August 30, 2025 • 36 mins
In this episode of Home in Progress, sponsored by RepcoLite Paints and Benjamin Moore, host Dan Hansen dives into two very different but equally inspiring home improvement topics.First, Dan takes on his own landscaping challenge: a large flower bed that’s been giving him trouble. He shares what he’s learned about using ground cover plants—options that thrive in both sun and shade—along with practical advice on soil preparation and weed control.Then, the conversation shifts indoors with a special guest: Patty Brummel from MidLife Revival. Patty recently transformed an old player piano with a bold navy-blue paint choice that completely redefined the space. She walks us through her process, from prep work and product selection to the surprising impact that unexpected color choices can have on a room’s atmosphere.The episode wraps up with a look at current paint promotions and the lasting benefits of using high-quality paints like Benjamin Moore’s Regal Select.Episode Highlights:
- 00:00 – Introduction and sponsor message
- 00:48 – Tackling a home landscaping problem
- 01:54 – Exploring ground cover options for sun and shade
- 04:30 – Soil preparation and weed control tips
- 06:40 – Interview with Patty Brummel: the painted piano project
- 17:20 – Common issues in painting projects
- 17:50 – Inspiration from designer Sister Parish
- 19:49 – The impact of bold colors in design
- 21:00 – Choosing the right color for your space
- 24:38 – Taking risks with color choices
- 30:54 – Patty’s current projects and where to find more
- 34:10 – Special offers and final thoughts
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, everybody, welcome to Home in Progress, sponsored by Repcolite
Paints and Benjamin Moore. You know, whether you're tackling your
very first DIY project or you've been painting professionally for years,
Repcolite and Benjamin Moore are here with the tools, the
paint and the expert advice to help you get it
done right every time.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Now on the show.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
This week, I'm joined by Patty Brummel from Midlife Revival,
and I've been following her work on Instagram for quite
a while now, and she's always got some great projects going. Recently,
she repainted an old player piano and the way she
approached that transformation really caught my eye, so I reached
out and today we're going to dig into that project,
the steps she took, the thinking behind the bold color choice,
(00:41):
and even how a single dramatic color can completely change
the feel of a room. It's a fun conversation and
that's coming up in just a bit, but right now,
let's start with a problem that I've been running into
at my own house.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Here's the scoop.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I've got a stand of five blue spruce all planted
in this large eighty foot or so long flower bed. Now,
I filled that flower bed over the years with mulch,
but that never lasts terribly long.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Right now, I'm trying to fill the bed with weeds.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
And while that's really coming along, I mean, that's really
coming together, it's really filling in the gaps. While that's
the case, it doesn't look good. So I don't think
that's my answer moving forward. So I've been debating what
in the world to do with this big flower bed,
and I've been leaning towards putting down a weed barrier
fabric and brand new mulch, you know, just do that
again and hope for the best. But then the kids
(01:28):
and I a few weeks back, went to Macana Island
and as we're walking around taking in the sites, we
scoped out a number of landscaped beds that featured spruce
trees and various types of groundcover. And groundcover was not
something that I had previously thought about as a solution
to my situation at home, and so I started researching
and thinking and digging. And that's what I want to
(01:51):
go through in this segment. You know, all the things
that I learned. So let's talk groundcover, and we'll talk
about the choices that will work in West Michigan, what
you can watch for and why fall actually is a
great time to plant them, all right, So groundcover, let's
start with options that work well in shade, because that's
where a lot of people often struggle. My situation probably
isn't a shade problem, but other people do struggle with shade.
(02:15):
So I'll start with other people first, because that's the way.
I am pretty big hearted when it comes down to it.
All right, Grass doesn't thrive under big trees, but native
plants like wild ginger do. No. Wild ginger it's a
low growing native plant with dark, green, heart shaped leaves.
It's spread slowly to create lush ground cover in shady areas.
(02:35):
It's also deer resistant, So wild ginger that's an option
that's something to think about for shady areas. Foam flower
that's another excellent choice. Produces delicate spikes of white to
pale pink flowers in spring. It's going to spread via
runners and it's going to form really dense mats. So
foam flower another way to go. Canada mayflower that's a
native plant that spreads quickly fills in shadier spots where
(02:58):
nothing else wants to grow. So there's three options right
there you're going to see, And in fact, my mind
first was drawn to the classics, the ones that we
see all over the place, myrtle, lily of the Valley,
and pacassandra. But each of these comes with some caution
flags that I wasn't completely aware of until I started
digging into this myrtle. For example, it will escape into
(03:18):
woodlands and it's considered invasive lily of the valley that's
toxic to people in pats, or at least there's parts
of it that are toxic to people in pats and
it's nearly impossible to remove once it's established. So that's
a little bit of a negative Japanese pacissandra that's aggressive.
It can harbor diseases like boxwood blight, and that is
a serious concern here in Michigan, where it's been detected
(03:41):
in Ottawa, Macsta and Oakland counties.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
So all of that.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
All of that baggage comes with some of those classics,
So definitely something to think about as you're making your choice.
If you love that pacissandra, look, there is a native
alternative called Allegheny spurge behaves much better than pakissandra and
it's going to give you a similar look. So those
are some areas or some options for shady areas.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
If you've got sunny spots. Creeping time is a great option.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Stays low, smells wonderful when you brush against it, it
attracts pollinators. You can tuck it in between stepping stones
where it softens hard edges. You know, that's a really
great options. Creeping time. Creeping flocks gives you a wave
of spring color, you know, pinks, purples, whites, all of that,
and then it's going to settle into this nice tidy
mat of green for the rest of the year. Now,
(04:31):
ground preparation, let's talk about that before we move on
to other things. Ground preparation, as you're getting ready to plant,
is half the battle.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
It's just like a paint project.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
If the soil is compacted or full of weeds, don't
just poke plants in and then hope for the best.
You know, loosen the soil, mix in, compost if it's poor,
clear out the weeds first. If you don't, your groundcover
is going to be competing right away, and weeds tend
to win those early battles. Now, once it's established, groundcovers
do choke out weeds. You know, thick mats shade the
soil and make it hard for weeds to sprout. But
(05:03):
getting there takes time. In that first year or two,
you're gonna need patience and a little bit of weeding. Now,
I mentioned weed blocking fabric as one of my plans.
After digging into it, I kind of think it's probably
not the best way to go for this. You know,
in practice, I think it's going to cause more problems
than it's going to solve.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You know, weeds will still root.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
In the mulch that collects on top of this fabric,
and the fabric if I put it in, is going
to make it harder for ground covers to spread. So instead,
I think the better thing is to do a good
job prepping the soil, plant everything closer together than you
might normally, and then mulch lightly until they fill in. Now,
late summer to early fall one of the best seasons
to plant here in Michigan. Cooler air isn't going to
(05:43):
stress the plants, but the warm soil is still going
to encourage root growth. Now, you want to get them
in about three to five weeks before the ground freezes,
water them well, keep watering until freeze up, and mulch
them lightly. By spring, you should have roots ready for
big growth. Now it all comes back to the right
plant in the right place. So wild ginger, foam flower,
(06:03):
Canada mayflower, or Allegheny splurge. They're splurge and Alleghany spurge.
I'm spending your money when I'm talking about Alleghany splurge.
