Baby's Room Reveal

Our little guy's room is done! Hooray! I absolutely love how it turned out! My husband even loves it and I've found him in there just relaxing in the chair :) Not quite sure what you'd call the theme, but I call it Rustic Beachy Nautical. Yeah I know beachy is not even a real word, but that's the best I could come up with :) Stay tuned for posts about all the DIY projects: compass pillow, striped pillow, vintage canvas map, number canvas, oars upgrade, twine initial, faux basket liner and bedding. Enjoy!









DIY Compass Pillow

DIY Vintage Canvas Map

DIY Number Canvas

DIY Oars and Twine Initial

 

Dresser Turned Buffet Table

Well friends the countdown is on! I have 5 1/2 weeks left till our little guys is scheduled to arrive and that means I've been in full project mode around here. We also celebrated both of our little girls birthdays and mother's day so there's my excuse for the lack of love on this lil blog of mine! Good news is that there are lots of project posts coming!

I'm excited to share this first project with you! This is a sentimental piece of furniture passed down from my grandma. Does it look familiar?

Remember this post about this special piece of furniture that I made over for my daughter's room? Here's a reminder of what it looked like after that post.

 Here's what I did to make it the beautiful buffet table that is now in my dining room!

Strip the paint from the top and sand it down to a silky smooth finish.

Apply 2 coats of my favorite spray paint Krylon Ivory to bottom portion of dresser. Then distress on corners and anywhere you feel like it!

Apply Minwax Ebony stain to top and distressed areas. I did 3 coats of stain because I wanted it nice and dark. Apply protective coat. I used polyurethane and applied 3 coats, sanding in between each coat. Add new hardware and it is now a beautiful buffet table!

What do you think? I absolutely love how it turned out and that I had a new use for this special piece of furniture. Another bonus is it added lots of storage to that room! Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy!
 

Children's Rocking Chair Makeover

Hello there! As promised here's the children's rocking chair for my girls room! If you didn't see my post about the inspiration and colors I'm using you can check it out here.

Now lets refresh our memories of what the chair looked like before.

And after removing over 100 staples, filling the holes in the seat, a little bit of sanding, a solid coat of Kilz spray primer and Krylon Raspberry spray paint here's what she looks like now:

What do you think? I still need to make the pillow for it, but that will be done with the sewing projects. First things first...I will be stenciling this weekend and am so excited about it and can't wait to show you!

Enjoy!

Shelf Makeover

Just in case you missed my What I Know post over at Southern Lovely here it is! I have this little shelf unit in my entry and I've been wanting to give it a makeover to match and flow with the rest of the pieces in my home. Here's what I did to make it beautiful!

1. Clean with soap and warm water.


 2. Primer is the key to no sanding! Apply an EVEN and generous coat of primer. I use and prefer KILZ primer. There are a couple things to think about when choosing a spray primer or primer by the gallon.

• If the piece has a lot of detail or rounded edges in it I would use the spray. It will be a little more expensive, but so worth it!
• If the piece has flat edges I would choose primer by the gallon and invest in a good roller.

Before you move to the next step please please please make sure the entire piece has an even and generous coat of primer.

3. Once the primer is completely dry apply paint. I prefer Krylon, Rustoleum or Valspar spray paint. You will want a good quality spray paint. In my opinion I think spray paint gives the piece a more finished look. It is quick and you don't have to worry about brush or roller marks. One day I hope to own a paint sprayer and then I will use paint by the gallon, but until then spray paint is my best friend!

When spray painting hold the can upright at all times possible and spray in even strokes from one side to the next. For this piece I started on the side at the top left corner; sprayed in one stroke to the right corner and moved back and forth. It will look streaky. Don't spray another coat on until the previous coat is dry. If you do it to soon you will get drip marks and have to sand them out. For each coat I also flip my furniture if possible. For example on this piece I sprayed the first coat with it standing up and the second coat with it on it's side. This will help to eliminate streaks.

Keep applying coats until desired color is reached. For this piece I used Krylon Ivory in a glossy finish and applied 4 coats. I didn't spray the inside and you'll see why below.

4. Next comes the glaze. I use Behr faux finishing glaze tinted black. There are two types of glazing that I'm aware of.

• Clean glazing - when the glaze is only in the indents, cracks or corners.
• Dirty glazing - when glaze is applied randomly allover.

Here is a photo of the side while I was glazing. The far right indent has no glaze, middle is how it looks right after I apply the glaze and the far left is what it looks like when the excess is wiped off.

A little glaze goes a long way. Use a foam brush and dip the tip in the glaze and dab into indent making sure to cover it completely with glaze. Using a damp cloth wrapped around your index finger wipe excess glaze off leaving glaze only in the indent. Repeat the steps if needed.

