Chalk-Painted Side Table

Ever since discovering how to make my own chalk paint, painting furniture has become so much easier and so much fun that I actually want to paint, instead of wishing for a magic wand. Here I have another piece that I painted in one evening. The Hubs needed a side table on his side of the bed instead of the ugly cumbersome tall dresser that inhabited the space, not that he cared. The man could live in a pile of rubble and still wake up whistling a happy tune. I on the other hand, need some visual balance.

This side table is one that I picked up from the side of the street for the best price of free! The table had nice metal drawer slides seem to just sing as they slide out. I could tell it was well constructed and sturdy, so I knew it was worthy of being refinished.  I already had the paint, brushes and plaster of paris, so all I had to do was mix and paint. I caved in to the distressing trend since distressing is so easy and fun with chalk paint.

 

Before – a little beat up and kinda grody right?

 

After – presto fabuloso!

This time I sprung for the Annie Sloan clear soft wax finish. I purchased the wax because I couldn’t find a good alternative locally. I spent a good week searching for Briwax or Trewax locally before it hit me that DUH, Annie Sloan is sold locally. In my search for thriftiness and just plain DIY stubbornness, I sometimes end up wasting other valuable resources: time and effort. Sometimes you just spend the money. I do consider the wax a good buy, since a little goes a long way. I barely scratched the surface when I used it on this end table.

I applied the wax with an old t-shirt. The instructions say to use a brush, but a t-shirt worked better for me. I put on a light coat and just rubbed/buffed it in. The wax gives the table a nice soft velvety feel to it.

I did consider switching handles but decided to stick with the original. For one, the holes are already there and fit perfectly, and it’s so dificult to match holes with new handles. I also feel that the handle style compliments the dresser and stands out more now with the new paint color. In the future I may chalk paint the handles too. (yes, you can do that!)

                       

Map Lampshade for the lighting-less

Source: notonthehighstreet.com via Nicola on Pinterest

 

This. Coupled with my holy-grail search for more lighting in my living room, I knew this was a D-I-Y project in wait. My family room never seems to be lit well enough, with the lack of ceiling lights and all.

I had a couple of these Ikea lampshades on hand, so I thought I’d try my hand at making it, as the shade is the same shape.

But instead of using it on a lamp, I decided to make it into a pendant lamp using

these                                                           and these

      

Seriously, how did I not know about Dimma? In all my years of shopping Ikea and buying their switchless Hemma Cord, how did I not know that they sold a (cleverly named) Dimma dimmer cord to go with it? I could’ve saved myself the agony of figuring out exactly where to wire a switch to the Hemma cord all this time. What’s really cool about the Dimma switch is that no special bulb is required. You control the brightness of the light with this device.

Anyway, the first thing I did was to get to work on making my map lampshade. I got an atlas from the thrift store for about 50cents and took out the middle sheets. My original idea was to mod-podge the heck out of the shade. Once the mod podge dried to my satisfaction, I proceeded to fold the LOBBO lampshade into shape…at which point the mod-podged map peeled clean off. I thought my project was dead in the water for a few days, until google taught me that hot glue is the adhesive of choice.

For the unfamiliar, the Lobbo Lampshade (like just about everything else in Ikea) comes flat-packed. What you get is a long flat piece of whit plastic shrink-wrapped onto a long flat piece of cardboard. The shade folds up into the circle you see above and clicks together with the die-cut tabs on the ends. You then place the 3 prong piece of metal into the pre-drilled holes to connect your light bulb and cord. Clear as mud? good. It is both stupid and ingenious at the same time. Gotta love those swedes.

Attaching the map was simple really. Kind of like wrapping a present, except you just wrap one side of it. Sorry for the lack of process pictures, but I’m sure you all are smart enough to get the idea. I folded the paper onto the inside of the lampshade, creased it, then applied a thin bead of glue around the rim to secure the paper map. Good to know: the plastic lampshade comes with a protective plastic film on the shiny side, so be sure to peel that off.  Here is the finished shade:

     

     

It’s also a good idea to cover your cord with cord covers like these cordmate cord covers:

 

tiffany blue, cerulean, aqua, ultramarine…

Princess Y recently declared that she is over the color pink. Pink is sooooo last year. Suddenly pink is for babies. You see, she is 10 now, and it’s all about the turquoise. Well, yes ma’am. 

