Wallpapered hutch reveal.

If you follow me on Instagram then you know the saga of this hutch & might be a little tired of it (sorry). I bought it, loved it... lived with it wood for a while.

But deep down I had a HUGE desire to paint it. I just wanted it to be right & thought about it for a LONG time. I finally chose Armington Grey by Sherwin Williams mixed in with BB Frosch Chalk Paint Powder. 

Painting the outside was a breeze and took barely 2 coats for excellent coverage. The inside was a little more work. I knew I wanted to do a paper on the inside but didn't want to spend a zillion dollars for the back of a hutch, so I sourced this fabulous wrapping paper from Rifle Paper Co. for the back. I used a matte mod podge & it turned out great! The small sheets were easy to work with, and this pattern is forgiving so the seams aren't overly visible.

Here is what it looked like before, pretty, but plain.

And after

I just love how it looks in our front room. It has so much character!

I am mildly in love the paper on the back. I have plans to use some other Rifle Paper Co. prints in some other spaces in our home as well. 

This is what it looked like with just the base grey coat before I sealed it with white wax from Miss Mustard Seed over the top which totally changed the colors and gave it a totally unique finish.

The inside isn't filled with anything precious. Just a collection of yardsale dishes, old books, and some vintage finds.

The whale bookends you can order here. 

I saw them when I did an internship at a design firm this spring, and just HAD to have my own. I absolutely love them! 

This hutch was a labor of love, but I am SO thrilled with how it turned out!

52 comments

DIY: Natural Weathered Wood Stain

On our dining nook reveal post I mentioned that I  made a natural wood stain to age the top of the table. I thought I would share the deets today &my honest opinion on the process with the results. 

I got the idea from my friend who did this to her farmhouse console that we built for her. I was so intrigued I had to do it on something of my own. What is a better guinea pig than a free table?

So here is the mix after it has set. Basically I  mixed 1 cup vinegar and a couple pieces of steel wool in a jar. You have to let it set for 24 hours before you can use it. The longer you let it set the darker your wood will get. 

This mix does this weird thing to the wood, it oxidizes and changes the feel COMPLETELY into reclaimed barn wood feel.

It's a little crazy. 

Before I added Polycrylic on top my table was a really pretty light grey, the poly darkened the finish which I was a little bummed about but its totally necessary for a dining table situation to seal the wood. 

I tried it on a new piece of plywood & the results were iffy so I think it's a little unpredictable but totally cool when it does work.

Here is one last shot of the finish on our table. I kinda like that it didn't take to the whole top making it unique and much more vintage looking than it actually is.

12 comments

Gallery wall + DIY industrial coffee table.

The formal living room at our house is the poor neglected room while the other spaces evolve. I've finally been giving it a little attention. There are big plans on the horizon, like board and batten, built ins, new window treatments, and a sofa. 

Until those magical mystical things happen I didn't want it to be an eye sore since it is what people see when they walk into my house. yaknowwhatimean? 

I started this gallery wall a few months ago and it has been evolving ever since. Ya know, I walk by something in another room, grab it, and relocate it because clearly it was meant to live on this wall instead. It's really just a bunch of things I had hastily put together & all my other walls might be bare now but... I'll just make some more stuff for them, right?
 Some things I made, some things I bought, and filled in the rest with pictures of cute kids and that darling husband of mine. 

Not too shabby though.

The coffee table started off as just a base that I found on a local yardsale page. It had a weird silvery finish. So I picked up some Rustoleum Oil-Rubbed-Bronze spray paint and gave it a little makeover.

My husband whipped up the top for it out of some pine boards from Lowes, and it is stained Dark Walnut by Minwax. 

The chairs I picked up from Downeast Home, which is a total secret weapon for locals. They sell discounted name brand furniture. These chairs happen to be Pottery Barn originally, but I picked them up for a much smaller price tag from Downeast Home.

The rug is actually from Hobby Lobby. Insane huh?

The pretty linen pillows are from Ikea.

Here is the coffee table before. 

And after

What do you think? 

Linked to Jennifer Rizzo 

20 comments

The story of a toy box.

I recently redid a toy box that has been around since my birth or before I'm pretty sure. It was my toy box when I was a kid, and I have many fond memories of my brothers putting me inside and sitting on the top so I couldn't get out. 

