behind the desk

With the cold weather, most of my time has been spent doing more indoor activities.  Baking, cleaning, laundry...writing. (ahem....and not doing too much exercise).

I've been searching for a desk for my son's room, and a few days ago I discovered a sturdy, perfect sized one hidden in the corner of my local thrift store.  It is solid wood, well made, and is screaming to be redone.

It's amazing how a little purchase can re-invigorate my motivation to get up and get moving.  At least to do a few small house projects.  Here's what I've found on Pinterest (my latest obsession), that has furthered my motivation.

Paint the desk a dark nautical navy blue?
{Source: Hackettstown}

Paint the desk "antiqued grey"?
 {Source: TritterFeefer}

After consulting with my junior client, I think I might just get some paint chips, sandpaper, and prep this piece....and try to get this project started (it's winter here, so painting will have to happen when the temperature is above the freezing mark).

White might be too feminine, but I love the handles on this desk.
{Source: The Furniture Factory}

At least I will get out from behind my desk.  

pinkie swear

I promised my daughter (and "ahem", my husband), that I would finish one of my quick DIY projects, a new dresser for her room.  That "quick" project sat in my garage as I got carried away, with the usual busy autumn schedule...and just playing with the kids.  My biggest obstacle (other than my "distractions") was determining what colour to paint this dresser.

It's amazing how colour plays a role in how we feel. The kinds of emotions evoked by a simple colour on a wall or an outfit.   It's no wonder why interior designers choose neutral soothing colours to create rooms that evoke a sense of calm and serenity.

1.  Fill all holes (I used Lepage wood filler).  2.  Sand then wash down any residue.
3.  Prime.  (I used Zinsser's Cover Stain).  4.  Do a second coat of primer, if needed.

There is a psychology behind what colours mean and why we choose the shades we use, and this quote summed up what I was looking for.

"Pink is the color of happiness and is sometimes seen 
as lighthearted...an attraction to pink may speak 
of a desire for the more carefree days of childhood."

{from Sensational Colour}

Carefree days of childhood.  That's what I strive to create for my kids...a place, a home where they can feel carefree and safe.  As an adult, it has a different, much stronger meaning...the pink ribbon comes to mind, and it represents a symbol of hope, strength and determination.

1.  Painted the dresser with Para's Cabinet & Furniture Paint in Sarah Richardson's "Blush" colour  

2.  Using a fireplace mantle ornament (found at Lowes for $10), sawed the ornament in 3 pieces.  

3.  Painted the ornament in the Para's Cabinet and Furniture paint,  also in "Blush".  

4.  Varnished using water based Varathane in Semi-gloss.

This is something I definitely want to instill in my children, especially my daughter. And it is with this determination, I finally put the finishing touches to this dresser, so my daughter has a made with love, place for her personal things.

1.  Varnished the dresser with water based Varathane, in semi-gloss.
2.  Glued the decorative ornaments onto the dresser, using LePage wood glue.
(I also added the knobs and handles....not shown)

Promises fulfilled... 

...and she's tickled pink!

{Attending these beautiful  parties... Coastal Charm, The DIY Showoff, Dittle Dattle, C.R.A.F.T., Embellishing Life, The Girl Creative, Capers of the Vintage Vixens, Flamingo Toes, Cherished Treasures, Making the World Cuter, Between Naps on the Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, Creating My Way to Success, Creating a House of Grace, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Today's Creative Blog, A Beach Cottage, At the Picket Fence, Miss Mustard Seed, My Repurposed Life, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Nifty Thrifty Things, Homemaker on a Dime}

Restoring Beauty: Chair Transformation-Revealed!

When I first saw this chair, I really saw the potential.  Although it was stuck in the corner, with odd red fabric, mis-matched styles of wood carving, and scuffs all over the chair, there was something that spoke to me about this chair  (maybe the $6 price tag spoke louder than the other, more traditional chairs I saw).

With so many inspirational choices, I originally went with this Baker chair as inspiration for my thrift store find.

 Thomas Pheasant for Baker

But after painting the chair black, it looked too stark...

So I changed my mind and combined the gold touches for the back of the chair with the white chairs from Belle Maison below:

Belle Maison chairs

Here’s how I transformed this chair...

I removed the chair pad.

I sanded the chair.

Painted the chair with a primer paint.

I used the Zinsser Primer Paint I had left
over from a previous project...that $10 can
goes a long way!!!

Filled the wood with Lepage wood filler. (yes, I should have done this before the sanding, but last minute decided to fill in the decorative “carving” on the front of the seat, as it seemed too “country” for what I was going to do.) So I re-sanded and primed again.

