Our den, phase 2!

 

Our den/office has been a work in progress.  When we first moved in it was like this.  While I liked the look of the room it was not very functional.  It looked nice all closed up but when I opened up the computer cabinet it became a mess!  Plus I felt like I was working in a black hole in that cabinet!

 

 

 

 

 

This is what the room looks like now.  (sorry about the bright sun)

 

 

 

 We wanted a wall of bookcases and decided to go with the IKEA Billy Bookcases.  We chose a few different styles of Billy.  One has solid doors at the bottom and that hides our office equipment.  The rest are perfect for our books, my special finds, and storage boxes  for paperwork. 

 

The desk is our old dining room table from our last house. We had it in our basement.  I painted it with Annie Sloan (of course) Chalk Paint in Aubusson Blue.  I love this color!

 

We reused the leather chairs we already had in the room.  They are worn and comfy!

 

 

This file cabinet is from Bombay & Company.  We have had it for a few years.  Now that I am looking at it I have the urge to paint it!  :)   The lamp and shade are from Target.  I got the shade on clearance for $6.00!  I like the pop of color!  The starburst mirror was another deal I found at Homegoods.  The blue candle is from Peir 1.





 

 

This little wall space is one of my favorite spots.  





The cabinets with the doors are great for hiding things.  We have all the cords running in there as well!

 

 



 

 

 

 

This room is almost done.  I just finished up trimming out the bookcases.  It was a much bigger job then I thought, but I love how they turned out!

 

Stay tuned..........

 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

 

 



Guest room is ready!

 

I am pretty excited about our guest room.  I wish I would have taken before pictures.  This is what was in the room before:

 

A green plaid futon, a large bookcase, a large TV cabinet, the bottom of a hutch, and a few smaller tables.  We made it work, but the room was kind of the room with everything we did not know what to do with.  It was furniture I was not ready to part with yet either. 

 

I did end up selling the TV cabinet but the rest we found uses for elsewhere.

 

I am also excited about this room because I managed to do it for under $150.00!  That is the  most fun part for me, finding things to reuse and getting great deals!

 

Here it is finished.....

 

I was originally planning to buy a bed but decided to just leave the futon open.  It now serves as a bed and the cost was FREE.  No more green plaid!  I had the sheets and pillows.  I did buy the comforter, shams, and throw pillows.  (all that for under $50.00 at Homegoods)  The shutters were in our hallway downstairs, they were green.  I spray painted them white and hung them for a headboard.  FREE. 

The dresser was a flea market find for $30.00.  I painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint I already had.  I also bought the mirror for $10.00 from an antique shop.  I had everything else. **The wall color is BM Weekend Getaway.  Fitting name for a guest room paint color!  :)

This is my favorite part of the room.  I love this little corner.  I had the bird prints in my hallway next to the shutters. I like them in here better. The little table was a DYI project I did last year  and I was not currently using it.  The chair was a flea market find for $2.00.  I painted it with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Ironstone. 

This shelf has been with me for awhile.  It was my grandma's and it is one piece I will not paint.  I love this little shelf. 



I have had this table for over 20 years!  I  bought it for my foyer in our first home.  I had found it at an antique shop.  (I was not into antiques back then, but this table caught my eye)  It was brown wood back then.  When we moved I spray painted the table black and used it in various rooms.  In this house it has been sitting in our basement.  I decided it would work great as a bedside table.  I painted it with the milk paint.  Funny thing is when the paint started chipping off it took the black spray paint with it.  I was so glad that happened, I would much rather see the original wood.     Another FREE area.

 

 

 

 

 

I had bought the flower prints for $1.00 each at the flea market.  I bought $3.00 frames for them from Hobby Lobby.  I had the milk glass lamp in the basement. I found it at a flea market and had not found a spot for it until now!

 I had some heavy chocolate brown curtains in here.  I sold them $15.00 and for a total of $19.99 for both I got these linen gray ones.  (from Homegoods)



The bird prints on the left were in our dining room and I moved them in here. The chalk board was made out of a $3.00 antique window.  I posted about the piano bench a few weeks ago.  It was about $25.00.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so happy with how this room turned out.  For the first week I would just walk in and stare at it!  :)  I do that kind of thing a lot when I finish a new project! 

 

 

 

$30.00 dresser re do!

 

 

 

Hard to believe summer is over and it is September!  I LOVE summer and I am always sad when it ends.  I got so many projects done these past few months.  I had a loooooong list and I managed to cross off almost everything. 

 

Remember this dresser?  I found it at the Elkhorn Flea Market for $30.00!  It was in great shape.  It was the perfect size for our guest room.

I decided to have some fun with this piece and use two colors. I usually like to play it safe with one but wanted to do something different. I love how the ASCP paint colors work so well with each other. I chose Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White & Chateau Gray.  I had both these colors and knew they would work with the room.

ASCP Chateau Gray



ASCP Old White



 

I painted the drawers the Chateau Gray and the rest of the dresser in Old White.  I wanted to reuse the original hardware so I removed it and cleaned it up well.  After two coats of ASCP I used a coat of clear wax and added a bit of dark wax.

 

**On a side note....When you buy an antique piece of furniture you never know what you may find.  This old sleeping cap was stuck behind one of the drawers!**

 

 

 



Here is the dresser all painted and in place.  I loved how it turned out and for $30.00 I love it even more! 

