I've always wanted a kitchen island...

Today I decided that my Pier 1 Imports project desk should now be our kitchen island!? Okay...don't look too closely there is some major decorating that still needs to take place here and I am thinking that with the new window treatments and a fun scrapbook print attached to the back of the shelves this place will look fabulous with some color in it!

THE STORY BEHIND MY MADNESS THIS TIME:

So, the boys have been sick this week and as a result my house cleaning has really taken a backseat. Anyway, tonight I decided enough was enough as I looked over my messy (filthy would be a more accurate term) kitchen. Overwhelmed with where to start and unmotivated to get after it, I started thinking about mixing things up a bit. This is exactly what I used to do in high school when my mom would order me to clean my bedroom when I had let the mess get out of hand. In the end my room was sparkling alright with all the furniture rearranged as well. I guess the excitement of a "new look" takes over the burden of cleaning.

As you all know I have just refurbished dining chairs. I am not sure if I want to keep our existing dining table and paint it to match or start over (truthfully, I'd like a smaller table). In the mean time, we have been eating at my project desk I purchased from a Pier 1 Imports that was going under a couple years ago (at half cost) for the last couple of weeks. I love the desk but really have had little use for it...until now. What do you think? Too cramped? I prefer the term "cozy" :). Seriously though, I know it greatly reduces the traffic area but by utilizing the extra counter top work surface I feel like it really works better for me...I mean you're not going to fit a wheelchair in there but all of the appliances and drawers can be used and opened at full capacity so I'm okay with it. I also like how it visually separates the kitchen from the eating space more since we don't have a separate dining room. I think I have a little more convincing to do on my husbands part but since I do the majority of the cooking around here I am hoping to win out on this one at least for a little while. I've also found it's much easier to "sell" a new space plan on him when the room is cleaner than it was before :) Thoughts?

Ladder Back Shabby Chic Dining Chairs

I just finished the chairs...okay I am ALMOST finished. I still have to scotch guard the seats before I let my kids go near them but I couldn't wait to post these because I just love how they have turned out!
Below is the photo from the Craigslist ad where I found these for $5.00 a piece. (I bought six, two have arms) After sanding, priming, painting, and sealing with polyurethane I present to you my new dining chairs! I used different fabrics and because I took these pictures at night the fabric looks lighter than they really are. The lighter fabric is actually a light aqua color with a traditional pattern in it. I also added some tufting with the buttons on the arm chairs and distressed the edges of the chairs for a more shabby look and so I can relax when my boys bang them up a bit being boys. (If you click on the image it will enlarge and be much easier to see.)

Just taken from a different angle...I am on the hunt for some fabric that ties the two colors together for the window treatments and possibly a table runner. Haven't found one yet but I'm sure it's somewhere out there (on sale hopefully) :) Wish me luck!

I have only finished four chairs. We have a very small eat in kitchen only and so I'm not sure if I will finish the other two the same way or save them for another project down the road. After they are all done I will have spent a total of $12.00 on refurbishing each chair...as always loving the low cost finds!

I'm linking this post to parties at: http://decormamma.blogspot.com/, http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/, http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/, and http://domestically-speaking.blogspot.com

Sneak Peeks!

Since projects sometimes take me a bit longer than I'd like them to I thought I would post pics of the things I have been working on the last week or so. First up is the ladder back dining chairs. I really have to thank my wonderful friend Jamie for this one who volunteered to drive them from Utah to me and ever since then I have been sanding, priming, painting, distressing (is there any other way with kids), and coating in polyurethane. It's a good thing I did most of the seat cushions weeks ago but those still need to be covered in scotch guard as well...sigh...almost there! What do you think so far? Oh yes, and I am sure you haven't forgotten about this chair...I am really close to finishing this one...just a bit more tucking, stapling, covering in scotch guard, refinishing the legs, and last but not least sewing the cushion. I am loving how it has turned out so far but a bit bummed I have to purchase new foam for the seat cushion...it simply could not be salvaged and I am learning the hard way just how expensive a little piece of foam can be. I'll post more about that later when it is all done. So...does this make you want to try reupholstering something? Honestly, after the process I have gone through with this thing all by myself I think I will wait a while before trying to tackle something like this again :)

