Shiny Candy

I figured instead of keeping everyone waiting on pretty after photos of the bookcases I might as well just dive right in.  But first lets back up.  To paint the bookcases I really only needed to take off what was on the shelves.  Everything else could stay in the drawers and cabinets. So I took off all the books and piled them neatly in front of my fireplace. 

 

Fast forward 3 weeks when the bookcases were ready to be used, I decided it was time to give the office a good cleaning.  Yes, this is my husbands 'space', but in my defense this 'space ' is like a black hole of crappola.  I was sick of putting his mail neatly on the side of his desk only to find it a week later spilled on the floor, unopened.  Nails on a chalkboard I tell you! 

 

So I took the opportunity during one of his out of town business trips to go to work....

 

Just keeping it real here folks! Good design isn't just about the pretty after pictures all the time.  There is usually a process in getting there, and here is mine. 

 

 I labeled bags and sorted for hours. It was liberating! 

And for the record, he was very appreciative that I took the time to do this because in the long run it will save him HOURS of looking for lost documents.  So it was a win-win.

Anywoo, as a reminder here is where I left off last time-

 

And here is what they look like now!!

 

 

Ahhh, so fresh and so clean!

 

I cant even tell you what a little white paint does for this space.  It has completely opened up the office and made it feel so much bigger than it is.  For a pair of bookcases that were headed to the sale pile, I gave them a new life (till I change my mind again).

And since everyone loves a side by side- here is the before and after one more time..

  I've still got a few more projects for the office to show you, but for now I'm so happy with how they turned out.

 

Now go grab that white paint brush and get to work! 

 

Shiny Chalk

The tiny office in my apartment has been the bain of my existence since we moved in.  Its ALWAYS a mess and its right off of the family room and of course in my direct line of vision daily.  Anywoo, I'll do a whole office post later, this post is more about the Annie Sloan chalk paint that transformed the bookcases I was about to throw to the curb.

Originally I bought them for a song, with grand plans of painting them white.  But then months and years passed and they sat creeping up the office and making it feel smaller and darker than it is.

They sat so long because I realized how much of a job it was going to be to sand them, prime them, then paint them. Yuck. 

Enter Annie Sloan chalk paint and their promise that it requires ZERO priming.  I had held off so long because of the price tag, its kind of steep.  I also want them in a high gloss finish, not that chalky finish.  But the thought of spending so much time sanding them and the fact that with the wax I could polish it to a shine sold me.  I bit the bullet and bought a can of Pure White Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and a can of the clear wax.

Now I did wipe down both the bookcases with a vinegar and water mix to clean off any grossness that was one them, and then I went to town.  

*So a little word of advice, if you want to paint something dark brown like these bookcases order a can of Old White AND Pure White.  Yes its more expensive, but I ended up using 2 full cans of Pure White on these.   I learned the hard way the Pure White has no pigment and it doesn't cover like the other colors.  I wish I would have ordered the Old White as well because then I would have more than half of two cans left instead of nothing left. 

The painting was the easy part.  It goes on quick and dries faster than any paint I've used before.  The hard part was the wax.  I had no idea it would require so much buffing.  I did two coats of the wax and buffed every single inch of those bookcases like nobody's business.  I wanted shine and shine they do.  It doesn't even look like that chalky finish I was afraid of.  

Now since these obviously get a lot of wear and tear I wanted to make sure they were good and cured before I put anything back on them.  I let them sit like you see above for a good 3 weeks before I put anything back.  I'm really glad I did, because the finish has not scratched once yet. 

I'm still finishing up this space, but here are the pulls I ordered to replace the old ones

I love them and they look so great with the Pure White!  I've got a few more projects to finish up in the office and then I'll share.

Have a good weekend everyone!

painted corners

It only took me a few months but I finally finished the umbrella stand my Dad made me.  The last time I showed you all the stand it looked something like this

I painted it white but unable to make any decisions about what else to do, it sat unfinished in my hallway for a long time.  Last week I finally made a decision and wanted to get some brass corners to fancy it up. Of course the brass corners I had my heart set on were out of my price range.

