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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Primitive and Proper and Miss Mustard Seed



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.

My new TV stand/Media Center

I recently (finally!) got a new couch and chair/ottoman for my living room.  They were a long time coming.  We were using my mom's old loveseat and chair for the past few years.  They did the job, but I just wanted to actually be able to LAY down on the couch if I wanted to.  Since then, I've been on a mission to redecorate the whole room. 

So, I went to a local decorater tag/barn sale and, of course, found tons o' stuff I wanted.  I ended up getting a really good deal on an old dresser and 2 other pieces that I'll write about later.  I knew from the beginning I wanted to turn the dresser into a TV stand.  So, in my true fashion, I had to get started RIGHT AWAY!  Ahhhh, when will I ever learn the art of relaxation and taking my time??

I almost forgot my before shot, so here she is, not the best angle, but hey, it's something...

It's actually in good shape for as old as it is.  It does have a pretty bad paint job though.  Although you can't really tell from this picture, the paint is chipping and peeling.  That pink tinge you see on top is the paint stripper.  Like I said, I "almost" forgot my before pic!  I'm in love with the wood top/painted body look so that is the route I took.  Well, I have to be honest.  Stripping is messy.  Stripping is a pain in the a$$.  OK?  So, as far as I'm willing to go anymore is a nice straight top, not the full thing!  It had several layers of white paint, this is the best I could get with 2 rounds of Citristrip:

The edges came out nicely, but I had to enlist the help of my orbital sander for the top.  It worked great.  It's not perfect though, it has marks and dings and isn't a shiny piece of new looking wood.  But, then again, I don't want it that way anyway, right?!

I painted it Louis Blue in ASCP, heavily distressed it, then topped with clear wax and dark wax.  The very small amount of dark wax I used really gives it an aged look.  A lot of the white came through also, I originally didn't expect that, but it looks like I meant it that way.  One thing I did do purposely was to paint very lightly over the inlay design on the drawers so the white outlines it and gives it a pop.

I didn't put the top two drawers back in to allow a space for the DVD player and the DirecTV receiver.  I originally wanted to cut the drawer tops off, then replace them with a hinge to be able to pull them down and click back in place when the TV wasn't in use, but the drawers are dovetailed and I didn't think that would work.  So, I removed the big piece of wood running down the middle of the inside and opted to not paint in there.  You can see some of the wood, but that adds to the rustic feel, well, at least I think so!  I made holes in the back to allow the cords to go through:

Finally, I had to find knobs or pulls.  The dresser didn't come with any so I couldn't reuse or repaint.  I had always had in my mind that I would put some pretty glass knobs on the drawers.  There is a store downtown where I live that sells bigger sized ones which I thought would be perfect on these big bottom drawers.  When I went there, I came across a basket with a bunch of old pulls.  Would you believe there were only 4 of these in the whole basket?  Would you believe that I only needed 4??  I never have that much luck!  I did pay more for these than I normally would, but I'm not selling this, so I don't need to worry about profit margin, just what I like!  Aren't they just beautiful:

My flash must have been on crack when I took this pic because they really don't look this gold colored.  Look how pale this Louis Blue looks also.  Photography is just not my thing I guess.  They've aged well, so I didn't do anything to them. 

I've decided it's my mission to convince the world that everyone needs a pop of blue to brighten up a room.  It's just so happy. 

We were going to mount the TV on the wall and have this directly below, but I think it looks fine the way it is.  No point in spending more money and drilling more holes in my wall, huh? 

Just look at that dark walnut top.  I'm so pleased. 

The only issue we are having is with the wheels.  I believe it would be a crime against the furniture Gods to take those rustic, pretty, vintagey (now I'm just making up words)wheels off.  My husband wants them off.  Because of the age of this dresser, the drawers are not super easy to open and with the wheels, the dresser does move when yanking at them.  He is afraid that Emma will yank one of the drawers, the dresser will jerk around on the wheels and the TV will fall.  I'm still not sure if it's the TV or Emma he is trying to protect, but whatever.  I suppose it may be a legit complaint.  So, I'm going to try and sand the edges and wax them down in hopes that the drawers will open smoothly and I can keep the wheels.  Any other suggestions if that doesn't work??