Some recent finds and a quick floor makeover

I have been finding nothing lately at the thrift stores but accessories...which I love but I am getting a bit frustrated with the recent lack of furniture I've been seeing as I browse. Either way I thought I would post "some" of them just for fun. Some of the frames need paint but other than that I will have do do very little to these gems other than keep the breakables far from my little guy...he's proving to be very good at breaking things lately. Hmmm, maybe that's why I like accessory shopping at the thriftstores. :) This is the lovely lanoleum floor in the bottom of my linen closet which also doubles as a laundry shoot (can't live without that)! Now, if this was tile I would have been able to appreciate it a bit more everytime I threw dirt laundry down, or opened up the cabinet door for that matter but it's not...so...

I took a few minutes (yes that's all it took) to cover that ugly stuff up with this more neutral, modern, and free (left from the previous owners) vinyl squares in the basement storage room. I even used my scissors to cut them rather than a utility knife (yes, very professional, I know). If you haven't used these before and you don't have the $$$ for tile I highly recommend them. The installation is so easy because they can go right over your old floor (they come with an adhesive back) and are very inexpensive as well.

I may even enjoy opening this door now...right after I magic erase those nasty marks on the baseboards, gross! :)

Treasure hunting...

Last week was beautiful...I mean the weather was, and that is something to treasure in and of itself in Idaho but it was great to get outside and go on walks with the boys and let them spend some quality time outdoors. I think we ALL needed some fresh air after being trapped inside for weeks due to the cold weather. One afternoon while "hanging outside" with the boys I opened up the shed/shop/barn. Yes we refer to it as any or all of those titles at our house. We bought our home a little over a year ago...from the original homeowner I might add. The house is old...but not that old. And in the end it was a compromising choice between my husband and myself. I wanted the 100 year old house in the city and he wanted something new on several acres in the middle of nowhere. Like I said it was a compromise that we were both willing to make and one we have both been satisfied with ever since. Back to my story...the previous homeowners were neat freaks in my opinion...even the realtor we worked with said they were a little "difficult" to work with when it came to showing the house because they were so disturbed by any traffic dirt that was let into the home by potential buyers. Well, the shop/shed/barn in the back was no exception. It was immaculate, complete with custom shelving throughout, electricity, and even a cute little window. He also left a few pieces of trim and boards in a neat little pile in the corner. I just love that man. Well, there is sort of an attic so to speak that I had never checked out assuming it was bare and clean like everything else we found when we moved in. For some reason I climbed the ladder to take a peak and to my surprise there was a little wooden box shoved in the corner. It looked very old but in the dark it was hard to see much of it so I tried moving it but it wouldn't budge. Upon opening it I found my own little "treasure" (as my four year old put it). Antique tools...and loads of them...mostly woodworking craftsmanlike stuff. Needless to say most have dates or enough information on them to figure out when they were made and sold. The ones I have researched so far date anywhere from the very late 1800's to the early 1900's. Very cool, huh!
Here's a few I set aside...love the wooden screwdriver and the cloth tape measurer!

Here's the box I found it all in...turns out it is the outside box of a 1939 radio. Anyway, I still need to go through the rest of the tools and I am hoping my dad can help shed some light on some of them because I have no clue! This may seem like something trivial to most but I have always LOVED all things old...maybe that's why my dream home is a hundred or more year old home :) Anyway, just thought I would share some of my excitement!

Rustic Shelf

Need a shelf? Perhaps something a bit rustic?

(click on the photo to enlarge and see details)

I did...and this was my easy, inexpensive solution. I took this old, weathered 4x4 post that was sitting in our wood shed. Then I banged it up a bit more using a hammer and any other hand tool readily accessable. Finally, I covered three sides with an ebony stain. Very easy, very rustic, and best of all problem solved :) Now I get to play around with different objects resting above...my favorite part :)

(The picture below is the only "before" shot I took)

(sorry the pic is sideways...can't figure

out why it keeps rotating when I post)

I'm linking to http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/ and http://decormamma.blogspot.com

A work in progress...isn't everything?

