Guest Room Makeover with White Pickle Glazed Furniture

When we moved out of our room and turned our son's former room into a master bedroom, we gained a guest room. I turned our old tiny bedroom into a guest room. When we lived in it, we could barely walk around the queen-sized bed with our two dressers in the room. Now, with a smaller bed I was able to create a pleasing and inviting arrangement.

 The metal bed was a freebie a neighbor was tossing out.

 

I had before and after photos of this dresser. But I seem to have misplaced them. Or deleted them. Oops. I painted them white, glazed with antique brown, and sealed with paste wax.

I hauled my sewing cabinet into the guest room from another room since it matched the other furniture and it's a great place to do a quick mend on something in there.

Proof that even an odd arrangement can work if the furniture is monochromatic.

The chair is part of a set that I purchased at a yard sale. I love white wicker and it's inviting in the guest room as a place to set a tote bag, a place to sit to put on shoes, or a place to read a book.

Just in case you're worried about where we booted my son to in order to gain a guest room...He seldom comes home from college, so he moved to a smaller den we have on the lower level, leaving an extra room on the main level. I haven't had a guest room since giving birth 21 years ago. A strange new phase of life, this empty nesting.

Creative Kitchen Sink Splash Guard

Have you ever considered how to prevent some of the water splashing around the kitchen sink. Outside of just skipping washing dishes, that is. 

When I repainted the kitchen, I had to repair some water damage above the sink, and I hate the puddle that forms when water runs to the side. So I came up with a pretty solution. 

This ceramic plate fits behind the faucet, and within the stainless steel groove of the sink. Now, when I get carried away with the soap and water, it runs back into the sink. It's functional and pretty. There was a rectangle one at the store that I really wanted but it was three times the price. This one will do just fine. Yes, indeed.

Piano Bench Made into Upholstered Footstool

Once upon a time, I bought this piano bench at a yard sale for $1. I quickly stapled some fabric over the existing seat and used it for a while at the piano. But, then I upgraded to a nicer bench and put this one in storage. Until recently. See how lumpy it looks? I fixed that. 

I wanted a footstool for when I sit in my bedroom in the wicker chair, but it had to be very small. Skinny enough to fit between the bed and the chair. So, I chopped about 6 inches off each leg on the bench, took took it apart, and took it outside to give it some spray paint.

 I painted a black base color and sprayed a crackle finish over the top.

Then, using some foam from an old couch cushion (the couch was tossed long ago, but I saved the foam), I added new padding. I also used a scrap of decorator fabric from my stash. Anyone who sews always ends up with a stash of pieces.

After I stapled the fabric around the seat, I drilled two holes in the board and poked a long needle up through, snagged a button, and poked back down through the hole. Disclaimer: it was easier said than done.

 That gave it this tufted look and ensured that the cushion foam would stay put better.

 The finished product is this little foot bench that has a storage place for books and magazines.

 And here it is with my chair.

 I love projects that cost nothing!

Happy Thanksgiving from T2T!

Happy Thanksgiving from Michelle at Trash to Treasure Decorating!

Vintage Time Card Holder: What Would You Do With It?

I picked this up at a local school auction. In fact, I bought two of them. So, now I'm looking for creative ideas on wha

Vintage Window Addiction - One More

I have at least one, sometimes more, vintage windows in every room of my house. I guess I'm an addict. But when I finished the bedroom makeover and needed something over the bed, this one just seemed right there.

I can't wait to finish the quilt that matches the room!

What Would You Do With This Blah Corner of the Bedroom?

When I did my bedroom makeover, there was this corner that I just didn't know what to do with. Yes. I am a writer and just ended that sentence with a preposition. I am waiting for the grammar police to come take me away.

The TV has to stay here. Maybe someday, we will afford a wall-mounted flat screen. Maybe some generous sponsor will send me a TV for review. Hah. But in the meantime, my husband likes having a TV here. So, I was trying to figure out what to do with this blah corner. 

