finished!

Painting the piano was a fun project, and it's always nice to get through a task without any mishaps; I once tried to dip my paintbrush in my coffee cup, but that's just me attempting to multitask. Something that immediately struck me is that my piano now looks smaller! Weird, but I like that. Also, I've never admired my piano's legs before now (was that awkward?).

Having never used glaze, I was apprehensive. Something I learned along the way is, you need way, way less than you think. I used about 1/4 - 1/2 cup for the whole piano, so a quart will be plenty for several projects. I used 3 parts glaze to 1 part paint (about). Another handy tip: work in a small area - you will have better control over the look you want. I just brushed on with one hand, and wiped it off with the other (it dries quickly) - pretty simple.

After getting the black glaze on, I liked how it toned down the bright blue, but now I felt like I needed something to tone down the black glaze! Do I have an obsessive problem? I applied a mixture of cream paint, grey paint, and glaze and, voila!, I've toned down the black. But now I felt I needed to blend the whole look a bit (I do have a problem), so I made Aquarium-tinted glaze and did a light application on the large areas only. All of this sounds like a lot of work, but it's not. I used disposable cups to blend glaze and paint, and you use so little, and it dries so quickly that it doesn't take much time. It's easier to deal with than paint. I really do love how it turned out!

I like the end result best, but my stinky camera just doesn't do it justice! My 4 year old tells me "it looks soft and grand".

Thanks for holding my hand along the way! What are your thoughts on how it has turned out?

I'm feeling inspired to start another project....Are you up for it? This proposed project will cost me nothing. That's the type that really appeals to me.

Here's the cost break down, if you're nerdy:
Kilz: $17
Aquarium Paint: $55
wooden scroll: $7
faux glaze: $15
favorite painting jeans: priceless (cheesy, I know)

(First post on the subj. HERE , second post HERE, third post HERE, and you're on the fourth.)

glaze?

I tallied the vote and Aquarium won first place with Surfer and Biscay in second.

I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed in the accuracy of my paint swatch which shows a smidgen more grey than the paint in reality possesses thus rendering the color a bit louder than I had anticipated. But we press on. My bff assures me that it looks great so I'm going with that.

I wood glued on a little scroll woodwork to the center that I bought at Lowe's for $7, and I am quite happy about it. Lit~Lass's comment about her piano's embellishments had me wishing for something of the sort but, come on, I can't draw anything, so I went with this instead and am pleased with the result.

The votes were evenly cast on whether to do the black-tinted glaze or to not do the black-tinted glaze, so I'm showing you the picture of the state of the piano as it is now, after 3 coats of Aquarium (semi-gloss Acrylic Latex), in its pre-glaze attire. (I thought about showing what it looked like wearing only the Kilz primer, but it was a bit immodest.)

Wait...one more thing. My camera stinks. The color you see below isn't as accurate as I would like. The real color is something between Aquarium and Synergy.

This is really not a great picture, but here ya go:

So, is everyone sticking with their former opinion on the glaze? I'm inclined toward it as the color is a bit brighter than the swatch I had to go on, but what do you say?

Read the previous post HERE.

blue it is

This is a continuation of this post. I got quite a few opinions (thanks everybody!) via emails and fb comments, as well as some comments here, and BLUE has won hands down! Also, the trim being a different color was met with boos and hisses. So, now comes the nerve-racking time of choosing just the right shade, which I, of course, will rely on you to tell me what in the world that is. So here's the first one, Biscay:

Nice, isn't it? And here's the second one, Aquarium:

And the third, Nifty Turquoise:

Or four, Surfer:

Or am I going all wrong? And for my next question: should I paint it and just let that be it, or should I do a black glaze over the blue like in the pictures below?

http://europaintfinishes.blogspot.com/2010/07/turquoiseteal-cream-bedroom-set.html

http://www.faceliftfurniture.com/2011/09/turquoise-black-glazed-dresserflat.html

paint the piano?

Okay, folks, so I'm thinking of painting my piano. What at first sounded like a crazy idea is now sounding rather snazzy. So here is a picture of what my piano looks like now:

Notice the color of the room as this plays into the whole decor thing, and vote for your favorite color/picture or suggest something all your own. I need help!

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And this is just a great picture:

I've also played with the idea of doing the trim in a contrasting color. Good idea? Bad idea? (The post is continued here.)