 

 

 

The guest room is now done!  I will post pictures soon!  :)

A little night stand......

I have had this little table for over 20 years.  I bought it from an antique shop back before I liked antiques.  I needed a small table for our entry way in our first home and this was perfect.

 

It was brown wood at the time.  Over the years I spray painted it black.  I used in several different rooms and it finally ended up in  our basement.  I never wanted to part with it though.

 

I needed a night stand for our guest room and decided this table would be perfect.  I am trying to re-do the guest room using what I have.  I love to go shopping in our basement!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I STILL have Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint left.  It really does go a long way.  I wanted this table white and not too chippy so added the bonding agent when I mixed up the paint.

 

 

 

 WELL I had a hard time covering the black paint so it needed a few coats.  On my last coat I mixed more paint and forgot to add the bonding agent!  After having two coats with the bonding agent I was surprised to see all my paint falling off from just the last coat of paint!

 

 



 

 

What I did think was cool was that it went all the way down to the original wood.  I did not want it white with black showing through which is why I chose to use the bonding agent.  I love that the black fell right off and the wood is showing!

 



 

You just never know with this paint......

 

 



 

 I waxed this table with both clear and a bit of dark wax.  I actually love how it turned out!  It is not what I envisioned but it works!

 

 

I like how this table has so much dimension to it.  It is kind of fun!  I also like that it is one piece I have held on to for so many years.

 

 A few little things left and our guest room is done!   

 

 





A coffee shop with flea market finds.....perfect

 

We have been relaxing on the beach this past week. No projects, no work, (ok I am a realtor, so I did have alittle work) precious family time, and gorgeous weather.  We spent the week in Hilton Head and enjoyed every minute of it.  We parked our car for the week and either biked or walk everywhere.  Having a 16 year old and 18 year old these trips mean the world to me.  Although in my world the kids will always want to come on vacation with us!  :)

 

Here is some of our trip.....

 

 

For my b-day we went to this great seafood restaurant right on the water.  We sat outside and listened to live music and ate some delicious food!

 

 

 

We spent every single day right here. 

 

 

Brady & Bryce. Those two are not in the same place too often anymore, so nice to have time together!!~

 

 

We played a lot of prokadema on the beach.  Not sure if that is what it is actually called, but that is what our paddles said.  It was a fun game!

 

 

We decided to bring our dog Lacee with us for the first time.  She was a great traveler.  Never heard a peep from her the entire car ride. 

 

We loved coming to the beach at night to just read and watch the kites. 

 

 

 

We saw quite a few dolphins, it was beautiful!

 

 

This was our first time kayaking.  I was a little nervous, but it was easy.  Although my arms got pretty tired!

 

 

 

Brady is used to more thrill seeking kind of activities, but he enjoyed this too!
 

Now on to the flea market find!

 

 

 

On our first day we found this little coffee shop that was off the beaten path.  It is called The Broken Spoke.  I really wish I would have taken pics while we were there!  It was a very cool layed back kind of coffee shop with big comfy leather couches, cool tables, mellow music, great coffee, and the best part?.......  It is like a mini flea market!  Everything (mostly) is for sale in the shop.  Antique tables, wall art, trinkets, old clocks, rocking chairs, bikes, you name it!

 

 

I saw this crate the minute I sat down and knew I wanted it.  It was big and our car was pretty full with 4 people and a dog.  I left without it.  But of course thought it about it ALL week.  On our way out of town I just had to go back.  I got that little beauty for $25.00!  It even has old metal handles on both sides.  TJ (being the good sport he is) made room for it in the car.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course I am not sure what to do with this yet, but I will find a spot!  I just think it is pretty cool to have a vintage crate from South Carolina! If you are ever in the area check out The Broken Spoke Coffee Shop, it is a pretty cool place.  The owner Tim made us feel right at home!

 

Sunrise on the beach. 


I am thankful for the week of relaxing! 

 

 

 

Piano bench project

 

I have a lot of projects going on right now!  I am finishing up the loft and the guest room.  I have also started the bookcases in the den, which is turning into a really BIG project! 

 

 

The piano bench was a fun little project to work on.  I found the bench at a flea market and planned to use it for a bench at the end of the bed in the guest room.  I got it for $20.00.

I decided to go with ASCP in duck egg. I bought this little pot awhile ago.  I used it on my kitchen chairs under Graphite.  I have never used it alone, so was excited to try it.

Since there was no padding on this bench I added my own.  I glued together two of these foam pads.  ($1.99)

I was going to use this gray burlap fabric I already had. Once I had it all stapled on I realized the weave was too loose over the foam pad, the pad showed right through!  Not a good look!

 

I ran over to Hobby Lobby and for $3.00 bought this chevron fabric.  It is spot on for matching with the Duck Egg paint color.  I stapled that right over the burlap.  

**I left out pictures for that step.  I was able to unscrew the top of the bench.  That made covering it soooo much easier.  I placed the foam pad down.  Stapled the burlap fabric over the foam pad.  Then the chevron fabric over the burlap.  Easy!  Except I had an extra step in there with the burlap!

I used two coats of ASCP and covered it in a coat of clear wax. 

 

 

I love the legs on this bench with the gold on the bottoms. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This little bench will be perfect!  I love little projects like this one.  :)