So John went for a run, and I painted something behind his back. Let me explain. We usually have a “full agreement” agreement when it comes to decor (which means we can’t buy or change a thing unless we’re both totally on board, which keeps us from holding something against another person for years like a recliner that you hate but the hubs just had to have, etc). But I tend to bend the rules when it comes to things that can be undone if John doesn’t like them. I figure in that case, since it’s 100% reversible, and I’d be the one spending the time reversing it if John didn’t agree with my choice, that I don’t have much to lose except for the time it takes to do and undo something. Which is nothing compared to the high I get from doing it while he’s gone. Haha. And the last time I did something without asking first (which admittedly wouldn’t have been the easiest thing to undo, but since our other two bathrooms were backsplashless I was confident he’d be on board) it worked out swimmingly as Mr Petersik kissed my cheek and told me I was a home improvement goddess. Ok so I made up that last part. He probably smirked and agreed that what I did “wasn’t bad” and only admitted he loved it hours later after getting used to the idea that I took a crowbar to the walls again. But anyway, back to what I painted.
I had grabbed a little jar of Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic paint in Cobalt Turquoise at Michael’s after mumbling something about wanting to get back to painting (I had a 50% coupon so it came to $7 and some change).
Didn’t seem to catch John’s interest at the time. But then again, he didn’t know that I had plans to paint a light fixture of ours. Yes, while sitting on The American Dream (aka: Karl, our new much-loved sectional) the other night, my eyes kept wandering away from the “Real” Housewives of Beverly Hills and over to the brass and glass pendant light over the table in the corner of the room.
Granted, the lighting situation in the living room is extremely awkward (that’s the only light fixture in the entire room and it’s essentially in the corner). So we’ll definitely be bringing in some additional light sources as the space evolves, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to “tweak” the pendant we already have. Just for fun. Especially for cheap. So when John ducked out for a run while Clara was down for her morning nap, I slinked off to get my little jar of Cobalt Turquoise acrylic paint. And I squirted a little dab of it onto a plate and watered it down a bit thanks to a nearby cup of water.
Then I just turned off the light switch, removed the big round light bulb (so I could get to the entire inside of the glass shade with my sponge brush) and brushed on some of the watered down turquoise acrylic paint all over the inside of the shade. I used vertical stripes of slightly watered down paint, going with the vertical veins in the light, which left me with a nice even application.
Surprisingly, it began to look like a turquoise glass shade with a nice soft effect – since I painted the inside of the shade instead of the outside, which would probably have looked a lot harsher and less convincing. See how diffused and subtle it started to look from the outside of the shade?
And once it was all painted (before John stumbled in all sweaty and surprised) I was left with this:
It’s not perfect, but I think that’s part of the charm. And it’s 100% removable, which is nice too (scrubbing it down with a sponge is all it would take to undo it if the mood strikes). So it’s renter friendly.
Admittedly this could have been a disaster. Well, not a permanent one since I knew it was easy enough to undo, but going into it I didn’t really know if the paint would bead up and drip down the glass shade (it probably would have if I watered it down too much) or if it would look streaky, heavy, and completely unconvincing (it probably would have if I hadn’t watered it down at all). Happily, it stayed right in place and dried nice and evenly, for a surprisingly believable colored glass effect. It’s a little varied looking, but it’s kind of a soft vintage effect. Honestly, when the light’s on even an Expert Light Studier (that’s a job right?) would have a hard time knowing that the color was painted on. It looks just like an old turquoise glass shade.
Oh and I gave it a few hours of drying time before putting the bulb back in and turning it on, just so the thin layer of slightly watered down paint had time to “cure.” I had vague worries of the paint somehow heating up and melting/dripping all over the place when the light was on, but it was on for about ten hours straight yesterday (I decided to “test it” before I blogged about it for obvious reasons) and no dripping or streaking has occurred at all.