When it's my money, it's just spurge. We cut that
l off because we're not splurging on anything. We're not
dropping any extra coins. So alleghany spurgs, all of those
work well in shade for sunny spots. Go with creeping
(06:25):
time or flocks. There are other options. Those are the
only two that I had time to get to. All right, groundcovers,
that's just a little bit of info. Do your own research.
But it might be a solution for some problem areas
in your yard. I think it is for mine. All right,
let's shift gears right now and talk about a painted
piano project that I ran into online, and we'll do
that right after this. This is home in progress where
(06:49):
the to do list is long, and that's all right.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
We're not crabbing at you. We're not gonna yell at you.
That's how it is. It's how ours is too.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
It's probably supported by Repcollite Paints and Benjamin Moore because
home projects are easier when you've got people you can trust.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And we're back.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
You're listening to Home in Progress sponsored by repco Like
Paints and Benjamin Moore. And right now I'm on the
phone with Patty Brummel from Midlife Revival.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Patty, thanks for being here.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Thanks Dan, thanks for having me. I really appreciate talking
to you again.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
We had you on, Man, I don't know how long ago.
That was a couple months ago.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
It was actually back in the winter time. I know that.
Oh manime earlyive, I know this is older.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I get Yeah, it just flies, time flies.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Mom always said that. Grandma always said that, and I
always thought, oh, come on, it doesn't. No, it does,
Oh my goodness, it does. So anyway, way, long time ago, Yeah,
we talked. We talked about a lot of different projects.
One of the things you do a lot of different things.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
One of the.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Things that I've seen because you've got an Instagram page, Facebook,
your own website and stuff like that. But I see
you mostly on Instagram. I think is where I encounter.
You do a lot of furniture, refinishing, restoration, really interesting stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
I would say it just kind of depends on the piece.
I'm kind of starting to get into more of the restoration,
but it's always it started as just refinishing, like with
paint and stuff.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Okay, Yeah, and you started that like it was kind
of a hobby, right that it was just kind of
your fun thing, and then you had people start to
see your pieces and say, hey, you should be ye
selling this.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Yes. I first started having people who were co workers
of mine because in my previous life I was a
registered nurse for over thirty years and kind of started
dabbling in refinishing furniture when the kids got older and
kind of getting into that empty nesting part of life.
(08:53):
And so it was a great hobby. And yeah, so
then I had people at work asking me would I
like to refinish this or that for them? Just little pieces. Yeah,
just kind of snowballed from there.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Yeah, so you do a lot of this. I've been
following and one of the things, one of the pieces
that I really really had a lot of interest in.
I don't know why it really struck me, but I
really liked it. I really I can still picture it.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
What was that?
Speaker 1 (09:22):
It was the piano transform transformation that you did a
while back.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
The recent, the recent piano, the blue piano, the blue piano, okay,
the navy blue piano.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
So I want to know a little bit more, you know,
because I don't know that everybody out here listening has
seen that. I'll put links in the show notes so
you can check out the the pictures and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, so I'll put all of that for inspiration.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
It doesn't mean I have to do something for you,
just to inspire you to do.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
In fact, why don't we give that out right now?
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Because if they're listening and they want to check that,
you know, some of the stuff out that we're talking
about right now, they can do that while we're talking.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
So how do they find you?
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Instagram and Facebook. I am just known by Midlife Revival
and if you google that quite often it shows up.
I have a website as well, but that I don't
use very much. But Instagram and Facebook, all the all
(10:20):
the transformations I do are on.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
There, lots and lots of photos, and like you said, inspiration,
you know, just give people some ideas. So I encourage
you go check that out Midlife Revival on Instagram, Facebook.
This piano, it's a navy blue piano, kind of an
upright piano, right, It.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Was a player piano actually, oh, a piano, and the
client actually said it worked and it belonged to her mom,
who has since passed, and she asked me to paint
it navy blue.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So she came up with the idea for the color
and all of that.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Yeah. I don't know if I would have picked navy
blue for a piano, but it works in her house
and it's her piano.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
So yeah, that is exactly how it works.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
We've had colors, you know, customers pick colors in the
store when you're working, and you think, well, I don't know,
that's certainly not for me, But it isn't for me,
it's for you, so go for it.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Yeah. Yeah, Well I told her she had to go
to a repcal Light, she had to pick up Benjamin
More paint color, and I would go from there. So
she actually picked I want to say, it was deep royal. Okay,
So I mean there's other navy blues I would have
thought of, but that's the blue she wanted.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
So well, let's talk about the project, you know, kind
of what what you went through, you know, what were
the steps.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
You know, people like to hear how that all shook out.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Okay, so you get it. What kind of prep did
you do to get ready to go with this?
Speaker 3 (11:59):
You're going to prep at the same way as you
would do any type of painting project. Basically. I mean,
it can be intimidating because it's a big piece. And
initially when I first did the first piano, the piano
mover guy Ronnie, he took it all apart for me
(12:19):
and I painted all these different parts pieces and then
he put it back together. But I didn't know if
I really liked it that way, so I would not
recommend that. Plus it'd be very hard to figure out
how to put it back together. So I just basically,
you know, first I gave it a good cleaning. It
(12:39):
definitely had had a lot of seen a lot of
Pledge in its day, Pledge furniture polish, and just gave
it a really deep cleaning with TSP, and then I
scuff sanded it and then I did As I was
(13:00):
doing all that, I started to see some little like
Dancer in Days or thing like that, especially on the top.
So I had reached out to her and asked her
if she wanted me to, you know, fill them in,
and she said, just do the best she can. So
I did fill them in.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Did you prime it? Did you use a bonding problem?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Oh? Yeah, yes, I primed it. Actually I did a
clear coat primer because she wanted some distressing. And I
debated whether to do like a gray primer, but I
don't know. I just I've done that with Navy kitchen cabinets,
and I just I don't know. I just didn't like
(13:41):
it so much. So I just went with a clear
shellac primer. And in the tricky areas, I just used
the spray form. Spray form so that you can get
in those, but otherwise you can roll it as well.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
And would you topcoat with I.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Actually ended up using Benjamin More Advance in that deep
royal color, I believe is what it was.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
So why did you go with the Advance? I mean,
there's a lot of different products out there. Advance is
a really unique product. It's kind of water borne, it's hybrid.
It's kind of like flows out a little bit quite
a bit like an oil based paint, drives a little
bit lower but it so you like that flow ability.
Do you use that on other things other projects? Is
(14:35):
that a go to or is that a go to
on this project?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
It's a go to on for sure, kitchen cabinets, and
it just I don't know. It just kind of depends.
I would like to say though that and I keep
putting this plug out there. Benjamin More advanced, I would
(15:00):
like them to bring back their matte.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Finish, all right, But.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Otherwise I know, but no one listens to me.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
No one listens to me either, at least we talk.
That's something I know.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Anyways, when I first started using it, they made it
in a mat and they said they didn't get a
lot of people requesting it, so at least that's what
I've heard from talking to the paint experts.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
So you went with a satin, then, yeah, so I
had to go.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
To the satin, which would the darker colors. There's kind
of my concern. I always feel like it's a little
too shiny with the dark colors. And I think we've
had this conversation. When I did my daughter's kitchen, I
started with the advance and with she had oak cabinets,
(15:55):
and it was it was just too shiny. So we
ended up to scuff X because they make a matt Yes,
so I could have done either. Oh I know why.
The other reason I did go with the advance is
I only needed a quart size and scuff X did
not does not make a quart size.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
That was Yeah, I believe that that is coming, but
I don't know coming.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Yeah, I don't, Okay, So there that was my decision.
