Bench Redo

Good sturdy bench for $2.. not very pretty.. I can fix that!

Take off the cushion part. Usually you can unscrew it from the underside. 

lay the new fabric on the table with the finish side facing down. And start stapling the new fabric onto the board. 

I like the grey.. 

Now, the base..  First prime.. always prime. 

Then I spray painted the base with two coats of black. 

Push the cushion back on and screw back into the base.

Looks much less 1970s don't you agree?

Reading nook - Sewing Table

As soon as I saw this I thought it was fantastic! I knew I had to have it after the drawer. For $10 I couldn't refuse..  

And how stinkin' cute is this drawer?!?

First thing first, since it's real wood it needed a nice thick coat of Johnson's paste wax to enrich the wood and make the drawers slide easily and just smell good.

I decided to paint the handles instead of replacing them.

Then painted my trusty dark varnish with a paint brush to give it a darker look and I think using a paint brush makes it look like wood grain.

Love it..

Reading Lamp

Look at what I found at the thrift store today! For a whopping $3 it was a steal for sure.. It's wrought iron, super heavy and absolutely perfect for a lamp I want to go in the Reading nook.

Next, I need a lamp shade.. I bought three lamps (each for $1) from a going out of business sale at a hotel.. Two of the lamps I plan to put in our bedroom, and the third I bought for the lampshade. 

Now since it is the plain ugly canvas lampshade, it's time to cover it! I'm think Burlap!

Yeap, I used good old Elmer's glue.. it's super easy and in a couple years when I get tired of burlap, it should be easy to replace.

I used a paintbrush to spread out the glue and then rubbed the burlap down to get out any air bubbles. Notice the clothes pins as I go? it helps keep everything nicely in place.

 Now comes the seam... Ugh.. I cut it and gave it about a one inch overlap that I folded under. 

Now, let it dry overnight.. 

Then I cut the burlap even with the edge of the lampshade.. 

Then I glued on an 1" black ribbon around the top and bottom.

What do you think??

Window sill plant stand

$3 give me great project for a window shelf.. But I'm really not digging the light wood.

Add 2 coats of my trusty dark brown varnish..

Let dry...

SO MUCH PRETTIER!!

4 drawer nook table

So there I was at the Thrift Store and I came across this jewel::

I know, you're thinking "And she bought that?!"


But hey, I love the trim and the drawers and really, it was only 5 euro ($6.81).. Yes, it's MFW but she's really sturdy.. Great for 3 year home!


Well, I'm not much for the look of the "don't-look-close-and-I-actually-maybe-kinda-look-like-real-wood" kind of work, so that had to go.


Get the screwdriver, wrench, and whatever else you need to remove all the hardware from the furniture.. This will make your painting job look clean and professional. (keep the hardware in a bowl, or plastic baggie, or whatever is easiest for you.


Clean her up! Wipe down the whole thing, make sure there is no dust or anything.


TIME TO PAINT! (since it's not real wood, I opt NOT to sand it down, some people will sand it down a little, but I don't) I used Krylon Primer - Grey..


Wait 30 minutes


Another coat of primer


Wait 30 minutes


Then, you have this:

I usually let this dry for a day, just to make sure it's really really dry.


Decision time: Do I keep the old hardware? or buy new? Since this table is not real wood and not something I plan to keep for generations, I'm going to keep the old hardware. I don't like the look of brass finish hardware on black furniture so I'm going to paint them too!


Now, here is a neat trick for painting hardware. I take a paper grocery bag, punch holes in the fold and then secure the hardware. I also put a piece of tape to hold them upright because the hardware is a little heavy. Now I can paint all of them at once and not get paint all over my hands. I used Krylon Stainless Steel finish spray paint for these bad boys.

Paint them, wait 30, minutes, paint them, wait 30 minutes, paint them, wait 30 minutes.

Then put three thin coats of glossy black spray paint on the drawers.


Now comes my FAVORITE part, put everything back together!


What do you think?