Drab to FAB Dresser

I found this dresser online for $40.00. It had a gazillion coats of paint on it and was in need of some serious prep work, but it had pretty good bones. Plus it was all wood, that is always a bonus.

Here is what a did-

1. I cleaned the dresser really well with a little hot soapy water. 

2. I then removed the knobs and sanded it down. Not straight down to the wood, but  I sanded it enough to give it a smooth feel. 

3.Then I wiped it down again with hot water. (You want to make sure to remove all the fine dust particles.)

4. I spray painted the dresser with this-

 It took 4 coats. More than usual, but with all the paint coats it had from previous owners, I wanted to make sure to get it nice and thick.

5. I lightly sanded the dresser again to get rid of any over spray and to give it a shabby feel.

6. I taped off the top of the dresser so I could make stripes.

7. I spray painted the knobs and top stripes with the shiny metallic finish.

8. I applied a spray clear coat to seal the paint. 

And here is the finished product.

And one more side by side..

Happy Crafting,

Bon

Thrift Store Accesories

There are so many simple ways to accessorize your home on a budget. You can find beautiful pieces that just need  little to no work, to help beautify your home at fractions of the cost.

Here are a few past projects with before and after pictures.

Remember this project?

You can find step by step instructions - HERE

We turned a large thrift store print in a chic' and simplistic statement piece.

Thrift store finds help you to be creative.
You can combine thrift store finds to make something awesome

Find more on this project HERE

From this salt shaker, wooden salad bowl, and hot pot holder

 ...to this!

Remember this fabulous tray?

You can find more on how to make your own HERE

 When you have established what kind of pieces you want in your home. Make a list. Writing it down can help you when you are thrifting to remember what kind of items you are looking for. 

I am always on the look out for vases and pots. I LOVE them! All shapes and sizes. But let's face it- they aren't always in the colors I am wanting. But color is an easy fix. Paint can transform anything.

I found this lovely piece while thrifting with a friend. 

The color isn't awful, it just doesn't match my accent colors in my home.

So I grabbed my favorite green shade of spray paint.

 After a coat of spray it was ready to place above my cabinets.

All of these pieces were found at a thrift store. Including the candles. 

Why spend more, when you can spend less?

So the next time you want to accesorize your home, don't rule out some thrift store finds.
Happy Crafting
Bon

DIY Headboard

This project is fairly simple to tackle.

What you will need

~1 sheet of press board. 

(You could use particle board too. 

Side note- you can find extra press board all the time on construction sites.

 Most construction workers will just let you have it)

~Spray adhesive

~Fabric 

{Enough to cover the size of headboard you are making}

~Staple Gun

~Batting

~jigsaw 

*Opt.--a husband willing to help 

{I never do projects without mine!}

First off, you will need to decide what size you want your headboard to be.

 I made mine for a twin bed and knew I wanted the edges to come over the bed a bit. So I measured the bed and added 2 inches to each side to figure out my width. 

You also need to decide before-hand what shape of headboard you want. 

There are so many fun shapes to choose from. 

Here are a few of my favs-

It doesn't have to be an exact. 

I can't draw worth beans, so my hubby just free handed the shape I wanted.

Step 8

Mount it to the wall and enjoy!

Happy Crafting

Bon

Window Seat Update

So I have these beautiful window seats in a few of my rooms.

Not only do the rooms need some paint, white just won't cut it with kiddos, these rooms also need a little updated. 

I think the wood "dates" the house.

So after a bit of research and some prep work, I decided to get this room into shape!

First up, I painted the room. 

A beautiful gray color from Glidden called Pebble Gray.

I am in love with it! Not too blue, not too dark, just fresh and bright!

Next, I removed the cabinet door fronts from the window seat and taped off all the walls and inside of the seat.

 After I had done all the prep work {cleaning the cabinets, taping off the walls, and removing all hardware} I got out all the paint and started.