 I had these mirrors from our old bedroom and had painted the frames in sort of a white pickled look. I never really liked the frames that way, but liked having mirrors. 

 I decided to pop out the mirrors and give them an update.

 That's the before picture above. I painted them with the wall color, and then antiqued them with brown glaze. I coated them with poly when finished.

 I tried to get a good close-up shot of the finish.

 It's a start. Now I have mirrors on the wall, at least. 

But now what? How can I make this corner a lot more interesting? It's still so boring! What would you do?

Transformation Tuesday - Desk Accessories Complete Makeover

When I did my desk makeover, I needed something for the wall. In my trash to treasure stash, I had some vintage windows that I had made into chalkboards. I decided one of those would be just the thing. So this blah space...

...became this.

 I accessorized the desk with some things I had around the house.

 This upcycled pencil container was a door prize from a recent speaking engagement. They had flowers in it when the coordinators graciously sent it home with me. I have repurposed the upcycled can. Grin.

 Next to be fixed up is that lamp shade. I got it at a yard sale with the lamp, and it badly needs help. 

 This is so much more attractive than what I used to have in the living room for a work area. Sort of blends in with the furniture now. I have owned the vintage chair for many years, and I love how it fits with the rest of the vignette. 

Garland Turned Wreath - Quick Makeover Project

A friend gave me this garland for my birthday with the permission to upcycle it in whatever way I deemed best. I loved it just as it was, but didn't have the right place for it.

But what I really did need was something to decorated these old skis. I had removed the sorry pine bough that was on it before because it was getting shabby.

 I twisted the garland into the shape of a circle. Then I used floral wire to hold it in place.

 Then, I hung it on the skis.

 A quick and easy makeover!

Retro Desk Transformation - Before and After

Prior to giving this desk a makeover, I planned to throw it away and replace it with something newer. After all, it didn't work for a computer at all, and it was old and SO beat up from belonging in my son's room during his growing up years. I also thought about listing it on Craigslist to give it away, but then when I didn't have the immediate funds to purchase a replacement, I considered a different plan. It's nice and solid, which leaned in favor of keeping it.

Here is what it looked like when I hauled it into the workroom:

 I love the size of the drawers and the pull-out work boards on the sides, but it was in awful shape. My parents purchased the desk years ago from a prison auction, and it had an intricate system for locking the drawers. I removed all of that hardware. 

 My son built a lot of models at this desk. Thus, the paint all over the top.

I found a desk that totally inspired me on Pinterest, and used it as my inspiration. I had enough leftover paints on hand to complete the project, meaning it cost me nothing!

Here is the inspiration desk from Miss Mustard Seed. 

The top of my desk was a fake wood grain Formica, so I couldn't strip the wood. But I came up with a faux finish that worked for me. So, without further ado, here is my finished desk and the process I used.

 I cut out the framework around the drawers on the right side, and then installed a board in the bottom so that I had a place for the tower. Then, I primed everything with BIN 123 primer that works on glossy surfaces.

 I also took the saw to the middle drawer and cut away all but a little frame. This way, I had a place for the keyboard. My husband helped with doing the long cut on the table saw, and then I finished it with a hand saw on each side.

 When it was all finished, I knew the wall needed something. You'll see what I did on a future blog post.

 Seems like I always finish projects late at night, when picture-taking is bad and grainy. 

 After painting the bluish parts and the off-white parts, I antiqued everything with glaze, and then used some sandpaper to rough up the corners on purpose.

 The top is a faux finish that has fake wood grain. I gave it all several coats of poly after the glaze finish.

 Random photo-bomb from the vacuum cleaner. At least you know I clean. Sometimes.

 I LOVE the pull-out sides. 

One final close-up of the finish. I spray-painted the existing hardware with an oil rubbed bronze finish. Again, it was the budget-friendly option, since I had the paint already. Recognize the blue color on the desk? I mixed leftover paint from my bedroom makeover with a lighter color to get this shade.