Which decade do you think?

I can't decide...60's or 70's?

What do you think?

Either way, not anything in THIS decade, but unique nonetheless.  So, what the hey, I'll try and transform it.  I decided it needed a really beach, chippy feel, but because of the size, thought white was the best color. 

I'm really beginning to have quite the collection of ASCP and I just happened to have some Pure White on hand.  It was a gorgeous day outside so this transformation happened on my back porch.  Now, some ASCP lovers may curse me, BUT, as much as I love her clear wax (especially because it doesn't stink and I can do it inside all winter long without stinking up the whole house)  I decided to go back to my old standby, Johnson's Paste Wax.  It's stinky, that's for sure, so do it outside.  I really love the way it goes on and at $5 a tub instead of $25 a tub, well worth it!

So, here it is, all chippy:

I'm really suprised how well it turned out.  Look at the huge drawer for storage!  If I had another, I think these would surely be my living room side tables.

So, do you know???  What decade is it from??

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Pinterest and Pallets

Once again, damn Pinterest has got me!  I know that pallets and reusing, redoing, fixing them are all the latest rage.  But, when I saw this, I knew I had to cave in also.

Unfortunately, this was just a pinned picture on Pinterest, it did not lead me to a website where I could give credit where credit is clearly due.  Remember, when using Pinterest, pin the site where the pic came from, or at the very least, copy and paste the link so when reusing you are giving proper credit.  A lot of DIY and projects just aren't getting the proper credit with the whole Pinterest craze.  *stepping down off soapbox*

But, seriously, how great is that?   I've got a big wall in my kitchen where I just never could figure out what to put.  For the past 8 years I've had 2 big wrought iron circles that really belong in a yard hanging there.  They looked nice, but plain.  When I saw this, I knew exactly where it would go.

But, where to get pallets?  Do I buy them?  Put a ISO on Craigslist?  I did use Facebook to ask a few people, but I ended up just using my own great wit!  (haha!)  I was driving back to work from my lunch hour and passed a big plumbing warehouse.  It was a gorgeous day and as I drove by I saw some men unloading a bunch of cargo with pallets just strewn around the parking lot.  So, naturally I stopped.  It went something like this...

Me:  What are you guys going to do with all those pallets?

Guys:  I don't know, what do you want to do with them?

Me:  a few projects I guess

Guys:  How many of these pallets do you think you can fit in your car?

Me:  Car?  I don't drive a car, I drive a pick up truck!

Guys:  Well, back it up here and we'll load 'em on!

So, as I head back to work dressed as any professional would be, I pull into the parking deck, driving my pick up truck with the back FULL of wood pallets.  I can only imagine what others were thinking, but really, I didn't care.  I scored!

Just a warning, recovered pallets don't really look like the ones on Pinterest or other websites.  They are really very utilitarian, meant to sit heavy crap on.  It doesn't matter weather the wood planks are evenly spaced, or the same size, or even missing half the slats.  But, if you get plenty, like I did, you can use 2 or 3 to make one really good one.  Plus, the whole point is to have a rustic finished product.  Not a product that looks like you went to Lowes and had the wood guy carefully cut all your pieces.  I think my husband had a small heart attack when he saw our back porch:

But, I came armed with my printout of the project I wanted to do.  I think he saw the light!

I found the perfect sized one to use.  All I had to do was tear out the middle slat to make an open looking shelf:

I lightly sanded it, didn't want it too smooth!  Then, I stained it a dark walnut and topped it with a coat of poly:

I was able to get all this work done peacefully yesterday because the weather was fantastic!  My little helper got herself dressed and played happily while I worked.  Truthfully, I think even she thinks I'm just a little bit crazy, but anyone who picked out this outfit certainly can appreciate a little craziness, right?

So, here it is right at home.  I need to get a few little knick knacks still.  I'd also love to get a few small bunches of dried lavendar and hang them in the empty spaces to give it some more pop, but still, even not all the way dressed up, I couldn't be happier with the way it came out:

Closer up:

Once again, a reminder to click on the pictures to make them bigger to really see how great this is!  I love, love, love it.  Even my husband who had a case of severe angst when he saw the cluttered patio thinks it was well worth it!  Also, I have another project in mind for the rest, so......stay tuned!

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Two Toned Tables (catchy, huh?)

I hope everyone had a great Easter.  We had a really nice time, to include a visit from the Easter Bunny, Egg Hunt, and Filet Mignon dinner.  As I was cleaning up the dinner dishes though I saw the carton of hardboiled eggs sitting in the fridge.  Hmm.  Nope, they weren't dyed.  They were just sitting there.  Naked.  Fail, huh?  Will my kid be in therapy as she remembers her 4th Easter without dyed eggs??

Let's get to something that I think I did right!  I scored this set months ago and they just sat in my storage room for a while until I could decide what to do with them.