I was like, I'm not buying a whole gallon. I
don't need a whole gallon of this deep royal because
I don't think I'll use it again, and she wasn't,
so so I kind of go. I think I ended
up doing. I did two really good coats because I
(16:40):
scuff sand or not scuffs hand, but I do a
fine sanding between them. Some areas ended up there was
a little adhesion issue, and I really think it was
pledge still even though I had cleaned. I had so
I did kind of three coats, is what it ended up.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Because you had a small area where there was a
little bit appealing or something.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Yeah, so gotta love that pledge. Yeah. We see that
on like paneling too.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
People will clean their paneling over years and years, you know.
I don't know how often, but then they'll go to
paint it and yeah, it's tough to get it as
clean as you need to.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
You can, but you do run into some issues from.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Time to time. I don't know how I missed it, because,
like I said, I do TSP and I mean I
do two cleanings too, So it was just a couple
of little surface areas up on the front and kind
of where the books would arrest it and stuff. So
I don't know. She must have really heavily pledged there
(17:45):
or something. The only thing I can figure out. Everywhere else,
the adhesion was awesome, it was fine.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Yeah, let's shift from all of that how to part
of things just to inspiration itself. Now, I know you
didn't come up with the idea for this one.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
You know, this was from your your customer.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yeah, it seems like it was maybe a month ago,
maybe two months ago. I talked about American designer Sister Parish.
Oh yeah, yeah, talked about her and one of one
of her big ideas, one of the main things that
she stressed in her work is that contrast and contradiction
are really what make a space interesting, you know, having
elements that you know, maybe unexpected is another way to
(18:22):
explain it, and that, to me is really exactly what's
going on with this piano. You know, you don't expect
it to be the color that it is, and you know,
really any color. There's a handful of colors that you
probably would think that's your go to piano color, but
anything outside of that really does start to be something unexpected.
Did you see the piano in the finish space? Did
(18:44):
you get to see it?
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Yeah, yeah, I actually followed the piano mover over there,
and that's where I took pictures of it, because I
was like, this is the third time I've done a
piano and I didn't get to take pictures right right,
So she was very gracious about and let me do
that once they had it all set up, and then
her little grandkids couldn't wait to get at the piano,
so then they sat there and so yeah, yeah, so
(19:07):
I did see it in the space.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
What did it do for that space?
Speaker 3 (19:10):
So she put it against a white wall. It was
actually kind of a ship lap wall, and oh my goodness,
it just popped on that wall. It was gorgeous. It
was absolutely gorgeous. And then she had a lot of
just kind of more neutrals in that living room area,
but she had some pillows that had the pops of
(19:32):
navy and stuff, so it really tied in really nicely. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Well that's one of the things, you know, Let that
piece be the thing that's speaking, you know, don't fill
the space with all lots of elements of that same color.
Use a lot of neutrals, use little pops of it.
But that can really work. You know, what's your experience
as you're working with your customers, your clients and stuff.
If they're picking the colors, I don't know how often
that happens. Sometimes you just find pieces and do them. Yeah,
(19:59):
they're picking the Do you find that they're afraid to
use color bold colors in unconventional ways or do you
see people just jumping right in.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
I would say everyone that I work with is pretty
much leaning towards playing it safe and sticking with neutrals.
But a neutral that I often do is black, so
and I mean I consider it a neutral in a way.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
So you don't see very many people branching out. How
do you feel about branching out?
Speaker 3 (20:34):
It would depend on what it is, like, you know,
with we just refinished this upstairs apartment, and I did
green cabinets, a very dark green cabinet. The color is
Benjamin Moore Backwoods, and in such a neutral space it
(20:54):
is absolutely I love it. It's gorgeous. It just really
depends on the space.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
And so when you're choosing that green for those cabinets,
was that the first time you were using a green
like that in that situation?
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yes, So what was that thought process? Like, I mean,
were you nervous? Were you concerned?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
I mean, because you're kind of pushing it a little
bit with Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
I was, but I was again going back to contrast
and stuff. The walls were like simply white, I believe,
don't quote me on all my colors. The floors were
feathered down, the wood floors, I should say we painted
the wood floors. So I already had two neutrals, and
(21:41):
I just felt like the cabinets would have gotten lost
amongst all of that, and green is one of my
favorite colors, and so I just brought in some darker
shades of greens. And Backwoods worked really good because there
was a lot of window light. And whereas I tried
(22:04):
it down in a first floor mudroom and it looked
almost black in there. So again you have to just
like you preach all the time too. You got to
get the colors in the space, put them on different walls,
look at them at different times a day. I actually
what I like to do instead of I see people,
(22:26):
you know, rolling it on walls. But I just took
a big board and I painted it. I did this
with my whites and off whites as well. Is the
ones I kind of had it narrowed down to. I
painted on a big board, and I just moved that
board around throughout the day to different walls so I
(22:49):
could just study it and you know, just like walk
in and go, oh yeah, no, I don't like it
on that wall. Oh yeah, I do like it on
that wall, or you know. So that's that's my little tip.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Do you often find that when you do that, that
the color that you sampled on that board most of
the time. Do you end up going with it or
do you run into Hey, there's a fair amount of
time where I realize I better make a shift and
find something slightly slightly different.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I kind of try to boil it down to just
a couple of colors, so I just it's either one
or the other. Usually I don't try to make it
too many options. By then when I buy the samples,
I'm too cheap. I don't want to buy twony sample colors.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
So that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
But you definitely do find that your first instinct might
not be the color you want to go with.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Oh, yes, it's really true. You can see it.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
It will look different in your space, yes, and sometimes
you think it will.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Yes. Yeah. In fact, like I have Shantilly lace here
in my house, and I absolutely love this color. But
I tried that up there and it looked I don't know,
it almost like pulled gray in that space.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
So now so much depends on you know, the lighting
in the space, the exposure, you know, what kind of.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Ye the light getting very to your exposure.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Oh, I have rambled on and on about that, but yes,
it was so interesting and it solved so many of
my problems, you know, things I should have realized ahead
of time. But wow, now you know, you know, a
color can look a little different. But the one that
I talked about on the show, I cannot believe how different.
You'd never guess it was the same color from one
(24:28):
room to another room. And it's just a Western exposure
versus an eastern exposure and yeah, the color completely changes,
So definitely do that, you know, check out your color
in your space. What would you say to people who
are you know, you've taken some risks with color.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
You know you've seen this piano, how that.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Shook out and put it out if somebody's out there
and you said, most of your clients tend to be
a little safe, and being safe is fine, you know,
if that's what's going to work in your space, and
sometimes pushing the boundaries a little bit can create something
that you know, like that piano. You could have made
that piano a normal piano color and it probably would
have looked just great. It would look fine in that space.
(25:07):
Now it jumps out at you. Now it's making a statement,
It starts a conversation. It kind of owns that space
a little more.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
So.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Yes, we could take furniture and put a nice neutral
or a nice safe color on it and it will
look great. But a color that's a little bolder or
a little stranger, a little unusual. Strange is the wrong
word to use, but an unusual color, unexpected color in
that space can take it to a whole, whole other level.
What would you say to people who are you know,
maybe just averse to that risk. They just don't want
(25:35):
to try it. Would you say anything to them or
would you just say yes, whatever you want is what
I'll do.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
I love to see their space if I have to
make an opinion like that. Now, I did not see
her space, so you know, I just had to trust her.
