Bathroom Shelf Make Over

The 1/2 bath downstairs has been screaming for a make over for awhile now. When we bought the house, it had been painted this hideous spring green that I immediately changed. I picked out a dark mocha color but never really loved it but I didn't want to re do it either. So for 5 years, it sat.

Here is the before:

Totally dark and cave like. So I repainted it in Behr's Celtic Gray (it's a bluish-greenish gray). Once that was done, I knew I needed to redo the shelf above the toilet. The cherry wood color never matched anyway. I wanted it to be fresh and bright.

The shelf is originally from Pottery Barn and love the lines. I primed it and painted it with Benjamin Moore White Dove which is the same color that we painted all of our trim. I then slightly distressed it. It looks perfect in the space now and I can't wait to finish up the rest of the make over so I can show you the final reveal.

Shara Pin It

A Storage Chest Make Over

I've been on an organization and purging fest this summer. My kids have way too many toys that never get played with so I narrowed the toys down by over 1/2 and got rid of a ton of things. It feels so good to get out from some of the clutter.

I was on the lookout for some kind of storage solution to help hold games and puzzles. My former neighbor and friend offered me this cedar chest (I had a desk that she wanted so we traded...win-win for us both).

It has a lot of storage space but needed a little face lift. I painted it using ASCP in French Linen and then applied dark wax to seal it. I restained the top using a dark walnut stain to match the hutch I just competed.

Here's the finished chest which is now the coffee table in my family room. It holds puzzles, games, and Littlest Pet Shop toys. A storage table is the perfect solution to help conceal the clutter when you have kids with toys.

I love how it turned out. It's a great piece and will be useful even when the kids are out of the toy phase.

Shara Pin It

A Reading Nook

Our house has a built in style wall in the family room. One side contains the fireplace and the other this large nook for holding a TV. Our house was built in 2003, so the nook is rather large and designed for the fatter tube style TV. We have housed our TV in this nook since we moved in in 2008. It has been OK, but the way we have to set up the couch makes watching TV a little awkward. I've been envisioning a change for a while now but wasn't quite sure what I would do with the gaping hole once I moved the TV.

So, I forgot to take a before picture but I found one that would work. Don't mind the pile of laundry or the bookshelf in front of the fireplace.

This is taken from my kitchen looking into the family room. As you can see, the room is narrow and the best place for the couch is under the windows. This was before moving the TV.

I decided to use that built in space to create a reading nook. With school just around the corner, reading and homework time is going to increase. I wanted to make a fun place for the kids to hang out and read a book.

 Once I started the project, I decided to paint the entire wall a grayish blue color instead of the boring, dark beige color it was before. This really helped lighten up the space and make it feel like less of a cave.

The white bookshelf is a Closetmaid 2 by 3 shelf from Target. It holds all the books perfectly and fits the space just right. The aqua back pillow is also from Target and very fluffy and soft. The kids love it. The two navy floor cushions are from Ikea. I made the sign with my favorite Dr. Seuss quote. The clip on light is from Fred Meyer.

Here's the whole room put together:

Once the large armoire that holds the toys and the train table are no longer needed, the room will be perfect.
I love how it all came together. The kids love it, too. The family room has much better flow and it is much more enjoyable to sit and watch TV.

Shara Pin It

A Perfect Accident...A Bench Make Over-

My husband would say I'm a hoarder and I have to admit I probably am when it comes to furniture. But when I find that awesome deal on something, it's really hard for me to say no. Our garage is chalk full of projects waiting to be transformed. Trust me, you don't want to know (just ask my neighbors). So when I came across this porch bench for a steal of a deal, I couldn't pass it up even though I knew I had no room for it in the garage.

One sunny April day came through the Pacific NW and I was itching to paint. So I gave this bench a good sanding and spray painted it a lovely leafy green. I wish I would have taken pictures of it. It turned out good and I was happy. And then the rain came back and my garage was full so there it sat, outside on my back patio for the rest of the spring. April showers can bring May flowers but around here April showers usually just bring May showers, too.

When the weather finally cleared up and I got back around to it, the paint had chipped a lot and there were aged spots. I sanded off the chippy paint and discovered just how awesome it became. The aged patina and the perfection of the chippy-ness really made the piece. The character was something that you can not duplicate by hand. I was stoked! I finished it off with a dark wax to seal it and add to the character. I love it so much more now!

And yes, I decided to keep it. After all, I'm a hoarder.

Shara Pin It

New Life for a Sweet Little Hutch

I had been looking for a smaller sized hutch for months now to fit in a space off of my breakfast area. The space is only 42 inches so finding a hutch that A) Fit and B) Had a farmhouse feel C) Was a reasonable price was proving difficult. I finally stumbled upon one on a local FB buy/sell group and I pounced on it. I knew it had everything I was looking for but needed some TLC.

Here she is before:

It's hard to tell from the picture but there were a ton of scratches and the knots from the pine wood were showing through plus it was a terrible overall paint job. So I set to work. I started by stripping off the paint on the lower cabinet base. I wanted a stained wood top. I got the paint off and finished it with a nice sanding. I then stained it using a dark walnut stain and applied 3 coats to get the color I was going for. I love how rustic the pine wood makes the top look. Fits perfectly with the farmhouse style I was hoping to achieve.

Next I started painting. I decided to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite and set to work. (The picture is after the first coat)

Then I painted the inside of the base using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Cream. I love fun pops of color inside cabinet doors. Don't mind my pile of laundry! ;)

And this is where I hit a snag. I ran out of graphite after 1/2 through the top piece. I contacted my local stockist and of course it was out of stock and on back order. Instead of waiting a week or 2 to get more, I decided to change things up all together and I repainted the whole thing using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Gray. And you know what, I loved it even more. The lighter gray really made the wood top stand out even more. Sometimes, second choices just work out better.  See isn't she perfection!