Last week I began the process of making over my laundry/craft room. I have avoided this since we moved in for one reason...paneling. I guess I should be grateful that it's not everywhere else in the house as well. On one side of the room there is a large countertop surface with built in cabinetry. Since we moved in it has sort of been used as a desk at times and other times a place where junk collects itself :)...please make me feel better and tell me everyone has one of these places in their homes. Across the room is this beautiful closet you see below (insert laugh here). Gorgeous isn't it? That's what I was thinking :) Since we don't need the hanger space I decided to do this with it instead... added lots of primer...

paint (in stripes, which I will never have the patience for again)...

And turned it into my own personal office space. I must emphasize that it is FAR from being completed. I still have trim to add around all the shelving you see, baseboards along the bottom, and some decorative touches as well as a light fixture hanging from above (lucky for me this will be easy with my dads help). Like I said, it is far from being completed but well on its way don't you think? The other side of the room...well that's a whole other project, not to worry I have already begun working on that as well I just need a break from painting paneling for a week or two :)

Lovely.

A while ago, I began helping a friend with her home. One of her top priorities was her little girls bedroom. As you can see from the "before" shot below, it wasn't all that bad to begin with...it just needed those little touches that when combined transform a room. So, here's a little sneak peak at how things are coming along :) This was once a coffee table (a very unattractive one, I might add) that Melissa (my friend) picked up at a local thrift store and with help from her willing and able husband, created this bench to sit at the foot of the bed. Gorgeous, isn't it?!

We found this chandelier together at a consignment store for $5.00! With a little spray paint and some shades it looks perfect in the room...wish we would have taken some "before" shots of these...they truly are transformed from their prior state!

Hope you all enjoy these little pieces of eye candy as much as I do!

Easy Peasy Frame Revamp

I picked up this heavy silver frame at the thrift store last week for a whopping fifty cents. Other than a few dings and scratches I thought it was beautiful the way it was...but after looking at it for a couple of days, I decided to dress it up a bit. Here's what I did: Cut out one side of scrapbook paper ( I just eyeballed this one till I got it right) and then used it as my pattern for the other three sides. Then, I coated each piece evenly with a generous amount of mod podge. Once each side was done I coated the top surface as well.Soooo easy and I just love how this turned out with one of my little guys faces inside!

I'm linking this post to http://decormama.blogspot.com/ and http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

My new little table...

I saw this cute little table at the thrift store last weekend and had to snatch it up (the $5.00 price tag(s) didn't hurt either...looks like someone got a little carried away with the price sticker gun :). When I got home my head began to fill with all sorts of ideas of different ways I could give this table a little love and a fresh new look to it's current state. Of course a little girls bedroom came to mind (too bad I don't have any girls!) , and then my sister suggested gilding it which I also loved, or painting it off white and putting a huge black vinyl monogram on it (sort of French like). ooh then chalkboard paint came to mind...but alas I decided to do this instead... First I lightly sanded over all the edges and spindle (no primer here since it was pretty scratched up to begin with). You'll see why I skipped sanding over the main surface area in a moment. Then I applied my dark gray/blackish paint with a brush and let dry.

I picked up some fabulous scrap book paper (vintage looking) and mod podged it onto the top and the bottom coating the underneath as well as the top of the paper. I used about one and a half pieces of the paper ($1.00)

Here's a closer look at the print on the paper...lovely.

And a closer look at the bottom. I forgot to mention that afterwards I sanded over the edges and in a few other places to give it a more shabby look. Then followed up with a thin coat of polyurethane to seal the deal.

Now...where to put it! I think I'll save this one for that guest bedroom I have been dreaming up in my mind for some time now :)

I'm linking this post up to http://missmustardseed.blogpot.com/ and http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/