My 1st Chalk Paint Adventure - An End Table Makeover!

I have been seeing chalk paint makeovers everywhere in the blogosphere. Of course there is Annie Sloan, the original, fabulous to be sure but expensive! And limited in color. So the crafty and ingenious women and men of the internet have come up with tons of recipes for DIY chalk paint - some use unsanded grout, some use plaster of paris, some even use baking soda.

For my table makeover, I went with a plaster of paris recipe from Elizabeth & Co. 1 part plaster of paris, mixed with just enough water to make it smooth and 3 parts paint. That's it. Easy peasy! Now according to the info I found online, apparently flat paint is best however, I was planning on using oops paint to get just the right shade of light greenish grey and some of that paint was, well, unknown.

Here I am with all my supplies. I am a messy painter so I usually try to paint outside.

I started with this "lovely" table that I got off Craiglist for free.  I had bought a desk and the seller decided to throw in a couch table and end table for free. Not a  bad deal since I got all three pieces for $15.

While it has these cool finials on the bottom, it also has this so attractive plastic brass. I tried to pry it out and that just didn't work. I was afraid I would damage the wood if I tried to remove it.  That "brass" was part of the reason why I wanted to try the chalk paint. It apparently sticks to everything, even without priming.

You can see from the photo below, it took me a while to get the color just right. Yes, you are counting right, there are 7 different color tries at getting the color just the way I wanted it.   I used white, dark grey, light grey and green paint. Thank goodness I made enough to do the 2 coats because I wouldn't be able to recreate it again.

Once I got the color right, things progressed very quickly.

The first coat went on with great coverage. It was a bit rough but the second coat seemed to even it out.

One of the best parts about this paint is that it dries amazingly fast. I got 2 coats on and dried in less than 3 hours.  It would have been less but I was working on other stuff at the same time. (I love multi-tasking!)

Once the paint was dry, I gave it a light sand with a sanding block. This really smoothed it out.

Here it one spot before sanding. You can see that it is a bit grainy.

Here it is after a light sand. The graininess is gone and it is so smooth.

A couple of coats of Minwax Paste Finishing Wax and the table was ready to go back inside.

It is also the perfect spot to put my foreign coin art while I gather the rest of the pieces for my gallery wall.

One other part of the table makeover - I painted the back of the glass top with liquid gilding paint in platinum, like this.

It adds a subtle shine to the table that I just love.

I think it looks fabulous in its new home! 

The paint color is a lighter version of the grey green in the wall hanging right behind it.

Check out the places I party.

Dollar Store Finds Turned Votive Holders

I love poking around dollar stores.  Why?  You never know what you will find.  Last visit, in addition to the pieces featured in this post, I got a bunch of seeds for our garden.  Yay!  Some of them were planted in my seed starter kits and have started to grow.

But back to the project.  I found a couple of votive holder that were already an oiled bronze color (score, no need to spray paint) and a couple of small glass vases.  Below is one set. 

I flipped the voitive holder over, applied superglue to the metal edge, set the vase on top making sure it was level and...tada...

For only $2, I think it is a cute and slightly different from the usual votive holder. 

I duplicated the same process on the other two pieces for a second holder.

I placed one in our basement guest room on the revamped table.  I think it looks perfect in that spot with the bronze color looking fabulous with the espresso color of the table. 

The other one ended up in our living room to give a little atmosphere on our Craigslist end table that still is in dire need of a redo. 

Don't you just love the vase? It was a wedding present made specially for us by my mother's cousin.

Not too shabby to end up with two votive holders for a whopping $4. 

What creations have you come up with from your Dollar Store finds?

Elbow Grease + a Coat of Paint = A New Nightstand

Have I told you lately how much I love Craigslist? OK, maybe I have.  But it is true.  And pieces like this are the reason.

This is not a good before pic.  

I apparently forgot to take a pic of the end table in all its dinged wood and formica topped glory.

This little table was $7.  It is solid wood but very very dinged up.  As an added bonus the top is formica.  Not exactly a decorators dream piece.

But as I have learned, a lot of elbow grease (sanding and more sanding) and a coat of paint (well, several coats) will result in something that looks entirely different.  Especially when the piece has nice lines and good storage space.

How did I transform the piece? 

Step one:  Sand, sand, sand.  Then sand some more, especially the formica top. You need to give the primer something to "grab" onto. 

Step two:  Wipe with microfiber cloth or other lint free cloth to remove all the dust created by sanding.

