Thrift Store Chairs Makeover

Back when I discovered the 'five dollar filing cabinet' I also stumbled upon a pair of chairs.

When I first laid eyes on them they yelled at me from across the room. "Save us!! Unleash our wild side. Let our inner animal roar!"

 They were telling me to paint them turquoise and upholster them in either leopard or zebra print. I rescued them from the thrift store and took them home to do just that. Never mind what to do with them when they were finished. Perhaps I would give them away to a family member or sell them. Their inner animal just won't blend with the look I'm going for in the house. Either way, I simply couldn't let the chairs spend any more time living in a thrift store being drab yellow with maroon seats.

I brought them home and Mr. B asked me if they were for the dining room.

Well honey, you see the thing is. I bought them to unleash their potential, in the form of turquoise and animal print.

 That statement earned me the look. The one that says "Your buying things to redo that aren't even for the house when you have a ga-gillion other projects on your plate."

Umm maybe....

I did think about it for a while. (Don't tell him but, there might of been a shred of truth in what he said, or rather what the look said.) I stuck them in the dining room at the head and the foot of the most awesome-est table ever, you know the one my amazing husband built for me. They didn't look bad. Over the next few days they kinda grew on me being in there. Eventually I came to the decision they would be white with green or tan seat covers. Don't get me wrong they still would look great in the original color scheme, but I was beginning to see a tamer version would be OK too. 

This Sunday, while I was boiling down pizza sauce and Mr. B was watching football, I was able to find some time to get out side to do some painting. We busted out the stable gun for some upholstery. 

I am thrilled with the way they turned out; as I am with most of my makeover projects. There is just something about seeing a piece of furniture transform, going from drab to fab.

The nitty gritty:

Three coats of Rustolium spray paint in Navajo White, gloss.

(no I didn't sand first)

Two clear coats. 

The fabric was left over upholstery fabric from another project. I believe it is from Joanne's.

Let's do a side-by-side, shall we.

 

I'm still itching to redo a chair with animal print.

Perhaps someday another chair or two will call out to me.

Sewing Room Hutch

Last month I bought this hutch off of Craigslist. After weeks of searching for the perfect piece in the right size and most importantly in the right price range. Mr. B was kind enough to drive me to go pick it up and help me load it in the pick up.

It originally had glass doors; one of which was broken. Those came off right when we got home. Mr. B is always quick when it comes to taking something apart, so alas there are no pictures of the hutch in all it's original glory.

I gave light sanding, I mean very light. I'm not big on striping furniture here; just a quick buzz over the large surfaces to give the paint something to stick to. I used my favorite primer for furniture, Zinzer Oil based. Then three coats of soft white in a semi-gloss.  

I decided to keep the original hard ware.  I just took it off when I painted and then put it back on, I didn't try and clean it or shine it up at at. I love the way it looks on the white, it really stands out.



This has to be my favorite piece in the crafty room. My fabric stash offers some color to the room. My notions, which are mainly from Mr. B's Grandma, are displayed in old canning jars from my Grandma.

On top of the hutch I was able to display more notions and a book from the Grandmas, not to mention the button-holer (which I have yet to try and I'm sure it will be an adventure)

I'm surrounded by bits and pieces of all the ladies who have inspired and encouraged my craftiness and love of sewing. That gives me the warm fuzzies.

Project Five Dollar File Cabinet

I stopped by a thrift store last week, just to look. Well I had to go back later that weekend with the truck to bring home the load of goodies that were on hold for me, you see they wouldn't fit in the MINI. I found this beauty. Yeah she's a little rough around the edges, but she's heavy duty, all the drawers work, and the hard wear has great character. For five dollars I couldn't pass her up. I've been on the hunt for a file cabinet for the sewing room/home office for a while. The plastic tote we have just isn't cutting it any more. Four drawers might be a tad over kill for our paperwork, but I'm sure I will be able to fill the remaining drawers up with crafty stuff. 

I had planned to take off the hardware before I painted her. I didn't notice until we got it home that they were riveted on. So it was on to plan B, very carefully tape around every thing. I got excited and started taping before I managed to take the before picture.

