Painted Furniture

As mentioned in my previous post, I hate to sand furniture. It's grueling! And let's be honest, it's pretty darn messy too. Before my husband and I bought our home, we were renting a house from a friend. The master had a huge built in closet that took up the length of the room. Therefore we didn't need dressers. Prior to living there we had only one dresser which was a dresser from my childhood that I just put into our guest room. However, when we were buying our home, which took 5 months because we purchased a short sale, I had time to think about our furniture needs for our master. We had no furniture. Okay, if you consider two IKEA night stands as "furniture", we had them. But we had no dressers and we didn't have built ins in our new home. And every cent we had was going into our down payment. I wasn't about to live without furniture and wasn't going to purchase a new set either. Personally, I like the eclectic look anyway, where things don't necessarily go together. So piecing something together was right up my alley. And we didn't really have a choice unless I wanted to wait till we could afford something new.

Here's the room that inspired me!

These were my inspiration pieces - Marth Stewart Furniture Collection

 

In our garage we had an old beat up dresser that I picked up for $25 at a garage sale and made my husband drag home. Literally! No kidding! We had no truck and the garage sale was on our street but like a quarter to a half a mile away. So, of course I insisted that we carry it. Let's just say he wasn't happy with me that day. He's certainly happy now, because he has a place to put his socks, but then, not so much! Anyway, this bad boy needed lots of TLC and I'm not sure I even new why I thought to take it home. I think there is something about a garage saler's mentality that makes them buy crap. I don't have a photo of what it looked like because I wasn't thinking that I would need one, although it would have been great for a "Before" and "After" whether for this post or just to have.  This isn't it, but it looked something like this which I found on Young House Love.

 Although it didn't look exactly like this, you get the idea! I can tell you the top was a bit warped. It had stuff peeling off of it, which looked a little like newspaper.  It definitely needed some sanding on the top, so I did. 

It had the same handles.

And look, it's even peeling on top!

For a second dresser, because our room was large, I inherited a cherry stained dresser from my friend who was moving out of the country and not taking furniture with her.  It was a nice enough dresser, but I needed to change it up.  So, along with the garage sale dresser, the inherited dresser, and my two night stands, I removed the handles, and painted them black.  This is how I painted it.  Just A Girl.  I used all the same products here.  

Inexpensive Headboard

This is my first post to "Christine Inspired". Let me begin by telling you that this will be a longer than normal post because it's my first and I wanted to give you an introduction into my world of DIY and what inspires me. Any post after this shouldn't be that long, so don't leave now thinking "This chic just goes on and on..."

I already have a photography blog, and a family blog, both of which I don't write in enough. It dawned on me this week when I found myself looking at Pinterst that I needed to start a blog on all the projects that I do and other things that inspire me. Mostly I'm referring to anything and everything, to narrow it down for you. No, really, I love to make things, I love to decorate my home, I love to DIY it! So, why not blog about it?  And you're thinking, "Cause there just aren't enough blogs out their already, Lady."

I mostly find myself using blogs to get ideas and learn how to do projects. When I began DIYing way back, I didn't have these types of resources. I had books! You know the ones you check out at the library. You know the place you have to be quiet, can't take food or drinks, and where you get fined for overdue books!  Yes, that one! How old school, right? I still find myself there, checking out 10 books at a time on how to make something. But these days, I mostly go there for the kids! Partly because when I have an idea or need some help on how to do something, I just jump on the computer, my Smartphone, and now, my iPad that my husband so lovingly gave me for Christmas.

Anyway, back to Pinterest! This past week, I was granted an invite and I was sooooooo excited! I'm sure you can relate! It's like a wonderland of ideas for people, let's just call them "women" who have way too much to do and find themselves getting completely sucked into this mysterious place called "Pinterest". You can go from one blog to the next, originally looking for ideas on how to organize your office, to making a headboard. Which leads me to my first post.

This isn't my first headboard. I've stripped and stained one. I've taken my in-laws old peach fabric covered one from the 80's and changed it's look and recovered it. And this one is for my guest room/craft room/man cave/office.

My mother in-law had recently redone her bathrooms and brought me this beautiful chenille green fabric that she was using as a shower curtain.  When she brought it over, I thought, "What am I going to do with this?" And I almost gave it away. But then when this headboard idea came up, I realized it was a perfect fit and it found a good home! So, I began browsing the internet to find out how I could make one without ply wood and a saw. I found the idea of using a painter's canvas from A Soft Place. I had a painter's canvas already from another project that I hadn't started yet, but it was just too short for the bed.

While on my way to Michael's to get something for another project, instead of going straight through the traffic light, I went left, and found myself at the Salvation Army! Sign outside read "HUGE SALE TODAY!" Hello?  3pm in the afternoon, with two kids in tow, I found myself rummaging at the thrift store. Which by the way, I love to do, so it wasn't torture by any means! I asked the clerk while I browsed around, "When you say, "Huge Sale" what does that mean?" "Everything in the store is half off today," the nice clerk replied! "OMG! It's my lucky day, and I've hit the jackpot," I thought. In the way back of the store in the furniture section leaned up against the wall, a terribly outdated painting on canvas, perfect size, and half off! $15. Sold!