Finished Night Stands with Crappy Photos

Here's an update on my latest rehab project:

 

This week I took a little time to transform these dated nightstands, which if you remember, cost me $15/pr:

 

 

To these:

 

 

 

The tops were warped, chipped, and stained. I cleaned them thoroughly, then used 2 coats of CeCe Caldwell's Natural Chalk and Clay Paint in Seattle Mist that I purchased in Falls Church at Stifel and Capra After that, I coated everything with a water-based top coat for protection. I distressed them ever so slightly around the sides and edges so that it wouldn't seem traumatic when life happens to them (and it will).

 

I know most of us wanted to switch the handles out for something contemporary for my friend's more modern tastes. However, the 2 inch spread of the holes made it really, really hard to find replacement knobs, so I decided to stick with what we had. Hopefully the glossy white paint will work with my Arnebya's décor. If not, I'll sell them on Craigslist and keep looking.

 

The drawers were grimy inside so I cleaned them and lines them with gray and white scrapbook paper, secured by spray adhesive: 

 

I'll let you know if she likes them.

 

 

Tim's mom and Margaret are in the kitchen making gingerbread cookies, Tim and I will go out to a concert in a few hours, and Shadow is here at my feet. From my house to yours, I'd like to wish you love and peace this week.

Is that Number 1 or Number 2?

I'm putting together some things to take to a flea market (details to follow when I have them!) and I thought these 2 worn old bar stools could use an update:




I'd seen cute numbered stools on various blogs and decided to try it out.

Matte black spray paint, a stencil, white craft paint, and a little polyurethane on top and here's what we have!

I love them and hope you do too!

Linking up to these fun parties:

Old Painting to Cool Chalkboard

I found a huge (4 foot by 3 foot) painting in someone's trash. After determining that it was a "Genuine Reproduction" as it said on the back, and realizing it reeked of cigarette smoke, I had to have it!

I'd been looking for a big frame to turn into a chalkboard.

Sorry this isn't smell-a-vision, but trust me on the smoke thing. I left this on my carport for 2 months to air it out, and to arouse suspicion among my admiring neighbors that I had, indeed, become a hoarder.

Tom popped the painting out of the frame for me and I threw it away, as it was the smokiest part. Then my neighbor took IT out of MY trash...Circle of Life, I suppose.

I cleaned the frame, and spray painted it Winter Gray. It was all I could do NOT to paint it my beloved Heirloom White. I felt a little unfaithful.

Next, I glazed the heck out of it using black glaze and an old towel. I think I may have overdone it, but it took about 5 minutes and was oh-so-fun!

Then I went to Home Depot and bought a $4 piece of MDF. They cut it for me for free.

I spray painted it with chalkboard paint, then glued the MDF into the frame using Liquid Nails.

Here it is, above the fireplace:

I'd like to enjoy it a while, then try to sell it on Craigslist.

Multi-Tasking

If you've ever wondered whether one can scratch a shingle-y head while spray painting, I thought I'd introduce you to 2 of my newest buds.

Gladys:


And her little sister Ethel:


Both were super sturdy and super comfortable.

After a little priming, painting, and stapling, they have a new lease on life.

Gladys now goes by "CoCo," and Ethel would prefer to be addressed as "E-Dawg."


When and if I find the baggie where I put the screws to hook the seats back on, these 2 are going on Craigslist.

Holy Craft!

Molly and I took an ornate gold plastic frame that didn't sell at the yard sale, and covered up the small oil painting with painter's tape.




Then we gave it a light spray painting with Heirloom White spray paint. I forgot to wipe off the cobwebs first-- oops! Yes, I know my legs look like Hilary Clinton's. Please focus on the "artwork." We left some of the crevices unpainted for depth.




When I realized I didn't have any chalkboard paint, I just grabbed one of my adhesive chalkboard rectangles that was on my pantry door, cut it with an exacto knife, and stuck it right on top of the painter's tape.



For a different look, I grabbed a peice of corkboard left over from another project, and stuck it right on top of the chalkboard. Then I added a family picture and an ampersand thumbtack.



So now I have 2 fun, virtually free projects in one frame. Please tell me... which do you prefer?

Linking up at Reinvented today.

Sun-ny Days, Chasing the Clouds A-way

So I was browsing in Crate and Barrel last week when I saw this tray:
It looked so fresh and happy that it made me think I might need a little punch of yellow in my decor this spring.