I wanted to go with a deep rich color to bring out the hardware on the drawers. Since I'm not a hunter green or maroon person I settled on navy blue. 

Five cans of spray paint later, she looks great. The cabinet adds a pop of color to my new sewing room, more details and a full reveal on that coming later this week. 

Island Reveal

It is the perfect opportunity to share the kitchen island with you, seeing as it has only been done since early July. But now the stars and moon are in the proper alignment for sharing pictures. More accurately my kitchen was relatively clean, the floor wasn't full of muddy Gus prints, and it was still somewhat light in there.

We picked up two of the el-cheapo wood stools from Menards. A can of red spray paint and ta-dah!

Mr B was thoughtful enough to use wood glue during the assembly for extra durability, I don't think these guys are going to get wobbly any time soon.

Kitchen Island

Two weeks ago Mr. B built me an island for the kitchen.

And why am I just telling you about this now?

Well you see I wanted to wait until it was completely done, as in I painted the base of it. But then I got babies and was distracted by the cuteness. And then it got humid, not good for painting and I'm planing on using oil based paint so really not good. And now I have plans for most of the weekend. So it will be at least another week before I get it finished and I couldn't wait that long to show you. More specifically my mother has been bugging me to show her pictures. Luv ya mom!

I helped with the construction.

I measured and marked all the boards.

Gus helped too.

He supervised from the shade under the truck.

Mr. B got to use his "father's day" present. A Kreg Jig. It helps you make perfect pocket holes every time. It's an awesome little tool and made the building process that much easier. His furry and feathery kids got it for him. (in other words it he wanted it and I knew it would make his honey do that much more fun to build, so I used the pretence of father's day to get it.)

Yeah that's a butcher block top on it. We picked it up a few months ago when they were on sale. It is like having a giant cutting board. Although I still use a cutting board on top of it, I'm not ready to mar it up just yet. But let me tell you rolling out crusts and doughs is soooo much easier on this bad boy. The table and chairs we had, well lets just say we got it a few years ago at the Wal-mart and they've seen better days. It was a tad on the wobbly side. Like hold on to the table when we whip up frosting in the kitchen-aid for fear it will bounce of the table wobbly.

Very nice Mr. B. Very nice.

I'll show you some more after photos once I get it painted.

Promise.

I Got My Craft On

A few weeks ago Mr. B was working nights. That meant I had the house to myself in the evening. I got to eat pineapple and tuna salad for dinner (two things he dislikes). Gus and I snuggled on the couch and watched chick flicks. I also got in touch with my inner craft goddess. I made somethings to make the living room feel more warm and cozy this winter. 

New covers for the pillows. 

I've been seeing sweater pillows all over pinterest. I knew they would be perfect in our living room. When I was at Target the other day I saw a small one in the holiday decor. For the price of one small pillow I made four huge ones for the couch.

I found some thrift store sweaters and hacked off the sleeves and sewed them up. I just covered the pillows we had on the couch. I figured in the spring I will just carefully open the seam and take out the pillow to reuse the sweater for next year.

I have also saw some giant snow flakes while perusing Pinterest. They make the perfect seasonal wall art for be hind the couch.

They were supper easy to make. Hot glue, Popsicle sticks aka craft sticks, paint and some ribbon. And I didn't even burn my fingers with the glue.

The Table

As promised.

The other week, while I was being the snot monster, Mr. B was building me a table. Yes a table. What started out as drawing up plans to build a bench for the mud room ended up with plans for a table and two benches (one for the mud room and one for the table) and a trip to Menard's for the lumber that evening at 8:00. Nothing like closing the hardware store. 

Once you get Mr. B excited about a project there is no stopping him. He is also a slight perfectionist. It took him several evenings and one smashed finger to get the legs and apron to his standards.  

We modeled our table on a combination of the Solomon Table from Pottery Barn and plans from Ana White's website. I wanted something big that would take up the space and fit my family when they come for dinner. (or, as my MIL hopes, if we have an army of children) Well I got my big table, it's monstrous 4' x 8' and heavy. That table isn't going anywhere. The table top made up of 2x10, what you would use for floor joices in home construction. 

