Wednesday, June 19, 2013

DIY Trunk Coffee Table

I've wanted to make a coffee table out of an old trunk for awhile now. I bought this one at a yard sale last year. I spray painted it black when I bought it and used it as a prop trunk for a photo booth. It only got used once at a wedding, and since then it has sat in our storage trailer. Today I dug it out and screwed on four wheels from Lowe's. 
It doesn't get any easier than that! Now I have a cute little "table" that easily rolls around and doubles as storage! 

I pulled down one of the crates from my "top shelf" decorating to add more height, and just grabbed a couple of items from around the house. A mint birdcage and white milk glass candle are perfect. I wish all projects were this easy!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Vanity Re-Do with DIY Chalk Paint

Since summer began, I've been working on a bunch of BIG chores that I never have time to do. I've also started paying attention to my bedroom, really the only room I haven't decorated in the house. I want to make it a place we WANT to be. I want it to be relaxing, and beautiful. I bought this small old desk a couple of years ago so that I would have a place to sit down and put on my make-up and dry my hair. I didn't paint it, and it really just looked horrible. I can't believe I let this go so long.
 Here is what it looked like yesterday...
 Last night I picked up some gray satin paint. This morning I simply mixed a tablespoon of non-sanded white grout and about 16 oz of paint. I brushed on two coats of paint and it's like a brand new piece!
 I put on a light coat of wax to finish it off. Did I mention this piece is LAMINATE?! Yep! I used this recipe for chalk paint and I didn't even have to sand it.
I can't believe how easy it is to use this method to paint furniture. I am notorious for loathing furniture painting.

Spindle Jewelry Holder

If you've read my blog for awhile, you might remember when I made a photo holder from two short spindles and some chicken wire. You can see it here. I was never crazy about the green color on this, and how dirty the spindles looked. I've been in the process of perking up our bedroom. I'm loving the time off from home school! I actually have time to do the things I want and need to do. 
I simply painted it with some leftover white satin paint, mixed with a bit of non-sanded white grout. It makes a DIY chalk paint and I love how easy it is to work with and how well it covers! 

I brushed a bit of it on the dirty looking spindles to give them a white wash. All I had to do was hang little "S" hooks on the chicken wire and I now have a spot for all of my necklaces!


Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Reclaimed Wood Insert Wall

I am so THRILLED with how this project turned out. You know how sometimes you have a fabulous idea in your head, and then you do it, and it looks like a 5 year old did it? I was afraid that might happen, but I'm happy to say that this turned out to be my favorite project ever. I am still toying with the idea of cutting out a few pieces to take it all the way to the floor, but the plugs and wires are ALL over the wall behind the TV. I think I might just measure long enough to tuck the wood just behind the TV and avoid the plugs. Not sure yet.
I have seen planked walls all over the Internet and have been dying to do one. But I wanted to do it right, so it took me awhile to get all of my ducks in a row. 

 First, I found the old white chippy window frames at a salvage yard in Santa Cruz. I think I paid about $10-$15 for the pair. I like how they look like giant Polaroid frames, with the piece on the bottom slightly bigger. I didn't know what I wanted to do with them, but I knew I'd use them eventually.
A friend of mine replaced her fence, so when I asked on Facebook about old wood, she let me know I could have her old stuff for free. I have to admit, it's kind of a messy job working with old wood. First you have to make sure they are safe and don't have termites. Then you have to pressure wash them to get off layers of dirt and spiders. Next, I set them out to dry in the sun. 
 I used my saw to cut off the top angled piece of the wood. The challenge with cutting this kind of wood, is that some of them are more cracked than others and they can split on you after you cut them. Thankfully I had enough to finish the project. I started this project in the upper left corner of the insert wall, pre-drilling holes to prevent the wood from splitting, and making sure the wood screws went into the studs into the walls.
After the first piece, I enlisted my husband's help because it was too hard to hold the wood above my head and drill at the same time. This project really needs two people if you don't want to end up pulling your hair out. We worked down the left side of the wall, and then went up to the top of the right side and worked down, measuring and cutting each row, as each piece on the left was slightly different. 
 My husband has been wanting his deer in the house for MANY, many years, but I've never found a spot where I thought it wouldn't look out of place. Next, I hung up my old window frames. They don't have glass in them, so they're just empty wooden frames.
 Inside each frame, I hung up my 11x14 art prints from The Wheatfield, by Katie Daisy. I knew that since the windows were so big, the art needed to be substantial size so that they wouldn't look shrunken in the frame. I used a coupon and bought these two frames from World Market that I fell in love with a couple of weeks ago. They go PERFECTLY here! World Market has seriously stepped up their game, I could spend a fortune in there if I had one!

I wanted to really LOVE the art that I would hang up here, since it will be focal point of the room. I kind of wanted them to be family mantras. I looked over SO many of Katie's prints, and went back and forth on my favorites. There are so many that I could have chosen and completely loved. I decided on "Choose Love" and "Live with Passion" because they really sum it all up. When making a choice, the answer should ALWAYS be "choose love". We should never want to choose otherwise, hard as it is sometimes. This seemed like a good daily reminder of where our hearts should be. I chose "Live with Passion" because, well duh... we should live with passion. If not, we're probably doing something wrong, or are wandering about aimlessly. Both very good messages for our family!

Hope you like it as much as I do!