A Sunny Chair Makeover

~Before we dive into our makeover today I just want to take a moment to remember those who lost their lives and were affected by the events on 9/11~

So I lost my first Fantasy Football Game. I thought that maybe I could make a come back in Monday night's games but alas it was not to be. Oh well, try again this weekend! And do you know what day it is?

That commercial cracks me up!

Anyway- let's get to the subject at hand here. Today I wanted to share with you a chair makeover that I had finished up last week. Remember these two sad guys? 

I bought them for super cheap because one had a broken leg. (See how I fixed it here)

After that was taken care of it was time for painting. I've been wanting to try chalk paint for a while now and thought this was a good opportunity to see what the fuss is all about. Using a recipe I found online I went the plaster paris route. Which included mixing plaster of paris with water:

Then adding my paint (I used Pantone Chamomeille) 

I love how thick and creamy it is!

Overall my first chalk paint experience was a good one. I can see why everyone loves this type of paint! A little bit of paint goes a long way, it goes on smooth, and not a lot of prep work is required.

Ta-Daaaa!!!

I used some leftover Dwell fabric from my slipcovered chair, I thought the modern grey print worked well to contrast with the traditional shape of the chairs and the soft yellow paint. And the chalk paint was great at getting just the right amount of chippy-ness when I sanded the details.

To seal the paint I didn't go the traditional soft wax method as is used in most chalk paint applications. Instead I went with a non-gloss sealant. The chairs are for sale and I wanted to be sure they are super durable.

I like how they turned out, a far cry from where they started! And I'm a new chalk paint enthusiast. 

Tile Tray Makeover

Good Monday Morning Everyone! How was everyone's weekend? Our was pretty eventful. Saturday we jetted out of town and hit some of the wineries that Oklahoma has to offer. The main event we were headed for was a Grape Stomp at Chapel Creek Winery in El Reno Oklahoma. 

Con and Saw

Not only is Chapel Creek a winery it's a farm as well. So the boys got to run around and chase goats and play while we sipped wine.

Me stomping grapes

I must say I am glad I got to stomp some grapes but it was kind of gross feeling- not sure it's I'd like to do often. 

I also was able to finish up another project this weekend. Again one of my thrift store finds. Remember these guys?

This tray in particular-

Now I'm all about vintage find but this is one butt ugly tray. There is good vintage and bad and this is bad. Those tiles had to go for one. Luckily they popped out pretty easily. Almost as if they never wanted to be there in the first place. 

The tray has nice carving so I painted it a soft grey and sanded the edges to add some detail. (I swear I took more pictures of this but must have accidentally deleted). Using some tile samples leftover from a past design project I laid them out and glued them into place using Gorilla Glue.

Then since my new tiles were smaller than the original ones I used tile caulk to fill the edges. Messy but effective. Side note- I thought it would be easy to scrape off any excess caulk but it wasn't. I finally found some Goo Gone and got it off that way. Just in case you wanted to try this yourself!

Let is all dry and Voila you're done! Not to bad for a $2 tray. Everything else I had on hand. :)

My original plan was to sell this and some of my other recent finds in a shop here in town like I have done in the past, but someone expressed special interest in this piece so it's going to be a gift instead. Sorry Altusians! 

Latest Thrifty-ness

I feel like I've gone through a long dry spell at the thrift store lately. Besides the bamboo trays I bought last week it's been slim pickins. I don't know if it competition from other people looking for similar things or if people haven't been donating as much the last few months.

All this changed however yesterday when I popped in just looking for a picture frame to repaint. I found a few goodies to fill my basket!

First up is this pair of chairs:

The last thing I need in my life right now is chairs but they were only $5 each! I thought they had good detail and would be worth making over. 

I'll probably pawn them off to a friend when I'm finished overhauling them.

Next up is this lovely duo-

I found the frame I needed and winner of a tray circa 1975 (I'm guessing?)

Both these guys will be hard to recognize when I'm done with them!

Have you had any luck at the thrift store lately? Or have you encountered a dry spell as well?

DIY Upholstered Headboard

Happy Belated Mothers Day to all Moms, soon to be Moms, Grandmothers, and Moms to four legged friends! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I celebrated by going on a date with the hubs Saturday night then spending family time Sunday hiking and grilling. We thankfully had nice weather all weekend.

And- is anyone else reeling from the season finale of Revenge? OMG!!! Declan dead? What was he doing in that building anyway? Nolan framed? Padima alive!? Aiden maybe dead? Emily finally tells Jack the truth! (And does he feel dumb for not realizing it earlier or what) I'm dying for next season already.

Anyway- I also spent some time finishing up the upholstered headboard for our bedroom! 

A La Cart

Not sure why but I have been Jones'n (did I just say Jones'n?) for a little metal kitchen cart for a while now. I think they are cute and vintag-y. There's something that gets me all nostalgic over furniture pieces that we in our modern society don't use much anymore. 

I've had my eye out at thrift stores and junk shops for a little cart and my persistence finally paid off a few weeks ago. 

Check out this beauty!

White: Working With It

I know I've blogged about this before; how I like the color white in the home but am not sure how well it would work out in my own personal home. 


There is something about it that I like though- I guess that's why I keep coming back to it. The crispness, how clean it looks, how everything else pops off of it. And the cool thing about it is that you can go with any interior style with an all white room- go super modern, go for a cottage look, minimalist, ect.

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If your thinking of going with white in a space here are some things to think about:

You either go all white or go home. The look your going for won't have the same impact if you only use white sparingly. You need to do the walls, ceiling, trim everything!

