New Use For An Old Sideboard

My hubby's a piler, right?  So our shared side table in our living room was always overflowing with man things.  ermmm... icky!  He needed a space of his own.  I took a sideboard that I've had since my kids were little.  I set it on the hearth next to his man chair.  That's right.  The hearth.  No rule against this that I know of.  So why not?  Then I took out the top drawer, which adds extra shelf space.  It was unfinished inside so I stained it real fast.  BAM!  Instant man sized storage table! I tied a strip of burlap around one of the open doors to dress it up.  Cost - about 2 bucks for the burlap.

The drawer from the sideboard got repurposed in my foyer.  I turned it sideways... set it on top of a small wooden step stool that I had.  I hung a set of spurs from the door knob... and put a cd box inside the opening... to collect mail.  A galvanized bucket on top is perfect for keys.  The seat of the bench you see lifts up.  We put our shoes in it. Every bit of this was already laying around my house.  Cost - ZERO.  

IN PROGRESS - Kitchen Walls Facelift

I love, love, love the functionality of my kitchen.  It has ample counter tops and the perfect sink, stove & fridge trianglular workspace.  But... It's decor fights with the rustic feel of the cedar cabinetry and is completely outdated.  Time for a facelift.

KITCHEN WALL FACELIFT - tutorial

                                                                 BEFORE - wall 1:

AFTER - wall 1:

New door handles (new hinges to follow) 

Hand painted backsplash (still in progress)

BEFORE - wall 2

AFTER - wall 2:

You Are My Sunshine - framed mirror makeover

We have this old & outdated window framed mirror.  It has a life of it's own.  Every time I toss it out, it magically reappears in my bedroom. <insert snake eyes at my hubby here>  OK, OK, so he loves it.  And it's here to stay.  But if I have to look at it everyday, it's getting a makeover.

                                                                           BEFORE

AFTER

Sorry, there's no photo tutorial for this project.  Sometimes I get so into a project I forget to take snaps during the process.

The frame:

Take the mirror out and remove the bottom stand of the frame.  I distressed the frame by sanding the outer corners and natural wear areas.  Then I washed it with a watered down brown paint mixture.  I just eyeballed how much water to use.  My mixture was pretty thin.  Finally, I rubbed it down with a shop towel to give it an aged barn wood look.

The mirror:

All I did here is to hand letter and paint the design right onto the mirror.  I'm still not sure what's going to happen when it comes time to clean the mirror.  But for now, it is what it is.

Family Photo Tree

Over the years I've had our family photos displayed in different places.  They've been on shelves, sideboards, buffets, mantle, hearth, you name it.  Sweet but boring.  I've been wanting to do something different with them for a while now.

Today a branch, some hemp rope and a leafy spray came to the rescue.

                                                    FAMILY PHOTO TREE - tutorial

Words With Friends - wall hanging

My hubby and I play words with friends... a lot.  So when our anniversary came up this year, I thought a great way to say "I Love You" would be with a personalized scrabble-ish wall hanging.  He liked it so much that he put a hook for his cowboy hat right next to it.  Yeehaw you all -

                               WORDS WITH FRIENDS WALL HANGING - tutorial

                                              

Rustic Lamp Makeover

We got a set of lamps as a part of an estate sale package.  I love the height... love the large shades... but the I'm just not feeling the bases.  I decided to try a temporary fix by wrapping the bases in burlap.

                                            RUSTIC LAMP MAKEOVER - tutorial