Dressing for the Evening

For about four months I've been living with this situation as my master bedroom night stand... let's just say... the lamp was the only good thing about that situation. 

 I searched around all the thrift stores in town trying to find something that would fit in that section and that I would be able to get to coordinate with all my other furniture that is existing. I was telling my bloggy BFF Sam that there is not one set of matching furniture in my entire house, I feel it is a personal challenge to make my thrift shop finds coordinate and appear to be intentionally put together.

Finally after several months of shopping, I came across this desk at Salvation Army, and it was in my budget! I never like to spend more than $20.00 on a piece of furniture I plan on revamping more than 90% of. And it was $19.99! Perfect.

My friend Alexa from work helped me fit it in the back of her hatchback Subaru and drove it over. I was so excited. Part of the reason it was so cheap is because of how damaged it appeared to be. That seems to be the trick the ones that actually are sturdy, but look bad or have hinges hardware hanging, are cheapest. This one looked a bit rough to an uninspired eye. :)

During my two week Spring Break (!!!) I brought it out into the living room on a Thursday while watching an HGTV marathon of Rehab Addict. I love Nicole Curtis. A lot. At this point I can bust out a paint job in just a couple hours. Strangely this guy only needed a light sanding and a lot of cleaning. 

Two or three episodes of Nicole later and I had everything but the hinges painted! I left the top part wood toned because I didn't want to make everything too matchy in the bedroom. Plus it was super duty sealed/coated on top and there was not a scratch on it. At first I was hesitant but ever since I painted my interior door I've been more adventurous.

Here's the new nightstand desk in position. I used decor that I already had around the house, the lamps have been in my room for a long time but the vintage camp chair is a cool one I found at Habitat several years ago, the vases and accessories have been collected over time. My brother lives in Durango and they have this fabulous brewery called Steamworks, every time I'm there I grab a few of their Colorado flag inspired coasters. They add a fun flair. One of my friends was visiting and was in my room and laughed at the incredible amount of books I store on my nightstands and dressers, her words: "How to tell if you're an English teacher... there's no TV in your room, and not a surface without a book."

When my friends were visiting over our two week spring break I picked up some fabulous local art. The picture on the left is a bike with books on it! Of course I love that. 

It is so nice having some space again and not keeping my home reno stuff in the corner of my room! The poor desk has already become overloaded with books. (Though I keep my tank tops in the drawers, I'm a girl with a lot of clothes lol.)

What do you think of my thrift shop redo? :)

The Counter Attack

It has finally happened! My counter tops are fully installed! I am going to do a few touch-ups and redos before I post a new "Kitchen Tour" picture page but for now... Let me just show you the final before and afters! 

The initial look of the kitchen in 2008: 

And after my second remodel of the cabinets back in 2010/2011:

My absolute favorite part!! How it looks now:

Bahhhh I can't even get over how holy-crap pretty these are! I seriously sped home as fast as possible from work so I could hang out with my counter tops! (Though ignore the over flow on the bar area. It was a catch-all during this process.) Remember last week when I pointed out that funky spot under the end of the bar? It was a big ole gap but now! It is fully filled in and I even added tile wallpaper on the right side of the counters instead of getting an end chunk of countertop, I think it looks better.

Even the cat liked em! Actually she got caulking on her fur. Which she wasn't a fan of. Therefore she had to lay on the counter until I served her properly and cleaned it up. 

Here's a run down of the things I kept from 2008 and the things that are new. I have to say so far this is one of the biggest impact projects I've done so far!

New vs. Old:

• old hardware, just spray painted with oil-rubbed bronze.
• old cabinets, painted with crisp white paint. (Does require maintenance of paint but worth it)
• old sink. Just a couple repairs and it was solid again.
• old stove. It works, it works for me.
• new counters!
• new back splash. I used tile looking paintable wallpaper by Allen Roth from Lowe's. The old stuff was twenty cent bathroom tile.
• new fridge and dishwasher
• new wall color
• new switch plate and outlet covers
• new light fixture (might update it again though, that one was $3.00 on clearance but it is rather modern for this space now.)
• new window covering

Now I just have to figure out something for the "L" shaped bar area. I thought it'd be fine with the new counters. But now... that looks trashy compared to all the other remodel work I've done recently.

Here's really the only picture of it I have: 

The problem is the strange shape of the counter. To buy a piece of laminate that matches and then chop it up just seems ridiculous. It would cost a lot of money. I'm sort of thinking to take some wood and build a surface. It has to be relatively light since the cabinets aren't the most solid things ever.

Here's a couple images for the overall look I'm thinking:

Eclectic Kitchen by Minneapolis Design-Build Firms the gudhouse company

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Obviously those are a little fancier than what I would probably go with. But I think the contrast is nice and would keep the cottage feel of the house and add some desperately needed character to my house. "Do all things with character!" 

For instance I found an example of someone doing their entire counters with wood and then staining and sealing, I think that could look awesome!

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I am excited to update that portion but one big project at a time is probably for the best. Not having countertops and microwaving dinner in my dining room wasn't my favorite experience. 

Dining Chair DIY Update

This project is mega old but I keep forgetting to finish my post about it. But no more! I finally have to post and share these lovely things. I inherited my dining set from my aunt when I first moved into my house in 2008. It is a beautiful and very traditional solid cherry wood set with four upholstered chairs. When I first got the set you could tell the chairs had scarcely been used, partially because of the pristine ivory cushion covers. Fast forward five years and multiple roommates later... those cushions were anything but pristine.

So I took em off!

The seats were so nasty I'm embarrassed to show you, so here's the bottom of the cushion. I simply stapled the new fabric (about 4 yards from Hobby Lobby) over the old after cleaning them with bleach and stain lifters so they wouldn't stink or anything.

I didn't paint the chairs or anything, choosing instead to leave the traditional cherry. The new cushion cover looks great though! It adds some great character and subtle fun to the room. I love it!

Here's a closer shot of the fabric. I sprayed them with water repellent designed for exterior furniture. I figured it would help these hold up better. Not that I plan on taking them outside or anything like that of course.

I moved the two armed chairs over to flank the coffee bar to make it easier to maneuver around the table and use them when we need them. Since it is just my sister and I at the house we don't need all four chairs around the table, and we tend to just eat at the bar area anyway since it is farther from the animals.

I think it looks awesome! I love the fun patern and the fact that I don't have to buy a new table and chairs just because they were dirty, a staple gun and $30.00 in fabric and they were fresh and clean! Now if I could just get the leg on the table to stay connected... we'd be golden... the struggles of DIY. haha.