Looks like it’s there for the long haul. And by long haul I mean until we replace that fixture and rectify the lighting scenario in that room as a whole. And guess what? Hubs likes it! Especially when the light’s on and it’s all soft and sweet, like a glowing turquoise beacon of love. Ok, that’s going too far, but he really does like it.
I did briefly wonder if it posed any kind of heat hazard, but I figure since paper lampshades are a common item, and they don’t actually catch fire, dried paint on a pendant that doesn’t actually touch the bulb shouldn’t be an issue. Oh and one tip to anyone crazy enough to follow suit would be to move any furniture that’s under your pendant (or toss down a drop cloth or painting sheet) because I did notice tiny turquoise splatters all over the table (which thankfully was painted and poly’d, so they wiped right off).
Now all I have to do is tackle that dated brass chain for a full light makeover (some oil-rubbed bronze spray paint might look nice once we add some oil-rubbed brozne curtain rods above the window and the sliders with some bright punchy curtains). Sure we might swap it out later, but I’m already enjoying the view a lot more in the meantime. Plus I just get a rise out of keeping John on his toes. Next time he goes for a run who knows what I’ll do. Haha. Anyone else have any while-the-hubs-was-out adventures to share? Come on, I can’t be the only one.
Hilary @ My So-Called Home says
I think most of my projects are done while my husband isn’t home or is off doing his own thing. I hope to one day adhere to the dual-agreement decision when it comes to decorating, but for now I enjoy just doing it then seeing how he reacts.
lilcg says
my mom does this all the time–I went away to school and every time I’d come home for a weekend, it was a game of what has been changed?
now, even in my own little house, she still does things like this when she is babysitting and the baby is napping. luckily, she has learned that she can do whatever she wants as long as she stays out of my bedroom closet and dresser drawers. she is more than welcome to organize my linens, medicine chest, kitchen cabinets, etc. and she does. frequently.
Mallory says
This post comes right when I was planning on sneaking into our closet to rip up the last bit of carpet that we have in our house. Josh goes into the office on Friday’s (he works from home most of the time) so I figured I would get in there and rip it out and surprise him. Hopefully the baby takes a nap so I can finish it…
The light looks great! I would have never thought to do that…so creative :)
Amanda says
I grew up in a Victorian style house built in 1907. It hadn’t been treated well for a couple decades before my parents bought it in 1994. There was always of work to do. I hated the old red shag carpet previous owners had installed on the stairs, but it wasn’t my dad’s top priority. One weekend while he was out of town, my mom let me rip it out. Underneath was beautiful wood! Thankfully, he didn’t mind when he got home.
Debra Cripps says
Here’s what I did in our 1802 built cottage while hubby was away. http://loyalistcottage.blogspot.com/2010/08/while-cats-away.html
Jill says
Love it!
There was one day when my sweet husband and three boys were driving me nuts! They all seemed to disappear and I took a sledge hammer to a not-so-cute 1960’s half wall dividing our kitchen and family room. He popped his head in the house, took one look at what I was doing, and wisely went back outside.
It really made a difference. Opened things up nicely.
Jamie says
I usually try to do things while my husband is out of the house or atleaset get them going to a point where he can’t convince me change my mind. He doesn’t really care what I do but he has no “vision” so he always doubts my plans.
My most recent overhaul was taking apart all the ugly bronze light fixtures and ceiling fans and changing them to a rubbed silver finish (thanks to my with my handy sponge brush and a can of spray paint). He thought I was a nut but he was very happy when I told him how much I saved us by not buying all new fixtures.
Right now I’m trying to figure out how take down these massive 4X4 mirros that are glued to the walls in our bathroom. My feel of sharp pieces of mirror flying all over has prevented me from trying this one on my own yet though.
bettijo @ PagingSupermom.com says
That looks crazy cute! I would have never thought to paint a glass fixture like that. So clever!!
Andrea B says
I like the outcome. I never would have thought of doing that … but I do like it. Hmmmmm …. *thinks about her lamps*
Kyley says
looks really nice!