To celebrate her newfound favorite hue, We had a fun mother-daughter day at the mall, spotting as much turquoise as her little heart desired. We topped of the day at Sephora where she got her very own little (overpriced, yikes!) bottle of turquoise nail polish. Aint it purrty?!

 

 

Or if you don’t enjoy looking at feet, here’s some other turquoise.

 

 

 

Anyway.

This got me to thinking about the freedom of being young and not so set in your ways. When it comes to fashion and personal accessories, I gravitate towards earthtones, like orange (my favorite!), browns, greens.  It takes stepping out my comfort zone to dress in blues, purples, and jewel tones. 

I thought my love of orange should reflect in home décor, but that did not end well. I once painted my living room a deep fiery orange that I loved. I repainted a few short weeks later when I could no longer take the oppression of the color’s intensity.  From that experience I have learned that I prefer my walls in neutrals. My home is (on the way to being) neutral and muted. Which I love. But I still crave color.

As it so happened, I read The Nester’s post about "Take-a-risk day.” This has encouraged me to paint a piece of furniture in a color other than my usual black, white or dark brown.  I will post the result on Thrifty-Tuesday. Stay tuned.

What about you? Do you ever feel like you’ve gotten stuck in a rut or set in your ways? How do you go about breaking out and trying something new?

Doing good work: Room Service Atlanta

image courtesy of www.hgtv.com

 

Look at what Ms. Erika at Blue Label Bungalow is up to! She has just founded Room Service Atlanta, a non-profit organization that provides interior design service to homeless shelters.  When we think of homeless shelters we often don’t think of interior design. As so often is the case when we think of homelessness, we think of just solving the obvious problems.

One of my biggest pet peeves is that often times people don’t think that homeless people deserve ‘frivolous’ things such as dignity. Some people even go so far as to place stringent and ridiculous conditions on their charity. We think because someone is homeless they should just accept cast-offs and be happy about it.  Most people would say that homeless people should get just the basics, no frills. “If they want more, let them go to work and get for themselves.” What a smug, easy answer. If only circumstances that lead to homelessness were that simple.

I’m not suggesting that homeless shelters should be outfitted in the same luxury as your average McMansion, but wouldn’t it be great if they were just a little more cheerful? Wouldn’t it be great if Interior Design did for the homeless what they do for you and me? Wouldn’t it be great if it gave them just a little lift and some encouragement to get them through this tough time in their life?  That is the beauty of Room Service Atlanta.  It says to the occupants of this shelter, “We get it. Just because you’re homeless doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a little beauty in your life.”

As Ms. Erika states in her very moving post, “No, interior design is not a cure all for homelessness, but it can do a ton of good for a person’s mental and emotional state.” Now, that’s using your powers for good.

I for one plan to donate some handmade/refurbished items to the cause, and you too can help. Go here or here for more information.

room service atlanta=awesome

image courtesy of www.hgtv.com

 

Look at what Ms. Erika at Blue Label Bungalow is up to! She has just founded Room Service Atlanta, a non-profit organization that provides interior design service to homeless shelters.  When we think of homeless shelters we often don’t think of interior design. As so often is the case when we think of homelessness, we think of just solving the obvious problems.

One of my biggest pet peeves is that often times people don’t think that homeless people deserve ‘frivolous’ things such as dignity. Some people even go so far as to place stringent and ridiculous conditions on their charity. We think because someone is homeless they should just accept cast-offs and be happy about it.  Most people would say that homeless people should get just the basics, no frills. “If they want more, let them go to work and get for themselves.” What a smug, easy answer. If only circumstances that lead to homelessness were that simple.

I’m not suggesting that homeless shelters should be outfitted in the same luxury as your average McMansion, but wouldn’t it be great if they were just a little more cheerful? Wouldn’t it be great if Interior Design did for the homeless what they do for you and me? Wouldn’t it be great if it gave them just a little lift and some encouragement to get them through this tough time in their life?  That is the beauty of Room Service Atlanta.  It says to the occupants of this shelter, “We get it. Just because you’re homeless doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a little beauty in your life.”

As Ms. Erika states in her very moving post, “No, interior design is not a cure all for homelessness, but it can do a ton of good for a person’s mental and emotional state.” Now, that’s using your powers for good.

I for one plan to donate some handmade/refurbished items to the cause, and you too can help. Go here or here for more information.