 
So I improvised and painted my own brass corners.

It certainly has been getting a lot of use with all the rain we've had this Summer.  I'm happy my much needed umbrellas have a pretty home now.

furniture fretwork

I FINALLY finished my O'verlays project that has been in the works for far too long!

Danika and Cheryle sent me 3 of the Gigi panels to play with and immediately I knew where they would go.  This small wood chest in my kitchen needed a makeover, it needed the extra bling that O'verlays add.

I started by painting the Gigi panels navy blue (as seen in this post)

They take spray paint like a dream!

Once they were all dry and ready to attach I got to work. I used Command strips on each corner to attach them to the drawer fronts.

(Bonus they can be used again & painted again)

The size O'verlays I was working with are designed to fit the IKEA Malm dresser, so they were just a tad short for my chest.  But,

I came up with the best solution! 

Remember my Big, Fat Fail spray paint screw up?  (see that post here)   The spray paint chipped off in 2 seconds, but Rub n' Buff to the rescue.  It worked like a charm.

After letting the handles dry I attached them to the chest and without further ado, here is my new glamified O'verlays chest

They look black here, but I swear they are navy.

I decided to attach the handles vertically on either side of the panels.  I love how different they look being attached this way!

Where this chest is in my kitchen makes it close to impossible to get a good shot of it straight on

On top I have a white ceramic elephant that holds index cards (index cards are a staple in my house- they are perfect for shopping lists, notes, reminders and so much more), chalk for the chalkboard, a pen holder that I spiffed up with marbled paper, the white drawer unit holds receipts, and cookbooks.

 This chest holds more cookbooks, wedding presents, a few office supplies that I use alot, and other random serving pieces that don't fit in my armoire.

Again, sorry for the weird angle

These fretty frets from O'verlays are awesome! They made this plain little corner of my kitchen so much prettier to look at, that's for sure!

 
 

To see more ideas on what to do with these fretwork panels check out Danika's blog Gorgeous Shiny Things and the O'verlays blog

Tug on these rocks...updated

After I posted my DIY rock pull I realized I should have painted the button part gold.  It would have made it 100 times cooler IMO. 

So yesterday I went back and painted it gold- it looks much happier.

Its like an ah-ha moment!  LOVE the way it looks now.

I'm armed with gold paint and I know how to use it. Watch out house, I'm on the loose.

"pulled" from the files

Creative ideas get pulled from so many different sources.  The pros portfolios, print magazines, online magazines and blogs are an endless source of inspiration for me.  

While going through some of my favorite portfolios I stopped short when I came to this picture from Eileen Kathryn Boyd

I love those green ottomans and the ring pulls!

When the husband and I first moved into our apartment I picked up a pair of these Ikea ottomans to have some extra seating around.

That Plain Jane canvas is just itching for a makeover.

A light bulb went off! With a few yards of fabric and cabinet hardware, my Plain Jane Ikea ottomans can look like Eileen's fancy green ones.

Off I went to do a little online shopping at two of my favorite sources (Lewis & Sheron Textile and MyKnobs.com, which BTW aren't to the trade only, so everyone can buy at these sites- WINNING) and came up with a few fabric/ hardware combinations that would update those ottomans in no time

HL Belami in Raspberry and Cup Pull

 Leeds in Graphite and Ring Pull

 Sudan in Sage and Bar Pull

 Rave OD in Mandarin and Acrylic Bar Pull

Anatolia in Gunmetal and Bail Pull

Nepal in Citrus and and Brass Ring Pull



Now if I could just narrow it down to one choice for my ottomans.


So, what are your favorite ideas pulled from the inspiration files? 
Do share!

Marbles Lost

Back a few weeks I posted about marbled paper that had been on my radar (and many other bloggers and magazines as well)  I had full intentions to purchase some for a DIY box project.

