Chalkboard & Basic Barstool redo

I found this 70's (ish) chalkboard at a yardsale for $2.  It was an orangy wood color and it was missing the actual chalkboard insert.  I spraypainted it black.

I picked up some black chalkboard paint

And painted a thin MDF board that I cut to the dimensions of the frame

After 3 coats and 24 hour drying time, I rubbed chalk over the entire board.

Here it is in it's final resting place.

Notice the stool? Well that was actually a $4 Goodwill find and it was originally a  pretty beat up barstool that I cut the legs to the height that I wanted, sanded the heck out of it and painted it this pretty blue color.

It had loads of black and white paint all over it that I sanded down. 

 I made sure not to totally take it off so that when I did my distressing, the black would show through.

Here is my entryway now.  It still has a long way to go, but I'm getting there.



Furniture Redo: Coffee Table to Bench

I Found this Hidden Gem at the Salvation Army.  I knew I could definately shrink it to bench size. It was all solid wood and made very well. 

I removed the top:

 It was supposed to have glass in it, but they couldn't find them so I got an even bigger discount (:

(I will use this frame for another project in the future, I've already primed it, you'll just have to wait to see what I do with it.)

 After I took the top off, I removed all of the legs and the bottom shelf.  I was left with the apron that I needed to cut about 5 inches off the shorter sides.  It was really easy, two cuts and I was done. (I used the miter saw to keep my cuts straight).  I then reattached the legs.

Now I had to figure out the bottom shelf.  It was a frame and a rattan insert on a piece of backerboard.  I kicked out the rattan backing (well, not really kicked, but I did use my feet for to press the staples away from the frame).

 I then had to take the frame apart, but only the one side.  I had a little difficulty because, like I said, this piece was made very well and it had dowels holding the mitered corners together.  I tried to pry them apart so I could re-use the dowel method, but was unsuccessful, so I took the saw to it, using a miter box.


Now I had to measure and cut the smaller side of the bottom shelf framing using a miter box.  I picked up some dowels at Ace hardware (they sell them individually).  I drilled where the old dowels were and made new holes on the newly cut side, and inserted the dowels with some wood glue.  I straped them while the glue dried.

I reattached the shelf to the frame:

I picked up a piece of MDF and had the guy at the store cut it down for me.  I sanded, primed and painted it and then reattached it to the frame.

Here is the finished bench: (sorry for bad pictures, this area of my house doesn't have any natural light, so my camera doesn't take the best pictures here)

This was my inspiration:

(Source?)

Pretty close match, huh?  I think mine is actually better because of the bottom shelf. 

Ok, here is the reminder:

Before                                                 After

Yes, you can do it too!  I was a lot easier than you'd think!

Furniture Redo: Kitchen Bookshelf

This is the before of the bookshelf that will be going in my kitchen.  The color is not that bad, it just looked a little dingy and dark.  I want to lighten and brighten my house up and this piece did not fit that feeling. 

I took the piece to my garage and took all of the shelves out.  I sanded everything down and primed it.  I put 3 coats of cream paint on it and then roughed up the edges with 60 grit sandpaper.

Here's a tip: To get the wood to show through in the crevesis of moldings on a piece of furniture, I use a small screw driver and scrap the paint off and then sand it smooth. It's hard to get in there with sandpaper. I usually scrap in random spots while the paint is still slightly wet.

I used Minwax Finishing wax to finish it off and here it is in my Kitchen:

Got these at Fry's Grocery store on sale and used my Cricut to vinyl-ize them!

Finally a place to store all of my cookbooks!

(notice the straw container in the background...used a pickle jar...my kids love having them handy)

Homework station... LOVE IT!

The pencil and crayon holders are reused Febreeze candle holders and the metal containers came from Goodwill for $0.50 each)

To do list:

~ Encase square windows above bookshelf with molding

~ Plant some herbs for the top of bookshelf

~ Make Bench for entryway

~ Find a piece for other entry wall or look for other inspiration

What's on your to do list?

Linking up with the parties below:

Vintage Headboard to Coat Rack

I have been shopping these few weeks and found lots of great items to refinish.  I am excited about this piece inparticular, because I think that it came out beautifully!

 I picked up this old vintaage twin headboard at an Antique Mart for a steal! The headboard is actually very small compared to my daughters headboard and therefore, could never be used as a headboard with a standard twin frame and mattress.  I had other plans for it anyway....a Coat Rack!  Initially I was going to keep the stain the same, because I loved it so much with the patina of old age, but unfortunately it wasn't working with my decor, it was a little too yellow. 

I sanded it down and put on some primer and then painted it black (Valspar black, premixed, off the shelf). After it was painted, I used Minwax Finishing Wax for the protective top coat.  I love this stuff!  Anyway, without furthur ado, here is the final coat rack on my entry wall:

I will of course have to fill in the empty spaces around the coat rack (bench, pics, etc...) so this is all you get to view of that area, more to come...

Don't you just LOVE the vintage hardware? I made sure not to paint over that! It has this cool green patina inside.

Here, I did a little sanding to make it look as though it has been through years of coat hanging. 

As I was completing the Coat Rack today, I started priming this piece:

Stay tuned for it's after pictures in my kitchen

Thanks for Stopping by!

Linking up with these parties:

Furniture Before/After

I found the picture of the before off craiglist...YAY!

See? Not the most up to date look.

One week of work and they are in the house!
To see my progression go HERE and HERE

Here are the after pictures:

I did glaze over the white, but then changed my mind when it looked dirty, so I just painted over it again and just roughed up the edges with some 60 grit sanding block and then I sprayed with Minwax Satin Polyurethane spray.

UPDATE:  DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT use Polyurethane on a white painted surface, it will yellow in time...as mine did! I had to redo it to fix my screw up, so learn from my mistake.  After sanding and putting one coat of cream back on, I protected the surface with Minwax finishing wax

(oh and by the way, Walmart sells 3M sanding blocks for $3.47, vs. Lowe's at $4.48.  They also sell the Minwax poly spray for $6.78, which was also cheaper)

I did some glazing in the creases of the molding using a custom mixture of the blue, black, and another blue I had in the cabinet to come up with a darker navy color. I am thrilled at the way it turned out.

 Then I had to find pulls that had the right coloring and size for the right price...

As luck would have it, Target had their Oil rubbed bronze finish Bin Pulls on clearance for 50% off!  Whoo-hoo!  They were perfect!

$9.98 for a 6pk and $3.98 for a two pack

I wiped them out!

You can check to see if your local stores have them in stock by going HERE

It's pictured on page 2:

Target Home Basic Cup Pull 6pk

Thanks for looking!

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