painted coral bed

I went back and forth trying to decide whether or not to paint my girl’s bed.  I painted her walls and nightstand and put together a desk/vanity space for her before making a decision in order to give myself some time to really think.  Sometimes the best way to make a design decision is to focus on something else for awhile.  At least that’s what usually works for me.  Ultimately, I decided to paint it because the wood was in such bad shape.  This bed belonged to her great grandparents, and it was most definitely starting to show it’s age after all these years and so many moves.  There were so many scratches, dents and worn, faded areas.  The final push to paint came from my girl who was rooting for a fun color, so then it was just a matter of selecting a color we could both agree on……….which was another tough decision.  😉

To make a color decision, we played around with lots of ideas and I even added paint swatches on different areas of the bed.  I thought I was the captain of team white, but in the end the color that won both our hearts was this perfect shade of coral we found at Target of all places.

Devine Petal from Devine Color Paints by Valspar is literally the perfect shade of coral.  It’s not too pink or too orange; it’s just perfect!  This line of paints that Valspar has created for Target is really great.  The colors are so fun and the quality of the paint really impressed me.   All I did to prep the bed was give it a really good clean.  Since the finish of the bed was so worn I didn’t even bother to prime.  I just layered four very thin coats over the entire bed with my favorite short handled angled brush.  I ended up needing to grab another 8 oz sample pot in order to finish her up, but I still have a little paint left over.  This paint covers really well and a little goes a long way.  *( If you’re going to use two cans for your project be sure to mix the paints together to ensure an even color as there can be slight color differences between cans.)

This paint dries fairly quickly and is low odor and zero VOC, so if you have to paint inside because of the horrendous heat and humidity in your garage you won’t have to worry about paint fumes.  😉   Once the final coat of paint was dry I sanded the bed to give it a nice smooth finish and slightly distressed it in areas.  Then I gave it two coats of polycrylic in a satin finish to seal and protect.

I’m so in love with this color!

It’s soft and pretty, feminine and fun.

I’m still so amazed at just how powerful paint can be.  This coral color on the bed added so much life to this space and adds just the right amount of youthfulness.

And I’m in big time love with this mini schnauzer canvas print by one of my favorite artists!  It couldn’t be more perfect for my girl’s room. (See her with her mini schnauzer, Elsa, here.)

Project girl’s room is almost done!  Just a few more things to knock out……..hopefully before school starts!  My girl has been such a trooper and has waited a whole year since we moved in for me to finally get cooking design-wise in her room.  It’s been fun collaborating with her.  Even if her idea of helping involves snapping embarrassing photos of me while I’m doing all the heavy lifting.  😉