I mean, think about she'd waited two years to have
this done, so I think she'd had thought about it.
Not time, yes, but I prefer to actually get in
(26:06):
a person's space if I am going to be recommending
something a little bit more bold. So it's just going
to depend on that.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
I think for me, I guess it would all depend
It would depend on the piece, but one of.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
The depends on where you're putting it.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Where you're put But how big is it? You know?
Speaker 1 (26:32):
And and I understand they're they're hiring you, and I
don't want to rehire you to redo it.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
That right, Well, that's I was going to say. That
could be a big thing now for myself personally, I
can repaint something.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
That's I'm thinking. I would gamble a little bit.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Yes, I did gamble a little. I've never done this,
but until this piece upstairs. I have a second Terry desk,
and it was when I bought it many years ago
from Tulsma Furniture plug for Tulsma Furniture, I it was
like a hunter green. It was kind of a two tone.
(27:13):
It had some wood on it. Well, the hunter green
just didn't work in our space and our condo now,
so I did paint it another green. But it's more
just a very lively spring year green. I would say
a little sagey, but not. I mean it can pull
(27:35):
a little gray, but yeah, and I mean I love it.
I love it because there's always hints of you know,
either plants or things that I have in my pillows
that have that color.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
So no, we did that with a desk we bought
for probably one of the events that we ran years back.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
You know, we'd have color and design events.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Someday we'll do more, but in the past, I remember
buying this really inexpensive It was a child's desk. You know,
it's an antique, but it's not like it's fancy. It's
a roll top desk, not fancy, very plain. But we
needed a small piece for this little set that we'd built,
and we're looking at it and just, oh man, did
it need a ton of work, you know, because it
(28:17):
just lots of little stains and stuff. When we decided
let's paint parts of it, we wanted to keep some
of the natural woods. We kept the desk top, the
writing surface natural. And then we decided we're going to
paint other parts of it and we'll leave like the
frame of it, you know, the legs and stuff natural too.
Just the way it worked. That all worked really well,
and we're trying to come up with a color, and
(28:38):
we did end up going with I believe in that one.
We went with a yellow, and then we redid it
later a couple of years later and made it a green.
But both of them were great. But what was really
cool is we took well and some people will just grown,
but this was not a fancy, expensive antique piece. But
we got some textured wallpaper and a glip to a
(29:00):
wallpaper and we put that on the side panels.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
So it's nice.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
I've seen people do that.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Yeah, And then with that yellow on it, or later
with the green on it, it really took that piece
that would have just been It would have been fine
if we'd have refinished it and kept it all wood,
but man a whole different thing. And then by going
to a color that you just don't expect, I mean,
you just don't see that very often.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
And so they say yellow is branching out a bit.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yeah, well, we had just done a segment on the
radio about Thomas Edis Thomas Jefferson's dining room. We always
thought it was Wedgewood blue, I think is what historically
everybody thought his dining.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Room was painted.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
But they did about ten years ago, research further research,
and they found out no, his original color was chrome yellow.
His dining room was like this really bright yellow with
white trim, And it was all about creating this entertainment
space where people would talk and feel energized, because that's
what he was after. So that's why we went with
that yellow, because it tied into something we had talked about.
(30:06):
But blah blah blah, all of that to say, pushing
the boundaries on that color. If we hated it, we
had on that piece. We had I think three drawer
fronts and the two sides and the very very top
of the dresser to repaint. So it was tiny, tiny amounts,
(30:26):
less than half a quarter paint, So it was worth
pushing the boundaries just to see once what we came
up with and it worked. If it doesn't work, it's
not like it's the end of the world. But I
think what you gain from pushing sometimes sometimes is worth
that risk. I mean, you know, that's just me. That's
how it shakes out, And if I was hiring you,
(30:47):
I would definitely be thinking maybe differently. I don't want
you to redo this twelve times until I get it right.
But anyway, before I let you go, where can people
find you? We've already given that outlet's given out one
more time. And if you've got any other projects that
you'd like to, hey, check this one out, check that
one out.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
By all means send people.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Where them well again. I can be found at Midlife
Revival on Instagram, Facebook, and I also have a website
midlife revival dot com. And boy, I've always got projects going.
I sometimes think my people think that follow me, that
(31:31):
I just jump around, But I get sick of something
for a little better. I'm waiting for something to happen.
But right now I'm actually doing custom work for a
client who just moved into a new build, and her
dining room table chairs and cabinet, hutch. We're looking quite
(31:52):
yellowly over time, so going to brighten those up. Going
very neutral on that. But other than that, I am
just working on painting inside my own workshop that has
been put on the back burner. I've found some cool
pieces and I just don't want like a normal workshop.
(32:15):
I wanted to reflect what I do. So I've found
some old pieces. I have a lower kitchen cabinet that
I painted, and I found a hutch top, just the
top and I got that put on top of that,
and so to store on my paint and just working
(32:35):
on some other.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
Just making your workshop.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
I'm making my workshop. Yeah, it's not a traditional guys
it's not a guys workshop. Let's just say we've got
beedboard with you know so, But that's slow going. It
just happens when I have some time in between projects.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
So it's a lot of fun to watch what you do.
You chronicle it really well, you know, I like good.
You know, you tell us what you're working on, you
tell us the steps.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Yeah, and it's.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
What other people do too, but you do it really well.
It's really fun to travel along and watch so well.
I encourage everybody out there to check it out.
Speaker 3 (33:13):
Yeah, and check out my stories because I feel like
that is where you will learn the most. The page
the posts are really just the final product. So if
you want to follow the process, you know, learn yourself
what's going on, how to do something, that's where the
(33:33):
stories are great for. So if it's a big project
like when we refinished did this whole house renovation in
the last two years, I put highlights in Instagram for.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
That, definitely check it out.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Really interesting and yeah, you'll find things that will make
you think and get you move in and maybe inspire
you to make a big change in your own homes.
And you don't have to hire Patty to do it.
You can though she's out there.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
You can.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Yeah, we can walk you through too if you've got
something that you want to tackle on your own. All right,
Patty Brummel from Midlife Revival, thanks for talking with us today,
Thanks for having me. And before I wrap everything up
for the week, I want to let you know that
Regal Select from Benjamin Morison sale for twenty percent off
now through September eighth. So twenty percent off on Regal
Select now through September eighth. Regal is one of the
(34:23):
best paints you're ever going to use. And if you've
got projects that are still on your to do list.
I do that's no surprise to anybody out there. Oh
so many projects on my to do list. If you've
got any projects still on your to do list and
you'd like to get at least one or two of
them crossed off, now's the time you can get one
of the best paints available at a great price. And
(34:45):
I know I talk about it all the time on
the show, and I know that when I talk about it,
really it's just me talking about it.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
You know, You're not going to find out the truth
of what I'm saying until you try it.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
But good paint, high quality paint, really does make a
huge difference in your project. It's going to last longer,
it's going to wash up better and hold up better
and all of those things. But it's also going to
apply more easily, it's going to hide better, it's going
to go on with less spatters and with less effort.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
You know, cheaper paint.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Really does make you work for a good look. High
quality paint is going to do a lot of that
heavy lifting for you. So think about it for your
next project. Stop out at any Repcolite location and get
the good stuff. And if your project does call for
regal select remember it's on sale for twenty percent off
until September eighth. All right, that's going to wrap up
this week's episode of Home in Progress, sponsored by Repcolite
(35:34):
Paints and Benjamin Moore. If you enjoyed the show, make
sure you don't miss the next one, and you can
do that by subscribing to Home in Progress wherever you
listen to podcasts. And if you've got a minute and
you're feeling generous, leave us a rating, leave us a review.
