Old to You. New to Me.

M and I (ok fine, it's been mainly me) have had a plan of making a farmhouse table for a while. The chairs from our old table were oversized, and I have endured sitting on them while eating meals, with my feet not being able to touch the floor, for 7 years now. (And I am pretty average height, just shy of 5'4") I was getting tired of the whole legs falling asleep thing but didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for new ones. Well, to be honest, I wanted to pay the least possible for chairs that would actually be sturdy enough to someone without collapsing.

SO.....I began my search.

I looked on Craigslist, yard sales, and local thrift stores. It actually took a lot longer than I thought. And I wasn't even very picky about the chairs since I was going for the whole not matching thing anyway. FINALLY, I found 2 matching chairs (I was aiming for 5 total, since we are going to make a bench for the other side) at a thrift store for $10 each! And I LOVE the shape of the back. So, I repainted, distressed and covered the chair cushions (which I IMMEDIATELY scotch-guarded as well. I failed to do this last time which was a BAD idea with two toddler boys and all their mess. Needless to say, I didn't want to ruin these).

I forgot to take a BEFORE picture, but here is the final product!

So, 2 down, only

Then, my mom called me one day and said she found 3 more chairs. One that looks almost identical to the one above for $7 and 2 (pictured below) for $9 each. Yes please!

Here is the before of the chairs. Again, very sturdy but not exactly the look I was going for.

And here is the AFTER picture. The green is actually the same green as the above chair, the yellow nighttime lighting just makes it look a little weird.

This style may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I love the look and it was done for MUCH cheaper than buying them new or even used ones in great condition.

I have yet to paint the 5th chair, but I'll post a picture as soon as I do.

By the way, I used the same process of distressing as I did for the dresser in our living room (including the wax coat). It can be found HERE if you are interested.

{ SIDE NOTE: All of these projects have not been completed over the last couple of weeks. Rather, these are projects were completed as early as the beginning of the summer. Just FYI }

dresser update

I mentioned in my first post about my dresser re-do, that I did not apply a top coat of any sort. While I acted fine about it, I was worried that something might mess up all of my hard work (ahem....by "something" I MIGHT mean "someONE"....someone with 2 grubby little hands....oh wait, I have 2 of those someONEs....there's no MIGHT about it.....it WILL get messed up).

SO, my husband's cousin (who is VERY talented in the arts/crafts department) suggested I use some Johnson's Paste Wax. It is located on the Lowe's household cleaner aisle for a whopping $5.00! I was a little hesitant to use it at first not because I didn't trust family, but I wasn't sure if my ability was up to par. It took no skill, a little time and some elbow grease, and I LOVE the results! Thanks Dianne! My dresser now has a distressed look with a professional(ish) finish....and some built-in resistance to milk, banana, and peanut-buttered fingers which will lovingly touch it daily. Double duty!

And enough about this stinkin' dresser. My rambunctious boys are what fill my day. They are a mess, but they are MY mess and I wouldn't trade them for any other kids in the world (well, unless you have one of the those perfectly obedient, quiet ones who never makes a mess....then, I might reconsider. I kid. I kid.)

I told him to say cheese for the camera to which he replied, "Cheese!....Cheese!....Cheese? Mama, I have cheese?" I swear all that boy thinks about it food!

My baby...who is 16 months old now! Such a sweet boy.

Brothers having fun! I'm so glad they have each other. It's been a rough year and half since they are so close in age, but seeing them play and enjoy each other makes it all worth it!

Now, lunchtime and then heading outdoors on this beautiful day! You should do the same!

Before and After

I have had this chest of drawers done for about a month now and keep meaning to post my before-and-after photos. I have been wanting an old chest of drawers for the small wall we have between the staircase and the kitchen. I didn't want to pay much for it since I wanted to try my hand at distressing it. So....I was walking around goodwill and found this baby for $30. I called mike and had him measure the wall and I pulled out my handy-dandy, oh so precise, measuring tool...my thumb. Yes, that's right. My sister told me that from the knuckle to the end of her thumb measured approximately one inch, so I figured mine must be the same. And, I have to tell you, it a pretty good estimate! We only had a few inches to spare and I LOVE how it turned out!

BEFORE:

One of my best friends, Whit (her blog can be found here) and her husband re-did a buffet about a year ago and used an electric sander. I decided to give it a try since I had never used one. I borrowed one from a friend, and I don't think I will EVER do a project without one again. It was SUPER easy and FAST! I may even be tempted to ask for one for my birthday this year!

AFTER:

How I did it: First I sanded the chest and all the drawers with an electric sander. There wasn't much of a top coat, so the sanding didn't take very long. Then I used a damp rag and wiped off the mess that the sander made. I let that dry then applied one coat of paint-I wasn't too worried about covering it completely since I was going to sand it down a little bit anyway. Once I finished painting the drawers, the chest was dry. So, I got out the sander and used some fine grit sand paper to smooth out the paint as well as taking a little off to expose some of the wood underneath. I did this to all pieces and then wiped them off with a damp rag again. Then I used some antiquing glaze (can be found at Lowe's or Home Depot; I have also heard to can use clear glaze mixed with stain as a substitute) and applied it all over one section of furniture, letting it sit a minute or two. Then, I used a damp rag again and wiped off the excess glaze. The glaze settled in the sanded area, giving it that worn, dirty look. You could also use some sort of top coat at this point, but I chose not to.

Don't be afraid to try it!