UPDATING A STAIRWAY ON A BUDGET WITH ADDING A RUNNER

I have been wanting to do something to this ugly stairway leading to my basement for over a year.  We are renovating this house and moving our way through the house but could no longer wait till to was time for the mudroom/basement area....something had to happen NOW!

YUCK!

I really didn't even do anything!  Ava spent her snow day helping her mama!  She cleaned, primed and did 2 coats of the color she picked to go with the runner that I found on CL.  Honestly, this is a pretty boring job and it probably would have taken me 3 days to complete.  She is awesome at following through on a task. LOVE HER!

Marc using the pneumatic staple gun.  This runner is THICK and we had JUST enough of it.  We actually pieced 2 runners together.  I will not point out the seam:)

Not going into BHG magazine but MUCH BETTER than before!  Now I am not so embarrassed when these nice, pretty and fancy customers come over to see my pieces:)

THE "DO OVER" DESK

This is the original picture of this desk.  Great waterfall 50's style that had great lines but in serious need of TLC.

A few weeks ago I refinished this desk in a darker shade of blue with a black glaze.  The drawers were in excellent condition and I was able to easily sand the finish off and simple stain them.  I did the same to the top, but was never really crazy about the finish from the beginning because of the fact that it was a thinner veneer and just didn't look as GREAT as I would like it to.

I have been very busy lately with custom projects and really didn't have time to mess around with this desk but every time I walked by it, I just wanted to grab it and throw it back in my sanding booth!  One day, in the middle of 100 other projects, I did.

I decided to go with the original plan I had of adding numbers to the drawers.  I also wanted a lighter color on the box. I liked the wood drawers but like I mentioned before, not the top...just didn't look right.  After sanding, priming, sanding spraying AGAIN, I really liked the color.  But now I did NOT like the drawer stain color with the box. UGH!

I mixed some of the base color (about 30% of the light grey I sprayed) with water (70%ish) and did a whitewash over the top. 

BOOOORRRING!!!!!

I had already planned on adding the numbers to the drawers but last minute decided to add the pretty orangy/red hardware.  Hobby Lobby has great hardware if you are looking for something a little "funky:

To do the number I printed them out onto paper in the font and size I wanted.

I did use a ruler a little bit to help keep numbers level.

Pushing REALLY hard with a pen, I traced the numbers so that they would be lightly imprinted onto the drawer fronts.  

After that I grabbed a little black acrylic and the best craft brush I could find and started filling in the outline.  I actually had to stop at the beginning of number one once I realized I needed more than just a big cup of coffee in me!  I was shaky and this isn't an easy fix up project.

WHAT WE LIKE TO CALL "THE STICKER DRESSER"

My husband cracked up when I hauled this baby home.  Couldn't believe I was going to sit and peel off all the stickers.  I told him I wasn't...Ava was:)  She is my dedicated helper and was quick to jump on the job.  Armed with a razor blade (don't worry, I trust her abilities more than my own sometimes:) and a bottle of "go be gone", she went to work!


She is super good at following through and finishing a task.  It would have taken me 3 days because I would have been sidetracked 100 times.

Now that's better!  Love the simple but unique detail and the beautiful finish this piece has.  I always hold onto my hardware and these ones came in handy.  Fits the style of the dresser perfectly!

MCM PIECE...BEAUTIFUL IN HIGH GLOSS WHITE

Here is another one of those great pieces that sat for so long in my inventory of furniture just waiting to be loved.  I always liked the unique detail on the top drawers along with the simple lines of the rest of the dresser and MC tapered legs.

Still not sure what the customer wants to do for hardware on top 3 drawers, which do require it, but pretty enough to be able to take pictures even without them on yet.

I suppose looking at the before picture you can see why it look so long to get snatched up!  Pretty sad.  But solid wood and structurally, in excellent condition.

I am loving the high gloss white that was chosen for this guy...super clean and simple!

DIY WOODEN AMERICAN FLAG

My husband recently moved into a new office at work and asked me to help decorate.  I wanted to run to Marshalls or TJ Maxx,  buy a bunch of pieces and call it good, as I don't really have time to do fun "crafty" things and make pieces like I used to. But he didn't want to fill it with a bunch of random items that meant nothing to him.  I totally understood.

Because he always liked the wooden flag that I had made for Jack's room over 10 years ago, he asked if I would make one for his office.  I had to dig back into my mental DIY files and try to remember what I did.

This was a total Pottery Barn knock off project.  I couldn't pay the over $200 price tag back then, so decided to make one myself:)

After a trip to Lowe's, Marc made a frame for the panel (flag front) to attach to and nailed it together with my brad nailer.

I didn't prime the board because I was going to distress it and didn't mind the coverage not being too thick.  Using the girls craft paints, I painted the entire base white because that was going to be my background color.  I did 2 coats, making sure to get the sides.

The most difficult part was figuring out how to get the strips equal in width.  Still don't know how I figured it out.

Using Jack's flag as a reference, I knew that I needed 7 red and 6 white which I am sure I copiedfrom the original PB catalog years ago.

After making VERY LIGHT pencil marks using a yardstick, I taped off the white stripes and where the 50 stars where going (which I eyeballed) and filled in the red stripes.

After it dried I taped off the area for the blue.  I had a few cups of coffee that morning and didn't trust my unsteady hand:)

I forgot to take a picture of the stamp part but found a small "star" stamp at Joann's.  Again, following what I did on Jack's flag, added the stamps.  I did a much better job on stamp placement with my first flag but it wasn't too bad and I was not about to go back and redo it.  Once you put that stamp down, your committed!

I then distressed and did a light glaze.

Here is the picture of the flag for Marc's office.  You like?

He also hung up a starburst mirror that I made.  I tried to charge him for it, but he would pay me:)

Yeah, ummm, I had NOTHING to do with this wall!

TURNING A DRESSER INTO A BATHROOM VANITY

I have done 6 pieces in the past few months where the customer is turning it into a bathroom vanity.  The only problem is that these were all bathroom renovations and as we all know...renovations can be 

SLOOOWWW.  One of my customers finally finished up her bathroom and sent me some pictures.  Isn't it gorgeous!!

I am loving all the finishes she choose and in LOVE with the light colored granite.  Almost looks like marble but not as porous.  I am so doing this granite when I reno my kitchen.

The "before" picture.  Can't believe how this guy transformed into something so beautiful!

TWIN MC TALL DRESSER UPDATES

It's rare to find two matching pieces like this, not to mention so unique.  I knew that would be perfect flanking a window or fireplace...and they sure do!

That's a LOT O DRAWERS!  I am grateful the dressers came apart because it made it easier for me to move by myself.

Notice the nice line in the middle of each drawer...all 14 of them? They all needed to be hand filled with the primer and then again with the pigmented top coat.  I do this before the first coat and my sprayer takes care of the last 3-4 coats.

Dab in...

Wipe smooth!

They turned out gorgeous and the new chrome hardware the customer picked out really updated this set

They look so awesome in her beautiful bedroom flanking the window!