Fixer Upper

   

Welcome to my blog if you are coming over from Savvy Southern Style. I'm working on several projects in my home, so please keep coming back to see what is new here.

Isn't half the battle of decorating just knowing the colors and feel you want a room to look like? I'm excited for the way our daughter's room is coming together. The colors are bright and fun in here- perfect for her. I think it's okay to sometimes take time to figure out what people use their rooms for and how you want the room to feel.

However, I've been thinking too long about this yard sale dresser I got in her room and now it's time to act!I love the shape of it, but I think this is a piece that we want painted. I'm going to paint it a bright red with white knobs. What do you think? I will show you some pictures soon.

This was my other bargain beauty I got for her room. It's a perfect dainty size for her and she loves to curl up here and read books and look out the window. I think we'll keep this one as is. It's a bit old fashioned, but I like having a mix of modern and vintage in a room. Have you found some great yard sale deals that you want to paint or just enjoy the beauty of it?

Paint Your Laminate Furniture

Thank you to Kirsten from 6th Street Design School for linking our library bookshelves on her blog yesterday. She is one talented designer and it was an honor to be on her blog!

When my husband and I were newlyweds we went to a furniture store and paid good money for our entertainment center which had cardboard backing with big holes in the back for wires. We were thrilled just to own furniture and I hadn't been properly introduced into the world of thrift stores and seeing how furniture with a bit of paint or refinishing can make an older piece new again. However, the cardboard backing of the entertainment center always bothered me.The armoire in the middle hides away technology when you don't want to see it, which is something I like. We decided to fix up what we had instead of go out to buy something new.

                                                          BEFORE: Fake blonde and cardboard

                                                                    AFTER: A real looker!

Now there are no holes in the back that you can see since my husband and I put a bead board backing and drilled small holes in hide away spots.We also changed the hardware, which helped give it an updated look as well.


TUTORIAL ON PAINTING LAMINATE:
You really can paint laminate! Here's what I did:

1. Lightly sand all surfaces.
2. Patch any area that might need it. We used patch to fill all the side holes, which makes the bookshelf look seamless. You'll need to sand the area you work on if you do need to fill holes.

2. Use an oil based primer so it can really adhere to your laminate. This is the key to painting laminated wood. You will need to paint outdoors, or a well-ventilated area (this is the stinky stuff). I would use a paint brush of not great quality so that you could throw it away after the priming. Also, a spray primer is great if you are doing a smaller piece of furniture.  Jenny recently talked about a new BIN Zinsser primer that she used on an Ikea closet which had a lot of shellac. This is helpful information if you are painting anything from IKEA.The great thing about using an oil based primer is that once it dries you could start painting. You don't need it to "cure" for a while like a water based primer.
3. Paint! Use any color your heart desires. Plan for about two coats of paint, making sure you leave time for it to dry. I used Creamy by Shermin Williams. The paint on the bead board is a mix of  colors we had in our paint supply store in the basement.
4. Poly coat it to make it scratch resistant and ready to stand up to the world.
5. Sit down and marvel at what you accomplished. Trust me- you'll be thrilled with how some effort and paint can change the whole look of your out-dated furniture.

Have any of you painted a big piece of furniture like this? I would love to hear about it!

How We Built Our Library Bookshelves

This has been one of the most involved projects we've worked on so far but it has been totally worth it. After figuring out the look we were after, my husband drew out a plan of how to make it. Essentially, the library consists of 5 cabinet bases, 5 bookshelf tops, and some trim to finish it off. Since this is a built in library, we will talk about how we made it starting with explaining how to build one bookshelf. If you have a larger or smaller wall you would need to adjust accordingly. Here are the basic steps we went through.