And here she is all finished and ready to party:

 I changed out her knobs with some black with bronze knobs to tie in to her bronze hinges. I also distressed it slightly and the graphite color came through which I love.

I painted the back of the inside with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg. I wanted my milk glass collection to really pop.

I also used chicken wire instead of the original glass to add the the farmhouse charm of the piece.

I'm absolutely in love. I cannot wait to build my farmhouse table and refinish my kitchen cabinets to tie the whole space together. So, what do you think?

Hope you have a crafty week,

Shara Pin It

Craft Room Gallery Wall

After creating my craft cabinet, I needed something to fill the space above it. You know how I love gallery walls and this was the perfect opportunity to creat something fun and not just pcitres of the family.

Here's the before:

I needed something to balance out the shelves. Here's what I came up with:

The large canvas I got at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $10! The three shadow boxes I created over 2 years ago and never hung them up. They finally have the perfect home.

I finally made myself a sign. I love fun, whimsical vibe!

I printed off these fun faux chalkboard printables from U-Create here.

I love how it all came together. The craft room is slowly taking shape. I can't wait to get the office half of the room complete so I can give you a tour of the entire space.

Have a Crafty Week,

Shara Pin It

Instagram Print Display

Instagram is such a fun way of sharing pictures. I use it on a regular basis to capture fun activities and moments of my kids on a daily basis. I finally got around to getting some of my favorite Instagram prints printed so I could display them at home. I went with a company called Prinstagram. The prints turned out great and I needed a place to display them.

I've had this old shutter sitting around. It has been moved to various places around my house and was currently in a pile in my craft room. I figured it would be an easy way to hang my prints. I used bakers twine and mini clothes pins and attached it with my staple gun. I love that I can rotate the pictures when I choose and it can hold a lot of pictures at once.

What do you think? This project is easy and simple and if I decide to use this shutter some other way, it will be easy to undo. I love projects like that!

Happy Crafting,

Shara


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A Dining Table Gets A Face Lift

I've had this table sitting in my garage for months. I been toying with several ideas of what I wanted it to look like and finally decided to give it a go.

I love this table because it has a hidden leaf that stores under the table when not in use. this is so handy because you don't have to find a space in the garage or under a bed to store the extra leaf. I originally had a couple of ideas in mind. Plan A and B involved stenciling the top similar to my previous dining table make over but that ended up not working due to the size of the hidden leaf. Working around that I set off to work on Plan C which was to paint the legs and top in two different colors. I wanted the top to be all white while the legs and base stayed a different color.

Well, Plan C eventually evolved into Plan D as the edges of the table had a bit of water damage and the discoloration was showing through even after using primer. So, to remedy that problem, I brought the darker color up onto the top. I seriously love how this turned out. It looks even better than what I had imagined. It feels so retro chic! I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White and Duck Egg Blue for this make over.

I was originally going to sell this piece but I think it's a keeper (for now anyway). I can't wait to redo my dining benches and get a couple of industrial chairs to make this the perfect piece for my kitchen. I love when things all come together in an unexpected way.

Happy Crafting,

Shara Pin It

New Craft Counter

My craft room/computer room/loft has been in dire need of a more useful space for storage and a dedicated space for working on projects instead of using the kitchen table. My craft projects have taken over and I needed to find a solution.

Here's my utterly messy craft space before:

I couldn't find anything. My craft cabinet and craft table where packed full. This area isn't very big so I need to pack a punch. Enter Pinterest. I saw this pin a while back and it got the wheels turning. I decided to start hunting down 2 drawer file cabinets. Couldn't be that hard, right? Well, lets just say that I hit up every thrift store in a 10 mile radius with no luck. I finally found a large lot on CL and jumped in. 

I started by spray painting the fronts and the sides that would be visible with Rustoleum Aqua spray paint (my most favorite color). I then took a lot of measurements and hit up the Depot for some plywood. I had the guys in the orange aprons cut down the wood to my specifications and the hubster loaded it in the car for me. We got it home and started by attaching the casters to the base piece. I used 8 casters. They were not very cheap so it kind of defeated the thriftiness of the project but I wanted the added height to the counter so I could stand or sit at a bar stool to work. 

The casters are totally awesome so I guess I shouldn't complain about their cost! Anyway, all the file cabinets that I found were varying heights and lengths.  So we had to build up each of the shorter ones to match the tallest one. We did this by cutting extra plywood and screwing it into the base piece. 

Here's the hubs helping me build the bases. 

Once they were all level, the next step was to stain the top.

We used a maple/birch veneered plywood. It had a gorgeous grain to it. I used my favorite dark walnut stain and set to work. 

Here it is all ready to be poly'd. It took the stain great. I did 3 coats to achieve the desired color. 

 After that my hubby cut down the trim pieces and we attached it with out nail gun. The final step was painting and cutting the base molding to hide the varying layers of plywood under the cabinets.

Here is the finished product. I love the size and the amount of storage. I can spread out and work on crafts without having to clean up every time we need to use the kitchen table. What do you think? In total, this project cost just under $200 for all the supplies. If I hadn't have gotten the casters, I could have saved over $50 dollars. Not too bad for a custom built craft cabinet.

Now I just need to work on a gallery wall for above it and this 1/2 of the craft room will be complete. Then I need to do something to the other half. Stay tuned for that project!

Happy Crafting,

Shara

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