Desk Makeover

I loooove farmhouse tables.  In fact, one of my very first furniture projects was this beauty!

I scored her off Craigslist for $200 and my husband and I went to work.  He sanded her down entirely and I stained.  Like I said, it was my first project so it's not perfect, but I definitely learned a thing or two and I love her.  AND she's the perfect table to handle a toddler. :)

When I saw this desk at an antique store, I had to have it and give it a little farmhouse update.

I started with three coats of General Finishes Snow White on the body and the drawers.

Then I did three coats of General Finishes Java Gel Stain for the top.

I loved the original hardware, so I didn't touch a thing there, but I did line the drawers with some really cute orange paper.  And here she is!

 

 

 

 

It may have been a pretty straight forward makeover, but I think it really gave this table new life.  It would look fantastic in any home either as a desk or even an entry table.  The possibilities are endless!

-Ashley

Dining Buffet - Before And After

A few months ago, I was given the opportunity to try out a new line of paint.  However, I was waiting for the right piece to try it out on!  That took a little longer than expected.  But good things really do come to those who wait because I ended up landing the most beautiful dining buffet at the most beautiful price. :)

I knew I would be painting the body of the table light grey as well as upgrading the hardware.  But I wasn't quite sure what to do for the top of the table until I saw this photo from  Confessions Of A Serial Do-It-Yourselfer.  If you haven't checked out Christy's blog, do it!  She does some really fun things!

Source

Inspired by Christy, I knew I wanted to do a very dark stain on the top of the buffet as well as the small strip inbetween the two drawers.  So to work I went!

I started with three coats on the drawers and doors.

 And then got to work on the body.  Here is the first coat...

 And here she is with three coats!  Looking good!

The whole piece (except the top) then got a bit of distressing.  Here is a pic of the doors and drawers.

 

I prepped the already painted areas for the stain.  You can go two routes with this particular type of stain - 1) paint it on and wipe it off, repeat or 2) just paint it on, repeat.  I went with the latter and LOVED the results.

 

And here she is!!! 

I love the mix of original hardware with some new!  And since I decided to keep this piece (I just HAD to!!) I lined the drawers with teal paper to match my living room lamps.  Here she is in our real life, ha....

-Ashley

Laundry Room Sign

One of the items I found while reorganizing the loft closet was the cabinet door to this IKEA nightstand.

I removed it last year in order to store blankets in the loft TV room.  I was positive I could do something with the door, so I decided to hang on to it.  And while reorganizing my laundry room this week, I decided to use it to create a laundry room sign!

It was more of a yellow-white, so first up was a couple coats of Maison White.

Then I spent some time putting together the design.  I printed the design out on decal paper as a mirror image and followed the instructions to transfer the image onto the cabinet door.

While I let that set overnight, I used a laser level to mark where I needed to add the nails.  This was my first time using a laser level and I honestly don't know how I've hung anything without one.  It was awesome!

And here it is!  I love how it looks like a laundry chute door!

I'm hoping to add white wood shelves above the washer and dryer to help jazz it up even more!  Doing laundry will surely be a little more enjoyable now! :)

-Ashley

Spring Is In The Air

And therefore Easter is right around the corner!  In all actuality however, Easter is quite late this year - April 20th!  That's OK though because it gives me more time to decorate and even more time to enjoy those decorations!  Win, win!

I found the cutest stencil at (where else?!) Hobby Lobby - a bunny silhouette.  I snatched it up immediately because I knew it would come in handy not only for Easter decor, but for Spring decor in general.

Wanting to go a little more rustic with the "Easter Collection", I searched through my never-ending collection of scrap wood and found the perfect sheet of pine.  I also came across some leftover letters that just happen to spell "WELCOME".  I can take a hint - a door sign I must make! :)

To get started, I used a small foam brush to apply my most favorite color stain.

While that dried, I painted the orange letters yellow.

 

I let the stain dry overnight before taping down the bunny stencil and painting it white.

Next I used blue tape to create a straight line that would serve as a guide as I glued down each letter.

Last but not least was to drill two holes for the twine.  I enlisted my hubby for this part.  :)

And there you have it!  A door sign that will last me through the Spring and Easter season.

-Ashley

Side Table Redo

After painting the buffet, which was big and black, I needed to bring some color back into my life.  However, I was undecided as to what color.  I knew I wanted to paint a coffee table red, but that was dependent on me finding the perfect piece, which sadly, I'm still on the hunt for.  I did stumble upon this cutie though!  And yellow she should be! 

After a quick wipe down, I was ready to paint!

I chose to let the first coat dry overnight, but instead of cleaning my brush that night, I simply wrapped it up in a plastic bag so I could reuse it the next day.  One of the best painting secrets out there!

After a second coat, I was ready to tackle the in-lay details.  Inspired by the song You Are My Sunshine, I chose grey as my accent color.  Get it?!  ("You make me happy, when skies are GREY!") :)  To paint the in-lay's, I used an artists brush.

Next was to give the entire piece a little distressing.

And finally, wax.  More often than not, I go for clear wax, but I own dark brown wax and have just been too chicken to really commit to using it on an entire piece.  Not today my friends!  I was going for it!  The pictures aren't fantastic, but you'll notice a slight deepening in the second picture vs the first.  That is what dark brown wax can do you for you!

And here is a close up with wax on the left side of the leg, but not yet on the right.

I love how the color turned out!  It has given me the confidence to use dark brown wax more often.

 

-Ashley

Dining Buffet Redo

I had been wanting to redo a dining buffet for quite some time and one December day, thanks to Craigslist, I found this beauty for a great price AND in fantastic condition - score!  I always knew I wanted to go black on the exterior - simple, yet elegant - but the possibilities on what to do on the inside were endless!  I spent quite a few nights tossing ideas back and forth with the hubby (bless his heart!). I thought, why don't I just start and I'll figure it out as I go, which by the way is soooo against my norm!

I had also just taken an advanced techniques class from The Rustic Duchess (if you ever have wanted to learn how to paint furniture, definitely check her classes out - super fun!).  In the class, we worked with glacage, which is an embossing creme that you use to stencil designs right on to your piece.  Then when you paint over it, it looks as if it was always part of the original piece.  Love it!

I started off by painting the drawers and doors black.  I like to paint drawers and doors first so that when I get the main piece finished up, I can immediately start putting everything back together. Instant gratification. :)

I also knew that I wanted to try lining the drawers with paper.  After doing a little research, I decided to line the drawers with a soft grey design using Krylon Spray Adhesive.  This process was super easy!  Just cut, spray and line.  The adhesive is very forgiving, making it easy to adjust the paper as needed. 

I thought I would seal it with Modge Podge, but unfortunately that back fired.  Luckily, I only tried it out on one of the drawers, but you can see how wrinkled everything became.  

After doing even more research, I decided that not sealing the paper would be the route I'd go so that if someone wanted to remove it and or switch it out - they could easily do so.  Next time, I think I'll try lining with fabric!

With the drawers and doors painted, it was time to make a call on the inside.

Considering I already had grey in my paint stash, the decision on color was a simple one.

And for a bit of a surprise, I decided to paint stripes on the shelf and the inside of the doors.

After the inside was finished, it was time to tackle the body.

And then I finished up with a little distressing - my favorite part!

Viola - just as I had envisioned!

I have my heart set on doing a coffee table next, just got to find the right piece.  At least I already know the color - red!!!

-Ashley