Step three:  Prime.  I used Kilz oil based primer (the smelly version since I was working in the garage).

Step four:  Let it dry, overnight.

Step five:  Tape off the base and the edges of the two layers.  (I painted the flat surfaces in a glossy finish and the sides and legs in a flat finish.) Spray glossy paint, in thin layers, letting dry completely between layers.  Once you have the coverage you like, let dry for at least 24 hours.

Step six:  Mask off glossy surfaces with newspaper and painters tape.  Spray flat paint, in thin layers, letting dry completely between layers.  Once you have the coverage you like, let dry for at least 24 hours.

Step seven:  Remove tape and place in intended location.  In our case, this was our front bedroom.

Here's wishing you luck (and strong forearms for the sanding) on your revamp projects.


Cost of the Project:
$ 7.00 Cost of end table
   5.00 Can Kilz Primer
   2.00 1/2 Can Glossy White Spray Paint
   2.00 1/2 Can Flat White Spray Paint
   2.00 Most of a roll painters tape (you can see in the pic above why I ended up using so much tape)
$18.00 Total Cost

I am linking this project to
the Power of Paint Party. 







The Penny Pinching Party at The Thrifty Home

Not Bad for a Free Table - A Couch Table Revamp

Remember the redo of the computer desk?  Well, at the same time I picked up that lovely piece, the seller gave me this couch table for free, along with another end table that hasn't yet been revealed.

So not our style.  The color is all wrong.  We are not yellow-y orange-y oak people.  We are dark espresso stain people.   However, I thought the table had potential (plus it was my favorite price - free!).  The lines are clean and with a darker stain, would fit in nicely with our plan for the downstairs guest room. 

With a complete sanding, the piece was prepped for stain.  Sorry no picture of the sanded piece, I need to be better about taking "during" pics.

After not finding an actual espresso stain at either Home Depot or Lowes, I headed to the local woodworking store for a pint can of water-based espresso stain.

It took three coats of the stain to get the table dark enough to match other pieces in the house that I wanted to coordinate this one with.  After another three  coats of water based poly and 24 hours to dry, we have a great piece for the guest room.

I like that the space under the table gives a spot for a guest's suitcase and the table itself gives them a place to put out a few of their things.

Now we just need to get the rest of the room done.

Cost of the Project:
$ 0.00 Table - Free from Craigslist Seller
   2.00 Espresso Stain  (Used only a small part of the $10.00 can)
   4.00 Water-based Poly (Used only a small part of the $16.00 can)
   5.00 Two sanding blocks (can be resed on another project)
$11.00 Total Cost

A Desk for the Kid's Computer - Another Craigslist Find

A short time after we moved in, we realized that with all our extra space, we needed quite a bit more furniture. One piece that we needed was a desk for the extra computer that the kids will use for their games to be placed in the basment rec room which also houses the television.

I searched my local Craigslist for an inexpensive desk and found just what I needed for $15.  She wasn't pretty, but she was just what we needed for the space.  And the seller even threw in a couch table and a glass topped end table for free.  Watch for redos of those pieces in the future.

It is amazing what a good sanding, my favorite oil based primer Kilz and a can of paint will do to dress up a piece of furniture.

The hardware which I thought was a lost cause, cleaned up quite nicely with Brasso and a lot of elbow grease.  While I wouldn't normally put brass hardware back on a piece of furniture, since I don't like brass, the basement has golden walls and carpet so the hardware just seems to work. 

I love the rope detail on the edge of the desk.

The total cost for the piece was less than $30.00.

$ 15.00 for the desk

     0.00 for the brown paint (I used paint left over from our previous home)

     2.50 for the part of the gallon of Kilz

     2.50 for a 1/2 can of poly spray to protect the surfaces

     1.00  for the amount of Brasso used to clean the hardware

     7.00 for the brush I didn't clean well enough where the bristles turned hard as a rock (figured that it should be counted in the cost of the project). 

$28.00 Total Cost for the desk redo

I think it looks quite nice in its new home.

Please note:  The chair next to the desk is NOT the chair that will ultimately be used with the desk.  That chair is in my garage waiting to be repainted the same brown and recovered with a coordinating fabric.  The chair pictured next to the desk is Hubs' old office chair.  Lovely isn't it?

I am linking this post to The DIY Show Off:  Fabulous Furniture Show & Tell.  Check to see what others have linked up. 

My "Free" Stool - A Quick and Easy Revamp

One of the items the sellers of our home left us is this stool. Isn't is lovely?

