Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Kitchen table redo

We have been looking at kitchen tables for a while now for the eat-in area in our kitchen.  Before our child we used it as a sun-room with a couch and rocking chair, the best coffee drinking spot in the house. Now it seems more practical to have a kitchen table so we can sit and eat meals in the kitchen instead of  the dining room (which for some unknown reason has carpet!....project for way down the road).  I finally found a table that I loved at Crate and Barrel that was hmm slightly out of budget. http://www.crateandbarrel.com/avalon-45-black-extension-dining-table/s241787.  But not one to give up so easily I found this one on craigslist and talked them down to less than $100.  A little sanding and paint and TaDa.  Now to figure out the chair situation...



Sunday, September 23, 2012

Little Girl Dresser Project

My new favorite pastime is redoing old furniture so here is a look at my latest project.  My little girl has finally gotten to the point where she needs a dresser.  The bins and baskets I used for her baby clothes don't hold near as many toddler clothes...shocking right?  Anyways I looked at dressers but nothing really seemed to fit and I wanted something that would make the transition from nursery to her little girl room.  An old hand-me-down lingerie dresser that has been sitting empty in guest room was the perfect size for her room just not the right color.  So hence my next project...
This is the only before picture I took (ugh sorry).  It is only of the drawers but the rest of the dresser looks the same as these drawers.  First step for me is always to sand, sand and sand! It's annoying and dusty but necessary.  I would definitely recommend buying a sander.   You can find some that are pretty inexpensive and still work great.  This is the one I use "1/4"" Finishing Sander QS900"  and I got it on sale at Amazon for around $25.  Someday I would like to upgrade to an orbital sander but for the money this one is just perfect.  












Next step is to prime the drawers and dresser.  I apply primer in super thin coats and use about 3 coats to fully cover everything.  Make sure you allow for plenty of drying time in between coats.  Next I paint!  After lots of back and forth I finally decided on white with a small pink border around the drawers.  I always have a tough time actually committing to a color...(which is why the all the walls in my house are still white).  I use the same system with the paint as I do with the primer.  Thin coats, lots of drying time in between and as many as it takes to get it fully covered.  

My next step was the hardware.  I scoured the internet for hours searching for the perfect handles but couldn't find anything that was both adorable and in my budget.  So out came the spray paint. 




I sprayed the original handles silver and added a sparkly gem to the center with a hot glue gun.  Loved the way they turned out.
...And the finished product!!



Bulletin Board to Jewelry Storage


So I have been looking for a way to use some leftover bulletin boards just sitting in my garage.  Creating a jewelry board seemed like a good idea so here is my attempt to do just that.  This project took maybe 20min to complete and that includes gathering up the supplies. 
Supplies: 
cork board
fabric (I used a scrap piece I picked up in the clearance section for less than $1)
scissors 
paint scraper (or some other thin blade type tool...a butter knife would probably work in a pinch)
paint and brush for the frame 



 Before

Painted the frame white


After the frame is painted and dry, start tucking your fabric.  Start in one corner and use your flat blade tool to tuck the fabric in between the frame and board. Make sure you are keeping your fabric tight and smooth as you tuck in.  I didn't cut my fabric until I had the top and one side all tucked in tightly.  Then the cut the bottom and other side using the edge of the frame as my guide.  This left me with enough fabric to finish tucking in those two sides.  Just make sure you are smoothing out any creases and keeping your fabric pulled tight as you tuck.  

After

I used old stud earrings that I no longer wear instead of thumb tacks to hold up my necklaces and such.