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Miss Mustard Seed

A quick craft

I first need to give credit where credit is due...I found this idea on Pinterest, here is the direct link to the blog it came from.  With a ton of ideas all around the internet, no "craft" project really belongs to one person, however, giving a shoutout for a great idea and a tutorial like this is only right when using it on your own blog.

I've long admired those wooden painted signs with clever sayings or names on them, especially the more rustic ones.  I've had my eye out for a really beat up plank of wood to do it on and actually found some, but time got away from me and couldn't go pick them up.  So, a quick stop at Lowes got me these type of boards:

Actually, this was one board I had cut into 3 pieces.  I think the whole slab of wood was, um....about $4.50! 

Earlier in the day, I decided I was going to use my friend El as my guinea pig, even though she doesn't know it yet.  Well, maybe she does if she reads this before I see her tomorrow.  She has twin boys who are almost exactly one year younger than Emma, so I thought it would be neat to test this out using thier names in opposite colors.  So, I got on the computer and found a font I like, blew it up to about 150, then printed them out.

I painted one board ASCP Graphite and the other Old White, just one coat.  After it dried, I took my ballpoint pen and traced over the letters on the wood.  After finishing this, my suggestion would be to press REALLY hard to get a nice dip in the wood to avoid some of the mess I made.  Can you see the outline on this:

Make sure you click on the pic to make it larger, but I can see it on my screen, hope you can!

After tracing onto the wood, I  painted in the letters in the opposite color:

Although at first glance the letters look pretty good, it's a bit messy.  I would suggest getting a very thin strong paintbrush for the letters, not raid your little one's art supplies, like I did!  So, what's a girl to do when her paint is a bit messy??  Distress it of course!  The sandpaper helped me sand away some "oops" lines, especially since it was ASCP and I only used one coat.  Although I wasn't planning on it, I got out the wax because after sanding, the Graphite gets a whitish hue all over it and needs to be spruced back to life.  So, after the clear wax, I gently brushed on dark wax and quickly wiped away to just leave a small trace of it.  I'm so glad I did that because it really aged the look it since I couldn't go buy my pretty piece of already aged wood.  Here they are finished...not bad for my first try, huh?

Since my crappy camera ran out of batteries AGAIN, these are all taken with my cell.  I really hope you can tell the difference between the last two pics!

Finally...furniture makeover for a BOY!

OK, seriously, I almost forgot my password when logging in because it's been SO long since my last post.  Sorry.  What can I say?  Life is busy!  Now, onto the good stuff...

The same friend who I did the armoire/nightstand/desk makeover for decided she needed something for her son's room.  We kind of talked about it on and off, but not too seriously, then she came into my office one Monday morning telling me of her trips to local furniture stores.  Can you say expensive?!  So, give me the green light and I'm a lady on a mission!  The same day I was taking a long walk during my lunch hour and just happened to end up in front of the Habitat for Humanity Restore.  (just happened, right?)  I walked in and instantly knew I found what she would end up buying.  I went back to work and drug her to the store after work.  Sure enough, she agreed.  She not only purchased this dresser and armoire, but also a great loft bed frame.  Unfortunately, I can't shove that much furniture in my house so I did these two pieces first and now I have the bed to start.

My first thought upon seeing this set is that it was the typical 80's orangey/oak set.  It's SUPER heavy, solid wood.

Because the dresser was outside before I realized I needed a before pic, it doesn't truly capture the oranginess (real word?) of it.  Then, as I was dragging pulling the dresser around, I saw the stenciled stamp on the back that says this set was made in April of '94!

We went back and forth with color options, then settled on brown.  Then, she decided olive, which I have to say intrigued me.  I hurried and pulled up the color samples of ASCP on my computer and low and behold, OLIVE!  It's pretty dark so I mixed the Olive and Old White to tone it down a bit.   We knew from the beginning that the tops would be stripped and restained a nice dark walnut.  Here is the dresser top before:

Notsogood, huh?  I got out my orbital sander with some 80 grit sandpaper and after about 30-45 minutes of sanding (I thought it would never end!) I got this:

Ready for stain!  So, I'll admit, I'm not an expert stainer, that's why I've pretty much reserved staining for long straight spaces like this.  I'm sure I'll branch out eventually, but for now, I can still pretend I know what I'm doing!