The one thing it had going for it was the hammered bronze finish on the metal.

So with a couple of spare hours (avoiding my really long to do list), I decided to do a quick redo. After removing the woven cover, which took longer than I thought since I had to remove several dozen staples and about a hundred little nails since each strip was held in place by a small nail on either end.

 Looks like the stool was originally $99.00 purchased for $39.99

Check out all the nail holes.  Each one is a nail I had to remove.  Boy was my hand tired.

I added two layers of batting for a bit more comfort for the tushy and a layer of upholstery fabric.

The result, I had what looks like a whole new stool.

Please disregard the gross carpet.  We hope to replace the flooring after in the new year.

Project Cost:
$0.00 stool
  0.00 fabric leftovers from the $5 chair project
  0.00 batting leftovers from the $5 chair project and other crafty crafts
$0.00 Total cost (my favorite price!)

Added bonus, we now have another seat in the living room for our big Christmas Eve party which means one less person will have to sit on the floor.

I have included this stool in The DIY Show Off Surpirse Party hightlighting Home Accents.  Want inspiration?  Make sure to visit the site.

Goodwill Find Turned Buffet Piece

Previously I haven't gone to Goodwill or Salvation Army often because there was not one close to my old home.  However, now there is a Goodwill right across the street from our local Lowes.  Since we seem to stop there at least one every two weeks (ok, we stop there at least once a week), I have started stopping in regularly.

Like many thrift shops, it is hit or miss.  I have not had many hits (a lamp which will be featured later this month) and the items found in today's post. 

When I saw this platter and ice cream sundae dish, I knew that I had to get them.  Especially since at $1.99 and $0.99, they wouldn't break the bank.

(Note to self:  do not take pics of glass items on my light colored countertop)

You see, we had our housewarming party coming up and I needed something tall and flat to put the plates on for the buffet.  Why tall you ask?  Beause I wanted it able to be placed in the middle of the table with napkins scattered around it.  I was afraid a regular cake plate would not be tall enough to do this. 

These were the perfect solution.

A little glass glue (purchased at the Lowes across the street) and I was ready to go.

  

To secure the two pieces together, apply the glue according to the package directions to the bottom of the platter.  Mine had three little feet and a circular pattern in the center of the platter so it was easy to see where the glue would need to be applied.

(Another note to self:  See about getting a tripod or

having Hubs to take the pics when I am glueing

since apparently I cannot take pics with one hand)

Place the sundae dish upside down onto the platter and press for 30 seconds to ensure a strong bond.

Once the two pieces are secured, turn right side up and let sit for 24 hours before using.

While I don't have a pic of the piece in use at the actual party (I got distracted with getting the food on the table in time), here is a recreation.

Total cost:

$0.99 Sundae dish

  1.99 Glass serving platter

  1.15 Glass glue (I figure I used about 1/3 of the mini tube)
$3.13 TOTAL

My New Reading Light - From Garage Sale Bargain to a Highlight of the Living Room

**I am linking to Shanty2Chic's Rust-oleum Revamp Link Party.  Check it out to see what others have done with their projects**

In a previous post, I alluded to big changes to a garage sale floor lamp that I bought for either $3 or got for free, depending on how you look at it.  You see, I bought this lamp and a wheelbarrow for $15.  The wheelbarrow was priced at $15 and the lamp at $3. Since I bought them both for $15, I am not sure of the "exact" price of the lamp.  Either way, it was a pretty good deal on a lamp with a nice look.

Here is the lamp as purchased.

Nice lines with a slightly water-stained shade and an unattractive aged brass color.  Not exactly screaming out for a place in our home.  But as we all know, a bit of spray paint can make a world of difference.

First, I bagged and taped the cord.  A plastic grocery bag and painters tape work great for this.

I chose Rustoleum Hammered Bronze for this lamp, since we have hammered bronze metal on several of our overhead light fixtures.  I also used the easy-grip handle so that my hand wouldn't get sore and my finger wouldn't get covered in spray paint. 

After several coats, I was left with a lamp with a much more updated look.   I especially love the pointed finials. 

A new $20 lamp shade from Target and we are ready to read.   I like the more antique look of the lamp. It coordinates wonderfully with the antique library table passed down from Hubs' family and works perfectly with our more formal living room.

I am pretty impressed with the transformation that cost less than $25.  Now all we need to do is get a comfy reading chair to put next to the lamp. 

Tip of the Project:  Use painters tape and a plastic grocery bag to protect lamp cords from spray paint overspray.