It helps more people find the show and we really
appreciate that feedback.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
And of course don't forget to visit us.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Online at Repcolight dot com, our E P C L
I t E dot com. You'll find blog post, paintent
design resources in all of our past episodes. Thanks so
much for checking out the show this week, and be
sure to check in next Saturday when a.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
New episode drops. I'm Dan Hanson. Thanks for listening.
Hey, everybody, welcome to Home in Progress, sponsored by Repcolite
Paints and Benjamin Moore. You know, whether you're tackling your
very first DIY project or you've been painting professionally for years,
Repcolite and Benjamin Moore are here with the tools, the
paint and the expert advice to help you get it
done right every time.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Now on the show.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
This week, I'm joined by Patty Brummel from Midlife Revival,
and I've been following her work on Instagram for quite
a while now, and she's always got some great projects going. Recently,
she repainted an old player piano and the way she
approached that transformation really caught my eye, so I reached
out and today we're going to dig into that project,
the steps she took, the thinking behind the bold color choice,
(00:41):
and even how a single dramatic color can completely change
the feel of a room. It's a fun conversation and
that's coming up in just a bit, but right now,
let's start with a problem that I've been running into
at my own house.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Here's the scoop.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I've got a stand of five blue spruce all planted
in this large eighty foot or so long flower bed. Now,
I filled that flower bed over the years with mulch,
but that never lasts terribly long.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Right now, I'm trying to fill the bed with weeds.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
And while that's really coming along, I mean, that's really
coming together, it's really filling in the gaps. While that's
the case, it doesn't look good. So I don't think
that's my answer moving forward. So I've been debating what
in the world to do with this big flower bed,
and I've been leaning towards putting down a weed barrier
fabric and brand new mulch, you know, just do that
again and hope for the best. But then the kids
(01:28):
and I a few weeks back, went to Macana Island
and as we're walking around taking in the sites, we
scoped out a number of landscaped beds that featured spruce
trees and various types of groundcover. And groundcover was not
something that I had previously thought about as a solution
to my situation at home, and so I started researching
and thinking and digging. And that's what I want to
(01:51):
go through in this segment. You know, all the things
that I learned. So let's talk groundcover, and we'll talk
about the choices that will work in West Michigan, what
you can watch for and why fall actually is a
great time to plant them, all right, So groundcover, let's
start with options that work well in shade, because that's
where a lot of people often struggle. My situation probably
isn't a shade problem, but other people do struggle with shade.
(02:15):
So I'll start with other people first, because that's the way.
I am pretty big hearted when it comes down to it.
All right, Grass doesn't thrive under big trees, but native
plants like wild ginger do. No. Wild ginger it's a
low growing native plant with dark, green, heart shaped leaves.
It's spread slowly to create lush ground cover in shady areas.
(02:35):
It's also deer resistant, So wild ginger that's an option
that's something to think about for shady areas. Foam flower
that's another excellent choice. Produces delicate spikes of white to
pale pink flowers in spring. It's going to spread via
runners and it's going to form really dense mats. So
foam flower another way to go. Canada mayflower that's a
native plant that spreads quickly fills in shadier spots where
(02:58):
nothing else wants to grow. So there's three options right
there you're going to see, And in fact, my mind
first was drawn to the classics, the ones that we
see all over the place, myrtle, lily of the Valley,
and pacassandra. But each of these comes with some caution
flags that I wasn't completely aware of until I started
digging into this myrtle. For example, it will escape into
(03:18):
woodlands and it's considered invasive lily of the valley that's
toxic to people in pats, or at least there's parts
of it that are toxic to people in pats and
it's nearly impossible to remove once it's established. So that's
a little bit of a negative Japanese pacissandra that's aggressive.
It can harbor diseases like boxwood blight, and that is
a serious concern here in Michigan, where it's been detected
(03:41):
in Ottawa, Macsta and Oakland counties.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
So all of that.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
All of that baggage comes with some of those classics,
So definitely something to think about as you're making your choice.
If you love that pacissandra, look, there is a native
alternative called Allegheny spurge behaves much better than pakissandra and
it's going to give you a similar look. So those
are some areas or some options for shady areas.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
If you've got sunny spots. Creeping time is a great option.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Stays low, smells wonderful when you brush against it, it
attracts pollinators. You can tuck it in between stepping stones
where it softens hard edges. You know, that's a really
great options. Creeping time. Creeping flocks gives you a wave
of spring color, you know, pinks, purples, whites, all of that,
and then it's going to settle into this nice tidy
mat of green for the rest of the year. Now,
(04:31):
ground preparation, let's talk about that before we move on
to other things. Ground preparation, as you're getting ready to plant,
is half the battle.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
It's just like a paint project.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
If the soil is compacted or full of weeds, don't
just poke plants in and then hope for the best.
You know, loosen the soil, mix in, compost if it's poor,
clear out the weeds first. If you don't, your groundcover
is going to be competing right away, and weeds tend
to win those early battles. Now, once it's established, groundcovers
do choke out weeds. You know, thick mats shade the
soil and make it hard for weeds to sprout. But
(05:03):
getting there takes time. In that first year or two,
you're gonna need patience and a little bit of weeding. Now,
I mentioned weed blocking fabric as one of my plans.
After digging into it, I kind of think it's probably
not the best way to go for this. You know,
in practice, I think it's going to cause more problems
than it's going to solve.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You know, weeds will still root.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
In the mulch that collects on top of this fabric,
and the fabric if I put it in, is going
to make it harder for ground covers to spread. So instead,
I think the better thing is to do a good
job prepping the soil, plant everything closer together than you
might normally, and then mulch lightly until they fill in. Now,
late summer to early fall one of the best seasons
to plant here in Michigan. Cooler air isn't going to
(05:43):
stress the plants, but the warm soil is still going
to encourage root growth. Now, you want to get them
in about three to five weeks before the ground freezes,
water them well, keep watering until freeze up, and mulch
them lightly. By spring, you should have roots ready for
big growth. Now it all comes back to the right
plant in the right place. So wild ginger, foam flower,
(06:03):
Canada mayflower, or Allegheny splurge. They're splurge and Alleghany spurge.
I'm spending your money when I'm talking about Alleghany splurge.
When it's my money, it's just spurge. We cut that
l off because we're not splurging on anything. We're not
dropping any extra coins. So alleghany spurgs, all of those
work well in shade for sunny spots. Go with creeping
(06:25):
time or flocks. There are other options. Those are the
only two that I had time to get to. All right, groundcovers,
that's just a little bit of info. Do your own research.
But it might be a solution for some problem areas
in your yard. I think it is for mine. All right,
let's shift gears right now and talk about a painted
piano project that I ran into online, and we'll do
that right after this. This is home in progress where
(06:49):
the to do list is long, and that's all right.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
We're not crabbing at you. We're not gonna yell at you.