You should totally tackle some DIY recessed lighting! I was so proud of my husband after xmas he took some time off work and put some in our living (that had no overhead lights). He looked up how to do it himself and figured it all out…..it makes such a difference in there!
Now I have to talk him into doing the bedrooms! :)
Amy says
Once when hubs was away I repainted our sage green famiy room tan. He didn’t even notice. One night about a week later we were sitting in there watching TV and he gets the weirdest look on his face and says “didn’t this room used to be green?” Boys..I tell ya.
PS: What is “soft body” paint? Is that different from regular acrylic?
YoungHouseLove says
It seemed the same to me. No idea though! I just liked the color.
xo,
s
Barb says
Uh – oh !!! I was skeptical at first but it is quite lovely!! I would try to spray paint the chain in the color of your curtain rods. Would look nice.
Back to the bathroom in your bedroom….did you ever change the hinges and knobs and get something nicer??? I know, all in good time. Just don’t forget to do it. It will make the cabinet so much nicer.
Sherry…..I must say you have a knack ( is that how to spell it?) with changing the littlest things and making them into great successes. I salute you and John. Keep it up.
Hug that little baby for me!! Clara… and throw that doggie a big bone.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Barb! We still definitely have to tackle the hardware on the vanity in our bedroom. Soon I hope!
xo,
s
dana828 says
How funny! I’ve done so many projects while the hubby was away! It’s so much easier that way–he usually tries to talk me out of things if I tell him about them ahead of time! I’ve painted both my daughter’s room and our bedroom while he was away on business trips. Just a few weeks ago I was painting the kids’ bathroom, and while he was out in the living room watching TV, I decided to take down the 36×48″ builders grade mirror (which he had tried to convince me was glued to the wall–it wasn’t!). He wasn’t thrilled when I walked out of the room carrying it, but has since come to appreciate the new, nicer mirror I talked him into putting up. I find it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission… ;) Next I’m hoping to tackle our bedroom again…maybe next Friday while he’s at work…
Danielle says
Wow! It looks really great! I had my doubts when I saw the initial stripe pic, but the end result made me a believer.
Janet says
It is actually a joke in our family that every time my husband goes on a work trip, I paint a room. EVERY time. It seems to be the only time I can successfully do it and he always likes how it turns out in the end. I am starting to realize his brilliance in this, as he gets out of the actual work, but he also can’t comment on the colour choices, so in that way it works in my favour. :)
Jessica says
I’ve been known to paint entire rooms! I suppose that is 100%changeable too!
Amanda says
*All Young House Love readers* A note about the 2011 Homies:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/the-homies-best-home-design-blog-of-2011-submit-your-nominations-137078
John & Sherry are too sweet to swag us to vote (which is why we love them so much)
So I’m going to tell you! A blog came out of no where and is 110 votes behind right now. We have to step it up. I’m still pretty positive that YHL will win BUT if you haven’t yet, head on over to AT’s Homies and click on YHL, then click on Submit ;) Hehe
Amanda says
That’s supposed to say sway, not swag. Oops.
PS: Love this, and the colour … swoon over teally blues. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw Amanda, you’re so sweet! We’re just happy to be nominated among such cool fellow bloggers!
xo,
s
RLB says
I have to admit that I’m finding some of the things you’re doing in the new house aren’t as nice as your last house renovations. That shade is, er…tacky. And the blue you’re planning to paint the half bath is questionable. I couldn’t believe you were using that other blue bathroom as an inspiration.
YoungHouseLove says
To each their own! We think life is way to short to decorate your house for anyone other than yourself!
xo,
s
Angela says
Hey, that looks so nice! Smart idea. :)
Nikka B says
I love that color! It’s very charming :)
I’m a big furniture re-arranger when my boyfriend is out of the house. I also like to switch out the sheets,rug,bathroom towels and the table linens whenever the mood strikes (plus that’s a good time to transition in any new items I may have purchased ;)
No big renovations because we’re renters, but he better watch out when we finally get our own place! I’ve been stock piling ideas!
