DIY: Matte Art

I have a neutral problem.

My entire living room is becoming one big neutral bomb of sand tones and beige-y glory.  Besides my big blue carpet that poos blue carpet fuzzies throughout the entire house that is...

Little Boo on the blue poo carpet
(Miss Piggy was an unrelated casualty)

A recent taupe and tan addition is a set of 9 panels I purchased from Beyond the Rack on a whim.  I knew it looked like a clock, but I didn't even bother with the description long enough to realize I was actually gettingggg a clock.  Neutral?  Will be lovely in my living room!  Purchase!  

It arrived looking about as glossy and cheap as can be expected for the $80 or so purchase price, so I doctored it up with some spray paint Frosting:

Valspar Frosting spray paint ($6)
Nail polish remover for frame edges caught in the cross fire ($2?)

Middle row has been un-sprayed - gross.

Finished product!
[Check out the wainscoting we did here]

DIY: Wainscoting

I had no idea what the hell a miter saw was, nor did I care... and then Pinterest happened. 

In the weeks leading up to the closing on the house I spent hours, and I mean the hours from 1-4am, regularly planning, Pinning and detailing things that were absolutely non-negotiable to install in our new abode.  

Between the seriously fabulous:

and the even more obviously necessary:

I begged for something slightly feasible and managed to pressure Big Boo into agreeing!  Farmhouse chic, yet full of the straight lines and clean aesthetic I'm crazy for.  And, best yet, I could spin it into increasing my fiance's wood-working tool collection.  Ahhhh, wainscoting.  Scotting, skohting, who cares, but it's lovely and a WAY bigger pain in the ass than it appears.  But it was worth it.  Just glad it was our first project, because my other half was still on board with the whole "nesting" phenomenon... in the beginning.


Here we go, pre-wainscot:

Big Boo and the chair rail:

In go the mini rail squares:

Add some funky sizing issues:

Then some Benjamin Moore "Sticks and Stones" above the chair rail, and some white super gloss below and WHAMMY, chicified!  Check her out:

   
Now we have a miter saw, a million tubes of excess caulk, and some awesome walls in the living room!