New Segment: "My Humble Abode"

I'd like to introduce a new segment today, and it is called "My Humble Abode."

Since I love to decorate and am always willing to share tips and (often unsolicited) advice to others, I thought it would be fun to showcase some of the things I'm currently working on and maybe the occasional finished product (keep your fingers crossed).

I decided to write about today's piece when I saw something similar over at one of my daily reads, Pink Wallpaper.

She recently did a post on Angie Hranowsky (LURVE the website) and I couldn't help but notice a beautiful turquoise colored chandelier hanging high above a mostly-white bedroom. I came to find out that the chandelier was made of glass and that it had been painted (with car paint, of all things) to be a beautiful, vibrant shade of blue (can you imagine having a car in that color?). It reminded me of a project that G helped me with back in Jan/Feb.
I had seen another painted chandelier on a design blog that I had read and decided to give it a go in order to replace the ugly, generic, $9.99-from-home-depot light fixture that had been in our dining room. (Unfortunately, I cannot remember which blog I saw this on, and if anyone knows, feel free to tell me so that I can give appropriate credit!)
The first step was finding the right chandelier. I looked high and low - on Craiglist, on eBay, at garage sales, and at brick and mortar lighting stores. I didn't want anything expensive (especially because I didn't really know what I was doing) and as long as it worked and had a good shape, I was ready to buy.

I finally found an older brass fixture on Craigslist (after about 2 months of looking) and they only wanted 10 dollars for it! (Noice!) G picked it up for me and a few days later, and we were off to home depot for some spray paint.

**Edited: I finally found a before picture!

This was what had been posted on CList.

(Green wall NOT mine.)**

I bought a bottle of Rustoleum Gray Primer (very important) and a bottle of Painter's Touch High Gloss Classic Red. I decided on this color because my dining room had begun to turn into a big fat neutral blob and I need to take the appropriate steps to spice it up a bit.

After about 5 coats of spray paint (3 of primer, 2 of red) in several different sessions... the chandelier was ready to hang!

Luckily, I have a handy (and adorable) husband who was willing to do the dirty work for me and it was much easier to put up than we thought. ***Word to the wise - wives/girlfriends, unless your aid is requested, learn from my mistakes and DON'T try and give any advice at this step.***

Here are some shots of the finished product!

and...

Overall, it was a pretty easy project, and it would have gone a lot quicker if I could have stood to be in the garage spray painting for longer than 10 minutes at a time in 7 degree temperatures.

So, there you have it. Your first peek into our humble abode! Feel free to let me know in the comments if you have any questions on this particular project. I'd love to hear about or see pictures of anything DIY or decor-related that my readers are doing, so bring it on!