Jessica says
Looks gorgeous! I’d considered painting the glass shades on my ceiling fan a while back, but decided they came a little too close to the bulbs to risk it. Now I (almost) wish I hadn’t replaced the majority of the other fixtures in the house because this looks like it’d be a lot of fun to try.
Carole says
looks great, i love it when you can reuse something you already have and make it look fresh and fun!
i’m usually the one who does lots of little projects things when my husband goes out of town, but the other day, he completely rearranged the living room when I was at gymnastics with my daughter. I’m still not sure what inspired him, but I’m not complaining, because it looks great!
Irina@CanDoGal says
Though it’s a relatively small project, it’s one of your most imaginative yet. I NEVER would have thought to do something like this, but it’s such a simple way to add in some color and give the light a lot of unexpected personality. Fantastic. My boyfriend has no interest in anything home decor, so I just go ahead and do it all my way. No arguments :).
sarah says
My husband was out of the country for 10 days on business and I decided to paint the 2nd bath(I was tired of the builder off white color). I also put in wainescotting and handpainted a pretty pink flower border around the ceiling edge. And while I was at it I decided to replace the builders almond outlet covers to nice crisp white ones. Not to mention that I was around 61/2 months pregnant, the bath was going to be our little girls. I just couldn’t wait for him to get back to get started.
Jane Ann says
Oh, yeah…. When we travel stateside, my husband usually drives ahead while I fly (I take fewer vacation days that way). During that 2-day headstart, I usually start painting or wallpapering a room–something that has to be finished once begun. If I can’t finish before we get back home, he has no choice but to pitch in and help finish. He never seems to figure it out.
We’re headed to the Florida Keys at the end of this month, and I’m thinkin’…. kitchen…. paint or new light fixtures? Maybe both.
Michelle @ Ten June says
Do I see painted trim in the background?? Or is that photo just shading the wood trim?! Obviously I’m a little excited to see how your dark beam idea goes : )
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah that’s just a bad pic of the beams in shadow.
xo,
s
Kaitlyn says
I always have Mondays off. That’s my project day. I’ve tackled so many “this requires two people” projects this way. Once, I dug up all the brick flowerbed liners and reshaped the garden. I’ve moved an entire room of furniture, pained the walls, and moved the furniture back. About a month ago, I re-tiled the bathroom while the bf was at work. This past Monday I stripped the dried and cracked caulking from all the windows and reapplied a fresh layer.
This habit is so bad that BF always asks if I’m feeling well if I don’t accomplish something drastic while he’s at work.
Barbara @ Blogbitten says
Pretty clever makeover. I am guilty of planning projects behind my hubbies back too. They go alot smoother that way.
The biggest project I took on was turning a small room that he wanted to claim as his office (essentially a place he could close the door, surf the net and accumulate his paper junk in) and turned it into a closet. Yep, it was that small of a room.
In lieu of the small room I gave him the entire dining room to use as an office. I put alot of effort into the new space. While he was out of town, I bought a desk, accessories, added a phone line, painted and put up shelves.
When I asked him if he was disappointed with what I did, he replied in the rhetorical, “How can I be disappointed with wonderful.” Sigh…I love that man.
Karen says
My husband hates any kind of change especially remodeling. He takes a golf trip with his buddies every spring. And every spring I redo a room. Nothing major, usually. Just paint, drapes, bedspread things like that. The year we bought our current house, he left the day after signing, and I had over 20 of our nearest and dearest in helping me do some major work in the week he was gone. This year, we hope to do the kitchen, but I think he will have to stick around for that!
Robin says
I kinda like it but have a feeling I’d get tired of it real quick. Granted like you said the entire fixture could be replaced or re-worked. I know my husband wouldn’t like if I did this! It’s not his style!