We've all seen variations on this set, right?  Structurally, all three tables were in great condition.  However, they were messy, messy, messy.  They also had a really high sheen glossy look. 

I'm thinking this was the nail painting station in the house.  Not too sure about this though:

But, with some elbow grease and an orbital sander messy means nothing to me! 

I wanted to get away from my normal stained top-painted legs look that I've been doing lately.  Don't get me wrong, still love it, but this furniture didn't seem the "type" for that.  I broke down and bought a brand new color of ASCP that I've really wanted to try--Coco.  It's like a creamy chocolate bar.  So, first, I cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned.  Then I turned the tables upside down and painted the ledges and legs in ASCP Old White.

Even with all that glossy gloss it still only took two coats.  Keep in mind, I knew I was going to distress and wax.  If I wanted a no distress, clean look, I would have put on a third coat.  I painted the tops Coco, then distressed everything lightly and topped with some clear wax.  I used two coats on the tops of the tables because I knew they would get extra wear and tear.  I also painted the goldy gold drawer pulls black, which I wasn't sure of, but think I really like the contrast. 

Here's the finished product:

It's such a pretty set.  Perfect for a smaller room as the end tables are tall and narrow and the lighter colors really soften them up.  Look at those curvy legs!

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Wax On, Wax Off, etc...

Well, this is not going to be the post I thought it was, blah.  Because my camera is still on the fritz, I've been using my phone to take pics, then emailing them to myself, then moving them to my pictures library.  I had all of my before and during pics on my phone.  Because everything electronic I own just can't seem to act normal, I started deleting pics from my phone to free up some space.  I made sure I emailed the pics to myself, but alas, the email didn't go through and I had already deleted the pictures.  I know, I know a post without tons o' pics gets boring, so how about a few pics just thrown in for fun?

That's me and my husband. 

Back to business...my sister is moving to Florida and getting rid of a ton of crap from her house.  She is also getting rid of some not so crappy stuff including a great buffet/chest.  I really considered not painting it, but it needed some new life.  So, I got out my sample color of ASCP in Duck Egg Blue.  Because I only had a sample, I mixed it with Old White.  After 2 coats and some sanding I just wasn't crazy about it.  Was it blue, green, gray, white?  Couldn't tell.  So, I mixed up my own chalk paint with some unsanded grout using a flat white color.  I only needed one coat because I did want some of the other color to pop through.  As I sanded I realized that although homemade chalk paint works nicely, it just cannot be compared to ASCP and they way it sands and ages.

Time for another random photo?  Sure!

That's Emma working her new LeapPad like a pro after only about 5 minutes!  Yes, she is in her PJ's.  No, it isn't bed time as evidenced by the sun blaring through the window.  Let's just say she is on a PJ kick and leave it at that, K?

I knew I wanted to also add dark wax to give it more aging but had never really used a lot of dark wax except with ASCP Graphite color and the goal then was to make the color look more black.  Just for the record, I have never taken an Annie Sloan workshop.  I wish I could, but I barely have enough time to do everything else.  So, needless to say, I've been winging it where her techniques are concerned.  I've also had some invaluable tips from other blog sites.  Mainly, always use the clear wax FIRST before the dark wax to have better control.  Done.  But, as I applied the dark wax and began rubbing off, it was DARK.  Crap.  I can't believe I'm gonna have to repaint this buffet AGAIN.  But, ta-da, I remembered reading somewhere that the clear wax will help remove the dark wax.  So, I tried it and it worked!!  I was able to control the amount of dark wax I wanted on the piece.  It turned out really nice even though it now had 3 coats of wax on it, my arms were killing me!  This baby is smmmmmooooooooth as buttah.   So, here she sits in her new home.  Well, her new home for now...

Look at these great dividers in the top drawer:

I need to stop being so cheap and just go by myself a new camera.  In fact, maybe I'll do that today.  I took the day off work and like a bad mommy, still took Emma to daycare.  I deserve it, right?

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The same (well, almost) table!

The month of March has not been a good blogging month for me.  In addition to all my furniture redos, craft projects, family, house, husband....well, you understand...I actually have a full time job.  And, crazy as it sounds, had to focus my attention on it.  I could go into details, but lets just say that extremely draining doesn't cover it.  I've realized this month that the reason I'm so anxiety ridden, anal, controlling...well, again, you understand, is because I spend my days listening to horrible details of horrible crimes and it finally occurred to me that normal people don't really ever have to ever hear this stuff.  What a concept!

