DIY Chalk Paint

I made something!  Ok, technically I didn't make it, but I did refinish it which is close enough.

After a bit of a dry spell craft/DIY wise, I decided to chose a nice easy project to kick off 2014.

I found this little cabinet at our local thrift store for $25.

It had a couple of scrapes but nothing major and the top glass panel is in perfect condition which is a major bonus.  It's made by Lane so is a good quality piece, is really sturdy and ridiculously heavy.  I thought it would make a perfect tv cabinet.  

I've seen chalk paint all over Pinterest and the blogosphere.  I Googled a couple of major brands, and making my own (while saving a few pennies) seemed to be the best way to go.  Plus the 'no prep required' really sweetened the deal - you know I love a shortcut!

I picked up a tester, a couple of mixing cups and a box of plaster of Paris all from Lowes.  I mixed:

1 Lowes paint tester (221 ml)
75ml plaster of Paris
75ml cool water

These measurements are all in milliliters because that is what's on both the tester and the measuring cups.  Much easier than having to Google conversions!

The mixture itself was like slightly watered down paint - but not to the point where it would run or drip more than usual.

I removed both doors and the hardware, then used a regular cheapo paintbrush to apply 2 coats - no sanding or priming needed.  It went on unbelievably easily with each coat dry to the touch in about an hour.  I'm not sure how well the mixture will last, but I had enough paint left to refill the tester jar so I'll let you know!

I left the cabinet overnight to dry completely, then applied a coat of Minwax finishing wax with a cloth to seal the piece.  Next up I spray painted the hinges and pulls using Rustoleum in Champagne Mist.

I picked Almost Charcoal for my color, but failed to take into account the fact that the plaster and water would lighten the color.  So it's not quite as dark as I wanted, but I'm still pleased with how it turned out.

I'll snap some more pics once we've heaved it upstairs.  We just need to drill a couple of holes in the back for the cable wires to run through and we'll be all set.

Kate

xxx

Headboard History

Happy Monday, and Happy Autumn!  Today I wanted to share the transformation of my $30 head board.  This is how it looked when I first brought it home from a local flea market.

After an allover coat of cream, this is how it has looked for the past year.

It seemed to be the perfect candidate for a chevron paint pattern given that the wood was already carved into that shape - so no measuring or taping needed, yippee!

I used the existing cream as one chevron colour, and picked a colour 2 shades darker than the wall for the second chevron.  I wanted to make sure the tone would work in the room, so using a colour on the same paint chip was the easy option.  It only took a couple of coats and it was evenly covered.

It's like a little hidden surprise when you lay the pillows down, and is a much more interesting than it being in one colour.

 

Kate

xxx

When chair stain goes bad!

On Friday I promised you a look at the Danish chairs I picked up at a local thrift shop.  They have possibly the worst DIY stain job I have ever seen.  It looks like a lot of hate went into the staining and upholstering of these chairs. 

Here they are together.  I'll admit they don't look too bad from far away.  A little lumpy maybe, but not ready for the scrap heap yet.

But take a closer look and you can really see the shoddy job that someone did on these poor chairs.

I can't stress how terrible they look.  The stain is right over the brass sabots (yes, I totally had to Google to find out what the little brass feet on mid century furniture is called!).

I felt so sorry for them.  The upholstery job is almost as heinous as the stain.

And I don't even want to know what this is.  Bleugh!  Now do you see why they were only $12 each :-)

It was easy enough to separate the seat from the wooden frame.  I Googled around and decided to use Citristrip (from Home Depot) to try and bubble up the horrific stain job so I could scrape it off easily.  

I did a small text spot on the back of one of the chairs before layered it on the rest of the frame with an old paint brush.  I waited about 30 minutes and it seemed to work really well - cue lots and lots and lots of scraping.

And that's pretty much as far as I got this weekend.  Fingers crossed it's a case of getting a LOT worse before it gets better.

Kate

xxx

Adding some Storage

I'm trying hard not to turn our house into an Ikea showroom, but its really hard.  Their furniture is just so functional and well, cheap!

On one of our recent trips we picked up 2 white Expedit .  I initially wanted to use them as nightstands in the master but they looked terrible.  They were waaay too big for the space and quickly made their way into the junk guest room.

This weekend I decided to move them into the kitchen to see how they looked, and I kind of like them there.

This is how it was looking before, with the extra slimline shoe cabinet also from Ikea (of course!).

Anything that gives me extra surface space for all my knick knacks is always a winner.  You can never have too much storage especially in a kitchen, and there is still plenty of room to sit at the table.

Yes, that is a real plant and no I haven't killed it (yet!).

This sweet little pear shelf was a couple of dollars from J&J Junk.  Any ideas what I should fill it with?

I love that I can finally display my green Catherine Holm bowl (even if it is just plastic!).

