Monday, August 27, 2012

Up-Cycle Obsessed

I have 'busy brain,' and I have to say, it's making me a little cuckoo. I have so many crafty, decoratingy ideas spinning around in my head that I just can't get to them all. We've lived in this house for two years now, and I still have yet to decide on and put up window treatments! Did I mention it's making me a little cuckoo? I really need to get on that. That and painting the dining room. Oh and slipcovering that ottoman. And... well, you get the idea. Hopefully, this blog will help me focus in on a few to complete and then share with you. In the mean time, I thought I'd share a few of the projects I actually have completed. Over the past year or so, I've come to love the idea of 'up cycling' old furniture. I get excited at the thought of transforming some sad thrift store piece into something new and stylish. Last year, I got the itch to transform some old dining chairs that my husband and I bought for our first apartment back in the mid-nineties (yes, that was a long time ago!) The chairs were dated, dirty and covered in paint splatters because I used them as my painting 'ladder' for years -- and I painted every room in my old house at least twice!
As you can see, they were a perfect candidate for a makeover. So, I sanded them down, painted them a bright color and added a bird stencil (as you will see on this blog, I have a thing for decorating with bird motifs).
I loved the bright colors and how the bird turned out (that was my favorite part).
The only problem is, I have no place to put them in my house! They'd be so cute in a girl's room (desk chair?) or in a bright, kitschy kitchen, but alas, I have two boys - no girls- and my kitchen is a completely different style (even in its half decorated state). So, the chairs just wouldn't work. For now, my cute little chairs are stuck in the garage again, but at least they're lookin' good! I also up-cycled and old washstand that has been in my family for a few generations. It's, technically, an antique but not a valuable one. It's been painted so many times over the years -- I painted it glossy gray in the'80s when I decided it would be 'totally awesome' to have a grey, yellow and black color scheme in my teenage bedroom. (Did I just date myself there?) It's been that glossy gray ever since - until I needed a nightstand for my guest room. I decided to dig the old gray nightstand out of the garage, too, and give it a new 'totally awesome' life. Here it is with the primer (I didn't remember the before picture until after I'd sanded and primed it):
My guest room has a black, cream and green color scheme, so I decided to paint the nightstand in a glossy black, and I replaced the old, worn ceramic knobs with glass knobs (another love of mine - glass knobs! If I had an older home, I'd have glass door knobs throughout the house!).
I also painted an old, small wicker table with the same black paint for the other side of the bed. I love the way they turned out (I'll post a picture of that room in the near future.) So glad I didn't give all those items to Goodwill as originally planned! Stay tuned for more furniture projects - and yes, there will probably be birds involved! XOXO, Kristen

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