So, moving right along, I was able to hunt down and redo a small end table.  When I bought the matching Lane Cedar Chest and side table for my living room, I was quite content with not having matching tables for either side of my couch.  But, if you can believe it, I found a somewhat matching end table on Craigslist.  It is exactly the same except the middle is open instead of being a cabinet.  Also, it looks like the top piece was replaced at one time because the color is a bit different, even after using the same color stain.  I probably paid too much because it was really dirty, really messy, but what were the chances I'd ever find something similar again?  Here's what it looked like when I bought it:

What you can't see is that it was also basically covered in dirt and mud.  But, if you remember, here is the side table I had:

Seriously, look at the legs, EXACT, even down to the pulls. So, I stripped and sanded, stained the top and painted the body and pulls black.

Looks the same except for the opening, huh?  Here's a wide view of the living room.  I still need lamps, these are way too big.  Finding them has become quite the issue.  But, unless I'm gaga, I'm not wasting my money, the room will come together in time. 

Remember to click on the pics to get a better look!

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A quick before and after!

Sorry for the time between posts again, but I've been working CRAZY busy hours in my "real life" and any decorating has been put on hold...until this weekend.  It's just a small table, but that still counts, right?

This is really a great, quality piece, but what you can't tell is that the stain had chips all over it and it needed to be fixed up somehow.  I've recently discovered that staining a whole piece of furniture is just NOT my thing.  Too meticulous, too time consuming and I don't have the proper tools.  I do still however, love the stained top look.  So, I sanded down the top and restained it.  I used two coats of ASCP in Old White, then distressed and waxed.  I even used the same knob cause I like it!

Close up:

I'm not too sure I like it in the space.  The couch is a light gray, the floors are light and the walls are light, so it just seems to fade in.  I might repaint in my new fav color ASCP Duck Egg Blue, which actually looks more green to me.  I think it would add a nice pop of color and go well with my new TV stand that is Louis Blue.  But, I'm going to live with it for a while and see.  That's a new concept for me, but I'm trying to do things s-l-o-w-l-y instead of having to get it done NOW!

Here is another view:

You may notice the curtains in the back.  Yes, I had planned on making my own.  No, I didn't make my own!  I stumbled upon these at Target and at $16.99 a panel, there was NO way I could have done it cheaper.  And, I'm well aware that lamp is WAY too big for that small table, but like I said, slowly, one step at a time!!

Also, remember, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger!

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Some more redo's for me!

It's been so nice taking some time to do some things for my house for a change!  When I bought the dresser for my new TV cabinet, I also found a great Lane Cedar Chest and a side table that look like an EXACT match for the chest.  This really wasn't the direction I was planning, but I thought the cedar chest would make a really cool coffee table.  Plus, the more pieces I bought, the more the seller was willing to let me haggle with the price.

The chest and the side table were already painted the same black, which I really liked although they were very dirty and it was obvious there was no kind of protective topcoat at all, they were very dull in color.  The only major change I wanted to make was to strip the tops and restain a dark walnut color.  I just love that look, but you all already know that!

Here are some before shots:

Normally, I would have also filled in drawer pull holes and replaced them with a simple knob or an easier pull.  These are spaced 2 1/2 inches instead of the standard 3.  However, I didn't want to repaint them, I wanted to keep the black.  So, after thinking it over for a while, I decided I kinda like these, so I just sprayed them with my hammered black spray.

Here is the chest with the Citristip slathered all over:

And, look how easily the black paint on top just slid off:

The key to this is letting it sit for a day or so and let it dry completely before doing any sanding.  I did that on both the chest and side table.

I put 3 coats of stain on top and it really made a huge difference.  Not to mention, I cleaned the body of the both pieces, I mean, seriously, you can see how dirty they are.  After cleaning, I put a coat of wax on them to brighten them up and protect from a little monster that runs through my house.  I put the painted pulls back on and 1-2-3 done!

A wider view so you can see them both together:

By the way, dontcha just love, love, love my new couch??  To the right is the matching chair and 1/2 plus the ottoman.  I need new lamps, the ones I have are too big for side tables and I need to hang curtains.  I was planning to make my own curtains even though I've never even attempted anything like that, but I found some this weekend at Target that I just loved.  And, at $16.99 a panel I couldn't resist.  Also, I'm going back and forth about our rug.  This rug probably cost a few thousand bucks, I ended up with it after my mom could no longer use it.  I love it, it's the perfect size, it isn't all shaggy or thick, but I'm afraid the colors don't work.  So, I'm gonna live with it for a while, then decide.

How cool is this chest opened:

Shelf with compartments on top and a huge storage area below.  The two big bonuses are that the lock is still in tact, it needs to be fully pressed down while lifting the top, so again little monsters can't get in it, AND can you notice the original tags are all still there.  Isn't that amazing?  It is stamped made in February, 1961. 

And, once again I suprised my husband!  The look on his face when I told him that this dirty Cedar Chest was going to become our new coffee table was definately one of doubt.  Once in placed, even he talked about how cool it looks.  Score.