Eco-friendly fixes to Craigslist finds

I love Craigslist. And thrift stores. And yard sales. And if I ever find anything good in my alley, I probably wouldn't be against dragging that home to.... My boyfriend is such a sport (he's into it too.)

Currently I have two lovely Craigslist acquisitions that need some lovin'. One is a lovely small sideboard with hutch. I've already decided they look better separated, with the hutch hanging on the wall. And I've replaced the pulls from a drab, ultra traditional brass to these lovely brushed nickel ones. Second is a desk soon to be vanity for the bathroom. Still looking for the perfect drawer pulls (I want recycled glass...hmmm...). The stickler is that both require a paint job to be perfect.

I stained an unfinished piece last year, and was completely put off by the awful smell and cleanup. Can't imagine what those VOC's (volatile organic compounds-aka the smelly stuff for the non-science nerds) are doing to our insides every time we paint/stain/recycle those thrift store castoffs.

Thus began my search for eco-friendly paints and stains. So far I found two companies that look promising. I'm going to try some of their products out and I'll get back to ya on how they stack up.

Company 1: Bioshield Natural Paints

They are one of the few places that have stains that seem to be more than just "less bad" normal stains. We'll see how they work, as the boy has them earmarked for his current reclaimed project (shhh, it's a surprise).

Company 2: Green Planet Paints

Ohhh, I'd love to try their clay paints for my next wall painting project. Soooo Pretty! I ordered some of their raw pigments to try in my new fabric printing endeavor, an alternative to commercial dye powders. I'm so excited I'm giddy!

In celebration of this green post, a pretty picture for your enjoyment:
Mmmm....clean air, clean water-I love the beach!