Before and Afters – Page 10

An Apothecary Cabinet Flip – A Fresh Start

January’s Fab Furniture Flippin Contest – A Fresh Start On a trip with my DH to Door County we found this great little shop with several interesting pieces just screaming to be loved on. The prices were decent but we only had room in our van to take home two pieces. The first was a one piece china cabinet and the other a little dresser that had never been cared for – raw wood with dinky sad little knobs. It reminded me of an apothecary cabinet. I went back and forth trying to decide what color to choose – because I just had to paint it! Since General Finishes sponsored the Fab Furniture Flippin Contest again this month and donated a quart of their new chalk style paint to finish the piece, all I had to do was decide on a color. Some may shudder at the thought of painting … Read more

Antique Night Stand Re-do

What’s hiding in your basement? A couple of years ago I gave our daughter, Jillian, a night stand that had been a family heirloom from my husband Mark’s aunt, Aunt Emily. She had painted it white, but wasn’t happy with the results. I had a 2 1/2 week stay in Virginia with Jillian where we spent a week decorating her living room/dining room at her new place. This is one of the pieces we hauled out of her basement to try to salvage. Newly married, in school, and on a tight budget, this had to be another “use what you have to save money but it’s gotta look good” project – right up my alley! Spray paint is an easy and cheap fix. The dark stain shows right through and the paint peeled right off where it had bubbled. We honestly didn’t know if we could fix it, but … Read more

From Trash to Treasure – Update old brass decor, don’t toss it!

I told you about the cast off treasures I got from a friend in my first From Trash to Treasure post here. Here are brass pieces that NO ONE wants. After painting the brass finishes with my dark walnut satin Rust-Oleum spraypaint, I decided to mix and match the parts to make new pieces. Brass decor isn’t very popular these days, but there is no reason we can’t update. When I painted this one, (pic above) the paint didn’t settle in the grooves, giving it dimension. (It’s OK to go ahead and think I planned this.) I put the painted brass on my kitchen island to dry in the warm kitchen (negative 10 degrees in my garage where I painted it). Each time I passed by them, I thought about how they would look once I put them together. I don’t wait very patiently for my projects to … Read more

DIY Chunky Photo Frame – Re-purpose Old Picture Frames Part 3

I have picture frames up the wazoo! Seriously, I must have more than three or four dozen wood frames packed in boxes… In the garage, In the basement, In my craft closet, In my blanket chest… Nope. There aren’t any blankets in it. Just picture frames. Some day I will paint that blanket chest with chalk paint and actually use it for blankets. When you raise 15 kids like we did and tote a camera around with you 24/7, your house easily turns into a virtual scrapbook. Now we are empty nesters (yay for us!) and have downsized. So I have to justify keeping all my frames and not just “Give them all away to Goodwill to be rid of them.” (That solution was courtesy of my DH.) I’ve been on a mission to justify my frame hoarding and have come up with some re-purposing DIY projects. I’m in process … Read more

Holiday Crate x10 Challenge {Love My DIY Home}

Christmas DIY Wood Crate Challenge

We were challenged to take a plain wood crate and make it Christmas festive. I bought three and plan to use them under my Christmas tree. BEFORE Box and Snowflakes First I spray painted the inside with Rustoleum’s Painter’s Touch 2x Ivory Bisque. Large wood snow flakes at Hobby Lobby were perfect for an accent. I spray painted them the same ivory bisque as the box interior and then sprinkled silver glitter on it to give it some pinache and then hung it on a nail on the box. It took a bit because it was 10 degrees outside and since I paint out on my front lawn, it was interesting to say the least. I painted a bit, brought it in to dry and took it out for more paint an hour later. After a dozen ins and outs, I finally got it painted. Anyone free to come clean out … Read more

Homemade Chalky Paint Recipes

I know, I know, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything. I have a good excuse – if you are on my mailing list and you’ve read my past two emails, you know what I’m up to! To make up for it, I’m going to share some of my research with you – It will save you some time if you are a DIY painter. I spent a couple of hours researching chalky paint recipes and put together a one page PDF that you can reference if you are interested in making your own chalky paint. As far as I’m concerned, Annie Sloan’s is the best – BUT if you can’t swing the price, you can always make your own. Jillian and I did and here is the result. We used the recipe that calls for baking soda. You can get the recipe here along with 3 others. Just … Read more

Kitchen Cabinet Door Chalkboard {Love My DIY Home}

Cabinet Door Chalkboard – EASY DIY

Peel & Stick! Here is the promised cabinet door chalkboard easy DIY from my fall porch. Seriously, this took me less than 5 minutes. Not everything you see is a difficult to achieve as it seems. Sometimes it’s crazy easy. This is one of those. Here it is on my porch: I started with a clearanced kitchen cabinet from Menards. I paid $3. I bought three of them all in different colors. I would have painted it using chalky paint, but it was already painted! I can deal with that… I pried out the little plastic hinge thingys and used that spot to hang it from my ladder by nails. I had planned to paint the inside part of the door with chalkboard paint like my friends did in their kitchen, but when I went to do it, I remembered I had some peel and stick vinyl chalkboard that I … Read more

Deck Railing to Ladder Upcycle 2015 {Love My DIY Home}

Deck Railing into Fall Porch Ladder Upcycle

I’ve got a quick how-to for you because many have asked about the ladder I have on my porch. It’s rather simple, mind you. Like 15 minute simple. Deck Railing into Fall Porch Ladder Upcycle While at my DD and SIL’s home renovation they ripped off their deck-ish type of backyard railing. Whether you’re upcycling a railing into a porch ladder or in need of professional-grade equipment, consider checking out a nationwide company that offers a wide range of scaffolding and ladder solutions. Order brazilian ipe wood Georgia materials if you plan to build a new deck. Instead of upcycling, you can also purchase scaffolding and ladder for your safety and construction needs. especially if you are going to use it for construction work. Also, make sure to comply with local regulations and safety standards when purchasing and using scaffolding equipment to ensure a secure and successful construction project. As … Read more

Desk Flip – September FFFC Geometric Design Contest

The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest challenges DIY bloggers to create a great piece of furniture following certain guidelines. #sponsored This contest is sponsored by General Finishes who donated a blogger’s choice product to finish the piece. The theme was “geometric design.” GEOMETRIC?!?! How do you incorporate geometric design on a piece of furniture, and in my case, a desk? Why, with Mod Podge, of course! Let’s start with a “before” picture. Brace yourself, it’s pretty sad… My DH and I found it alongside the road. It looked like a kid’s painting project gone bad but…it was sturdy and in decent shape. I picture a high school student sitting at this desk working through her (had to be a “her” with all the pink and purple paint) geometry homework. It is obvious she tried to create a stylish, fun desk to use but she missed the mark…just a bit. As you … Read more

Hoarding - a flipped house {Love My DIY Home}

Less is More – When Frugality Hurts

Are you a collector? …a thrifter, garage saler, picker, or might you be a hoarder? How do you know if you have a problem? How do you know if you are out of control? Balance is key. Sometimes good can turn bad quickly when we lose our balance. If a person overindulgess using frugality as their excuse, then “frugality” hurts. Ask yourself: Can I afford it? Do I need it? Do I have a place for it? Do I have a specific plan to use it, give it away or am I just buying it because it’s a good deal? I’ve known many people who buy things just for the fun of it and stuff piles up everywhere… in the spare bedroom… and then into the hallway… and then in every nook and cranny of the house. Some claim it is prepping (though what I’m talking about is NOT prepping). … Read more