5. For this project I wanted a design on the inside. I've seen many different options such as wall paper and stencils, but I opted for a very inexpensive and less time consuming version and used wrapping paper.

• Measure and attach the back piece first. Add a 1/2 inch to the width of the measurement and wrap around onto the sides when gluing it in place. This will ensure that you don't have any gaps that will show through at the corners. 
• Measure and cut the sides. I added 1/4 inch to the width so I could wrap it around on the front inside that will not be seen.

Here's how it turned out.

Much better don't you think? I love it! Enjoy!

{What I Know} at Southern Lovely

Hello friends! So glad you've stopped by! I'm guest posting today over at Southern Lovely on her What I Know spotlight series. I made over this lovely piece of furniture. Go stop by to see the before pictures and a tutorial. Enjoy!

Piano

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A couple years ago we got this beautiful piano handed down to us. We've tried to track down how old it is, but there is no date. The only thing we can go off is the design carved into it which would make it around 130-140 years old. It was in my grandma's home and about 20 years ago she dropped it off at my aunt's house and it sat in their garage since. I have always wanted a piano in my home and was so excited when my aunt offered it to me. It was a little scary when we uncovered it. It had 20 years of dirt and grime and had been bumped with the car quite a few times. The keys were originally done in ivory, but most of it had come off and the black keys were very faded and scratched up as was the rest of the body, but it sounded beautifully and only needed to be tuned. We had it moved for us. This thing is heavy and even with six adult in good shape men they were still struggling. I wanted to keep the piano it's natural color and even leave the scratches and dents. I think that's part of what makes it so beautiful and shows it's age. We gave it a good cleaning with warm water and vacuumed it all out. We sent the white keys to be redone and put a new coat of spray paint on the black keys. We used Mohawk Scratch-Off furniture polish over the entire piano. This helped to cover and blend the scratches as well as give it a shiny polish. The bench was in very bad shape. It had been broken in many places and really looked unsalvageable. My husband wanted to throw it away, but I was adamant that we keep it. I wanted the original bench with it, but to be honest I wasn't sure if it could be fixed so it sat in our basement. In the photo you can see that the bench has been restored. It is the best present that my husband has ever gotten me! I was so excited when he brought it home...I didn't even know it was missing! I'm so glad I didn't let him throw it away! It turned out so beautiful and is sturdy. The person that restored it did an amazing job!Also my grandma had upholstered the top and when I went to recover it I found that it was beautiful underneath and decided to leave it as it was. I absolutely love having this piece of furniture in our home and that it brings history and reminds me of my grandma! Enjoy!
*UPDATE August 10: Thanks to a fabulous reader I was able to track down some information about my piano. If you'd like to read more about it click here. Then click on the first of the two catalogs then on pages 12-14. The last catalog it is in was in 1912 so we know that it is at least a century old. I'm so grateful to those that stop and leave comments here especially that lead to so much information. Thank you thank you thank you!

Children's Table Makeover

My daughter loves playing kitchen, having tea parties and doing all sorts of art projects. I think every kid needs to have their own table that's just their size. I wanted something that would be cute, stylish, durable and not just a folding table. Cute children's tables can be pretty pricey and you know that's not my style. I found this one at Ikea for $20 and put my own spin on it. Enjoy! Also please click to follow me and leave a comment so I know you were here! I really appreciate all the support!

Here's what I used:
table and chairs
modge podge
paper
alphabet/number stickers
paint (if you want to change the color)

1. Paint table
2. Measure each place you want to cover with paper. I used coordinating paper, but used a different piece on every section. I covered all sides of the chairs including the seat. For the table I used the stickers to cover all sides.
3. Apply modge podge one section at a time and adhere paper. I also put a layer of modge podge over the paper and stickers to give it extra protection and to make it easy to wipe off.

Deni's Dresser Makeover

This dresser has been in the works for over a year! Why you ask? Because stripping 2 coats of 60 year old paint out of detail work takes so much time! And I'm a perfectionist so that probably added to it. I do have to say that on a flat surface the paint came off like a charm! I used spray paint stripper and it was so easy to use. This dresser has been in my family for a long time. It was used by all my aunts and mom growing up and then used by me all growing up. When my mom was young they had put a coat of white on it and then a coat of pink. The paint was old and cracking and not in good shape. I love how it looks now and I'm so glad that I have it for my daughter to use. Enjoy! Also if you haven't clicked to follow me please do! I also love comments so let me know that you were here!

I used Kilz spray primer and Krylon Glossy White. The dresser had long handles on it before so I filled the holes with wood filler and sanded it down before I painted it and then added the knobs.

The dresser finished and beautiful!

This is the mirror after I had stripped the paint off

Linking here.