The life of the only girl and 3 brothers. 

Enchanting I know. 

It's gone through many face lifts throughout the years, at one point, during the height of the decoupaging rage of the 90's my Mom and I painted it white, and decoupaged some rose tissue paper on it. Anddd it looked a little like this

 What a quality job I know, this might also be from my mom's "shabby chic" + chartreuse phase she went through for a while, but promptly gave up because... well I'm glad she's over that. 

Inspired by all the fabulous ideas on Pinterest a couple months ago I gave it a makeover. 

Now it fits perfectly with my taste + in  my house. 

& it's purpose is to stash my kids toys in our family rooming. 

That is the circle of life come to fruition. 

I love it. 

1 comments

Tufted ottoman before & after

I've  been wanting to tuft something for a long time. Isn't that everyone's desire? I know you all walk around thinking that every day... you could hash tag that DIY'er problems. 

Anyways I ran across this coffee table that had pretty legs andddd that was about the extent of the good about it. Oh, it wasn't in pieces... so I guess it had 2 positive attributes but good bones will get you everywhere in life. 

I'll just go ahead and spoil it, here is the after

And here is the sad before

All it took was a couple inches of foam

Upholstery buttons

Upholstery thread

Home decor fabric

A drill

And a mathematician husband

I spent a couple extra bucks having a local upholstery shop make the buttons for me so they would be sturdy and done well. Totally worth it. 

You can buy your own button cover maker machine and do them yourself.... but

 I say spend the few bucks extra and save yourself the headache and time.

Doesn't even look like the same table right? I love how it turned out. Bad news is I want to tuft all the things now. 

I might need to look into DIY'er therapy. 

Linked to Jennifer Rizzo

6 comments

French Empire Ironstone Dresser & Hemp Oil.

I have another great transformation for ya'll today.

Another great use of Miss Mustard Seed's line of milk paint. For this piece I tried out Ironstone which is a pretty bright white.

Here is the before:

This piece turned out AMAZING. Probably the first true ANTIQUE I've ever worked on. The inside was signed by the cabinet maker, when I found it I pretty much squealed with excitement.

They just don't make furniture like this anymore.

I used Miss Mustard Seed Hemp Oil to revitalize the wood drawers. I was amazed at how well it worked to bring the decorative veneer back to life, and how it healed minor scratches on the finish.

The knobs are from a favorite source, Hobby Lobby.

4 comments

Dresser redo with Milk Paint.

I finally got my hands on some really pretty furniture worthy of trying out Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint on. 

I had been aching to try it because her colors are to die for &chippy paint on anything you can count me in! 

The color is French Enamel. It's a really pretty shade of blue.

Here is what the dresser looked like before.

My husband found it somewhere outside of Flagstaff at a random yardsale. He found the other one at the same time, I have BIG plans for that other pretty little dresser.

This dresser didn't chip that much, the wood was so thirsty it just soaked it right up, but I did get a little chippiness.

I was so excited when it started bubbling. Like a kid on Christmas. 

I polished up the brass hardware. I really love the blue & gold together.

I really love this piece. My husband says it might be the best piece I have ever refinished (thanks babe). Though, with how many pieces I've done... I'm not quite sure that's a compliment.

But I'll take it.

Unfortunately, I don't have a home for this one, so it's going to be for sale. 

Kind of breaks my heart a little.

4 comments

Ikea Hack: Children's Table.

I had bought this Ikea children's table from Goodwill a while ago. It looked like this before. 

Boring & zilch amounts of character. Plus mine was a tad more beat up.

So I turned it into this.

I spray painted the table Heirloom White, and the chairs Coral Isle by Krylon.

Then I painted the top of it with chalkboard paint for my artistic toddler. 

I like chalkboard a lot for kids because they can draw to their hearts content & when I have my back turned and she decides to take her art to the wall [of course, I would never leave her unattended like while I craft, sew, or am in the garage riiiiiiiiiight.] But anyways, if something like that would happen then I can just wipe it off with a rag instead of scrubbing. Life saver I'm tellin ya, oh &I don't have to buy coloring books.

Plus it's a lot cuter than scribbled on paper.

Anyways, what do ya think? I really love how it turned out. 

271 comments