The pulls that were already on these pieces were actually quite nice, so we decided to reuse them.  I was going to spray them a flat black, but noticed this at the Hardware store:

It's just what I wanted, it's only a slight difference, but it adds a bit of texture, which is great for a piece I was trying to make a bit more masculine.  I just bought some very simple dimpled black knobs for the armoire doors.  I think you can tell from this close up:

And, voila!

I can't stop looking at them!

I'm going to digress a bit for anyone who is new to using the ASCP.  Do not freak when the colors are a bit different as you first paint.  I mixed two ASCP colors to what I really liked.  As I was painting, it looked really bright, almost a sage green.  I was getting nervous.  But, it dried darker, just as I had imagined.  Then, as I sanded down everything, there was a whitish hue all over from the sanding.  My husband thought I had ruined it, but I knew I still had the last step, the wax.  I had actually decided that I would probably have to add some dark wax after the clear wax to darken the color, but as the wax went on I realized the color was perfect.  The wax really deepens the color and just provides another dimension.  Yes, I sand before waxing, some say you shouldn't, but I do.  So there.  hehe  Not to mention, smooooooooth.  Super smooth.  Honestly, it's hard to tell it wasn't factory painted by the feel of the finish.

And, after 3 coats of stain, waiting at least 6 hours in between and rubbing down with a piece of steel wool each coat, check out the new finished top:

And, just some more for your viewing pleasure:

I think it's very masculine, perfect for a boy's room, not only as a young boy, but can really grow with him for a long time.  What do you think??

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A small whitewashing project

As you all know, I just switched my daughters' bedrooms recently.  Emma's room is complete, I thought I still needed curtains but have since decided that the faux wood white blinds look pretty and I don't want to clutter up the room with more fabric.  So, I was left with Santina's room that was pretty bare.  Even though she isn't going to be here much longer, she still needs a nice place to stay when she comes home, right?

I'm too overwhelmed (and broke!) with things to do at the moment to think about painting it and buying new bedding.  I'd love to paint it two shades of a very nuetral beige and get some bright teal bedding, but again, budget, budget, budget.  I have to work with the purple, which still is pretty, just reminds of a younger childs room since it was a nursery at one time.  I found a cheap purple coverlet to attempt to match a bit.  The chair rail is white and so is the dresser and nightstand.  

My plan all along was to buy an old door and repaint it, hang it sideways and use it as a headboard.  Alas, I realized I couldn't exactly do that with the chair rail where it was.  I kind of put that idea on the backburner until I came across this:

Please click on the pic to get a better shot, each space has a design inlay carved on this old rustic wood shutter.  The wood is just beautiful, but was just a bit to boring for me and didn't fit it with purple and white.  You know, I love me some paint!  I didn't want to just paint it and have it lose it's rusticness (is that a word?) so I decided to do a whitewash although I've never done it before.

It's really quite simple and there's no messing it up.  I didn't want stark white, even though it would have matched.  I thought an off white would help keep the old look of it.  I add a tiny bit of ASCP Old White leftover, I'm actually suprised I still had the can, I kind of thought I had already gotten rid of it there was sooooooooo little in there.  I added some water and stirred.  I dabbed just a small amount on the brush, then rubbed the first stroke on a piece of cloth, then just dragged the brush all over, going with AND against the grain of the wood.  Going against the grain of the wood allows the paint to settle on the top grooves.  I just kept at it until I got the look I desired.

There are spots where the paint is thicker and my original plan was to sand them down, but really does paint wear evenly?  NO!  So, I left it as is and hung it just over the chair rail.  It's a combo headboard/art piece.

Again, please click on the pic to get a bigger view.  The wood is still very evident, I just toned down the "brown-ness" of it, if that makes sense??

I had, had, had to buy this when I saw it.  My usual furniture/home decor motto is that something else will always come along if this isn't the right time.  However, I don't see things like this coming along often, it's so unique.  And, at $35 how could I NOT buy it?