Tools we used:

• Table saw
• Skill saw
• Router
• Sander
• Craig Jig
• Air compressor
• Nail guns
• Screw gun
• Drill
• Wood clamps

Supplies we used:

• 2"x6" pine for the foundation
• 3/4” Birch cabinet-grade plywood for cabinets and bookshelves
• 3/16” laminated plywood for cabinet backing
• 1/4" barn siding plywood for bookshelf backing
• 3/4” poplar trim (various widths) for styles and rails
• Wood glue
• Screws

For the cabinet bases and bookshelves, we used ¾” birch plywood (cabinet grade). For the trim and doors, we used poplar, which holds paint well and is an easy wood to work with. For the bookshelf backing, we used “barn board” plywood. For the cabinet backing, we used 3/16” laminated plywood. We got everything from Home Depot.

To start, we removed the baseboard trim and crown molding in way of the built-ins. Be careful when removing the trim because you’ll end up re-installing it when the built-ins are complete.

The cabinet bases are made of 4 main pieces: the two sides, the bottom, and a shelf. We used a router with a ¾” bit to carve out slots for the bottom and the shelf. Our workshop is in our unfinished basement, which we plan to finish someday soon. Here is a picture of the main pieces prior to assembly.

We then assembled the pieces using glue and screws and then added a spreader (the top horizontal piece) and finished it off by nailing a 3/16” plywood backing to the cabinet. We did this 5 times.

Meanwhile, back upstairs we made a foundation out of 2"x6" pine lumber for the cabinet bases to sit on. We made the foundation height such that the top of the installed baseboard trim would come about 1” below cabinet bottoms. Then we set the cabinet bases on the foundation and re-installed the baseboard. We then added poplar styles and rails to the cabinet bases. 

The cabinet top is made of the same birch plywood with a ½” baton of poplar to hide the end grain. The hole in the wall is where the wiring comes out. There was a switched outlet on the bottom left of the wall which we planned to use for power for the sconces.

The next step was to make the book shelves. We used the same router bit to cut slots for each shelf. We made the shelf spacing 12”. We chose 12" based on the largest books we had and what we wanted to put on the shelves. 

Then we assembled the pieces using glue and screws. 

And repeat!

If you are going to do something similar, I recommend painting the bookshelves BEFORE installing the backing. It will save you a TON of time. The backs were made of barn siding plywood and is relatively inexpensive, but rough. However, once you sand it down, it looks amazing. On another side note, while we were sanding, we had a crazy visitor. I have no idea what this bug is called but it freaked me out. It was HUGE!

After the backs were sanded, we primed, painted, then nailed them to the back of the completed cabinets.Then we brought the bookshelves upstairs and put them on top of the cabinet bases. The spaces between the book shelves are for the wiring.  

The next step was to start adding the trim. We started with the top rail. We made the top rail fairly wide because it would also serve as the backing for the raised crown molding. Then we added the stiles (vertical boards) which covers the bookshelf joints and holds the sconces. The lighting we got at Overstock. At first we were looking at swing arm lamps that were gorgeous, but out of our budget; especially since we would need five. Then we decided on sconces since we would then only need four.

Nothing (not even this project) would stand in the way of making our kids practice piano. That is why the piano never left this space. We had to move it around quite a few times but it all worked out.

Then we added the rails for each shelf out of 1 ½” strips of poplar and attached them using glue and nails. We then put the rest of the crown molding back up.  

All that is left now are the cabinet doors. These were the hardest part. My husband would write a whole post just about these doors but to make a long story short, here is how we did them.

Each door is made of two stiles (the vertical pieces), two rails (horizontal pieces), and a center panel. The slot in the middle of each stile and rail was made with a table saw. The rails also have “tongues” (also made on a table saw) which fit in the slot of the stiles. Here is the resulting frame prior to gluing it up.

 We then glued the door pieces together and sanded.

We primed and painted each door in the basement before installing them. We went with Blum Euro-style hinges from Amazon which require blind holes in one stile.

We also covered the entire built-in with a protective polyurethane coat. 

We added the doors to the cabinets and added our kitchen knobs (we decided to put some pulls in our kitchen, so this was an easy way to re-use knobs we already had). You can see our library reveal post here.

 And then we took a nap. 

