Girls Armoire: Posting from my hubby...

My wife was on Craigslist the other night when she came across 2 tv armoires for only $50! They weren't all that pretty, but she knew instantly what she wanted done to them.

We arranged pick-up in Oakland the next morning, and we were off. We got there, and took a look at them. They were just the right size. It was just the top half of what would normally be an entertainment armoire. So it was perfect.

While we were looking at them in the back of this guy's house, I noticed a furniture dolly sitting there and asked him if I could borrow it to load them. He told me not worry about that and that he would have "the guys" bring it around and load it for us. I was like wow, this is awesome, I was some "guys". (wow that sounded pretty gay, and I'm not even going to try and rephrase it, because no matter how I word it, it just sounds gay.) So the "guys" loaded it up in the truck and we were off back to Antioch.

I unloaded them and parked them in the garage until I had time to work on them. This is what I started with:
This wasn't a huge project, but it did take some time. I started by stripping all of the hardware off of it, including the hinges. I have found that I like the look of non painted hinges better. So once that was done, I primered the entire thing, inside and out with my favorite Rustoleum Primer. I then went and got a gallon of Velspar Gloss paint tinted just a little, but still very white. I then painted it all, It actually took a couple of coats on the sides to get good coverage. The one tip that I can give when using gloss or high gloss paint is dont play with it too much or it'll leave brush marks. Just brush it on, and maybe twice more, then LEAVE IT ALONE! The brush lines that are there will flatten out and it will look perfect!

So after painting the inside and out, I also added a piece of fabric to the back. There were two reasons for this; 1. I didn't have to paint the back and 2. it made it a little more girly.

And here's the finished product:

This post is from my husband... Headboard/Footboard to bench project

I have been trying to think of all the projects that I have done since we got here to California. I had almost forgot about this one until I started to go through my pictures on my phone.

Here's the story on this on. My wife had my MIL buy this head and foot board at a garage sale in Danville, Ca several months ago. She paid a whole $15 for theses beauties. My wife had a seen the idea of making an old bed into a bench in the 100 Decorating Ideas under $100 magazine.

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So all I had to go off of was one picture, that wasn't even very clear, so I had to plan and figure things as I went.

Unfortunately I didn't take pictures as I went along. I know, its terrible, but I get so caught up in doing that I sometimes forget to document things.

Here is the before I painted picture though:
I guess I should explain several things, and how I did them, even though I don't have pictures to help those of you who might need/ want them. In order to find the right depth, I had to do two things; first I went and measured a few other chairs to find out how deep they were. Then I took the foot board and started to play with where that depth of the seat would fall on it. So there was a compromise with depth, esthetics, and functionality. Because of how the head board sloped down, and the foot board sloped up, I was trying to marry them at just the right point so it looked like it was ment to be. So the bench isn't quite as deep as a normal seat may be, but it is mostly for looks afterall. It will be great for an entry way bench though, becuase it is on the narrow side.
Once I decided on where to cut the foot board, I had to attach it. I used a couple of screws, but then I added a few dowels as well for added strength. I also wanted to add a detail that hung down on the foot board, but I didn't want it to be right on the seat, so I took one of the side boards that came witht he bed, and cut it to place in the front. The actual seat of the bench is 1" pine board that I got at Home Depot. It cost a little, but I have been able to use other pieces of it in more projects. Plus I didn't want to get 3/4" board and have it sagging in any way. I attached this with some screws, but again I used dowels for added strength and stability (like things were made back in the day!).

So once all that was done, and I puttied in the holes, and some of the cracks, it was time to primer and paint. And what I've learned form redoing some furniture is this; 1. You DON'T have to sand things down to bare wood. 2. using a good quality of primer is ESSENTIAL (you get what you pay for, off brands). and 3. The same goes with paint and brushes. If you want it to last and look great, don't be cheap. Spend the little bit more and you will see the difference when you work with the paint.

For all fo these projects I have fallen in love with Rustoleom's 2x coverage primer and paint. It sprays great, and you truly get 2x the coverage. I aslo bought one of those spray can attachments and boy am I glad. That has saved my fingers and forearms some serious cramping and pain.

Any way, I only primered the bench for now until the wife decides what color she wants it, and if she wants to keep it, or sell it on craigslist.

My very own cedar chest redo...

My MIL has offered her old cedar chest to me several times, but we just never had room to take it with us to the lower 48, until this past year. It has always had a few small problems with it. For the past several years it has been sitting down in my in-law's basement and the back of it was supported with some blocks of wood. Again, I forgot to take a real before picture, so this is a few steps into it.

Here's the before (Color coded for easier explanation):
There was a piece of edging missing on the front left side of the chest, so we took off the remaining three pieces to make it even.
There was support missing from the back side of the chest so that when it sat on the ground it would would tumble to one side.
The front had some really dated wood accents that I took off. Again, I forgot to take a picture of it before.

