Credenza Update

I started stripping the credenza and holy moly is that going to be a job.  That thing is so stinkin' big and there were so many coats of varnish on it it's not even funny. 

 The top actually is not that bad, all the vertical space is what's killer.

 

 

The key to stripping is to not skimp on the stripper, you have to give it a really thick coat.  Otherwise you end up with spots like this.

 

And be patient, you have to wait until the varnish/paint starts to bubble up before scraping it.  If not, you'll be doing a lot of sanding.  Hopefully I'll have this step done by the weekend!

 

My plan for it is to  1. add hardware

     2. paint it a bright color

3. cut out the center of the doors and put in decorative metal

 

 

 

Table Turned Desk

I've gone a little crazy lately with homemade cleaners.  As in, I have now made homemade laundry detergent, dishwasher deteregent, Febreeze, tub cleaner, Windex, and Oxyclean.  Our house has never been so clean!  Erin is so over it right now.  I think I've come home everyday for the last week with a new recipe!

Needless to say, I haven't been doing a lot of major projects lately.  I did manage to paint our old kitchen table on my day off though. 

It had a veneer top with a really weird finish.

Erin and I really wanted a desk area for work.  This table was too big for the kitchen area and since we have a new old table there now I decided to make this one our desk.

 

I primed it with Kilz and then painted it with a couple coats of Martha Stewart's Pink Sea Salt.  Then I finished it with a coat of polyurethane.  It all went downhill here.  I learned the hard way you can't use polyurethane on white paint; it turns a not-so-lovely yellow.  So I got to do the whole thing over again and finish it with polyacrylic. 

The guest bedroom is a little on the small side, so I mounted half the table to the wall to save on space.  I think I'm going to really like it in here.

Linked up to:
Ginger Snap Crafts
Polkadots on Parade
Southern Lovely

Lucky Shopping

 

Shopping luck was on my side this week.  I went to Dirt Cheap, which is exactly what it sounds like.  You never know what you are going to find, but I have gotten some great stuff there.  It's kinda a hot mess though.  90% of the time it looks like a tornado hit it. 

They always have lots of Target closeouts though, which is great since the closest Target is almost 2 hours away.  I think I went through withdrawals when I moved here!  I had forgotten Dwell has a Target line and they have a quilt version of the  bedding I was wanting.  And even better, I found it at Dirt Cheap so, you guessed it, it was dirt cheap!  It's a king size which is a little bigger than what I needed, but I can't pass up a deal.  I mean it was obviously fate!

 

I also ordered this vintage wall paper from Etsy.

 

My plan is to frame two long panels like in this picture.

via Elements of Style

 

Now I'm on the hunt for frames the right size!

Guest bedroom chandelier

I thought I wanted black walls in the guest bedroom, but I painted one wall and it was a little overwhelming.  I always like the idea of black walls in pictures and magazines, but in our tiny little bedroom it was just way too dark.  I settled on a dark gray with blue undertones.  I think it looks great.

We used Martha Stewart Magnetite

This has been a kinda slow project week.  Some weeks I will finish a million projects all at once and others I can't seem to get anything done.  I did manage to finish the light fixture for the guest bedroom though.  I found this chandelier at the thrift store a while ago and have just held on to it thinking I would find a place for it.

 

 

 

 

I spray painted it white and the candle portion a really pale pink.

 

I love the way it looks against the dark walls (which will look much better when we get the crown molding up!).

 

Guest bedroom Inspo

While I slowly work on stripping the credenza, I'm planning on starting a few inside projects as well for the cold days when I really don't want to work outside.  Our guest bedroom hasn't really been touched since we moved in and it is nooot cute. 

Yikes.  It was the same dirty yellow beige color as the rest of the house.  This was the only room that didn't have any wallpaper (hallelujah!) so it won't require so much prep work.  It's become more of a storage room lately, so we are definitely going to need some organization.  I really want it to be a relaxing room and pretty gender neutral so all our guests will be comfortable. 

I've loved this bedding for forever and I looove all the colors

via Design*Sponge

but I think it's a little much for the guest bedroom.  It comes in a more neutral color way that is more along the lines of what I'm thinking.

Hopefully, I can find something similar to this Dwell bedding.  This isn't our forever home, so I really don't want to spend a fortune on something we may not use for long.

New TV stand

We are in desperate need of a new media center at our house.  Our poor little TV stand was sad and tiny (so was that little light fixture, see that project here).

 

 

 It was a sad little piece of furniture (let's just pretend like you don't see our old school TV while you're at it).

