Monday, September 19, 2011

DIY Coffee Table/Ottoman

Project Supplies:
Lowes-
Particleboard- I measured the size so it was almost
 the length of my couch 2x4' roughly it cost $7.
4 Wooden Legs- 14" in height they cost me $22.
4 brackets- (they're called straight top plates) $7
Hobby Lobby-
1" padding- with 40% off coupon (always print a
coupon for padding its way over priced) $15
You might want to buy a thicker padding, it
depends how puffy you want it to look.
Cute fabric- I chose a canvas print. You'll want a
 thicker fabric. I bought mine a while back so I
don't remember the price but it was cheap :)
Wal-mart-
Spray paint- I used Krylon primer and
white flat spray paint $6
Martha Stewart Glaze- in brown 8 oz is
roughly $3 and it lasts forever.

First screw in your brackets.

Then screw on the legs.

We sanded the legs a little so the glaze would
go on smooth. Then we primed and painted it.
On a side note I personally decided that I like the
look of gloss paint more than flat. I discovered
that the glaze didn't go on as smoothly with the flat.

Then we added the glaze.

We cut out the padding. It was a long enough piece that we
layered it twice. You'll want to cut your padding to match
the board, if it hangs over the edge it causes bubbling when
you go to put the fabric on.

Now staple on the fabric. You'll want to pull the fabric tight and
staple and then do the opposite side and then go around. When
you get to the corners pull in towards the corner and staple.
I did a little pleat on the corner and stapled down. But it's
just one of those things you figure out as you go along.

And here's what were left with. It was a rewarding project
that you can do in a day, my favorite since I don't have
all the patience in the world.

Viola! Coffe table/ottoman.

Desk Re-do


Here is my pretty little thrift store desk before it's makeover.

First we primed it with Krylon primer.

Then we spray painted it Krylon's gloss "Blue Ocean Breeze."
The key to spray painting furniture is a million (I'm exaggerating)
 thin layers. It takes forever but looks really good.

Then we added a black glaze to make the awesome
 carved details pop out.

And of course we always finish off with a coat of
polyurethane because it protects it from getting
scratched and it just makes it look finished.

And here it is all finished. Easily my favorite piece of furniture.
And I didn't even need to paint the hardware, just gave it a good wash.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Table and Chairs Re-do

We decided to re-do our Mom's kitchen table. It's been like this
for 20+ years, so it was ready for an update. First we had to
sand off this reddish/brown stain.

We liked to put the kids to work get the kids involved. :)
Now to add a darker stain.
We decided on ivory for the bottom. We also added on a
brown glaze to give it that antiqued look. Coming soon
is a tutorial on how we glaze and antique furniture.
To finish the table we painted on polyurethane to seal and
protect it
Sanding the chairs and getting them ready to paint.
We spray painted the chairs a similar color as the table and
also glazed and antiqued them. We used Krylon primer and
spray paint and Martha Stewart glaze.
Here it is after all the hard work!
We padded and stapled fabric to the chairs to match the
decor in the kitchen.

Our Mom is very happy with her "new" table and chairs.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

New Blog!

This blog will be up and running soon with fun furniture before/afters and DIY tutorials. Stay tuned!