That's how it is. It's how ours is too.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
It's probably supported by Repcollite Paints and Benjamin Moore because
home projects are easier when you've got people you can trust.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And we're back.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
You're listening to Home in Progress sponsored by repco Like
Paints and Benjamin Moore. And right now I'm on the
phone with Patty Brummel from Midlife Revival.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Patty, thanks for being here.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Thanks Dan, thanks for having me. I really appreciate talking
to you again.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
We had you on, Man, I don't know how long ago.
That was a couple months ago.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
It was actually back in the winter time. I know that.
Oh manime earlyive, I know this is older.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I get Yeah, it just flies, time flies.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Mom always said that. Grandma always said that, and I
always thought, oh, come on, it doesn't. No, it does,
Oh my goodness, it does. So anyway, way, long time ago, Yeah,
we talked. We talked about a lot of different projects.
One of the things you do a lot of different things.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
One of the.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Things that I've seen because you've got an Instagram page, Facebook,
your own website and stuff like that. But I see
you mostly on Instagram. I think is where I encounter.
You do a lot of furniture, refinishing, restoration, really interesting stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
I would say it just kind of depends on the piece.
I'm kind of starting to get into more of the restoration,
but it's always it started as just refinishing, like with
paint and stuff.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Okay, Yeah, and you started that like it was kind
of a hobby, right that it was just kind of
your fun thing, and then you had people start to
see your pieces and say, hey, you should be ye
selling this.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Yes. I first started having people who were co workers
of mine because in my previous life I was a
registered nurse for over thirty years and kind of started
dabbling in refinishing furniture when the kids got older and
kind of getting into that empty nesting part of life.
(08:53):
And so it was a great hobby. And yeah, so
then I had people at work asking me would I
like to refinish this or that for them? Just little pieces. Yeah,
just kind of snowballed from there.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Yeah, so you do a lot of this. I've been
following and one of the things, one of the pieces
that I really really had a lot of interest in.
I don't know why it really struck me, but I
really liked it. I really I can still picture it.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
What was that?
Speaker 1 (09:22):
It was the piano transform transformation that you did a
while back.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
The recent, the recent piano, the blue piano, the blue piano, okay,
the navy blue piano.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
So I want to know a little bit more, you know,
because I don't know that everybody out here listening has
seen that. I'll put links in the show notes so
you can check out the the pictures and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah, so I'll put all of that for inspiration.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
It doesn't mean I have to do something for you,
just to inspire you to do.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
In fact, why don't we give that out right now?
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Because if they're listening and they want to check that,
you know, some of the stuff out that we're talking
about right now, they can do that while we're talking.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
So how do they find you?
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Instagram and Facebook. I am just known by Midlife Revival
and if you google that quite often it shows up.
I have a website as well, but that I don't
use very much. But Instagram and Facebook, all the all
(10:20):
the transformations I do are on.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
There, lots and lots of photos, and like you said, inspiration,
you know, just give people some ideas. So I encourage
you go check that out Midlife Revival on Instagram, Facebook.
This piano, it's a navy blue piano, kind of an
upright piano, right, It.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Was a player piano actually, oh, a piano, and the
client actually said it worked and it belonged to her mom,
who has since passed, and she asked me to paint
it navy blue.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So she came up with the idea for the color
and all of that.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Yeah. I don't know if I would have picked navy
blue for a piano, but it works in her house
and it's her piano.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
So yeah, that is exactly how it works.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
We've had colors, you know, customers pick colors in the
store when you're working, and you think, well, I don't know,
that's certainly not for me, But it isn't for me,
it's for you, so go for it.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Yeah. Yeah, Well I told her she had to go
to a repcal Light, she had to pick up Benjamin
More paint color, and I would go from there. So
she actually picked I want to say, it was deep royal. Okay,
So I mean there's other navy blues I would have
thought of, but that's the blue she wanted.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
So well, let's talk about the project, you know, kind
of what what you went through, you know, what were
the steps.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
You know, people like to hear how that all shook out.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Okay, so you get it. What kind of prep did
you do to get ready to go with this?
Speaker 3 (11:59):
You're going to prep at the same way as you
would do any type of painting project. Basically. I mean,
it can be intimidating because it's a big piece. And
initially when I first did the first piano, the piano
mover guy Ronnie, he took it all apart for me
(12:19):
and I painted all these different parts pieces and then
he put it back together. But I didn't know if
I really liked it that way, so I would not
recommend that. Plus it'd be very hard to figure out
how to put it back together. So I just basically,
you know, first I gave it a good cleaning. It
(12:39):
definitely had had a lot of seen a lot of
Pledge in its day, Pledge furniture polish, and just gave
it a really deep cleaning with TSP, and then I
scuff sanded it and then I did As I was
(13:00):
doing all that, I started to see some little like
Dancer in Days or thing like that, especially on the top.
So I had reached out to her and asked her
if she wanted me to, you know, fill them in,
and she said, just do the best she can. So
I did fill them in.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Did you prime it? Did you use a bonding problem?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Oh? Yeah, yes, I primed it. Actually I did a
clear coat primer because she wanted some distressing. And I
debated whether to do like a gray primer, but I
don't know. I just I've done that with Navy kitchen cabinets,
and I just I don't know. I just didn't like
(13:41):
it so much. So I just went with a clear
shellac primer. And in the tricky areas, I just used
the spray form. Spray form so that you can get
in those, but otherwise you can roll it as well.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
And would you topcoat with I.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Actually ended up using Benjamin More Advance in that deep
royal color, I believe is what it was.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
So why did you go with the Advance? I mean,
there's a lot of different products out there. Advance is
a really unique product. It's kind of water borne, it's hybrid.
It's kind of like flows out a little bit quite
a bit like an oil based paint, drives a little
bit lower but it so you like that flow ability.
Do you use that on other things other projects? Is
(14:35):
that a go to or is that a go to
on this project?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
It's a go to on for sure, kitchen cabinets, and
it just I don't know. It just kind of depends.
I would like to say though that and I keep
putting this plug out there. Benjamin More advanced, I would
(15:00):
like them to bring back their matte.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Finish, all right, But.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Otherwise I know, but no one listens to me.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
No one listens to me either, at least we talk.
That's something I know.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Anyways, when I first started using it, they made it
in a mat and they said they didn't get a
lot of people requesting it, so at least that's what
I've heard from talking to the paint experts.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
So you went with a satin, then, yeah, so I
had to go.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
To the satin, which would the darker colors. There's kind
of my concern. I always feel like it's a little
too shiny with the dark colors. And I think we've
had this conversation. When I did my daughter's kitchen, I
started with the advance and with she had oak cabinets,
(15:55):
and it was it was just too shiny. So we
ended up to scuff X because they make a matt Yes,
so I could have done either. Oh I know why.
The other reason I did go with the advance is
I only needed a quart size and scuff X did
not does not make a quart size.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
That was Yeah, I believe that that is coming, but
I don't know coming.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Yeah, I don't, Okay, So there that was my decision.
I was like, I'm not buying a whole gallon. I
don't need a whole gallon of this deep royal because
I don't think I'll use it again, and she wasn't,
so so I kind of go. I think I ended
up doing. I did two really good coats because I
(16:40):
scuff sand or not scuffs hand, but I do a
fine sanding between them. Some areas ended up there was
a little adhesion issue, and I really think it was
pledge still even though I had cleaned. I had so
I did kind of three coats, is what it ended up.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Because you had a small area where there was a
little bit appealing or something.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Yeah, so gotta love that pledge. Yeah. We see that
on like paneling too.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
People will clean their paneling over years and years, you know.
