New Dining Room Buffet and Bulletin Board.

I know I promised an update on our kitchen remodel, but that blog is going to take a lot of time to write, and I just haven't gotten around to it, yet. I have started it... so, maybe soon. I am LOVING my kitchen remodel, though and can't wait to share it!

My MIL was in town earlier this month, so that has contributed a bit to my delays in blogging, but we've just been busy around here. Landon and I just wrapped up our first year of homeschooling! (First Grade) I can't believe how fast that went. The first thing he said when he realized we were done was, "When can I start second grade work?!" He is definitely my kid! He was also very sad when we finished our solar system studies. I wasn't planning on starting school back up until August, (besides a few fun games and science projects here and there) But, I may have to start sooner than I planned. He just can't wait and is asking me daily if he can start his new work! I love his enthusiasm!

Well, anyway, back to the point of this post. I have been looking for MONTHS for the RIGHT dresser to use as a buffet in my dining room and I finally found one! 

I found this dresser at the Salvation Army and it weighs a TON! Oh boy, I bet the neighbors were laughing at my husband and I while we tried getting this beast out of the van, across the driveway, up two steps, and through the front door! 

 I decided to sand the top and restain it.  I choose a light sage like color because my curtains are a sage. I also spray painted all of the hardware.

At the time of these pictures, I didn't have knobs for the doors. The original ones were broken off so I was looking for replacements, when my SIL mentioned using ribbon or something.

This is my dining room, now (Excuse the cell phone picture, please) I used some doubled up twine and knotted it in the back.

I really love this buffet and it has a ton of storage. It's still mostly empty. So far all I have in it is place mats and coloring stuff for the kids. But, I am sure it'll be filled up soon enough!

The bulletin board on top of the buffet will have pictures on it, soon. Hung up with mini cloth pins. I just haven't gotten to it, yet, as I just finished it. 

 I took an old frame apart that I bought a few years ago at a thrift store, and painted the frame black. I also decided to add a "B" for our last name. After that I took the old cardboard backing and covered it in burlap fabric and randomly placed twine strings across the surface. I stapled them on the back. With a regular stapler, and then I hot glued them once I was done with it all. Just to make sure. Pushed the cardboard back in and put two nails in place to hold the backing in. I then added picture hooks to the top. Very easy day project that I love!

Bookshelf Redo

We found this bookshelf thing a few months back on a yard sale page and I finally got around to fixing it up last month. I really love the final look of it, so I thought I'd share it. It's currently being used as a night stand for my side of the bed. I am keeping an eye out for something similar for my husband's side.. he thinks they should be matchy... or close enough. ;) 

 

I decided on a white paint and used the same homemade chalk paint recipe I used for my hutch. 

 

After cleaning it up, I started painting. It needed about three coats of paint. White doesn't cover as well as the blue for the hutch, had. After it had all dried. I sanded on some of the edges for an aged look. Wiped it up again and then added a clear wax coat to it. 

I think the white really pops against the blue walls in my room.

Kitchen Hutch

If I could be in love with a piece of furniture, this would be the one!

I recently went to Goodwill and found this gem of a hutch for only $22.50. It was originally $75 marked down a few times to $45. And I just happened to go in on 1/2 price furniture day! SCORE!! 

It was a bit dented and scratched up and the top molding pieces needed to be glued back together for more stability, but nothing too major. I have read numerous furniture restoring blogs over the years that have mentioned Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and in the same breath how expensive it is and never thought twice about it. But after the red hutch I decided it might be a good idea to look into this Chalk Paint idea that eliminates the need for pre-sanding and priming. Why cause myself more work? My husband works long hours and his weekend time is limited and I wanted to get this done in one day, if possible, while he watched the children. 

I posted a Facebook status about how Chalk Paint was so expensive and a friend mentioned making it myself. Duh, why didn't I think of that. Off to Pinterest I went. Here's the blog's recipe guidelines I used: Here.

I measured out about 2 cups of Harbor paint by Behr mixed in 4-TBS of Plaster of Paris and a little water and... man it doesn't get much easier than this, people! I'm telling you, this paint is amazing! It goes on nice and thick, like butter! One coat is all I needed on the doors and drawers. I did two on the rest of the body, but most areas, really didn't need it! The paint dries pretty fast too. After about an hour or two, I added the second coat. After that was dry, I started roughing up the edges with a piece of sandpaper. I added a wax layer to the wood work to seal the deal and spray painted my knobs with oil rubbed bronze. It's gorgeous and it looks great in my kitchen! Now I'm sure you're dying to see it! Please, tell me what you think! I think it's my best one, yet!

Well, that's about it! Feel free to ask any questions you may have. I hope I didn't leave anything out!

The Project to End All Projects?

This might be the project to end all projects. 

Okay, not really. But for now, I am DONE with furniture projects. This was a lot of work, and by the end I just wanted to throw it away. 

I had to keep telling myself it would be worth it and to keep chugging along. 

I found this chest thing at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago for $50. This thing is SOLID. When I say solid, I mean it! The doors alone weigh about 30lbs each, if not more. I actually hated the doors and had decided not to use them in the finished product. But after sharing that idea with a few friends they convinced me that these doors would be amazing. 

They were right, the doors really make the finished piece! I especially love the original hardware. 

Okay, so here's what I started with:

 

When I saw the inside shelves, I knew it would be a perfect place to hold our arts and craft supplies in the dining room. I am now using it for homeschooling supplies, as well. 

Initially, I was going to paint the thing white and antique it.

 After two coats of primer, I decided I wanted something that would POP! I thought about yellow, but eventually decided on a red. I found this "Candy Apple Red" at Walmart in the "oops" section! It was half off, so I got it for $8! Woohoo! I added 3 coats of the red to try to make it look even. After awhile I figured that was enough because the stain would make it look uneven, anyway. I also, only did two red coats on the inside, because no one would be looking in there. 

Lazy? 

Maybe, but I was so over painting at this point and I hadn't even touched the doors!

 

The doors...

OH THE DOORS! I hate them. But I love them. 

They were a PITA to work on, trying to get that red paint into every small detail. Also, I didn't prime them first.

 Oops, another lazy moment? 

So the doors look darker than the body. 

Do I care? 

No, I think it adds to the character! 

After the doors had three coats of red I moved on to the fun part... 

 staining! 

When all my hard work started to actually look like the picture in my head! 

(I really should have had better ventilation in the room, it gave me a headache)

Besides the headache, staining was the best part. Here are the final pictures. I added the stain to the wood and let it sit a minute or two and then wiped it off, making sure to leave some in the details to make them look more worn. I love the finished result!

Love the hardware! This is the original hardware and I didn't paint it. I had thought about spray painting them black, but decided it look great, already.

I also didn't stain the inside, because it didn't matter. 

 

It kind of looks like it's from China, now! 

Like I said earlier, I may not do another furniture project for awhile. At least not a BIG one! 

I.am.beat!

Totally worth it, though!

Perfect addition to our homeschool room!

Red Bench for our Entryway!

I bought this bench back in Nebraska... probably last summer, with plans to some day paint it for our future home. We knew we were moving and I didn't want to waste my time painting something just for it to be ruined, ya know?

Finished this project last week and couldn't wait to share it! Here it is before hand:

 

And here it is after two coats of paint! I used the same paint as I did in Landon's room, because I had it on hand and I wanted it red, anyway! =) Did I mention this bench only cost me $5? What a steal!

 Here is the view from my living room!

I think it fits nicely!