Lisa’s (from Design it with Consignment) Furniture Makeover

I almost always do what I say I’m going to do. Sometimes it may seem like I’m really not going to do that thing that I said, but chances are it’s still lingering in the back of my mind and I really intend to do it. Is that a rambly enough intro for you? Basically, what I’m trying to say is: I made a mistake. I promised a sweet and fabulous reader that I would post a furniture makeover that she did and then for a really long time I didn’t do it. I was in New York and then Peter and I got super swept up in all the craziness of wedding planning, and finally I’ve had a moment to catch up and get cracking on all of those things lingering in the back of my head. Lisa’s great makeover is one of them.

To give you a little background, Lisa owns a fabulous consignment store here in Austin, Texas called Design it with Consignment. Lisa is lucky to have found something that she truly loves to do. Again, I’m sorry it took me so long to post this, Lisa! I promise the rest of you that I will try to do things I say I’m going to do in a much more timely manner.

I’ll let Lisa take it from here!

Here are the before and after pics of the dressers we rehabbed. They were structurally in great condition, but the finish was covered in nicotine stains (Ewww…) and there was a small damaged area on top of one dresser.

The before photo of the chest of drawers shows one drawer with primer, and one handle painted brushed nickel.

We prepped the dresser by scrubbing it with a TSP (trisodium phosphate) to remove the oil from the nicotine stains, and lightly sanded the dresser. After wiping down with a tack cloth (to remove sanding residue), we primed the dressers before we began the 5 coat paint treatment. (2 coats of base coat and 3 of the metallic topcoat for depth)

We couldn’t agree on a color combination that would allow for a variety of bedding colors and compliment brushed nickel hardware, so we found a 2-step paint treatment from Lowe’s that gave a wonderful pearlescent/ soft metallic finish. We then painted the hardware glossy black lacquer.

I think it looks great—and so did our customers, the dresser sold the 1st weekend they were placed on the floor!!!

Hutch: Before and After

Over a year ago, Peter and I bought a hutch at Salvation Army and refinished it, but for some reason, we never blogged about it and it’s been floating around in my head ever since. This happened so long ago that I actually had to dig my old computer out of a closet to get the pictures to write this post, but we figured if we were going to write about it, then we ought to do it justice. Right? Right! Maybe this will refresh your memory.

Okay, so around the time that Peter and I found the hutch, our kitchen/dining area was looking a little pathetic. Since we’re taking a trip down memory lane, I’ll show you our bare and messy mess. (Yes, messy mess is a technical term–in case you were wondering.)

Pretty bleak, huh? If you’re too depressed to go, I understand, but for those of you who can muscle through, look at the huge blank wall and giant stack of stuff on the desk against it. Peter and I saw the hutch and decided that we needed to hide some of our clutter.

The best part about this project is that we were so ridiculously clueless about refinishing furniture. (Not that we’re oh-so-knowledgeable now, but I do feel like we have learned a thing or two.) The buffet had a really glossy coat over it so we knew that we needed to sand it down, but considering that we were just painting over it, we did get a little over zealous with the sanding.

We thought that in order to paint something properly, we would have to strip the old paint entirely. Please don’t laugh at us. We really were clueless. After sanding, we primed the hutch with Kilz and painted the whole thing brown. I tried to clean the hardware. I think this mixture was vinegar, salt, and flour, but even after soaking in this ick, the hardware still looked gross so we spray painted it silver.

The insides of the drawers were also gross.

So we lined them with a shelf liner that we found at Target.

Finally, we replaced some of the drawer tracks, so that the drawers would function.

Here’s the after.

Mirror to Chalkboard

A couple months ago I found the perfect ornate mirror at a thrift store. I had been looking for one for a long time, knowing that I wanted to turn to use the frame with a chalkboard and finally this one showed up in my path. It lived untouched on our fainting sofa until Saturday, the day before out engagement photos, when Peter and I decided we wanted it to be a prop. Of course, I swore I had a before picture and of course I don’t. Arghhh.  I’m going to blame the fact that we were running around like crazy people.

The picture of the back of the mirror will show you the original color.