I don't know how often, but then they'll go to
paint it and yeah, it's tough to get it as
clean as you need to.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
You can, but you do run into some issues from.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Time to time. I don't know how I missed it, because,
like I said, I do TSP and I mean I
do two cleanings too, So it was just a couple
of little surface areas up on the front and kind
of where the books would arrest it and stuff. So
I don't know. She must have really heavily pledged there
(17:45):
or something. The only thing I can figure out. Everywhere else,
the adhesion was awesome, it was fine.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Yeah, let's shift from all of that how to part
of things just to inspiration itself. Now, I know you
didn't come up with the idea for this one.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
You know, this was from your your customer.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Yeah, it seems like it was maybe a month ago,
maybe two months ago. I talked about American designer Sister Parish.
Oh yeah, yeah, talked about her and one of one
of her big ideas, one of the main things that
she stressed in her work is that contrast and contradiction
are really what make a space interesting, you know, having
elements that you know, maybe unexpected is another way to
(18:22):
explain it, and that, to me is really exactly what's
going on with this piano. You know, you don't expect
it to be the color that it is, and you know,
really any color. There's a handful of colors that you
probably would think that's your go to piano color, but
anything outside of that really does start to be something unexpected.
Did you see the piano in the finish space? Did
(18:44):
you get to see it?
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Yeah, yeah, I actually followed the piano mover over there,
and that's where I took pictures of it, because I
was like, this is the third time I've done a
piano and I didn't get to take pictures right right,
So she was very gracious about and let me do
that once they had it all set up, and then
her little grandkids couldn't wait to get at the piano,
so then they sat there and so yeah, yeah, so
(19:07):
I did see it in the space.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
What did it do for that space?
Speaker 3 (19:10):
So she put it against a white wall. It was
actually kind of a ship lap wall, and oh my goodness,
it just popped on that wall. It was gorgeous. It
was absolutely gorgeous. And then she had a lot of
just kind of more neutrals in that living room area,
but she had some pillows that had the pops of
(19:32):
navy and stuff, so it really tied in really nicely. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Well that's one of the things, you know, Let that
piece be the thing that's speaking, you know, don't fill
the space with all lots of elements of that same color.
Use a lot of neutrals, use little pops of it.
But that can really work. You know, what's your experience
as you're working with your customers, your clients and stuff.
If they're picking the colors, I don't know how often
that happens. Sometimes you just find pieces and do them. Yeah,
(19:59):
they're picking the Do you find that they're afraid to
use color bold colors in unconventional ways or do you
see people just jumping right in.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
I would say everyone that I work with is pretty
much leaning towards playing it safe and sticking with neutrals.
But a neutral that I often do is black, so
and I mean I consider it a neutral in a way.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
So you don't see very many people branching out. How
do you feel about branching out?
Speaker 3 (20:34):
It would depend on what it is, like, you know,
with we just refinished this upstairs apartment, and I did
green cabinets, a very dark green cabinet. The color is
Benjamin Moore Backwoods, and in such a neutral space it
(20:54):
is absolutely I love it. It's gorgeous. It just really
depends on the space.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
And so when you're choosing that green for those cabinets,
was that the first time you were using a green
like that in that situation?
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yes, So what was that thought process? Like, I mean,
were you nervous? Were you concerned?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
I mean, because you're kind of pushing it a little
bit with Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
I was, but I was again going back to contrast
and stuff. The walls were like simply white, I believe,
don't quote me on all my colors. The floors were
feathered down, the wood floors, I should say we painted
the wood floors. So I already had two neutrals, and
(21:41):
I just felt like the cabinets would have gotten lost
amongst all of that, and green is one of my
favorite colors, and so I just brought in some darker
shades of greens. And Backwoods worked really good because there
was a lot of window light. And whereas I tried
(22:04):
it down in a first floor mudroom and it looked
almost black in there. So again you have to just
like you preach all the time too. You got to
get the colors in the space, put them on different walls,
look at them at different times a day. I actually
what I like to do instead of I see people,
(22:26):
you know, rolling it on walls. But I just took
a big board and I painted it. I did this
with my whites and off whites as well. Is the
ones I kind of had it narrowed down to. I
painted on a big board, and I just moved that
board around throughout the day to different walls so I
(22:49):
could just study it and you know, just like walk
in and go, oh yeah, no, I don't like it
on that wall. Oh yeah, I do like it on
that wall, or you know. So that's that's my little tip.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Do you often find that when you do that, that
the color that you sampled on that board most of
the time. Do you end up going with it or
do you run into Hey, there's a fair amount of
time where I realize I better make a shift and
find something slightly slightly different.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I kind of try to boil it down to just
a couple of colors, so I just it's either one
or the other. Usually I don't try to make it
too many options. By then when I buy the samples,
I'm too cheap. I don't want to buy twony sample colors.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
So that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
But you definitely do find that your first instinct might
not be the color you want to go with.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Oh, yes, it's really true. You can see it.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
It will look different in your space, yes, and sometimes
you think it will.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Yes. Yeah. In fact, like I have Shantilly lace here
in my house, and I absolutely love this color. But
I tried that up there and it looked I don't know,
it almost like pulled gray in that space.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
So now so much depends on you know, the lighting
in the space, the exposure, you know, what kind of.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Ye the light getting very to your exposure.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Oh, I have rambled on and on about that, but yes,
it was so interesting and it solved so many of
my problems, you know, things I should have realized ahead
of time. But wow, now you know, you know, a
color can look a little different. But the one that
I talked about on the show, I cannot believe how different.
You'd never guess it was the same color from one
(24:28):
room to another room. And it's just a Western exposure
versus an eastern exposure and yeah, the color completely changes,
So definitely do that, you know, check out your color
in your space. What would you say to people who
are you know, you've taken some risks with color.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
You know you've seen this piano, how that.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Shook out and put it out if somebody's out there
and you said, most of your clients tend to be
a little safe, and being safe is fine, you know,
if that's what's going to work in your space, and
sometimes pushing the boundaries a little bit can create something
that you know, like that piano. You could have made
that piano a normal piano color and it probably would
have looked just great. It would look fine in that space.
(25:07):
Now it jumps out at you. Now it's making a statement,
It starts a conversation. It kind of owns that space
a little more.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
So.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Yes, we could take furniture and put a nice neutral
or a nice safe color on it and it will
look great. But a color that's a little bolder or
a little stranger, a little unusual. Strange is the wrong
word to use, but an unusual color, unexpected color in
that space can take it to a whole, whole other level.
What would you say to people who are you know,
maybe just averse to that risk. They just don't want
(25:35):
to try it. Would you say anything to them or
would you just say yes, whatever you want is what
I'll do.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
I love to see their space if I have to
make an opinion like that. Now, I did not see
her space, so you know, I just had to trust her.
I mean, think about she'd waited two years to have
this done, so I think she'd had thought about it.
Not time, yes, but I prefer to actually get in
(26:06):
a person's space if I am going to be recommending
something a little bit more bold. So it's just going
to depend on that.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
I think for me, I guess it would all depend
It would depend on the piece, but one of.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
The depends on where you're putting it.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Where you're put But how big is it? You know?
Speaker 1 (26:32):
And and I understand they're they're hiring you, and I
don't want to rehire you to redo it.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
That right, Well, that's I was going to say. That
could be a big thing now for myself personally, I
can repaint something.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
That's I'm thinking. I would gamble a little bit.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Yes, I did gamble a little. I've never done this,
but until this piece upstairs. I have a second Terry desk,
and it was when I bought it many years ago
from Tulsma Furniture plug for Tulsma Furniture, I it was
like a hunter green. It was kind of a two tone.