Painted the chair white, and the “8” of the chair back the “Champagne Nouveau” colour I used for the mail sorter (I thought, if it didn’t work, I can always re-paint over it in white).

Using this fabric I found during the Value Village 50% sale (it cost a whopping $3 for 2 yards---I only used one!), I replaced the chair pad,  and stapled the fabric.

Here’s the after.

Here's the cost breakdown for this chair if you did this yourself:
Chair: $6
Primer: Used left over can, but would cost about $12 for the can
Wood filler:  $6  
Black spray paint: Used left over from my table project, but would cost $5 per can.  
Gold spray paint:  Used left over from mail sorter project, but would cost $5 per can.
Chair pad filler:  
Fabric:  $3.


Total:  approx. $45


Simply a great find!


{This post is featured on The Motherboards and linked to My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia , Coastal Charm and House of Hepworths}

Take a seat...

Last month, I bought an "8" backed chair from the thrift store to transform (the post about it is here),  as one of my decor projects for this summer.

While I'm still working on the painting of the chair (it's gone through several colour versions...I'll post about it later this month!), I've completed recovering the seat pad. This method can be applied to any chair pad that needs recovering (or an upholstered bench for that matter...yes, that's on my to-do list this summer).  

Here's how to recover a chair seat...

Found (and pre-washed) some fabric (this one cost $3 for two yards...I only used one!)

Remove the chair pad from the chair.  Some chairs are easier to do than others, but luckily for this chair, all I needed to do was unscrew from the bottom.

Removed the existing fabric.

A flat head screw driver works with removing staples.
This chair had two fabrics on it!

Measured then cut the pad to fit the chair board...

Glued the pad to the chair board...

I just used "Tacky Glue"...but you can use any white glue.

Measured then cut the fabric to size...

To measure the fabric, just lay the fabric on the pad, and cut
approximately 1 inch around the pad.

Stapled the fabric to the chair pad...

Staple one staple on each side, pulling the fabric tightly
to position the fabric.  Then staple along the sides, from the
centre outwards to the corners, pulling fabric taut.

Staple the corners...

Make sure you cut extra fabric, and fold
the corners like you would with a birthday present.

Here's the chair pad...

Now all I need to do is attach this to the chair, and I'll be able to rest my....seat.

Beautiful Dresser

I love to shop.  Let’s just get that out of the way.  And since having kids, I now dress vicariously through them.  

Unfortunately our little girl’s closet is literally a half-sized one (not even 1/10th of the size of the dream walk in closet featured in Friday's post), and with all the clothes her crazy mother buys for her, she’ll need more places to put her stuff.  I love this pretty pink dressing chest from Posh Tots...for a paltry $1000.

Isabella Dressing Chest from Posh Tots

I’ve been looking for similar dressers on Craigslist and eBay, with no luck.  Most are too large or still too expensive.  Then, I remember an article from a design editor at Style at Home magazine talking about great finds at Value Village.  So, I headed off…

Not only did I find the right sized dresser, it had nice simple lines.  The wood was solid  (minus a few scuffs), and $15!  And since there was a 50% sale on (disappointingly not on furniture, but on clothes), the manager was in a generous mood, and said he’d only charge me $10 for this dresser!!!

Imagine all the possibilities...repositioned
crystal knobs, added moulding and
detailing, pretty paint.

Sold…to the lowest bidder? Well, I hightailed it out of there faster than you can say "sale"...and brought this baby home.  I was so giddy that I completely forgot to think of all the excuses I will have to make to justify this purchase (I paid more for my lamp than this dresser, so I can always re-sell, repaint or relocate to a possible cottage some day...at least that will be my "story").  

I think I’m going pink....now, stay tuned!

Beautiful Chanel-Inspired Chair

With spring cleaning, I was dropping off a few items at the local Bibles for Missions store (a great charity).  And of course, since I was in the store, I thought I’d take a peek.

In the corner, this interesting chair caught my eye.  When I first saw it, I instantly thought of Chanel, or Baker furniture (the famed line that carries the furniture line of one of my favourite designers, Barbara Barry).

I bought this chair for $6…and thought of all the possibilities.  Here are a few inspirational chairs that I hope to somewhat re-create with my new find.

Dark chair with fully gilded back.

{source: Thomas Pheasant for Baker}

Black chair with gilded edges and details.

{source: Oficina Inglesa}

Antiqued cream chairs

{source: Belle Maison Francaise}

Beautiful choices.