Gripper is my new favorite thing. I didn't have to sand the cabinets at all. It dries supper fast and adheres easily without scraping.

After two coats of Gripper and 2-3 coats of Satin white paint,  I was ready to drill some holes for hardware.

Have you seen this product from the Home Depot? 

It makes adding hardware easy and even. 

I love the way it turned out.

I used a flat sheet to cover the seat cushion. I had my mom sew me a giant pillow case to fit the bench seat cushion. That way I could easily remove it when it needed washed.

Ahhhhh.....so much better!

This room has a whole new look!

Loves,

Bon

Laundry Room Wall

I really love having a separate laundry room off the garage. It is nice to have the kids come home and be able to take their shoes, coats, and backpacks off without those items being strewn all over the house. However, I don't really love tripping over shoes, coats, and backpacks, which is usually the norm around here. I knew I needed a better organized system in the laundry room to make it a "trip free" zone. 

I wanted to use a wide bead board/paneling to be placed horizontally across the wall.

To give my laundry room wall a more welcoming feel and also for an easily wiped down surface.

A large white sheet can be purchased at home depot for around $20.00.

{This project took exactly one sheet}

I also purchased some 1x6 MDF to use as molding for the top of my bead board.

I like to use the baseboard MDF for several reasons. It is inexpensive, the outside is already white which cuts out priming, and it is easy to work with.

I also purchased robe hooks to use for their backpacks.

We measured the bead board to the wall and cut out the outlet holes. Then simply pin nailed it to the wall.

Next we placed the MDF 1x6 flush against the top of the bead board/paneling. 

Once the boards were all in place, my husband filled the holes with wood filler and lightly sanded it after it dried. Then I gave the whole thing a clean two coats of white paint!

Next we simply screwed in our 5 robe hooks.

I also wanted this small space to be cheery and inviting as the kids came home from school, so 

I dug out an assortment of frames (from my frame bin) and spray painted them all white.

I framed a few of my favorite printables and hung them on the wall! 

 It turned out perfectly!! 

And guess what? No more tripping over backpacks and coats!

Errrr....the shoes...well...that is another story.

Toodles,

Bon

Ledge Shelf

Have you seen the wonderful ledge shelves all over pinterest? I believe I saw a ledge shelf first on Shanty 2 Chic . I knew right away that I HAD TO HAVE ONE.

  I have this lovely wall that has given me so much heart ache and confusion. 

The angle has made me second guess everything I have considered putting there. 

But when I came across a few different styles of ledge shelves, I knew it would work perfectly. I could mount the shelf to the wall, centered, but use frames to stagger the heigth to work with the wall. 

My sister, Hanna, also recently added 4 gorgeous ledge shelves to her home. When I saw them in person I knew that I was on the right track and seeing her's only solidified my decision.

This is what I used.

{2} 8ft 1x4's

{1} 1x2 

Paint

Stain

Pin Nailer

YEP, that's it! Super easy!!

Of course I  opted to use my "man slave" --haha--that cute hubby of mine is pretty darn handy.

This is how you assemble it...

You could easily wood glue it too if you don't have a pin nailer.

Next mount it to your wall. We pin nailed it right into the studs.

{Sorry--this next pic is a "dumb phone" picture}

I have a frame bin. It is sad how obsessed I am with frames. I love oval frames, square frames, antique frames, pretty much any kind. So I buy lots at the thrift stores, because they always come in handy. I had everything already on hand that I used to decorate my shelf.

 I just simply spray painted a few items {ivy leaf is the green I used here} and framed some printables. 

 Doesn't it look perfect there? I am in love with it.

The best part is how narrow it sits to the wall.

 I love that you can see it from the front room too!

 {Yes, my daughter is feeding a baby sheep}

One more view...

See that banister? Well that is an upcoming post soon too! It is time for it to go bye bye.

Happy Crafting everyone.

Enjoy your week!

Bon