Desk Makeover

Hello there! As you know I've been working on making my home beautiful and a place that represents my personality. We recently moved our computer into our bedroom and needed something to put it on. By now you probably know that I don't pay full price for anything and love to purchase furniture off KSL or from local thrift stores. We found this lil desk on KSL for $20 and it is perfect for what we needed it for. It is solid and well built and had a glass top, but it had a horrible paint job. Not a problem for my new found love...SPRAY PAINT! Here's the process:

1. Prime with KILZ spray primer. The best primer in the world! Make sure you have and even coat and everything will be smooth sailing!
2. Spray paint. I used Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze and I applied a couple coats.
3. Add glaze to your desired look.

I think it turned out beautifully and I love the color! I'm still working on my master bedroom so you'll see full room pictures when I do that big reveal. I'd love to hear from you so please leave a comment and click to follow me. Thanks for stopping by!

Dresser Makeover

We finally have a dresser! For the past two years we've used a dresser that didn't fit in our room. It overlapped the window and made the setup horrible! So I finally sold it on KSL (for $100) but then we didn't have a dresser. We ended up using our master bath as our dresser for over a month, but it was totally worth the wait! When I saw our new dresser it pretty much was love at first sight! I knew I had to have it and all the long hours searching on KSL classifieds paid off. I found this lovely lady for $40 and all she needed was a good cleaning. Here's the process:

1. First I used Kilz spray primer and made sure I had an even coat over the entire dresser. I've tried a few different brands of primer and Kilz is by far the best.
2. Then I used Krylon Glossy White spray paint and this took a couple coats (make sure to let each coat dry completely before applying the next coat). A glossy paint finish is easier to clean so I prefer to use that over any other finish.
3. After the paint is completely dry I applied the glaze. I used Behr faux glaze tinted with black paint. There is so much detail on the drawers of the dresser and the glaze really makes it stand out. When applying glaze I use a foam brush and barely dip the tip in the glaze (a little goes a long way) apply it in the crease and then wipe with a damp wash cloth.
4. Then I used Rustoleum Hammered Oil Rubbed Bronze for the hardware.

And that's it! It took a day to complete and we couldn't be happier to finally after 2 years have a dresser that fits in our bedroom and is beautiful! Enjoy!

A peak at our master bedroom furniture

I've been working on our master bedroom furniture and had to share what I've done so far. Our master bedroom has always been the neglected room when it comes to decorating. For the past 2 years we've lived with a dresser that didn't fit and was in front of the window and wrought iron and glass furniture that only stayed looking nice and clean for 5 seconds and my hubby hated it, but it was free so we lived with it. With my new thrifty skills that I've been learning from one of my favorite blogs to follow All Things Thrifty it was time for an affordable change and I even made money! Does it get better than that? We sold our old dresser, nightstand and bedroom bench for $190 (we still need to list our headboard). Total spent for our new headboard ($2o on KSL), nightstands ($40 on KSL), dresser ($40 on KSL), Kilz spray primer and Krylon spray paint came to about $140. Gotta love it! Enjoy! Also I'd love to hear from you so please leave a comment and ckick on the side to follow me.

*Krylon spray paint used (gloss finish): White and Bauhaus Gold.

I'm loving how this is all coming together! The best part is that I had all the sheets, pillows and comforters in storage in the basement. All were used separately throughout our last house. I love that you can split up sets and combine them with others to make something new and fresh!

Dining Room Table Makeover

This is the project that I absolutely fell in love with and was inspired to do by Brooke at All Things Thrifty. We've been wanting a bigger table for awhile and thanks to Brooke I now had an affordable way of getting something that I absolutely love! I posted our table on KSL (local classified adds) and sold it in a half hour. I started hunting down and searching for furniture at local thrift stores and classified adds and finally found a table at Savers Thrift Store. It is old and heavy and built to last, but it needed some love. I found my chairs at the D.I. (local thrift store) and on KSL and paid $5 each for most of them. A total steal and after some color and new fabric they are fabulous! Of course that is my biased opinion. Unfortunately just over a month ago my computer crashed and took my external drive with it and I don't have any of my before pictures. I wish you could see the transformation! I am absolutely in love with it! For the table, chairs, fabric, primer, spray paint and glaze (enough to last me a long while) I spent about $160. We sold our old table for $100 so we spent $60 out of pocket and I now have a table that extends to seat 8 comfortably.

I'd love to hear from you so please leave a comment and click to follow me. I hope you enjoy!

*Krylon spray paint colors (glossy finish): Ivory, Raspberry, Blue Ocean Breeze, Bahama Sea, Pumpkin Orange, Bauhaus Gold and Ivy Leaf.

*UPDATE
Some fabulous people that my husband works with were able to fix our external drive and we now have all of our pictures! So fabulous for me and what it means for you you ask? You get to see the before pictures of my table! Enjoy!