would have painted those cabinets too!  My advice to you is this:

If you want to jazz up things around your house, play on "The Purple Painted Lady" website to get some ideas, and then buy yourself some Annie Sloan paint. You won't be sorry!!! 

(And YES! That paint is well worth the $38 for that tiny little can!)