Antique Record Cabinet: Repainted

The antique record cabinet is almost done!  Let's take a look at the before so you can truly appreciate this upgrade for us:

Greer painted it to match the one kitchen wall, which nicely accents the orange living room.  All that is left is to pick out and attach the hardware. We've found a nice pair for the bottom doors that we are waiting to attach.  We'd like to have both top and bottom sets picked out before we start screwing anything in, so that we know they will look good together.

So much better!


Greer was able to fit the receiver and his record player safely in the top part of the cabinet.


The bottom shelves house his favorite, most frequently enjoyed records, our current Netflix rentals, and my Zumba instructor DVDs.

The log table that used to house all of the living room entertainment systems is now in my studio/guestroom.
I actually like it in the guestroom more than I thought I would.  I'd be happy to leave it there for awhile.  I really like that it brings my niece's dollhouse off the floor!

Antique Record Cabinet: Primed Pink??

So Greer, the amazing love of my life, has been working every night on the antique record cabinet.  (I think it helps that I just bought him the MP3 album of Eddie Vedder's Ukelele Songs!)  He sanded and sanded.. and now priming.

I just want to say that he is using plain old white primer.  Bull's Eye brand.. nothing special....


I thought maybe some sanding residue was causing this, but he claims to have cleaned it all first....

Say what?  Pink?  The pictures do not do this justice.



I guess this means more and more coats of primer?  We're not planning to paint this thing pink..so I'd rather not have those undertones!

Any thoughts friends??  ¿Qué pensaís?

I'm participating in:
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
More the Merrier Monday at DIYHSH

Simple Spray Paint Projects

I snagged two little finds at a thrift store that I thought would make some fun wall hangings.  Of course I only remembered to take pictures of one... but the other is just a frame anyway.  You'll see it in the finished product photos.

You may like it the way it is and that's completely fine.  Isn't it just fun to spray paint things?  And to have a project you can finish in a day?!  That's my favorite part.

The shadow makes it a little hard to see.

I chose the ever-popular Rustoleum 2x Coverage Satin Heirloom White (couldn't find it at Lowes.. had to go to Home Depot)...

[You can see two works in progress..recycling center and end table.. oh! The frame is in the background]

And transformed the wall hanging and frame to these....

I didn't care about taking out the frame backing... a little lazy on my part but what is it hurting?

Do you have a favorite spray paint project?  I'd love to see!

Some New Projects

Yes, I know.  I have still have to put the stencil on the end table.  My bedside table is not quite complete.  Why am I taking on even more projects when I am back in school?  Taking anatomy no less.

Because this is all just so fun!

I've already mentioned I inherited the Hoosier cabinet top in my furniture stripping tutorial.  Not much news there.  Still stripping.

My wonderful father gave me and Greer an antique record cabinet that was in an old house he and Greer were taking down.  It is not in the best shape and is missing all the guts, so it isn't worth any money but it's worth loads for us.

We need someplace to put Greer's record player and store at least some of his records.  Now we have the perfect thing. 

Greer already took out what was left of the guts on top to make room for the record player.



Look at all that storage!  Records on the outside shelves because they should not be stored horizontally. 

Close up on the leftover hardware (and lack thereof).

Since I took these pictures Greer has been sanding away the original finish (he didn't feel like stripping it so we're trying to go without). 

A few things that will need to happen:

- Reattach lid with new hinges

- Replace old non-functioning wheels (or just take off)

- Fill holes from old hardware

- Replace hardware (including door hinges..they are weak)

- Install door closure magnets



I'm sure we'll find more that needs to be done while we're working on it.  That's the nature of recyclers!

Can't wait for this to have a new life.  I'm thinking mustardy yellow maybe... or tan and brown.

Participating in:
Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tatertots and Jello
Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors
Furniture Feature Fridays at Miss Mustard Seed
VIP Party at Designer Garden
The Girl Creative Linky Party

I'm Still Alive!

Hello friends! I'm so sorry for the large chunk of time since I last posted... that's called grad school.  I had three 6-week classes that took over my life during June/July.  I have a little break now and don't you doubt I have been spending each day on projects!

I have a update for the lovely little end table you last saw primed white.  Here's that baby now...

I would say she turned out well.. but she's not done yet.  I'm going to add a stencil to the bottom square.  That's on the to-do list.

Did you need another view? Okay.

Get excited for the stencil addition (and tutorial if I remember to take pictures during the process.)

I'm participating in Metamorphosis Mondays at Between Naps on the Porch!

End Table Re-Do

So a few months ago I snagged this little end table at a thrift store for $5. 

The two square patches were covered with old, icky leather that was all cracked up.  Greer helped me rip it off (it was tough!).  Then it was next step- stripping (the table)!

It's my first attempt at actually stripping down a peice of furniture.  I was too frustrated to remember to take any process pictures.  I used a wood stripping agent (I'll find the name and post it) borrowed from Dad.  If you plan to strip wood, I suggest wearing rubber gloves.  I was warned that if you get it on skin it "burns like hell."  Follow directions and do it outside.  Look for future posts about stripping wood as I learn the process.

After I got it all stripped down (which took a few times) and sanded, I primed it using Bulls Eye White Primer.

This is where I am in the process right now.  I'm toying with paint colors and decorative paper modge podged on.  I'm thinking navy blue for the body and some sort of yellow or design with yellow for the squares.  Or maybe chalkboard paint. What do you think?

I'm participating in:

The Big Kahuna is UP!

Today I enlisted my parents and Greer to help me put the Big Kahuna up on the guest room piano wall today.  Let's be honest, my dad did the planning and we just followed directions.  But together, we got that thing in place.