(27:13):
It had some wood on it. Well, the hunter green
just didn't work in our space and our condo now,
so I did paint it another green. But it's more
just a very lively spring year green. I would say
a little sagey, but not. I mean it can pull
(27:35):
a little gray, but yeah, and I mean I love it.
I love it because there's always hints of you know,
either plants or things that I have in my pillows
that have that color.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
So no, we did that with a desk we bought
for probably one of the events that we ran years back.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
You know, we'd have color and design events.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Someday we'll do more, but in the past, I remember
buying this really inexpensive It was a child's desk. You know,
it's an antique, but it's not like it's fancy. It's
a roll top desk, not fancy, very plain. But we
needed a small piece for this little set that we'd built,
and we're looking at it and just, oh man, did
it need a ton of work, you know, because it
(28:17):
just lots of little stains and stuff. When we decided
let's paint parts of it, we wanted to keep some
of the natural woods. We kept the desk top, the
writing surface natural. And then we decided we're going to
paint other parts of it and we'll leave like the
frame of it, you know, the legs and stuff natural too.
Just the way it worked. That all worked really well,
and we're trying to come up with a color, and
(28:38):
we did end up going with I believe in that one.
We went with a yellow, and then we redid it
later a couple of years later and made it a green.
But both of them were great. But what was really
cool is we took well and some people will just grown,
but this was not a fancy, expensive antique piece. But
we got some textured wallpaper and a glip to a
(29:00):
wallpaper and we put that on the side panels.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
So it's nice.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
I've seen people do that.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Yeah, And then with that yellow on it, or later
with the green on it, it really took that piece
that would have just been It would have been fine
if we'd have refinished it and kept it all wood,
but man a whole different thing. And then by going
to a color that you just don't expect, I mean,
you just don't see that very often.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
And so they say yellow is branching out a bit.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yeah, well, we had just done a segment on the
radio about Thomas Edis Thomas Jefferson's dining room. We always
thought it was Wedgewood blue, I think is what historically
everybody thought his dining.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Room was painted.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
But they did about ten years ago, research further research,
and they found out no, his original color was chrome yellow.
His dining room was like this really bright yellow with
white trim, And it was all about creating this entertainment
space where people would talk and feel energized, because that's
what he was after. So that's why we went with
that yellow, because it tied into something we had talked about.
(30:06):
But blah blah blah, all of that to say, pushing
the boundaries on that color. If we hated it, we
had on that piece. We had I think three drawer
fronts and the two sides and the very very top
of the dresser to repaint. So it was tiny, tiny amounts,
(30:26):
less than half a quarter paint, So it was worth
pushing the boundaries just to see once what we came
up with and it worked. If it doesn't work, it's
not like it's the end of the world. But I
think what you gain from pushing sometimes sometimes is worth
that risk. I mean, you know, that's just me. That's
how it shakes out, And if I was hiring you,
(30:47):
I would definitely be thinking maybe differently. I don't want
you to redo this twelve times until I get it right.
But anyway, before I let you go, where can people
find you? We've already given that outlet's given out one
more time. And if you've got any other projects that
you'd like to, hey, check this one out, check that
one out.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
By all means send people.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Where them well again. I can be found at Midlife
Revival on Instagram, Facebook, and I also have a website
midlife revival dot com. And boy, I've always got projects going.
I sometimes think my people think that follow me, that
(31:31):
I just jump around, But I get sick of something
for a little better. I'm waiting for something to happen.
But right now I'm actually doing custom work for a
client who just moved into a new build, and her
dining room table chairs and cabinet, hutch. We're looking quite
(31:52):
yellowly over time, so going to brighten those up. Going
very neutral on that. But other than that, I am
just working on painting inside my own workshop that has
been put on the back burner. I've found some cool
pieces and I just don't want like a normal workshop.
(32:15):
I wanted to reflect what I do. So I've found
some old pieces. I have a lower kitchen cabinet that
I painted, and I found a hutch top, just the
top and I got that put on top of that,
and so to store on my paint and just working
(32:35):
on some other.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
Just making your workshop.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
I'm making my workshop. Yeah, it's not a traditional guys
it's not a guys workshop. Let's just say we've got
beedboard with you know so, But that's slow going. It
just happens when I have some time in between projects.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
So it's a lot of fun to watch what you do.
You chronicle it really well, you know, I like good.
You know, you tell us what you're working on, you
tell us the steps.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Yeah, and it's.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
What other people do too, but you do it really well.
It's really fun to travel along and watch so well.
I encourage everybody out there to check it out.
Speaker 3 (33:13):
Yeah, and check out my stories because I feel like
that is where you will learn the most. The page
the posts are really just the final product. So if
you want to follow the process, you know, learn yourself
what's going on, how to do something, that's where the
(33:33):
stories are great for. So if it's a big project
like when we refinished did this whole house renovation in
the last two years, I put highlights in Instagram for.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
That, definitely check it out.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Really interesting and yeah, you'll find things that will make
you think and get you move in and maybe inspire
you to make a big change in your own homes.
And you don't have to hire Patty to do it.
You can though she's out there.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
You can.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Yeah, we can walk you through too if you've got
something that you want to tackle on your own. All right,
Patty Brummel from Midlife Revival, thanks for talking with us today,
Thanks for having me. And before I wrap everything up
for the week, I want to let you know that
Regal Select from Benjamin Morison sale for twenty percent off
now through September eighth. So twenty percent off on Regal
Select now through September eighth. Regal is one of the
(34:23):
best paints you're ever going to use. And if you've
got projects that are still on your to do list.
I do that's no surprise to anybody out there. Oh
so many projects on my to do list. If you've
got any projects still on your to do list and
you'd like to get at least one or two of
them crossed off, now's the time you can get one
of the best paints available at a great price. And
(34:45):
I know I talk about it all the time on
the show, and I know that when I talk about it,
really it's just me talking about it.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
You know, You're not going to find out the truth
of what I'm saying until you try it.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
But good paint, high quality paint, really does make a
huge difference in your project. It's going to last longer,
it's going to wash up better and hold up better
and all of those things. But it's also going to
apply more easily, it's going to hide better, it's going
to go on with less spatters and with less effort.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
You know, cheaper paint.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Really does make you work for a good look. High
quality paint is going to do a lot of that
heavy lifting for you. So think about it for your
next project. Stop out at any Repcolite location and get
the good stuff. And if your project does call for
regal select remember it's on sale for twenty percent off
until September eighth. All right, that's going to wrap up
this week's episode of Home in Progress, sponsored by Repcolite
(35:34):
Paints and Benjamin Moore. If you enjoyed the show, make
sure you don't miss the next one, and you can
do that by subscribing to Home in Progress wherever you
listen to podcasts. And if you've got a minute and
you're feeling generous, leave us a rating, leave us a review.
It helps more people find the show and we really
appreciate that feedback.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
And of course don't forget to visit us.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Online at Repcolight dot com, our E P C L
I t E dot com. You'll find blog post, paintent
design resources in all of our past episodes. Thanks so
much for checking out the show this week, and be
sure to check in next Saturday when a.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
New episode drops. I'm Dan Hanson. Thanks for listening.
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