Home Sweet Home #23

Welcome to Home Sweet Home!   I am mixing paint this week with gesso and I thought I would give you an update on how this has been going.  This is the inspiration picture, on the right, of a antique cupboard in a beautiful bathroom.  I have got the color on my cabinet here on the left.  

 But, before I arrived at that color I mixed paint awhile.  Here I mixed gloss Hunter Green by Valspar with Gesso.  All of these are too bright.  

I painted the cabinet with one of the above paint mixes and I realized it was much brighter when dry than when I mixed it.  So, back to the drawing board.  This color is what I would call teal.  It is just the hunter green mixed with gesso and there is more Gesso than paint in the mix.  How was working with Gesso?  I loved it!  It goes on smooth and covers great.  Across the room my husband was using our trim paint and painting the door for the bathroom and the old color bled through and he will need 2 coats.  This is not the case with this gesso mix.  It has great coverage and all I needed was to lightly sand and give it one coat.  It is chalky!  

 So, I finally realized I would have to break down and get a gray to mix with this to achieve this muted shade I was aiming for.  I went to Walmart and got a basic gray.  I mixed some more and this gray was the key to the color.  The gray (it was semi-gloss latex interior) was Time Worn Stone.

So, if you just want to paint with a normal paint it would save time to find a sample of the color you want and get it scanned and have the paint mixed.  But, if you want to use gesso to get that chalky finish you will have to mix paint.  What I learned was that when mixing paint start with the palest color first, for example the gesso and add the color slowly to get the desired tint.  You have to stop, all the while, when doing this and paint on something and let it dry to see how dark it gets when dry.  And, that was the other thing I noticed the wet paint is much paler than it will be dry.  So the sampling process I did above on the white cardboard is very useful.  Do I want to use gesso again?  Yes!  I am going to paint some chairs and a chest with it.  I also can't wait to sand it and see how it ages.  

Thanks for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
Now, I would like to feature some wonderful post from last week's Home Sweet Home.

First, Desire Empire got my attention with a beautiful Orange cake and a roasted chicken.  Click the link to view.

Next, The Tablescaper had the most romantic tablescape under lights.  Click the link to view.

The Pear Tree Cottage had the most gorgeous after dining room when she rearranged some walls.  Click link to view.

And last, The Precious Little Things in Life shows you how to create these book covers as well as many other links to DIY book covers that will have your bookcase looking chic.  Click the link to view.

Now onto today.

I will join these ladies today:

Open House Thursday at No Minimalist Here

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Feathered Nest Fridayat French Country Cottage

Treasure Hunt Thursday at Blue Creek Home 
Pearls and Lace Thursday  at Faith, Grace, Crafts

Guidelines for Home Sweet Home Party:

Attention: To link up with inlinkz you must have a permalink back to this party in your post or they will not allow you to link.  If you find your link deleted, add the link, and then try again.  (I have been deleting a few links.  Inlinkz sets the rules.)

My button is on my sidebar for the party, if you want to use it.   If you are new here I hope you will become a follower.  No Etsy link ups or direct advertising, please.  Please visit some of the other blogs and get some great inspiration.  Thanks.:)

Now let's see your beautiful homes!