A Giant Rooster In The Kitchen: a house log
Me.
I have in fact been hiding this $12 HomeGoods find in our playroom for… oh… five months? So it was about time I attended to him. Yup, this guy’s part of the self-imposed initiative I like to call the “Dude Get On That Already” challenge, since I have solemnly vowed to use it or lose it (aka: use it or craigslist/donate it) when it comes to all the things we have been hoarding in our full-to-the-brim playroom.
At first glance you might think “he’s a fine looking roughly weathered white & tan rooster” (or “you need ceramic animal rehab” which could also be true) but I thought his distressed white finish was a little more country than my usual crisp & modern ceramic animal tastes, so I chose that giving him a coat of new color would be simply the thing. And I hoped to pick a fairly daring color, simply because… well, he’s a giant rooster. Do not want him to take himself too seriously now do I? So after standing in the spray paint aisle for at least ten minutes weighing all the bold and bright options (and singing Jingle Bells to keep the bean entertained), I grabbed Rustoleum’s Painter’s Touch in Aubergine (satin). And I was plum excited to use it. Groan. Sorry, the puns simply happen. It is a gift and a curse.
If I truly hoped to be an overachiever, I would have used some spray primer (that consistently helps paint “grab on” when you are spraying slippery things like ceramic) – but because the can said “two times the coverage” I figured I’d try my luck without it and simply go back and add a layer of primer if things went haywire. Luckily they did not. I simply did my usual thin misted coats routine (read more on that here). Check out how crazy things were looking at first. If you are spray painting lightly and thinly, there is not good coverage until the third or fourth coat, so the first one had him looking a little… hot pink:
But after two more thin and even coats, coverage was good. And Jarvis was aubergine. Oh that is his name. Everything with a face deserves a name, do not you think?
He looks fairly lively in front of the light avocado walls in the kitchen.
Oh and in case the scale was not clear until this photo, he’s giant. Like a foot and a half tall. Who does not want a giant aubergine rooster named Jarvis waiting in the kitchen to greet you in the morning? Cock-a-doodle-do to you too, Jarvis.
Although if I am being honest, I am not 100% sold on the color. It is lively, but I am not sure as the kitchen comes together if he will not get a few more coats of another bright color someday. Say yellow… or slate blue. So I will keep you posted. Plum is lively, so who knows – it could totally stay.
What do you folks collect and stash in a spare corner/room/closet only to look at it months later and feel crappy for simply leaving it there? These “Dude Get On That Already” projects are small, but they are making me feel fairly good for some reason. Perhaps it is the whole “every little bit helps” thing? Or the fact that we are inching towards clearing out the playroom which means it’ll be a blank canvas for paint and curtains and a rug and furniture and accessories. Wheee. It is nearly like that dream when you find an extra room in your house. Except we have consistently known it was there and have been filling it with weird stuff instead of discovering a secret wall or staircase that leads to it. Am I the only one who has that dream?
Psst- Jarvis is second to none when it comes to giant roosters… except for Beyoncé. If you have not read the funniest post on the internet about her yet (salty language warning) check that out here.