This chest is from around 1939 and my mom got it from her grandmother for her 16th birthday( and no, my mom is not that old). If you want to see what it looked liked with the original wood detailing, I found one here.

Well, after some work, this is what it looks like now:


We added a new handle, and some new base trim as well. It was refinished with Wal-Mart paint in country white. The temperatures in Alaska in September were getting on the cool side, so the paint took a little longer to dry and set, plus we had to deal with nats landing on the wet paint, along with birch tree seed falling on it. But after a few good coats of paint, it was good to go.

My nieces birthday present...

I picked this baby up at a garage sale in Alaska several years ago. It had been rotting away on some lady's side yard. It was the nastiest thing ever. I'm not even showing it before its pre-getting ready for the redo moment. It was literally, that bad. But when the hub and I needed a special project for our nieces birthday present, we knew this was it.

And here's the AFTER!

Its amazing what a little paint will do! Well, I didn't just add paint, I added some trim on the bottom, a small detail on the front (to cover the old lock hole). I also added some simple spindle feet to get it off the ground.

This is the detail we used to cover the hole. We also wanted to do something on the inside since it was just as ugly and simple as the outside. We went to Fred Meyer to see if they still made contact paper and if they did, find some with some character and would look great in this trunk. Well we found some!! So welined the inside with it. I was pretty proud and amazed at what some paint and trim will do!!

I really don't know think that's how many projects I've got going on right now...sometimes it seems like more, sometimes less. But this one is officially done. I picked up this baby at a garage sale in W.C., Cali, way back in March and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it, mostly thanks to one Allison over at CluckCluckSew (and now back here in Rexburg! WOOHOO!). I don't know about how much I really spent on this vintage children's rocking chair but I'm willing to bet that the spray paint was probably more than the chair itself. Anyway, I LOVE the way it turned out. Thanks to my big sis and bargain-finder-partner, Brianne, for letting me stash this in her garage while I painted it and let it dry. I probably would not have gotten it done if you hadn't done yours first and inspired me to just do it. I can't wait to get this baby into Jense's play room (which is slowly becoming my pack and store room). But for now it will look great with his firetruck and his little computer table. Now on to project 1,025, getting the computer fixed so Jense can actually use it.

I picked up these babies at 2 different garage sales in Cali. Actually, my mom picked up the tall dark and handsome one. Thanks MOM! And this is what I came up with. I forgot to take a before picture of the rocking chair, but it was a little lighter wood than the other. And it was so dried out that it took a whopping 5 cans of spray paint. Yeah. The thing isn't even that big. Anyway, I had a hard time choosing how to do the seat, and if I were keeping it for myself I would not have used the black and white. But I wanted it to appeal to someone who decorates with more contempary sleek style who wants to ad a piece from the past. I love the black chair and am even more excited about the fabric I chose for it, but again, I didn't see either of these pieces in my own place. So I hope they go out into the world and are scooped up with a lot of love (and maybe a little green) now that they've had their makeovers.

COLOR my world...

So I mentioned in a previous post that the home I was renting was all WHITE. That just won't do. There's way too much color in my personality to only have white in my home. Plus, bright colors just make me smile.

Clockwise from top left: That is my ikea couch I got on craigslist. My new white cover came only days after I moved into the townhome. Yay! I might even end up dying it. We'll see. I found these super cute flowers at Anna's Linens in Antioch for half the price of what they normally are. Then, in Rexburg, I found the 2 teal ones for even cheaper then the others! Woohoo! The fish are the front side of one of my pillows that I found at Homegoods. The Roxy pillow I found at Ross (used to be my favorite store, which now has been pushed down to 3rd by Homegoods and Target) for a mere $6. Original price of a Roxy pillow: $25. The big green printed pillow I found at Homegoods and I loved it so much because it is large and firm. Great for laying down on the floor. The white pillow, Vera Wang, from Khols, normally $40, got it for $7! Yay! I also, came across the exact same pillow in a quilting magazine only days ago. And the last but not least. I wanted to add a bit more color to my drab/white living room, and I also wanted to try/attempt to keep my pretty white couch clean as long as I possibly could with a 2 year old. So I grabbed my college quilt that my mom made me, yes, my mother made that quilt (yay mom!) and used it as a liner for my couch. I absolutely love the POP that it gives that end of the living room. Now I need to turn around and do something to the other side of the downstairs.

In LOVE with color...

This has been a fave project so far. It's inspired by the colored table over at All Things Thrifty and I couldn't be more in love with it. Although, this one is not for me. It's my mother's. And this post will have to be updated once we have the dining room all fixed up nice with the matching and redone china cabinet, a table topper, freshly painted walls, and new window treatments. Stay tuned...