 

 

  I have looked high and low for the perfect piece and everything came up short.  Everything was either way out of our price range or not my style at all.   Plus since our house is older, I really wanted something with storage space.

 

I finally came across this huge credenza at the thrift store (you can see a few other future projects peeking out).

 

It's not very much right now, but I think it will be perfect.   I have lots of big ideas for it, but first I have to strip the whole thing.  Ugh.  Hopefully it will be done soon!

Armchair Afters

I would love to share some kitchen afters with you, but it has been slow going around here.  I think it might have something to do with the fact that I start ten new projects before finishing the first one.  My left brain sister and Dad can not comprehend this at all.  I maintain that there is a method to my madness, but I will admit lately there has been a whole lot more madness than method!  I did however finish the chairs I was upholstering last week.

 

I think it is a major improvement from the stripe.  Blech

These chairs were the hardest to upholster I've done so far.  They had so many staples I had blisters by the time I was done.  All of these were from ONE CHAIR plus three tacking strips!

 

I thought it was kind of cool, someone tagged the bottom of the chair

 

My upholstery job is no where near perfect, but I'm still learning.  I love the shot of color it gives our little breakfast nook.  I need a little pep on these rainy days.

Linked to Funky Junk InterTiors

New Old Kitchen Table

Our little breakfast nook has been through quite a few changes.  We had our original kitchen table there for a while with four matching chairs, but it was to big.  Then I moved a little leaf table there.  One of the leaves was broken though and try as I might, I could not get the thing to stay up.  Plus it had a few issues that I couldn't fix since it was on loan.

I had pretty much given up when this beauty piece of junk found it's way into my garage.   

 

I have actually had my eye on it for a while.  My sister's boyfriend had it sitting on his back porch for and used it as an outdoor table.  It had LOTS of wear and tear, but I really liked the shape of it (it had sexy legs, well leg). 

 

 

 I decided to fix it up since it wouldn't really cost me anything to try.  Then I made Brian promise no backsies after he sees how fantastic it is and I got started.

 I sanded and scrubbed and sanded and scrubbed and... you get the idea.  Then I cleaned the whole thing with bleach and approximately five rolls of paper towels.

 

I removed the base and spray painted it with a semi-metallic spray paint we had on hand.  I think the color was oil rubbed bronze.  I used it because I already had it, but I actually really like the sheen in gave it.

 

I stained the top with a leftover gel stain; the wood still wasn't in great shape so it didn't take the stain evenly.  I actually really liked that though it gave it a more weathered look.

 

 

I originally considered doing something like this with it.

 

via Better Homes and Gardens

 

It's so bright and cheerful, but we have a lot of colors going on elsewhere so I kept it basic.
 The table really fits the area well and it was FREE!  Who doesn't love that?

 

 

 

Linked to Funky Junk Interiors

 

Aunt Mertice's diner chair

Since I'm all about upholstering this week, I am sharing another upholstery project that was done over Christmas break.  I found an old diner looking chair in a shed at my aunt's house when we had a yard sale and thought it had a kinda cute shape.  It was all kinds of nasty though.

 And it was super rusty, so of course I packed it up and took it home with me. 

 I took it all apart and sanded off as much rust as possible.

It can be our little secret that I took it apart in the house.  Oops :)  not the brightest idea I've ever had, but in my defense it was really cold out.  Erin obviously was not home that day or else I would have been relegated to the garage.

 I took pictures of all the details so I would remember how to put it back together.

Then I used the fabric I took off as a pattern for the new fabric and cut new seats.

And started putting it back together. 

Tipper thought the new chair back was pretty comfy.

and yes she is sleeping on a future project.  I think I may need a twelve step program.

 I sprayed the frame with a few coats of spray paint.  In hindsight, a primer would have been smart to use.  And I have a new chair! 

Linked  to

 

Funky Junk Interiors

House of Hepworths

Ladybird Lane 

Whipperberry

the 36th avenue

Katie's Nesting Spot

Project Fever

I have a major problem.  I think I could be clinically diagnosed with extreme projectitis.  In the midst of all this

 

 I decided to start upholstering my old chairs.  I was so excited about my new fabric I couldn't wait.
   It's looking better already though!

Etagere

I can't seem to find the before pictures of my new shelf. You can kinda see it in this post.  I just painted the shelves black and restained the spindles.

It has one more shelf, but I haven't decided if I'm going to add it on or not.  Either way it is way better than the bookshelf that was there.  It hung out two inches past the door frame.

 

Just about anything would be an improvement from that!  The new open shelves will look even better when I get the hallway repainted the bluish green color of the main living area.  I have a never ending list of things to do!