I still have to finish the doors, but the biggest part is in place adding some much needed storage:

Finally, piano books have a home and I've cut back on some of the reading books we've been storing in this room.  I left a square for kids books and a square for everyone else books and got the little bookshelf out! Yay for more floor space and utilizing the wall space!



I keep poking my head in the room just to see it there on the wall.  Oh, how I love my Big Kahuna (shelf.. but I love my husband too! hehe)

What have I left on the shelf for guests to read you ask?  Now that I know how to use the semi- micro photo option, lets take a closer look....

A mixture of reading, hopefully.  I also included a few books in Spanish just in case anyone wanted to brush up on their language skills... ;)

And for the children, a few good books and short stories.



The decor is subject to change (and the books too, of course).  In fact, I hope the decor does change so that what I picture is actually what the room will somehow reflect...sooomeday.  For now, here's the top shelf:

Just re-distributed some other household items.  The vase is from our wedding centerpeices (read more about that here) and has been living on top of the fridge.

As for the bottom shelf......

See that pretty little Beatrix Potter jar (saving for our future kiddos)?  It's actually storing extra nails and screws and whatnot. 

See?  But you didn't know from the outside!  The beauties of creative storage.

Such a relief to have the Big Kahuna up in place!!  I'll update you when I eventually get the doors on.

Buenas noches

It's Been Awhile [updates]

Ay, como tanto tiempo ha pasado!  It's been so long since I've posted.  The sad this is that secretly I have some posts ready but I either A) don't have the pictures or B) Need to finish the final steps on the project.  But I really need to update a little to keep this going!

Greer and I have been so busy that we're mostly in planning stages of various projects and finishing up a few.  The black Broyhill bench for my co-worker is nearly finished.  I just need to flip it over and paint the underside, followed by one last coat on the top.  I would have been done on the top but a little mishap in the Man Cave caused some white paint to rub off onto the black bench top. Nothing a 4th coat of black paint can't fix!  Such things happen when you have to share a small shop with different projects going on.  But that should be done this week and hopefully delivered.  I'll get that post up when it's officially done.  [update 5/2/11- it's done! "black Broyhill bench" links to post]

 I started spray painting the giant hanging cabinet when lo and behold I ran out of spray paint.  A quick trip to Wal Mart...did not solve that.  Swing over to Lowes.... also a failure.  Why?  Because the only place I could find Rustoleum's American Accents Heirloom White was 30 minutes away at the nearest Home Depot!  Is there some kind of agreement going on that only HD can have that??  Well, I stocked up and bought 5 cans just to be on the safe side.  With the crummy weather and the holiday weekend, I haven't had the opportunity to [have Greer] pull that big boy out of the shed again so I can finish it up.  That's the plan for after work today.

I DID, however, FINALLY finished the tile work on the bottom of the white shelf.  You can find it in the It's March? post when it was nearly completed.  I picked up the last pack of gray tiles at Michael's (they were on clearance.. good thing I didn't keep waiting to finish it!) and glued them on.  Greer had to shave one down because I couldn't squeeze it in the middle.  Now I just need to make drawers or doors for the empty boxed spaces and bam!  Done and ready to go to a new home somewhere.

Friday- worked on the shelf and doors for the DVD hutch base.  Those are almost finished and then you'll get the full post of what I did, how I did it, and what it looks like.  And just to give you an idea of how many DVDs we have... the entire hutch is filled and extras are stacked on top of the rows.  Rentals anyone?

Other projects in the works:

- Upstairs landing space "Rabbit Hole" re-do - (really it's just a "do" since it's been empty space)
       [view the "Rabbit Hole" mood board]
- Making the hammock space on the porch more cozy
       [view the front porch mood board]
- Spring gardens (the seeds are sprouting! I did something right!)
- Bedside tables
- Paint upstairs bathroom (I hate the color it is)
- Overhaul my studio into more of a guest-room with new paint

Phew! I'll keep you updated my 5 followers! ;) 

Amor a todos

Goodwill Table Re-Do - Recycler!

Buenas dias!  In my picture frame post, I mentioned my end table re-do, but just realized I never posted it!  Well, let's amend that, shall we? (Click Continue reading...)

DIY Frame Jewelry Hanger - Recycler!

Hola amigas y amigos!  I've been seeing this really fun project around on various blogs and finally got all my peices in place to give it a try on my own.  I wanted to post the blogs I had seen originally but I cannot find my links!! So leave a comment about similar projects if you've tried or if you've seen them around.

My recycled picture frame jewelry holder!

Reduce, Reuse, Revamp, Recycle!

Go Green!  We seriously do need to save our planet.  I won't get on my soapbox about that, but just mull it over sometime.  Where will we be if we don't change?  If you're not sure, visit your ever-expanding local landfill and think about what disentigrating into your water.

On that happy note....!!  Here are so really fun ways to use some of those items in your house that are just hanging around.  I don't like throwing things away because I don't want to junk up the world.  I donate a lot, but I buy a of of thrift store goods instead of new goods.  Read on to see if you can re-vamp and recycle anything you've got stashed away....

Ice Cream Table's New Topping

Well, let me tell you that guestbook did not get done. Writing my first paper in two years was much more difficult than I thought, but hopefully that will wrap up tonight and I can get started on the guestbook while I study for my Monday test. After that I can really get crafting.

I thought I'd post a few things in the meantime to get something up here. Our kitchen table is currently a hand-me-over small table that I loved for it's ice cream shoppe design but hated the original colors. Spot it?