Beautifully Dressed up in Grey

We found this little table on one of our outings at a little pawn shop we didn't even know about. And it's just down the road.

See those beautiful curves. Well we had a light grey paint so again I mixed up chalk paint and had at it. This one I gave the normal 2 coats. It's from Valspar Summer Collection. Sorry before I thought about it we threw the container away. 

Dave has been thinking about trying this furniture painting. He started it and gave it the first coat. But with his shoulders and neck he had a really hard time with it. So I finished it up.

My family keeps laughing at me. I don't know that the house is big enough for all of this stuff. So alas she must go. But man am I having fun with this. The search and find are the best parts.

Kitchen Cabinet Repurposed Into a TV Stand

When we bought the house the kitchen cabinets were nice just not what we wanted. We bought oak cabinets from Menards a few years ago and brought them with us. So when we took them down I thought I would use them for other things. Here is one of the cupboards before I revised it.

Our bedroom is kind of small but just the right size for just the 2 of us. I wanted something to match the dresser for the tv. So I took white paint and mixed up some chalk paint. The white is just a Menards brand that was premixed. Definately not a paint I recommend. I have had such a hard time with it. 

Any way. I removed the door and took the center panel out. My grandson Bryson helped me. He is so funny. He said "aww grama broke that". Then I put chicken wire in the center of the doors. 

I painted the cupboard with the white chalk paint. Added a shelf to the top door. Turned the doors around. And here is the finished product. I think it is so cute.

Here it is in the bedroom next to the dresser I redid a few weeks ago.

I am still looking for the baskets to put in the top drawer area of the dresser. But they look so good together. The house is really coming along. We have been having so much fun putting it together. Now to decide on paint colors. 

Lady in Red

We have been so busy lately I haven't had time to breathe. Hence the reason I have not posted in a while. I was not really looking for a desk. I had a make shift thing going on with my computer and it was doing the job. Well Dave and I were out and about and checked in with a local thrift shop the Bibles for Mission. We found a beautiful desk with lots of potential for 25.00. And I immediately saw red. Here is the before.

My son had a nightstand he redid in black with cherry red stripes. So I used the rest of the red for the desk. It is Dutch Boy Cherry Red. First I sanded down the top and stained it with Minwax Ebony. Yep it is dark but I had a method behind my madness. Once it dried I sanded it down again leaving some of it in certain areas. Then I restained it with Minwax Early American, This gives it a rustic older appearance. I mixed up chalk paint with the Cherry Red and gave it 2 coats. Then I used a foam brush and brushed the Minwax Ebony over the top of the paint. Working in small areas at a time as soon as I put the stain on I used a damp cloth and wiped it off. You have to make sure you don't wipe too hard or too much or it will take it all off. Along with the paint. I painted the knobs with Rustoleum Hammered in Dark Brown. Finished it with the paste wax and here she is. I am absolutely in love with this desk. 

Can you see on the edge of the top just what that did with the staining method I used? I was scared once I started painting. That red went on almost pink. Yikes! But the stain darkened it up to the perfect red.

I Don't Really Want To Let This One Go

I have had this end table for several years. I really don't have the room for it so it must go. And it doesn't really fit with the other things in our living room. We didn't realize how much detail this table has until I painted it.

After 3 coats of white chalk paint, heavy distressing, paste wax finish here it is. 

I sanded the top and restained with Minwax Ebony but couldn't get it to go darker than this. But it is still pretty. I left the original hardware just the way it was. 

My front porch looks like a paint shop. I have several projects going on out there. The neighbors probably think I am nuts. 

Another Addition To My Living Room

I can't say it enough. I love free. This little table was just that.

3 of the 4 legs needed new bolts. 2 of the 4 pulls were missing. But it had great potential. Dave cracks me up he still looks at me with this What??? face when I pick something up. 

I sanded the top down and stained it with Minwax Early American. Then I painted the bottom with the oops chalk paint from Lowes. The pieces in my Living Room are all going to be this color. This table is also great because it has the same legs on it that match the coffee table that used to be my parents. 

After 3 coats of paint, some distressing, paste wax and new knobs from Menard's here it is.

Kitchen Countertop Done and for 30.00 Woot Woot

We finished our countertop this weekend on the sink side of the kitchen. It looks beautiful. We used 2 x 4's. Who would have thought after sanding they have so much grain to them. The total cost for this countertop was 30.00 which is a double plus. We also made a pattern in the corner. We absolutely love that part. First we layed it all out. Then glued the pieces together and used clamps to hold it together with cement blocks on top. Dave cut the length once it was placed and glued. Then cut out the sink hole. I sanded the whole thing down and stained it with Minwas Early America. Then coated with 4 coats of poly. It was probably need more but I will do that once this heat breaks here.

It took 7 boards on the sink area and 8 on the snack bar area. I may make that part wider later, I am not sure about it yet. This is a work in progress but it is coming along. I am the kind of person who changes their mind 9 million times before I finish so we shall see how it turns out.

A Dresser Done Just Right

I just love the Habitat For Humanity Restore. I have picked up several pieces of furniture there. This dresser was 4.77. Gotta love a good price on something with lots of potential.

Sorry about the blurry pictures. My eyes are just not working right with this heat we have had here. I did not notice the blurriness until I uploaded them, and it is too late to redo them. The dresser is done. 

I mixed some white chalk paint. It is just a basic white wall and trim paint from Menards. Already mixed on the shelf and ready to go. I mixed 1 cup of paint to 1/2 cup of baking soda. The baking soda is mixed with just enough water to make it soupy before I mix it with the paint. It took 3 coats of paint to paint the dresser. It doesn't look that dark in these pictures, but it is a darker almost black. Then I sanded the top down and stained it with Minwax stain in Ebony. One of the drawers was missing so I took the drawer slide out of the top spot and also stained the inside of that. 

I wanted a natural looking distressing on this piece so after the paint dried I look a damp sock and started wiping. This will usually take the paint off only in the areas that seem to want to come off. That is the easiest way to explain it. There are some spots that I would like to be distressed so I use my nail with the cloth and kind of scratch it off. 

Then I used Minwax Finishing paste and gave it one coat. And here it is I LOVE the way it turned out. The drawers have an old newspaper look on the inside so I left that alone.

I did not do a thing to the pulls. I loved the way they looked so that is the way they stayed. The little shelf on the top was also purchased at the Restore on the same day for 3.00. It was already painted white so I just got out the old sander and distressed it. That is going to go on the top of the dresser with a few things on it. I'm not sure what things yet but we shall see. 

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