Erin says
No hubby here, so no fun story yet, BUT my fiesty grandmother has a great story that fits this category. She always wanted to create an opening from her kitchen to her dining room (converted from a bedroom) and my grandfather would not allow it. So while he was a work one day (this was long before they became grandparents), she took out the sledge hammer and knocked out the wall herself to create the opening. So in the end, he had to finish what she started. Haha! Go Nana!
Sandra says
I love your ‘use what you’ve got’ approach! I did the same thing with a Tinkerbell lamp I bought second hand for my daughter. It was missing the lampshade, which was supposed to be at the top of a flower stem – I just picked up a white, curved shade that fit, painted it two shades of purple with a couple permanent markers – voila, looks like a tulip and, I think, better than new!
Tiff Morrison says
Wow, THAT looks awesome. Very creative. Love it. It’s also nice to know that I am not alone in sneaky home makeover projects. I have one planned this weekend, while The Hubs is away on a bromantic man weekend.
Tanya from dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com says
I was a touch suspicious when I started reading this post. I had this terrible feeling it wouldn’t end well. But it looks fab! No guts, no glory. But maybe its just because I’m such a sucker for turquoise. You could probably paint a popsicle stick that colour, glue it to a wire hanger and I’d be sold.
Kayleigh says
Let me start by saying that I am SUCH a fan and you both inspire me! Unfortunately, I live in an apartment with my boyfriend so my makeover ideas are limited. But… most of them are done when the boy is out and about. Work, plowing, etc. Something is always different. Last night I took our white DVD shelf and decided to paint it. I painted blue, green, and gray leaves on it (pictures on my blog later when there’s time…) Layering them. It came out great. I LOVED it so much that today I ordered a new gray couch cover. I found it on clearance from $250 to $125. Plus an extra 20% off… free shipping it came out to $106. But, I had a gift card for a little over $100… so my cost was $1.39!!! Talk about bargain shopping. SO excited for the new look and thanks for inspiring me to add a little gray into my living room!
Nicole says
Looks good and YES totally did a while the hubs was out. We had been living in our house for over 2 years with white walls in all rooms but the kitchen (it was painted by the previous owner) and white verticle blinds. 1st off i HATE verticles 2nd- you could not tell that our first floor had windows- like living in a white box. I finally got fed up with it and while hubs was out- started taking them down, one room at a time. I dragged them outside into the middle of the garage (he is a neat freak about his garage). When he came home it looked like we lived in a fish bowl! WINDOWS were discovered. This forced us to finally get some window treatments and the house is light and bright now! I think that is def. the best I’ve got!
emily mancini says
Love your blog, I am a recent follower! Very creative approach to a lighting fixture. Finishing the chain will make a world of difference, can’t wait to see it!
BTW, hubs and I are tossing the name Clara around for our babe who is due in June :)
YoungHouseLove says
We might be biased, but we think it’s the perfect name! Haha. It was actually John’s grandma’s!
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
I once bought a house while my husband was at work. I spotted the MLS listing in the morning, immediately called the realtor to take a look at it, then made an offer before lunchtime. By 3PM our offer had been accepted, and my husband had yet to see the house. It was a great house and we never regretted buying it (or, three years later, selling it), but I don’t know if I’d ever find an occasion to be that brazen again. Hey, it was 2003–stuff sold really quickly back then! When you saw a good deal, you had to move fast.
tammy says
My “while the hub’s is away” project involved removing the shower doors to our 1940’s bathroom. Gold and shiny and confining, they just had to go. easy peasy, screwdriver and a straight blade razor to remove the gunky caulk that was left behind. I knew I was going to do it so i had purchased a new curtain rod and curtain the day before. He LOVED it. He was so suprised at how roomy the shower had become!
Darlene says
I paint entire rooms when my husband goes away on business trips. He’s got another one coming up soon. I plan to repaint the living room/dining room…and try my hand at installing crown moulding. Surprise!
