I'm Crafty - Occasionally!

I'd had this particular project in mind for months at least, but knew I probably wouldn't have a chance to do it until my break between semesters. I am fitting it in with a lot of other cleaning and such now, but I was so excited that I had to do it.

What did I do? I took this:

And turned it into this:

I found the coffee table with my MIL at a tag sale right before hubby and I got married, it cost all of $4.00. We were extremely low on furniture at the time, so we picked it up and took it with us to our first apartment, where it was used as a TV stand. In the process of moving to military home #2, we acquired an actual TV stand, and we had another (slightly nicer) coffee table already. I had seen this idea somewhere, either on Pinterest or a home decor blog, so I investigated it and kept it in mind. After our stuff got here in late October, I decided I should definitely attempt the project - but I didn't have any time to do it until now, before school starts back up again. I'm only going to briefly go over the steps - if you want a more in-depth how-to, I highly recommend the blog I ended up referencing: this post on Vintage Junky.

Detail shot of the reason for the bargain price

I started with what you saw above, out in the backyard since I spray-painted the table. Luckily, yesterday afternoon was rather warm for January, so it was a great time to be out in the backyard.

I used a spray paint color called "Oil Rubbed Bronze" because I read Young House Love and Sherry loves that particular paint. If it's good enough for YHL, works for me! In person, and dry, it reads as a chocolate-y brown with a metallic shimmer, for me at least.

After giving the table the night to dry outside, I completed the rest of the work this morning, inside, where I could hear the TV while I worked. It's also chillier today, so the timing worked out great for me. In the photo above, I put the table on top of some foam so I could cut it down to size. I wasn't sure if the utility knife I had would work, but it wasn't too bad at all. I made sure to keep the knife away from the floor, aided by the drop cloth and trash bags underneath.

After cutting the foam, I sprayed it and the table with spray adhesive, and attached it to the top of the table, which you see above. The next step was to lay the table on top of the batting and cut the batting to size, allowing some extra to fold around the edges of the table.

At this point, I also put some extra batting along the sides before folding the main layer over that. The author of my instructions on Vintage Junky had done that, so I figured it couldn't hurt. I used a staple gun to attach both the extra batting to the sides and to fasten the main layer onto the bottom edge of the table top.

After I trimmed away the extra batting, it was fabric time! I'd definitely spent some time really trying what to think would work best, and even after I chose this fabric I was second guessing myself. At the end of the day, I really like the effect and how it works. The main thing I've changed is that I'm keeping the bench in the main living area instead of the guestroom - more seating and the colors actually go better!

Anyway, back to the task at hand. Using a striped fabric, I had to make sure to line it up straight. I just sort of tried my best and then double checked after I'd stapled once in the center of each side. Luckily it worked out and it doesn't look askew or anything like that! I more or less repeated the process of stapling the fabric as I had done the batting, trying to keep it pulled taut. I fiddled with the corners a bit as Vintage Junky had, and while they're not perfect, they're not awful either.

After I cut away the excess fabric, I used a glue gun to attach this trim. I'm really glad I did, because otherwise there would be jagged fabric edges all over the place and that would not be ideal.

Although there are small imperfections here and there, I really really love how it turned out. I feel good about re-using something old, about being crafty, and the decor/function of having the bench in our living area. Not to mention, I've gotten TONS of positive feedback on Fbook, which honestly surprised me. Definitely a self-esteem boost for me, and I'm glad it wasn't a waste of effort or money. In the money department, it wasn't bad, especially since I was buying some supplies for the first time - spray adhesive, spray paint, sandpaper, and even a glue gun. I did already have the staple gun, which was nice. Even with all those supplies that I'll use again, the total cost was definitely under $100, and possibly under $75. I also had a lot of fun to boot! Who knows, maybe I'll take on another project or two this year... Pinterest is pretty inspiring, after all!

Guest Bedroom

I put in some quality junk-clearing time today, and was able to set up our guest bedroom! Having guests come is great in its own right, AND I love that it gives me motivation to tidy up. My grandparents are coming this weekend, so I had a wonderful reason to take on this project today. Granted, I still need to work on other parts of the house, but this is a huge relief for me.

I just bought the quilt on the bed from Tar-jay on clearance (online). I'm loving the bright pop of color, and I didn't even consciously realize how well it would go with those fabric squares that I made last year, at our old apartment. Then again, I have been into green in the past year plus.

Maybe as I get more and more rooms at least temporarily neatened up I can give more of a tour of the house! It's a process, but it feels more like home all the time, thanks in part to a lot of improvements when hubby was here. It will be nice when he comes back and we can enjoy it together again. In the meantime, I'm excited to have a few visitors lined up for the coming months, starting this weekend when my grandparents arrive!

Adventures in Home Decor

In order to divert myself from the misfortunes of hubby's training, or at least attempt to do so, I've turned my attention even more fully to thinking about our next house. We've decided (although in truth that might be more of an I) that the best option in our next spot is to rent a home. Mortgage rates and home prices are great right now, but it's still a risk and we don't really have the tolerance for said risk. When it's time to go, we just want to go. But anyway, this post isn't about the real estate market.

Nope, this post is about paint colors! I've delved into the world of paint colors and man, is it a complex place! I never knew how many shades of tan/beige/gray/cream there were. Now I know. I used Favorite Paint Colors as a jumping off point to try to explore what I might like in our next home. I was torn between loving the way many of the different neutrals looked on the wall, and wanting to play it relatively safe, with being sad at the idea of basically using just a few different beiges and being done with it. My current "vision" strikes kind of a compromise. Who knows if this idea will stick, and of course I have no way to consult hubby, but I'm daydreaming at this point.

By way of illustration:



It's a very warm, almost southwestern palette, based on my general ideas of what I like and what I've responded to in inspiration photos. From left to right the colors (all Benjamin Moore) are: Etruscan (thinking for the office), Alexandria Beige (living room), Shaker Beige (kitchen and guest/main bathroom), Hot Spring Stones (master bedroom), and Rosemary Sprig (master bathroom). All the colors except Etruscan can be seen at the Favorite Paint Colors site, it's where I discovered most of them. I have very little concrete reason that I've picked these, unless you want me to go into my hours long deliberation pondering all the possibilities (trust me, nobody wants that).

Of course, talking to hubby about this tonight on the phone (we're able to do that just a little these days), I managed to elicit laughs at the idea of me taking this painting project on. Apparently his thought is I will paint more than the walls - the window frames, the carpet, and so on and so forth. Well to that I say... we'll see. In trying my very best to educate myself, I went ahead and ordered this resource:

I'm hoping it helps! It got good reviews at least!

So, that's where my head is at getting ready for the next place. I suppose I could be biting off more than I can chew, but I am just not a fan of the prospect of living in boring white walls for the next few years - I'm kind of tired of the walls in this apartment after just one!

If anyone has home decor blogs they love, general tips on design, or practical tips on painting, I'd love to hear it! Hopefully come August you'll get a chance to see the good, the bad and the ugly right here on this blog!