So this flowered Dollar Store Tray got a fresh coat of yellow spray paint.

And my little blue table got some Heirloom White and was topped off by my cracked green $3 lamp with a coat of yellow and a new drum shade.

Before:

(Coral transformation to be unveiled later.)



After:






The lamp is not wowing me because:

1. I kind of ran out of yellow in the middle, so it's a bit of a greenish-yellow
2. I can't get the shade to stay on straight without the use of duct tape
3. It's so old its making me think-- fire hazard

But I must say, the yellow provides the room with a more fun, funky vibe than it had before.

The couch got some new linen pillows from C&B, to replace the wintry chocolate/blue satin ones. Don't you think the middle is crying out for a cute yellow/white lumbar pillow in a graphic print? Please let me know if you have one in mind!



So, I'm not sure if the yellow will last through the summer, or even this month, but I guess this goes to show you what happens when you give a girl a can of yellow spray paint.

P.S. The dog is still brown.

Linking up to Do It Yourself Day at A Soft Place to Land!

2 Dollar Chair Revisited

Remember the $2.00 chair I got at the thrift shop, despite the fact that I have chairs coming out of my ears over here? Well, I liked the pretty blue color, but the fabric was badly stained and covered with cat hair. I was a little nervous about re-covering it because I've only done chair bottoms, not tops and bottoms.

When I took off the fabric, finding a gazillion staples in the process, I got a little nervous. I considered keeping the bright aqua vinyl I found underneath, but alas, it had rips in it, so I knew I must plunge forward.




With Tom's assistance and Molly's encouragement, I started folding, cutting, and stapling. There is no sewing in this household. I just kind of made a hospital bedsheet fold in the back, with lots of extra fabric, and stapled it all underneath the chair.



I wanted a funkier fabric, but settled on this brocade pattern because the price was right. Here is Tom pretending we're going to use duct tape on the chair. Well, we might have used a smidge, but it's not where you can see it!




Here's how we ended up:










Could someone please reach up into the above picture for me and move my coffee table over about 6 inches? Thanks.

Cost:

Chair: 2.00
Heirloom White spray paint: 3.00
Black and White fabric: 15.00
Total: $20




And for those of you who are worried that I'll get buried under a pile of chairs and be featured on "Hoarders," I did put 4 chairs on Craigslist last week. Still waiting for takers.

This post is also featured at Shanty to Chic.

DIY Day-- Dumpster Dive Edition

Here's my latest dumpster dive project. I pulled this chair out someone's trash. I liked the shape, but the suede was marked on with pen and had a few small tears. The picture doesn't really show the stains, but trust me on this one. I also thought it looked a little formal for me.

I glued the ripped suede down with a glue gun and then spray painted the entire chair, suede and all, with my favorite Heirloom White spray paint. The arms got oversprayed b/c I was trying to cover up some pretty gross stains and got carried away.

If I had it to do over again, I would have at least tried to clean the suede before I started spraying. It has kind of a mottled look about it, which I like.

Molly doesn't like how the paint feels on her feet when she stands on the chair in her dirty bare feet to look at herself in the mirror each day. Hmmmph!

And Tom thinks it looks a little trashy.

But I'm loving it! And even if it's not our most dramatic transformation, or the loveliest piece of furniture in the house:

1. it was free

2. it is comfortable

3. it's not in a landfill

4. the whole project took under 5 minutes, if you don't count the minute it took to wrangle it into my car

5. the living room isn't lit well enough for close inspection anyway

Be sure to check out the other DIY projects at Kimba's blog.

Do It Yourself Party-- Black Side Tables

I love checking out Kimba's blog for great before and after shots at her "Do it Yourself" Parties.


I'm not sure if this counts as "Do It Yourself" because Tom actually painted these for me, but I'll share anyway.


I found these smelly, broken, little guys on a trash heap in the rain. They were once on either side of a mirrored vanity, but the mirror was long gone. The veneer was chipping off and the knobs had to go.

I thought of spray painting them white, but with Tom's recent comment that I was going a little overboard with all the white in the house, Tom sanded them lightly, painted them black with an oil based paint we already had, and we switched out the knobs with the old wooden knobs from my last dumpster dive .

They are now cute bedside tables in our guest room. Total Cost: $0

Check out the other projects on Kimba's website.