End Table Makeovers

I've been working on some side tables in my living room to get them looking more updated.

The rectangular one I bought at the thrift store for about $5 and the hexagon one I picked up off the curb from someone who was giving it away.  They definitely weren't what I wanted, but free and/or cheap and functional is what I needed at the time.

Both had glass tops.  The Hexagon was missing the glass on the bottom too.

Nothing too fancy or noteworthy about either of these tables.

First I pulled off both tables tops.  Each of them were just screwed into the base from the bottom.

Then I used 1 x 4 and 1 x 6 scraps to form the top.

I like the different grain and knots in the pine.

On this you can see how I attached the individual pieces underneath with a little scrap piece.

The bases were painted separately.

All I really did was clean them up a bit and sand some of the flat parts to remove a little of the finish before painting.  I use a paint and primer mix and have good luck with that.

After sanding the tops I stained them and sealed them with a clear matte finish.

My local Home Depot was out of the piece and size wood that I want for the bottom of this table.

I will eventually cut, paint and attach that. 

Since it attaches from the bottom I can do it later and it won't mess things up.

I am also debating on doing a little distressing on the painted bases.

For now I am going to leave it and see what I think.

Next up a revamp of my coffee table.

Details:

• 1 x 4 and 1 x 6 pieces cut to size.
• 60 degree angles cut on table saw. I used the old hexagon top to trace out the size and then lined it up on the table saw to cut.  It was cut while the support pieces underneath were attached.
• Minwax Stains Wood Finish in Jacobean and Pickled Oak mixed to a 1:1 ratio.  I probably could have got a different stain to achieve this color but I already had a large can of Jacobean and didn't want to waste it so I bought a small Pickled Oak to mix it with.
• Rustoleum 2X Primer and Paint in Heirloom White.  I used 2 cans for each table.

Benches for the deck

I've been in the graduation party prep mode for the past week or so.

And what a great excuse to finally get some furniture for the deck.

This will only be our 3rd summer here in this house.

It is about time.

I've been perusing Pinterest for ideas and found a couple that I liked.

This bench is 48 inches wide.

This is a side by side of the 2 different styles of bench that I made.

I actually made the straight bench first and then decided that I wanted one with a backrest.

The straight bench is 54 inches long.

And then I made 2 side tables, just for good measure.

Bring on the grad girl!

She is SO READY to be DONE!

We're ready to party!

Details:

• Backed bench and table patterns by Jay's Creations
• I found that I needed to adjust the pocket holes for the backrest slats.  If there is a next time I would cut the pieces to 32 not 31 inches and then make the marks.  At 31 inches the piece didn't reach to the top of the top slat, which is what it showed in the pattern.  If you are not spacing the back slats apart you won't need to adjust anything.

The bottom pocket holes are the original ones.  You can see how close to the edge of the 2 x 4 they were.  By the time you reached the top slat (after spacing them out) there was almost no room to attach it.

• Straight bench pattern by Ana White-- Providence Bench
• For 2 of each bench and 2 tables it cost about $100
• I used green-treated pine 2 x 4s from Menards

A-Frame Porch Swing Frame

I like a good porch swing. 
It reminds me of my Grandma Johnson. 
They always had a swing at their homes. 
Though the swing that Grandpa made at their Idaho Falls home was more like this glider.

When we moved last year we took the porch swing with us that had been hanging on our kids' swing set.  The new owners didn't want the swing set and we gave it away on Craigslist in about 2 hours after listing it, but the porch swing came with us.

On Saturday hubby and I made the A-frame for the porch swing.
I'm not going to show the entire process, but just a few to give you an idea.  We based it off of a couple plans we found.  I listed the links at the end.

 17 degree angle cut on the legs and markings of where the cross pieces will attach.

 Leg pieces

 We used a circular saw to cut the lap joints on the legs.

We could have just attached the 2 x 4 pieces with a butt joint but lap joints are stronger.

You just make a number of cuts between the markings down to the depth that you need.

Measure and adjust the blade as needed.

 Then hubby just used a chisel to bust out the cut pieces.

 Once the cut pieces are all out then you do a little clean-up with the chisel.

After you have all the cuts done we dry fit the pieces and take additional measurements of the cross pieces.  The larger piece on top is the beam placed there to determine the correct placement.

Then we just started assembling and screwing down pieces. 

The only cutting down of pieces were on the 2 x 4's.  We left all the 4 x 4's at 8 feet and the top 4 x 6 beam at 8 feet also.  We debated on cutting some of it down, but decided we liked it as is.  The bottom of the top beam ended up being 7 feet 4 inches from the ground once we were all done.

Porch swing is in place. 

It would've been nice to actually hang it on our front porch too;

however, there would not have been much room to actually do any swinging.

You can see the stump back left that we need to remove too. Here is the post on that tree. And then we plan on putting a garden back in that spot too now that it isn't covered entirely by shade.

 A little close-up of how hubby attached and stabilized the beam and frame.