Extra points for spotting the wonky white lid, ha!  I didn't even realize it was at a jaunty angle until I uploaded it.  Note to self - must pay more attention to detail!

I collected most of my treasures from thrift stores and flea malls over the past year.  The Cafe print was only $7 from The Christmas Tree Shop and the round orange geometric tray was from Michaels.  It's definitely an eclectic jumble.

And I promise the big coffee table reveal will be on Monday, because I know you've all been eagerly awaiting the amazing unveiling, ha!  Just one more coat to seal it and it will be finished.

Have a great weekend whatever you have planned.

Kate

xxx

MIA in MIA

And I'm back - did you miss me?  We took a little time out to regroup and take a much needed holiday.  I'll give you one guess where....

The weather was beautiful, the beach was amazing and it was great to catch up with family and just relax.  No work, no emails, no ringing phones, perfect!

It wouldn't be a trip to Miami without a couple of gratuitous shots of palm trees and art deco buildings.

Fun times.

Not to say I wasn't planning and listing and thinking about all of the projects and updates I still want to accomplish this year (how can it be June already!).

First up was tackling the dreaded Ikea flat pack shelving we picked up on our last trip to the ATL (more on that HERE).

I was surprised at how easy it was to put together (although, to be fair, there were only 8 pieces).  One allen key and 20 minutes later, we have this:

The only surfaces we had in the bedroom were the 2 nightstands and the dresser so we were in desperate need of some shelving.  It fits perfectly next to the window in the master, and there is still plenty of room to open the closet door. 

I've also moved the TJ Maxx bench from the end of the bed to by the window to create a little nosey neighbor seat.

The bottom shelf is perfect for putting the cushions on when they're not on the bed.  The little white guy next to him is a Moomin (Google it!).

Most of the other item are either decorative or give us some extra storage.

The graphic magazine holders were from the Target dollar section and the cow photo was from Etsy seller Stephs Shoes.

And how could you not love the little smiling ceramic Russian doll.

Top shelf, front and center, is my all time favorite piece of art.

It's a vintage painting by numbers from a local flea mall.  I mean, I think it's vintage.  How can you ever really tell - it could have been painted last week by a 6 year old for all i know!  But I still love it!

Anyone else adding some extra storage or fighting with flat pack furniture?

Kate

xxx

Flea Market Jackpot

This weekend I ventured out to Bama Flea mall (follow me on Instagram to keep up with all the thrifty goodness).  I couldn't remember the last time I was there, which is a definite sign a trip was long overdue. 

3 hours of rummaging, and these are all of my goodies in one neat shot. 

I couldn't resist the wooden shoe forms, they were only $8 for the pair.  No clue what I'm going to do with them, maybe I'll just pop them on a shelf.  I've seen a lot of vintage suitcases, but I thought finding one in white was unusual.  Great for extra storage and looks cute, in the cart it went.

The little mid century shelf was one of my favorite finds.  The glass needs a bit of a clean but everything else was in excellent condition.  The two orange and white pieces are retro salt and pepper shakers ($3).  The 4 milk glasses were $10 for the set.  I only noticed that one has a smaller base than the other 3 when I was setting them out to take this pic (clearly that one's the runt of the litter).

The white wavy light has to be my top flea market find.  Ever.  Yep, I said it.  EVER!  I couldn't believe it when I saw it.  There was no price on it, so I went straight to Google to see how much it would cost new (not going to lie, I totally checked Ikea just to be sure it wasn't one of theirs).  Turns out this was a Le Klint 172, a pretty iconic light designed by Poul Christiansen (thank you Wikipedia). 

They came back with a price of $69 and I managed to talk them down to $50.  I'm the worlds worst haggler, so was especially smug after getting the price down.  I'm keeping everything crossed that it works.

I couldn't resist a quick whiz round Pinterest to find some other rooms the Le Klint had been used in.  Standby for a Monday montage of pretty pictures.

Pinterest

Pinterest

Pinterest

Kelly Behun Studio

 

Did you pick up any bargains this weekend?

 

 Kate

xxx

Mini Makeover

This weekend I finally tackled a loooong overdue mini makeover.  By long, I mean I've had this sad little plant stand on the to do list for 2 years.  Yes, 2 YEARS!  I bought this on my very first trip out to Bama Flea Mall for a cheaper than cheap $5.

The minute I got home, I sanded it down ready to be painted.  And that's how it has stayed.  It even made the move from our last apartment to our first home - I refused to give up on my little project.

I'm trying hard to use up the paint and craft supplies I already have.  I hunted around in the garage and found a tester from when we were deciding on the living room wall colour.  It's just one shade lighter than the colour we finally settled on (Behr, Opal Silk).

I gave the plant stand a quick 2 coats.  I wanted to add a little detail, so used a gold paint pen to mark a single chevron.

I'm contemplating turning it into a little table - maybe with a frosted glass top?  Maybe!

Kate

xxx