Simple (De)light- Reveal !

I was undecided with what colour to spray paint the base of my lamp...which I originally wanted  to look like this.  

Robert Abbey Doughnut Lamp

I might still paint it in the future, but looking at the lamp in the room, I thought it needed something dark to anchor all the light colours in the room.  I did, however, want to add a little something to the lampshade to give it more presence (and to hide a little dent).

So, I hot glued grosgrain ribbon I bought during their 50% off ribbon sale at Michaels.

Make sure that when you measure the ribbon
around the perimeter, that you have lots of "extra"
ribbon to fold for a neater edge.

Here's the updated lamp in the room.

Simply delightful.

Simple De(light)

Although our sitting room gets lots of sunlight (we sometimes call this the “sunroom”), we still needed a little table lamp when we enjoy the room in the evening.

I love the Robert Alley Doughnut lamp at Macys, but $435 (not including shipping, taxes and duty) for a little table lamp is pretty pricey.

Robert Abbey Doughnut Lamp at Macy's

I’ve been told that Restore is a little place that interior designers love to visit.  There is a treasure trove of new and antique type things (amongst the dingy as well).  Because the money goes to Habitat for Humanity, many local retailers donate their end of lines, and you can find some really great deals.

So, I found this lamp at my local Restore.  It only cost $30 (including tax!).  And the money went to charity, so more guilt-free shopping!!!

Using dish soap and a damp cloth was
the easy solution to clean this lampshade 

With a little spray paint (or maybe not…I'm still contemplating about painting it completely black, brushed nickel, or oil rubbed bronze), a little clean up of the lamp, and fabric edging on the lampshade edging (to cover a little dent), this would look fabulous!

Now...hoping to shed some light...stay tuned!

Simple Mail Sorter

I've noticed in many interior design magazines, that it is quite trendy to use antique toast racks to use as “mail sorting racks” in their home.

Here’s a real antique one found in the UK.  Note that it is £44.00 (or about $88...that must be some kind of bread!)

Toast rack from Steptoes Antiques

Since I’m using this for mail, I wanted one that was less expensive.  I found a scuffed up stainless steel version (i.e. NOT antique) at Talize, a thrift store that sells mostly clothes, but also sells household “knick knacks”. This has simple lines, and for $2, it will suffice to sort our mail.

I spray painted it a champagne bronze colour (mostly as a test...i'd love to use this colour on legs of an oval glass table...very french art deco!), and now it has a subtle look of an antique (and since it was so inexpensive, I would have no qualms re-painting this a different colour in the future, to match my ever changing home décor).

I used Krylon's Brushed Metallic spray paint
in "Champagne Nouveau" in Satin finish.
Found at Canadian Tire or Michaels for about $6

I do covet a real antique toast rack for our dream home/cottage someday, to actually use for toast (I can imagine using it at a pretty brunch…it would look so pretty on a marble countertop, wouldn’t it?), but that would be for another day.

Now….I’ll toast to that! 

Simply Good(will) Table-Reveal !

This has been quite a fun DIY project, mostly because this is my test...if I can paint this table, I can attempt at a larger table for our kitchen.

Here's what I did with my $5 table.

Using sandpaper, lightly sanded all paintable surfaces.

A medium grit sandpaper worked.

Then, using a damp cloth, I wiped the table clean from debris.

I was temped to use TSP, but plain water worked fine.

I primed the table with this great oil based primer  
I only used about 1/20th of the can.

Zinsser Cover Stain is amazing, found at Lowes for about $12.
It works well on all kinds of wood, including damaged, varnished or veneered.

Spray (yes spray) painted the table using satin black paint.  

Almost suffocated myself with the fumes...
don't forget to wear a mask!  This Krylon spray in Satin
Black can be found at Michaels or Canadian Tire for about $7

I waited for about 24 hours before doing another coat, 

and paint odd places I missed (like underneath).

If you get drips or streaks,
use a small foam brush (from Michaels for $1),
and lightly brush the drips, then continue spraying.

Remember my inspiration?

Crate and Barrel Esme Bruno Pedestal Table

Here's how my version looks in our sitting room. 

The sofa is supposed to be in our living room...
this is just a temporary spot.  It will be replaced with two sitting
chairs, with this table in between.

Similar to the Crate and Barrel table in style, but definitely not $600 (or even half that).  Total cost...about $20!!! (with primer and paint to spare for another project!)

Beautiful savings.

{This post is linked to Coastal Charm, Miss Mustard Seed, My Repurposed Life, House of Grace, The Shabby Nest}