I removed the red ribbon and the screws from the back of the mirror. If you want to turn the mirror into a chalkboard then you can fit a piece of wood to the frame or you can just use the cardboard. I opted for the latter. Spray the cardboard and the frame with primer.

Follow up with the color that you chose for the mirror and chalkboard paint for the cardboard. The main reason that it took us so long to get around to this project was that we were’t sure what color we wanted the frame. We should’ve just done it since we can always repaint, but we were back and forth between a statement color, silver, trying to silver leaf, or white. I think this is a great choice for us for now.

Here’s the final product.

And here it is in action.

These are the sneak peak from our fabulous photographer Mary Sledd. If you’re in the Austin area and looking for a photographer I definitely recommend her. When I get a bit more time I’ll write more of a review.

What projects have you been putting off for awhile? Is there anything that you think would really motivate you to move forward with them?

Bathroom Makeover: Fixture Update

All of the light fixtures in our house have a copper patina finish. It’s interesting, because they actually get uglier when you dust them. The finish is unpleasant in every room in the house, but paired with the silver faucets and accessories in the bathroom it was downright unsightly. I forgot to take a before photo until I was already removing the fixture from the wall, so please forgive the bad picture.

We spent a few days browsing light fixtures and realized that we would spend about $100 to get the same look in a different finish, so we did what any sensible person would do and spray painted it.

After shutting off the power and disconnecting the wires, we were left with this.

We carefully taped off the part of the fixture that house the light bulbs.

After just one coat of Kilz and a few light coats of  spray paint, the fixture was looking a hundred times better.

I have to be honest: I love it. It really goes with the light and airy vibe that we’re hoping to achieve in our new space. Plus, the picture shows what else we’ve been doing for the past two days. Things are starting to come together beautifully.

I think the best part of this project is that I was playing electrician/painter while Peter was cooking for a party. I guess we’re not the most traditional couple. He was excited because he got to try new things in the kitchen and I was excited because I got to learn how to connect all the wires. Win-Win.

So, what do you think? I was a little apprehensive about using something flammable to paint a light fixture, but after looking into it more and testing the temperature of the fixture when it’s warm, it should be fine.

Bathroom Makeover: Chapter Four: How to Caulk a Bathroom

After Peter finished removing the grout and caulk that sealed our bathtub, we were stuck with the question of which one to use. We knew that you weren’t supposed to mix grout and caulk but which one do you use for a bathtub seal? After a lot of googling I learned that the correct answer is caulk. Here’s why: The foundation of a house will inevitably shift over time. Grout is such a hard substance that if you have used grout to connect seams (think bathtub to wall or one tile wall to another) it will crack when there is any shifting in your foundation. Since caulk had a bit more give, it can hold up better to any minor shifting. If you own a used house/condo/apartment and the previous owner used grout to fill these parts, you need to beware that if/when the grout cracks mold, mildew, and other types of ick are likely to accumulate in those wet crevices. Make sense?

Even after we knew that we would need to caulk things we still had some decisions to make. Many caulks swear that they will not mildew. After researching this on google and talking to my dad (have I mentioned that he’s the handiest person I know?) I learned that a lot of the brands that promise not to mildew still do it anyway. Apparently a lot of handy people do not consider it to be a permanent solution. You’re supposed to go into it knowing that it will eventually get gross again and at that time you’ll have to rip it out and start over.

My dad swears by using tape to get sooth edges. So this was the technique that we used. Start with a clean, dry surface. Use tape to expose only the surface that you want to be covered in caulk.

We used relatively inexpensive caulk that came out of a tube rather than buying a caulk gun. This may seem like common knowledge but if you choose to use a tube, start by cutting a smaller hole and then make it larger as need be. Squeeze a steady stream of caulk into the hole and then use a wet finger to smooth out the top. Make sure not to put an excessive amount, otherwise when you remove the tape you will have a raised caulk line.

Remove the tape while the caulk is still wet.

Let the caulk dry per the directions on the back on the container. Then you’re done. As tempting as they may seem, you really don’t need any of the special gadgets. It’s actually a lot easier than I thought and my dad’s trick of using tape left us with a really professional-looking line.

Here’s a before photo to remind you of the progress.

Have you ever caulked a bathroom? If so, feel free to add the tricks that worked for you.