Well we all know that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions", so you can pretty much guess what that means.  Yup, never got the marbled paper. 

In my defense the marbled paper that I fell in love with at Paper Source was $23 a sheet, and I just couldn't see spending that much on a project I had no clue if it would work or not.

I'll give you one guess what I did with the box? 

PAINT!

These boxes from Plantation had me at hello.  But for a $130 price tag, I knew I could whip up my own version with that closet full o' paint I have

And so I did.

After painting the whole box turquoise, a little of that magic Frog Tape and a ruler is all it took to mark out the lines for the white paint.

 

After I took these pictures I realized I should do something more eye appealing with the inside.  Maybe black paint like the Plantation ones.

Or maybe I'll just get another box and start the project all over again. 

I mean this box could always use a friend.

I've lost it, I know.

I got him to crack...

All I have to say is FINALLY!!  Finally, I found a pair of bookcases that

1. the fiancé would agree to
2. were in our tiny budget (we are planning a wedding here people, and bookcases just didn't seem more important than lets say, invitations) and
3. would fit the storage needs of his disgusting office. 
and
4. was real wood

I don't feel bad say 'disgusting office' because this is what it looks like

told you...disgusting

I'm not promising this amazing & clean office is going to happen overnight, but its a step in the right direction.

Now, I have to preface this by saying these bookcases were not my first choice.  But after seeing what was out there and realizing that I didn't have unlimited funds to get exactly what I wanted I had to figure out how to make them work.

Here is what we got

The seller told me they were from This End Up and bought them a million years ago when he first got married.  I decided to look online and found these exact same ones still in production today...selling for $549 each!!!  And guess what I paid for the pair?  A sweet $60- score!

OK, obviously they need a makeover.  The rounded tops bother me but might have to stay unless I figure out how to cut them off or sand them down.  I'm thinking paint and some new hardware might just do the trick for now. 

Here the combos I came up with:

And if these were going in my office here is what I would be painting them right this second

Oh right, these are not mine- they are for the fiancé

Like I said before this makeover isn't going to happen over night, I mean HELLO it took close to 3 years to get to this point. 

But we are on our way to getting a manly, organized space. Happy face here.

____________________

UPDATE: So many of you asked where I found my hardware choices , here are the 3 sites I used

Cool Knobs and Pulls
The Paris Apartment
Kitchen Cabinet Universe

Family room frosting

I think I have a craigslist addiction.  I could sit all day long and look at what fun things people are selling on craigslist.  Everything from a pack of new undies (ewww) to a car, vacation timeshare, or home.

I have a regular list of items I search for and one of the things on that list was Lucite.  I've been wanting one piece of Lucite for my family room or bedroom and since I have little to no space it didn't leave many options.

I was looking for chairs, benches & stools and used these as my inspiration.

(Amanda Nisbet)

(Amanda Nisbet)

(Designer Carrie Hayden)

(Marshall Watson)

(Traditional Home, Good Bones Great Pieces blogger home)

So after months of searching I found just the right stool!  Only issue was it was located on the Cape, and for any of you who know the area from Boston that can be an hour drive or a 4 hour drive, depending on traffic.

I finally convinced my fiance that I would die without this stool and he just HAD to take me down one Saturday morning to pick this baby up.  Two and a half hours later I had one unhappy fiance on my hands as we were pulling into the driveway to pick up my find.

We get into the house to see the stool and my fiance stopped dead in his tracks and said "we drove two and a half hours to pick up THAT!"

Needless to say he was extremely unimpressed, but I was grinning ear to ear!  I told him he just didn't understand good design or a good deal.

my new find

I have big plans for this baby!  With new upholstery and a little cleaning and it will be good as new.

As soon as I get new fabric picked out and it recovered I'll post photos- I can't promise it will be tomorrow but it will be coming soon, keep an eye out!