Redo It Yourself Inspirations

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Bench Makeover: Elegant Country Style

Country Style Bench Redo

Furniture at yard sales can be so exciting. When I saw this oak bench, I quickly snagged it up. But the price was a bit crazy. So I haggled and got it for slightly less. Eh, win some cheap finds and pay a bit more for others always balances out in the end.

It's an ugly duckling! Knowing what style I was redoing it in, just made me smile all the way home. I thought I'd make it more elegant. And that's a good thing because this month's theme for the Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest ™ is "Pure Colors, Original Elegance". And get this: it's sponsored by Pure & Original Paint USA with luxury paints imported from the Netherlands!

I was thrilled to choose a color for my bench! Every participant was supplied, free of charge, up to 2 colors/quarts of this amazing paint in the "Classico" line.

I chose "Fondant". But oops... I thought it was much darker, and perhaps my pc screen didn't show it properly. It arrived more of a chocolate brown and it really didn't go with my fabric.

That was not a problem! I tinted it and wow!!! The super deep color and the way the paint just glided on was a real joy! It dried quickly and hard. NO flaking off and when I distressed the bench, I had to really add some pressure with sandpaper. That's impressive. (Hmmm... note to self... remember this for the bathroom cabinets!)

I wasn't even upset over painting 12 spindles (they aren't fun). The paint didn't ooze all over the place. Ha! Now I just might grow to specialize in spindles with this miracle paint!

Once I painted the bench, and distressed the edges, I added natural wax for more durability. Then I upholstered new cushioned seats with a horse blanket.

Well, I wasn't horsing around, I was serious about this Elegant Country Style!

Check it out now! It's exactly the look I was going for. Blanket plaid and super satiny sleek paint. My own Ralph Lauren style, ey?

After I attached the cushion seats onto the bench, I set up a spot for it.

Isn't it handsome now?

The paint is amazing.

Gorgeous colors, made of natural minerals, chalk and water.

I couldn't be happier with the finished piece.

The ugly reminder and the new fashion statement. (wink!!)

So, back to the details of The Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest!

Our April Sponsor is

with the theme "Pure Colors, Original Elegance".

The contest hosts are Evey at Evey's Creations and Stacy at Anastasia Vintage

CONTESTANTS WERE GIVEN A FREE PRODUCT TO TRY IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIR CONTEST ENTRY. ALL STATEMENTS AND OPINIONS OF MY POSTS ARE 100% MY OWN.

ORC: That Craigslist Kitchen Week 3

Hell's Kitchen.
Okay, it's really my progress of the One Room Challenge and my Craigslist Kitchen. If you would like to, visit week one and week two when I didn't think it was all that bad.

Well, the cabinets and the island are painted.

Not sponsored nor supplied by Sherwin Williams, but what I purchased and used for the cabinets and island.

It was the longest and shortest week yet. If that is possible to say. Eighteen hours of painting a section of cabinets was going well until I looked down the long wall of cabinets and thought, "this will never get done". I'd look at the clock and another day was gone.

OMG... what was I thinking?????

I am exhausted. It seemed neverrrrrrrr ending. It was also a week getting the kitchen cleaned up for my son's birthday. I couldn't imagine having family over for cake with paintbrushes and tools all over the place. Stress was at its best to say the least.

AND, I don't know, but maybe I did something while scrubbing cabinets because our microwave died. Maybe some water and TSP dripped into it. What a scramble I had, looking for another one that had to match the GE appliances AND fit in the cabinet space. I ended up buying one at Lowe's within 3 days. Going without a microwave while working on a kitchen that you really don't want to cook in while paint is drying and curing was plain miserable.

♪ Hallelujah!!!! ♪

It was not a nice week, but in the end, there were two things that made me so happy that I cranked up the music and danced:

1. While painting, I cleaned out the cabinets, the island, and the decor to make up SIX boxes of stuff for donations. AND I sold our bar stools on Craigslist. (Room to dance now, ey? Insert Bob Seger "Old Time Rock 'n Roll".)

2. The white bright kitchen is amazing. What a fresh feeling kind of room to wake up to! I don't regret going to white. At all. Even though I don't have the coffee station finished, the coffee smells and tastes better already.

So here we are with the to do list after the week of madness.

The Plan:

~~Paint walls~~

~~Paint wainscotting~~

~~Paint cabinets~~

Make a coffee/tea/hot chocolate station

~~Change the layout of the island and eat-in area~~

~~Remove the lighted hanging pots and pans rack~~

~~Add~~ Install new lighting to replace the rack

Change out decor and overall style

~~Eliminate clutter and organize~~

Make a farmhouse style pulley light fixture for the table area

Cover the exposed side of the refrigerator with chalkboard and beadboard

Make a small windowsill herb garden.

Added "Range hood" enhancement: Corbels and shelf.

(Inspiration.)
Island and eat-in area. Not what mine will be, but the layout, colors, and textures are the same.

Thanks for following along and don’t forget to check out what all my fellow linking participants are up to here.

I’m sure they fared much better than I this past week. And a huge thank you goes to Linda at Calling It Home once again for organizing the One Room Challenge! Have a wonderful week!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Homemade and Handcrafted No. 21

Every Wednesday 6 a.m. - Sunday 11:30 p.m.

Welcome to the Homemade and Handcrafted party!

The weather has been so beautiful that we have been outdoors doing some Spring clean up. Our flower beds are all growing quite tall already. The groundhogs are out roaming around and the frogs are sitting at the pond. We've even had some mosquitoes buzzing around! Although I'm enjoying my Spring fever, I've been busy with a lot of projects too. How about you? What do you have to share this week?

Feel free to link up your posts (new or old ones). We love seeing what you've been up to! Share your crafts, recipes, DIY, and inspirations! We love to visit other parties and enter giveaways; so you can link those up too!

Let's check out the top views from last week!

Curbside Dresser Becomes Elegant

by Just a Little Creativity