We {Heart} Earth Valentine Project

This year as Valentine’s Day approaches, Amanda Lee from House Revivals decided to show the planet a little love, and create some pretty Valentine decor using only materials she had on hand. This project started with cardboard, since Amanda Lee says she’s been inundated with boxes, lately.

Along cutting the cardboard into heart shapes, Amanda Lee had book pages leftover from another craft project, too. She did all kinds of things to add variety to the book pages: folding, crimping, and even painting them. She added embellishments and put all the hearts on a string to make a festive banner. Isn’t it adorable?

You can read more about this project at House Revivals.

By Kimm | Filed under Decor | Tags: banner, curbside find, curbside finds, dumpster dive, dumpster diving, hand me down, recycled, refab, refabbed, repurpose, repurposed, revamp, roadside rescue, secondhand find, thrift store, trash to treasure, trash to treasures, upcycle, upcycled, Valentine decor, valentines

Sites we love

January 31, 2013February 2, 2013

Coffee Table from an Old Door

At Thrifty Treasures, Sara found half of an old door on the side of the road. “When you find a solid wood door, you don’t pass it up,” Sara laughs. She brought this one home and turned it into a coffee table.

Sara already had some extra table legs on hand, so the only cost of this project was the hardware she purchased to attach those legs. Once the legs were on, she painted the table pale green. The forgotten door was completely transformed to a pretty, functional coffee table. Sara mentioned that she’s thinking about etching the glass top-she’ll have to make sure she sends us an update!

You can view the complete transformation at Thrifty Treasures.

By Kimm | Filed under Furniture, Tables | Tags: coffee table, curbside find, curbside finds, door, dumpster dive, dumpster diving, hand me down, mint green, recycled, refab, refabbed, repurpose, repurposed, revamp, roadside rescue, secondhand find, solid wood door, thrift store, trash to treasure, trash to treasures, turn door into coffee table, upcycle, upcycled

January 30, 2013January 30, 2013

Decorating with Old Drawers

Karen of Redoux is no stranger to trashed furniture. Most of the time she’s able to salvage pieces and turn them into something fabulous. But there was one dresser…a dumpster find, it was in such bad shape that only the drawers were salvageable.

What to do with drawers that don’t have a dresser? We’ll if you are Karen, you turn them into something pretty. Karen painted these, added cute knobs, and filled them with mason jars and raffia. Now, they look lovely as a centerpiece or countertop display. Those mason jars will look absolutely adorable filled with flowers or pinwheels this spring.

You can read more about this project at Redoux.

January 30, 2013January 30, 2013

Old Door Kitchen Organizer

At C.R.A.F.T., Jamie and her husband have to think out of the box to create storage space that can go with them when they move out of their little rental. Kitchen storage was especially hard to come by-made even more challenging since the walls of their apartment are cement, so drilling holes in the wall is out of the question. The solution to Jamie’s kitchen storage problem came in the form of an old door purchased from Habitat for Humanity Re-Store for $5.

I had no idea an old door could provide such fun and functional storage! First, Jamie gave it a whimsical, sunny paint job. Then, she created lots of places to hand kitchen tools on the door by adding Command hooks, magnetic strips, and wire shelving. There’s even room for some sentimental needlework that actually pulls together all the colors of the various kitchen tools. I’m totally blown away by this project!

You can learn more about how Jamie turned this door into highly usable storage at C.R.A.F.T.

January 29, 2013January 29, 2013

Nightstand Makeover

At The Weathered Door, Reeves explains that when friends of the family passed along this nightstand to her, it was blonde wood with a very funky crackle finish.

Reeves says that nightstands are one of her favorite refinishing projects, because “They are quick to paint because of their size and I like being able to use bright colors once in a while.” She chose a bright blue for this one, which looks fantastic. The colorful hue really brings out the piece’s details, like the beaded boards on the side and the interesting doors.

You can find out more about Reeves’ refinishing process at The Weathered Door.

January 29, 2013January 29, 2013

Painted Upholstery

Here’s an interesting way to give an old ottoman new life, from Tracie at The Full Moxie. After doing lots of internet research, Tracie decided to makeover this thrifted ottoman with paint.

Are you surprised to learn that she used regular latex paint? It took a few coats, but Tracie was happy with the result. She added some fun floral detail with a fabric pen and stencil. It’s like a completely new piece of furniture, with very little time or money spent on the transformation.

Tracie provides tips and a full tutorial on painting upholstery at The Full Moxie.

January 28, 2013January 28, 2013

Pool Steps Repurposed

If you aren’t already feeling the effects of Spring Fever, here’s a project from Patricia of Second Chances that will kick it into full gear. Patricia was with her mom when they spotted these old pool steps abandoned in an alley. Mom saw the potential and convinced Patricia that they needed to drag the steps home.

At home, they cleaned up the stairs and sprayed them with a fresh coat of bright, blue paint. They put the steps outside and topped them with flowering plants in pretty pots. The abandoned pool steps now have a new life as a colorful, tiered display for outdoor plants!

You can learn more about this project at Second Chances.

January 28, 2013January 28, 2013

Chalkboard Coffee Table

When Mary Beth of Cupcakes and Crinoline was offered a hand me down coffee table, she enthusiastically said yes. After all, it was a better size for her living room than the table she had, and it offered some great storage options. The new table just need a few tweaks to make it both fun and functional.

First, Mary Beth thought creatively about what those needs were, and how she could make the new table work around those. Since the couch the coffee table sits in front of reclines, the table needed to be able to move easily. And it needed to be able to store the various toys and clutter that children bring into the room. So, Mary Beth added some cute fabric baskets, replaced the bun feet with caster wheels, and painted the table with chalkboard paint. Fun and functional? Absolutely!

You can learn more about this makeover at Cupcakes and Crinoline.