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White walls are great for showcasing an art collection, or if you have another bold color you want to use in the room. White walls will make your artwork or accent color pop better than any other color.

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White rooms aren't neccessarily cozy but they can be calming. Since they are usually minimally decorated there is something serene about them. So if your going for a calm feel fight the urge to over accessorize.

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Nothing looks nicer than natural wood and bright white. I love this combo! There's something organic and earthy about it.

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So, debate in my head goes something like this-

Should I paint a room white in our home to see how I like it? Would it even have the same impact as these rooms do? We are in a rental home so it's not like we can change the carpet or flooring...

Am I even sophisticated enough to handle a white room? Can I pull it off?

In any case I probably won't be busting out the Benjamin Moore Super White any time soon. With another baby on the way there's a lot of other things to think about- like finishing his nursery and planning Con-Man's birthday party.

What are your thoughts on white rooms? Love 'em or leave 'em?

Big Boy Room!!

Happy Monday Everyone!! I'm sad to see the weekend end but at least it means it's finally time to show you Con-Man's Big Boy Room! If you missed it you can read up what his room looked like before and on my inspiration for the room here and check out my Pinterest Board where I gathered and saved all my ideas.

Con-Man went to a little summer school last week so I finally had time to throw all his toys in his closet/ toy box  give his room a good clean up. I don't know about everyone else but every time I try to clean up after my son he pulls out other toys and makes a new mess right behind me. C'est la vie...

Anyway- in a rare moment of cleanliness here are pictures from Con-Man's Big Boy Room:

The comforter was the jumping off point for the color scheme. I saw it on the Land of Nod website and decided to DIY one myself. The pattern on the wall just came to me one day. I wanted a feature wall but didn't want anything to busy. We're renting our home so this will be easy to paint over when we leave.

I built the bed following plans from Anna White's website. You can read about my trials and tribulations here. The bed provides a lot of hidden storage; something we needed since I moved his old shelf into his future baby brother's room. 

We had the airplane already. It was a gift Connor got for Christmas. He loves to tell people he has an airplane on his ceiling. The bedside lamp is from Ikea.

I built the step stool as well from leftover scrap wood from his bed. It was quick and easy to make; but as you can see I still haven't decided which color to paint it yet.

The curtains are the same ones he had before. I made them from sheets. To refashion them I purchased some cheap orange sheets from Walmart and sewed them onto the bottom. 

I purchased the wall art from Neve Designs on Etsy.

The desk was the Hubs' from when he was little. I debated whether or not to paint it to go with the new decor. In the end I decided to leave it as it is to give a vintage feel to the room. Con-Man likes to sit here and color in his coloring books.

I made the crayons and chalk holders from stucco trays. I liked how they have an industrial look; it went well with the transportation theme of the room.

As you can see I left one wall of the exisiting chalk board paint. It was the only wall Con-Man ever drew on and I felt like all the black darkened the room.

The rustic wood wall art is made from salvaged pallets. Con-Man likes to tell people that he has Lighting McQueen on his wall!

I found the old stop sign at a vintage shop here in town. I love the bullet holes in it!

I built the bookshelves based on some Ikea spice racks I had seen online. Ikea never had them in stock so I had to DIY my own! 

I'd still like to get some bean bag chairs to put under his bookcases so we can sit and read with each other instead of sitting on the floor.

I tried to make the room bold and fun because that is Con's personality. He's outgoing and energetic and there's no denying his love of anything with wheels; especially cars. 

I'm hoping this room lasts him a few years. I think we'll be able to keep the duvet for a long time since it has a lot of colors in it; so we'll be able to change things up easily if need be.

Linking to The CSI Project!

Reupholstered Cane Chair

Ok- I am so excited to share this chair makeover with you! It was truly a labor (a lot of labor!) of love but the end result is totally worth it.

(I hope you don't mind that I showed you the Ta Da!! first.)

I found the dilapidated chair at the Goodwill a while back. An older gentleman was sitting in it and I thought he wanted to buy it- but when I asked him he said that he was just lounging while his wife shopped. Score!

It was tagged for $15 but I haggled for and got it for $10 (every dollar counts!). It had some problems of course. Torn, dirty fabric and ripped cane. 

I knew it had potential because I had seen Mandi at Vintage Revivals save a similar chair a while back. So I set to work taking the chair apart, starting with the upholstery first and being careful not to tear it so I could use it later as a template for my new pieces. 

This chair had some serious staples in it. Whoever put it together did not want it taken apart. I had to pull out the pliers and flat head screwdriver to get them all out. It took FOREVER!

There were some casualties.

But I triumphed in the end!!

The next task was taking the cane apart. And if I thought the upholstery did not want to come off, I was not prepared for this cane. Seriously- it was a beast. Good thing I took it outside because if was incredibly messy as well.

And when times get tough it's nice to have someone around to "help" you out.

Once I FINALLY got the cane off it was time for spray paint. I choose to paint the frame a glossy white.

Then I webbing back on. I was lucky to find some white webbing at our local craft store (Walmart). For better instructions on this part check out Mandi's blog.

Once that was finished it was time for upholstery. I had some fabric leftover from my Slipcovered Lounge Chair project that I thought would be perfect for this chair. I used a similar technique from when I redid my dining chairs. I traced the original fabric scraps onto my new fabric, leaving about an inch extra around the edges. Then stretched the pieces and stapled them into place to secure them.

To finish it off I hot glued fabric trim around the edges to cover the staples.

Then finished!

This project was good practice for the other upholstery project I have been trying to build up confidence for. It was tough but the end result was worth the hard work.

Yay!! What's the toughest project you have tackled? Was it totally worth the end result?

Linking here