When we were devising our plans we decided that we would need to be able to easily detach the legs. Some day soon, as in this spring, we are going to refinish our wood floors. It would be necessary to move the table out of the room. Mr. B was all fancy and made an angled piece that the leg bolts to, pulling it tight to the apron. (we studied the table we had to get this idea, so no he isn't a complete genius)

I sanded the table. I got to use a belt sander for the first time, talk about an upper body work out. Mr. B also bought me a new orbital sander. Having your hubby buy you power tools is by far one of the most romantic gestures. My mother and I stained the table and I put two coats of poly on top.

I love the way it turned out!! And for $120 you can't beat it. Now to convince the hubby that he should build me a new buffet. The one we have is only three feet long and looks disproportionate compared to the table.

The Bed

Mr. B and I had a specific look in mind when it came to our bed. We wanted something simple and sturdy and in expensive. I searched Craig's list for months and couldn't find anything that we both agreed on. I did find these plans from Ana White, we would keep coming back to them. Finally we decided to take the plunge and build it.

We did modify the plans slightly. We made the headboard shorter to fit under whatever it is sticking out on that wall. I attached the frame slightly differently from the plans. Originally I had planned on painting it white to match the dressers. But thankfully my mother talked me out of that and convinced me to stain it. It would have been too much white in the room . Staining it makes the bed stand out.

I am so happy with they way it turned out. It has to be my favorite piece of furniture in the whole house. I am glad we decided to build something we both liked verses settling on buying something that was so-so.

New to Us Dressers

Remember when I showed you this. I told you I would finish them in the next six months.

  

I beat my deadline!! They're done. Told you we have been busy.

 I took two beat up dressers found on Craig's list. ($100 for a matching pair of solid wood dressers, you can't beat that)They when from looking like this.

With a little paint and some TLC they now look like this.

And this. 

Remember matching pair. 

Mr. B installed new drawer slides on all thirteen drawers. The existing ones were a tad beat up. They slide much better now. 

(He used the heavy duty ones for kitchen cupboards.) 

Rather than buying all new hardware we just updated the existing brass looking ones. Spray paint. Much classier in the dark brown. 

They now reside in the master suite, full reveal coming soon I promise. For the first time since he was eight, Mr. B has a dresser for his clothes.

Crazy, I know, but we aren't going there, 

Sneak Peak

I'm painting furniture again. The TV stand turned out so awesome that I thought I would give it another go. More dressers, this time for clothes not movies. 

I started this project oh, about three weeks ago. Still not done..Life happened. You know vacation, it started to rain again so the grass needs mowing, work, and the never ending battle to try and keep the house clean. But its getting there. The big reveal is to come soon. You know like the in the next six months.

As a side note: If you are going to paint furniture on your back porch wear sunscreen. Or just do it topless. A tube top would work too, but where's the fun in that. 

The Orange Chair

My mother-in-law bought this chair before Mr. B was born. It survived their two moves, three dogs, a cat, and three children. It is faded and worn and the cushion needs a patch job. It still smells slightly of their house, a mixture of woodsmoke and generic fabric softener with a hint of dog. I love this chair. It is squishy, but not to squishy. It's large enough to fit me comfortably, but small enough were I feel wrapped in its warmth. It is the perfect chair for quilting. 


When Gus would stay at his Gammie's and Grandpa's he would curl up in that chair and watch people walk down the street. Like me he fit perfectly in the chair. And as an added bonus the arm rest is the perfect height for a pillow.


Back when my in-laws were moving into their new house my mother-in-law asked me if I would like it, one less piece of furniture to move. Like it, we (Gus and I) would LOVE it!


Since it has moved to our house it has been claimed by Gus. I hardly ever get to sit in it. He takes his prenap nap in it, his nap, and his post-nap nap in it. He even sleeps in it at night. Which is wonder as he is a notorious bed hog. 

While many may think of it as a hideous chair, it has a permanent home here. Gus loves it and I love it.