You know how much I love a good furniture makeover! Sometimes, it’s about a dramatic transformation, like this mid-century dresser, these stenciled nightstands, or my Thomasville faux bamboo bar cabinet. Other times, you just need a few changes to transform … Continue reading →
So, my weakness (talent?!) for finding home decor on the street is well-established. Remember when I made over this cute Chinese end table? Well, I was walking over to meet a friend for lunch today, and I saw this mirror … Continue reading →
I want each item in my home to be meaningful, and custom canvas art is a wonderful way to personalize a space. I’m sharing four custom canvas ideas that I’ve used in my home. This includes several original projects as … Continue reading →
We moved twice in the last two years, and in the process, I gave away a lot of things. I feel like the universe has decided to reward me by sending me two great finds. First, I found this vintage … Continue reading →
We recently moved into our new house, and I’ve been busy arranging and re-arranging things to get us settled. In this process, I was fortunate to receive a beautiful new sideboard cabinet from Hernest.com. This item was generously gifted, but … Continue reading →
I am so excited for our new patio space and have already enjoyed time out here eating lunch, reading, or catching up on some work. I started looking for some lounge chairs, but I couldn’t quite find what I wanted – or more accurately, what I wanted was way too $$$. But this story has an happy ending! I found these used chairs and made them over for $ to complete our patio space!
It’s no secret that I love anything with the look of cane or faux bamboo and also that I have a weakness for Craigslist finds! I spotted this set on Craigslist for $50, and when I showed up, the woman said I could have it for free. She also let me take the chairs without the table, so my karma of giving things away when we moved last year came back to me! I also picked up the chairs near my old neighborhood hardware store, so I stopped by to get some supplies and painting tips.
Here’s how to do it:
I started by cleaning off as much rust as possible. I used an old screwdriver, sandpaper, and steel wool
I prepped the chairs with deglosser and metal primer
I then finished them off with white gloss spray paint
The cushions were in decent condition, just faded, so I found these new slipcovers to freshen them up!
Here are some more pictures of our “new” chairs.
I feel they came pretty close to my inspiration pics, and all with the satisfaction with saving some money and a good DIY!
Everyone loves a good before and after pic:
I look forward to many more hours enjoyed out here with friends, family, or curled up with a good book!
Sometimes, milestones are measured in unusual ways. I know my kids are getting big, because it’s finally possible to take a picture of JJ’s room that is not a total disaster! We (I) were focused on finding a new house … Continue reading →
Remember when I told you that painting a vintage mid-century dresser was on my DIY bucket list? I love how that first project turned out. And then! When I was moving and definitely should not have been accumulating more stuff, I found something I couldn’t resist: a Thomasville faux bamboo bedroom set for free on Craigslist! This included a twin bed frame and a little desk and dresser. The desk had a bookcase hutch, which I put on top of the dresser to make a hutch/ bar for our dining room.
As needed, new hardware or metallic spray paint for your old hardware
If you need new holes for your hardware, some filler material for the old holes
Wallpaper for the back of your hutch. This Cherry Blossom Peel and Stick wallpaper had everything I wanted – a pretty design that was subtle enough to not be too busy when the shelves were filled, and a little bit of sheen.
Hardware to attach the hutch and anti-tip hardware, especially if you live in earthquake country, like we do
Here’s how to do it:
Clean off dirt and dust
Remove hardware
If you are changing hardware, fill in the old holes and drill the new ones
Sand the surface lightly with fine grit sandpaper
Wipe with surface with deglosser such as Gloss-off or TSP
Apply the primer and let it dry thoroughly overnight
Sand lightly with 400 grit sandpaper and wipe off dust with a lint-free rag
Apply the spray lacquer – Amy Howard has some videos on YouTube with details on how to use this product. Overall, I really like it, but it is a bit finicky. Luckily, the little imperfections aren’t noticeable now that it is inside and decorated.
I let the lacquer cure for a week in the garage, and then I applied the wallpaper to the back of the bookcase
The last steps were to put the hardware back on, secure the hutch to the dresser and add anti-tip hardware to the top of the whole thing
Here are the cool details from the back of my dresser – it is 55 years young!Before and after!
This new dining room bar is the perfect place to display our collection of vintage bar glasses. I collected them back when we threw a Mad Men party, and I still love them all!
The days off for New Year’s allowed me to finish this project, so of course, I decorated for our at-home countdown to the New Year!
There is still the bed frame, a little corner desk, and some mirrors that came with the bedroom set. It was a silly indulgence to bring them all home, but I still hope to find a home for them some day somewhere!
My brain has a tendency to look at furniture and think, “What else could this be?” Our family has been on a journey this past year – we wanted to move houses, and logistically, it worked best for us to … Continue reading →
Here is the third and final (for now) installment of my dresser painting trilogy. First was the mid-century dresser; next came the faux campaign dresser; and last but not least is this faux bone inlay project! If you are thinking … Continue reading →