A while ago Edie from Life on Grace (You don’t read her? Well you should, you’re missing out.) did this wall of frames in her living room. I loved it. So I started collecting frames so I could copy Edie. She always has good ideas.

I wanted my arrangement to be full of things that I loved, things that made me happy when I looked at them.

I loved the idea, also, of having words on the wall. So, I carried these ideas around in my head for a few weeks, gathering frames and photos that I wanted to use.

I had an old chalkboard that had become too slick to write on with chalk. So I painted words from Philippians 4 right on it in my own messy handwriting.

A few of my favorite candid shots went into the frames.

I included a favorite piece of art work from my daughter.

Then, I found these bird prints on Etsy and I knew I had to have them too.

It all began to come together. It might not be someone else’s idea of good decorating, but I love it and it makes me happy when I walk in and look at this gathering of faces and things that I love.

Earlier this summer I had a yard sale and almost moved this piece out to the carport to add to the sale. I even asked my readers if it should stay or go.

Most of you said it should stay and I’m so glad I listened. This color makes me so happy.

I was already planning on painting it blue. I had some paint left over from another project. But then I read Edie’s post about the French painting technique. Not only did I love her color, I really wanted to try it her way using latex paint.

You see, my grandfather, a painter, always insisted we had to use oil-based paint when painting furniture.

(The middle picture is the same color, just taken in outdoor light.)

I decided to break tradition and try something new.

I followed Edie’s instructions but I did not begin wiping the paint off soon enough. I thought I could paint the whole sideboard and then wipe it down. That did not work. By the time I finished it was dry!

Only the drawers turned out like I wanted them too. The rest of the piece had to be sanded and roughed up a bit to reveal the wood stain beneath.

But now that I know what to do I can’t wait to try it again. I may paint the whole house distressed deep turquoise.

Color is Deep Turquoise from the Laura Ashley Collection at Lowes.