***Updated March 3, 2014***
Here's how she looks now all decked out-

You can see my post on how I styled this beauty  in this post and the transformation with the sconces using Rub N' Buff here. 

I'm entering this project in Creating with Stars Contest! Come check it out and other amazing D.I.Y projects. 

The China Hutch

 In our dining room we have this pretty hutch I found at an antique store and it needed some repair. I realized once I bought it that it had a veneer that needed to be clamped in some places. Also, it was going to need some new knobs. Knowing I wanted to paint it, I started researching different techniques and decided I wanted to try Annie Sloane Chalk paint. What I love about AS Chalk paint is it doesn't require any sanding, or priming!!! What the what? Chalk paint is a very flat paint and easy to work with. You can thin it down by just adding water or paint as is. It is a bit on the pricey side, but that quart will last you awhile and several projects.

Here's the AFTER!!! 

                                                              Progress picture.

I added glass knobs and decided to paint it in not only Paris Gray but Old White on the drawer and doors. Once I painted I took a wet paper towel and wiped some of the paint off where I wanted to have a bit of distressed look. Once it dried I then applied Annie Sloan clear wax all over with a clean rag. The wax is the protecting layer. I bought the Annie Sloan wax, however, I have done some more research and you could use a clear wax that you can buy at any hardware store instead and save yourself some money. Annie Sloan also has a dark wax that can give your pieces a real distressed look, but I wanted a very small amount of distressing on this piece so I went with the clear wax. I feel this paint gives furniture an old world or more French look. It was easy to use and didn't take as long to paint than other paints.

                                        The arch has just a bit of distressing on it.

I love that I can now house some beautiful heirloom pieces in here. The china with a green and gold pattern is a luncheon set from my late grandmother who got it in Germany. My mother in law gave me these pink jeweled colored old Venetian glass pitchers for our four girls.

Have you used Chalk paint before? I might not use it on all painting projects but it sure makes the painting process easier. I love how my china cabinet turned out and that it holds meaningful things in there.

Thrift Store Buffet Makeover

Don't you love when you find a great deal? There is no better place than thrift store shopping to find one; diamonds in the rough. I found a small buffet at a Good Will for $12 and was thrilled. Some people might think-' yum, no. I'm not buying that.' But, think of all the potential!

Here's the before shot:

Here's how I transformed the buffet table:
1. Lightly sand all surfaces.
2. Wipe it down. If the piece is especially smelly our musty smelling- bring it outside on a nice day and air it out. Then, douse a cloth with a vinegar and water mix and wipe it all down. I found vinegar to be a great way to help get rid of odors and clean surfaces.
3. Take off the hardware. You can also replace the knobs really easily if you need to. I spray painted the knobs gold and reused them. I spray painted them with this Krylon gold plate spray:

I wasn't sure if I could get those basket weave door-fronts off, but with a bit of prying they popped right out.

4. Prime it. For this table I used Zinzer oil based primer. This is the stinky stuff, but I found it's a great primer for adhering to laminate. Sometimes I use spray-paint primer - especially if it's difficult to get into the crevices and hard-to-reach nooks and crannies.
5. Paint. I chose Valspar's Peacock Blue in a Satin finish. I added a few tablespoons of Floetrol to the paint. Floetrol helps your painting go on smoother so you don't see brushstrokes (its essentially a thinning agent). This is especially important when using a true gloss finish. I did two coats of the paint. The Floetrol comes in this orange container (you can see it in this picture to the right).
6. Almost done... Once it's all dried you should protect your new beauty with either wax or Polyurathane. I did one coat of Poly in Satin for the table. Once its on and dried the Poly helps protect against scratches and the occasional 4-year-old.

Yes- sometimes I paint while my children watch a movie. (This is a picture of our old home in the basement.)

The lamps were also a thrift store find as well for $10 each. I spray painted them a cheery yellow. More about spray painting coming soon. Have you ever bought a piece of furniture with potential? I would love to hear what you did with it!