We angled the legs out 10 degrees to prevent some rocking from side to side.

The little stabilizer block piece is cut 45 degrees on the right,

10 degrees on the left and is 6 inches long.

After some time decided to place the swing here so we could enjoy the view of the pond and sunsets. We eventually plan on putting in a permanent fire pit there in front of the swing.

I am really happy with how it turned out for us.

It already is a nice addition to our backyard.

Details:

• (4) 4 x 4 x 8 ft. green treated beams for support legs --$7.65 each
• Cut top of each leg piece at 17 degree angle.
• (2) 2 x 4 x 8 ft. green treated boards for cross support --$3.75 each
• (1) 4 x 6 x 8 ft. green treated beam for top post --$15.57 each
• Total Lumber $53.67
• Plans based off this frame and this frame.
• How to cut half-lap joints here.
• Swing hook kit hardware from Menards for about $9 for the pair.
• Bench swing bought at thrift store a couple years ago ($30). It'll be painting it next.

Magnetic Chalkboard Frame

This project took way more time and effort than I think it needed.
But I guess that is what happens when you are just winging it.

Finished up

 Frame and paint detail

Hanging in my entry with the real life shoes lying everywhere.

 Close-up of metal glued onto the board.

I cut the metal to shape with a pair of tin snips.

Used a jigsaw to cut the board.

 The crease on the board is what occurs when you use contact cement--don't quite get it

lined up correctly and quickly try and pull it off to reposition.

You just get a bend in your metal because it IS NOT coming off.

At this point we are calling it "character".  I didn't want to start all over.

It would have been too frustrating.

Hints:

• Originally tried to glue the metal to the board with Liquid Nails.  Ughh, thumbs down!!  As soon as I took the clamps off the pieces the metal just popped right off.  Maybe I wasn't doing it correctly, but I felt it should've been easier to use.
• Contact cement is PERMANENT! You cannot remove it and replace like other products.  Once it is down, that is where it is going.  In hindsight we should have put the metal into the frame and then laid the glued board down on top of it to get it lined up correctly.  Since we didn't I had to go back and trim off metal or wood here and there in order to get the piece to line back up in the frame.  And we also have a little crease in the metal after trying to pull it off quickly once we realized it wasn't lined up perfectly.
• Once I got all the coats of paint on and then seasoned the chalkboard it wasn't nearly as noticeable.  And I can always strategically place things I am hanging up.

Oh well!

Details:

• Thrifted frame and mirror--29 x 45 inches at widest points.
• Roll of Galvanized Steel from Menards for about $20--24 inch by 10 ft. roll 
• Rustoleum Chalkboard spray paint
• Contact Cement to attach sheet metal to backing board
• Rustoleum Hammered spray paint for the frame.

You can buy sheets of chalkboard at Home Depot. They are about $10 and measure 2 x 4 feet.  That would've worked great for the size I needed except I wanted chalkboard AND magnet board combined.

Recycled Shutters Headboard

Remember this fun find?
Once I saw them I knew immediately that I'd be making a headboard for my daughter's room.
She was just as excited as I was about it.

Lucky for us the shutters were wood, already painted black, and in fairly good shape.

So we determined that we wanted a slightly stacked look of the headboard and laid it all out.
4 shutters was too narrow for her Queen bed and 5 too wide.  However, we decided that the too wide (by about 5 inches on each side) looked better than the too narrow option.  Plus I kind of have this thing about odd numbers being a little more pleasing to look at than an even amount of items.

I wiped the shutters all down.
Then took out my orbital sander and went to town.


This shows the sanded shutters on either side and the not-yet-sanded ones in the middle.


A little better close-up of how I roughed it up.

Once I was done sanding I wiped it all down again with some tack cloth to get rid of all the dust and residue.

We laid out the arrangement and then I used a Kreg Jig to drill holes in the back of the shutters to attach with screws to each other.

  

 All assembled and ready move downstairs to her bedroom.

We debated on a staggered vs. straight across look for the shutters and ultimately she liked the staggered look best.  I think I do too.

 We ended up adding some cabinet door pads to the corners of the headboard.

We had JUST painted her room white and didn't want any dings on the walls.

This also helped eliminate any movement getting in and out of bed.

I'm proud to say that the only thing hubby helped me do on this was to actually attach it to the metal bed frame.  We needed 3 people--2 to hold it in place while the one attached the screws.  He really didn't want anything to do with this project, which was completely fine. 

This may be the one and only time her bed stays made, but we're working on that.

Daughter #2 is very happy with how it turned out.
So am I, and even happier that it was free.

We have a few more details to show in her room that we'll post later on.
And I have 3 shutters left to do something else.

Details:

• Free curbside shutters (see Friday Finds here)
• Pinterest inspiration here and here. This is what we were thinking before I found the curbside shutters.
• We used 5 - 14" wide shutters for her queen size bed. (4 wasn't wide enough)
• Orbital sander to distress the shutters.
• Kreg Jig for screw attachment.
• Cabinet door pads