Amanda says
This one is actually about my Grandma and Grandpa but when they were young they sat over breakfast one morning discussing the idea of turning the pantry into a breakfast nook by knocking out a wall and installing buffet style seating. It was a “someday in the distance” kind of discussion but when my grandpa got home from work that night my grandma had already taken a sledgehammer to the wall and knocked most of it down. He wasn’t mad though, he just went right to work finishing up the breakfast nook.
Sandra says
Burger looks like he’s doing a yoga pose!
Leah says
Oooh… you have made me think that maybe there is hope for our almost-identical hanging light. It’s over our kitchen table…and the blue wouldn’t really go with any of our decor, so I have yet to decide if it’s a good idea. But thanks for the inspiration!
kelley@paperdollmn says
I would never have thought of this. Love!
Amanda@allthingscreativeaz says
A year and a half ago or so, my husband left on a week long business trip. I told him I was going to stop in at the Habitat Restore and see what they had. I didn’t know they sold furniture until I got there. I picked up a huge and HEAVY armoire for our TV (this is days after promising I would stop buying furniture we didn’t have room for) for $85! It took 4 people to carry it into my house. I told him I had a surprise for him when he got home, but wouldn’t tell him what it was… Luckily, it was a hit and we still use that armoire every day!
Bonnie Hunt says
You had me going.. I thought you were going to paint the brass.. chain and all! Cute!
Crystal @Beautifulhaven says
Maybe instead of painting the light fixture bronze, try black or white. Instead of being a light fixture it would be more of a statment piece. The aqua against the black or white will stand out.
Jennifer says
I proceed with extreme caution as far as doing anything behind my husband’s back — mostly just things that he didn’t think were worth the effort (or didn’t realize how little effort it would be).
A big part of this is because we only moved in together, and got married, less than a year ago. An even bigger part is that we bought his childhood home, so every ugly or dated choice is a choice his parents made, and many items have nostalgic value for him. (He does agree that in general the house needs freshening and updating, he just emotionally needs to do it on a slower timetable than I would otherwise want.) So, unless we’ve discussed it together, I pretty much stick to tackling the things that are actually falling apart, or are the finishing phases of a together-project (like repainting the trim after we painted a room together).
Which leads to a question — I know I’d be willing to paint any of the items I brought to the house on my own without getting his buy-in, but I don’t think I’d be willing to alter (even if it was fairly easy to undo) things that were originally just his, or from his family, or even that we’d picked out together. I know you’ve been married longer than we have, but I wonder if the origin of what you’re changing affects what you’re willing to do on your own. Was Sherry more willing to paint the lamp or remove the backsplash since that was changing things from the previous owners, than if the lamp had been something you had bought together?
YoungHouseLove says
I definitely think the item that could potentially be altered has a lot to do with whether or not I’d go for it without chatting up John first. For example, John and I got a big iron bull that was turquoise from a flea market in North Carolina and I was dying to paint it white for a while but since we got it together on vacation I wanted to make sure I had his blessing. Once I was sure I did, I grabbed my brush and got to work.
xo,
s
Sarah says
All of the changes to our house have occurred while my husband was at work. We wanted to redo the floors but he was taking too long to get on board so one afternoon I got out the hammer and chisel and set to work taking up the tiles. In the end he had to finish it but the floors look amazing.
Our front garden was overgrown and uncared for when we moved in. My husband trimmed everything back but I still wasn’t happy so while he was at work I started cutting everything down. He ended up having to dig out all of the stumps but garden looks great now.
Generally I do things that can’t be undone and overestimate my abilities so he has to help finish the job in the end but I have been right every time. So far.
BethanyB says
While my hubby was away I started painting the living room. We had picked out the colors together and even bought the paint but it had been two weeks since then and I was getting antsy. Know how much we BOTH procrastinate, I decided to get the ball rolling..(or more like roller rolling) and so I did! when He got home one wall was done and he was a little disappointed I didn’t wait for him but he jumped right,in, ordered Chinese, and we made it a date!
BethanyB says
knowing*