Vanity to Kids’ Art Station

Jessica blogs at Mom 4 Real, and she’s been busy working on her daugther’s “big girl room”. She caught a lucky break when it came to furnishing the room by finding this dresser and vanity set along the side of the road.

The vanity was in pretty bad shape, and required some repair work before it could be painted. Unfortunately, the mirror that came with the vanity had shattered while Jessica was storing the piece, so she had to improvise. Her solution was to make a chalkboard where the mirror had been, and turn the vanity into an adorable art station for her daughter. Don’t you love the pretty aqua color she used?

You can learn more about this project at Mom 4 Real.

Sites we love

March 31, 2013March 31, 2013

Marigold and Pewter Dresser Makeover

Martha of Martha Leone Designs says, “This dresser is a keeper. It’s a bit too fancy for my taste but sturdy and has lots of storage potential. Would you believe me if I told you I got this piece FREE off Craigslist?”

I love it when I can score free stuff! And I love what Martha did with her free dresser. She repainted the exterior with a moody, pewter gray. Inside the dresser, though, there’s a surprise. When the carved doors are open, the drawers inside are painted a bright, beautiful shade of yellow. Isn’t it gorgeous?

You can get all the details on what Martha did to transform this dresser at Martha Leone Designs.

March 30, 2013March 30, 2013

Painted End Table

Sherry of Pondered Primed Perfected found this curvy little end table on the roadside. Initially, she painted it bright blue, but decided that the table needed something different to reach it’s full potential.

They say the third time’s the charm, and I think that applies to this end table’s third look. A two-tone application of soft greige and creamy white paint really transformed this piece. Sherry points out a bonus to the new look, saying, “It’s neutral enough now to go in almost any room in my home. This is good because if you know me you know I love to move things around…a lot.” Beautiful job, Sherry!

You can learn more about this end table makeover at Pondered Primed Perfected.

March 30, 2013March 30, 2013

Painted Books

At Simply Vintageous, Suzan has been sprucing up her house. She had some books that she didn’t want to part with that just weren’t looking as pretty on her bookshelves as she would have liked.

Suzan opted to do something a little unexpected with those books to give them a new look. She pulled out her paintbrush! She gave the books new covers in softer colors that suited her decor by painting them with chalk paint. She even added a stencil or two. Even though Suzan’s husband thought she was a little crazy, Suzan is happy with the softer look that the “new” book bindings give to her bookshelf.

You can find out more about this project at Simply Vintageous.

By Kimm | Filed under Decor | Tags: books, giving books a new look

March 29, 2013March 29, 2013

Bi-fold Doors Into French Doors

Danielle from 2 Little Superheroes tells us, “My pantry bi-fold doors constantly fell off the track and never really worked for the space. I dreamed of finding an old vintage door and using that.” But the vintage door proved to be hard to find.

After two years of searching, Danielle decided that there had to be a way to make what she already had work. She figured out how to take off the hinges from the bi-fold, and reattach it as two separately opening doors-french doors! Painting those doors black and adding adorable new hardware added lots of personality and completed the transformation. Way to rock what you’ve got, Danielle!

Find out how Danielle changed these doors herself at 2 Little Superheroes.

March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

Dresser with a Rustic Makeover

Over at Fab Rehab Creations, Allison had been on the lookout for a good dresser she could put in her son’s new bedroom. “Now, am I the only one who feels like thrift shops and Craigslist have become overrun with people who want to paint furniture? I mean, I love that people want to do this, but it is making it difficult to find decent pieces for cheap,” Allison laughs.

Luckily, a friend had this old but sturdy dresser in her garage. Even though one drawer was in pieces, it was the perfect size. Allison decided to use baskets in place of the broken drawer, and went ahead with refinishing the dresser. She gave it a rustic, two-tone effect, painting the body of the dresser gray and letting the natural wood shine on the dresser top and remaining drawers. The wire baskets that Allison used in place of a drawer are perfect for this piece. It’s a beautiful makeover.

You can find out more about this dresser at Fab Rehab Creations.

March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

Clock Remade to Sunburst Mirror

Rachel, who blogs at Architecture of a Mom, had a clock on her wall that wasn’t keeping time any longer. Confident that she could repurpose it into something spectacular, she didn’t throw it away.

Instead, Rachel turned the broken clock into a beautiful sunburst mirror! She crafted the sunburst shape from wood shims and hot glue. She painted it a pretty shade of blue and used copper craft paint for some shiny metallic accents. Since Rachel used paint that she already had, the only thing she had to purchase for this project were the wood shims, which were only $4! This was a steal of a project with fabulous results!

You can learn more about this project at Architecture of a Mom.

March 27, 2013March 27, 2013

Newspaper for the Ceiling

Karah from The Space Between was in need of a quick and inexpensive idea to finish off the ceiling in a room that had a few old cracks in the plaster. “I needed a solution that didn’t require any power tools and wasn’t going to take as much time as caulking and spackling and sanding and priming and painting,” she explained.

Initially, Karah thought old book pages applied to the ceiling would work, but then she came across her bin of old newspapers ready to be recycled. Her best friend helped her to apply the newspapers to the ceiling, like wallpaper. For only $6, Karah now has an interesting and unique ceiling treatment. It’s a big difference from the unsightly, cracked plaster that was there before!

You can find out more about how Karah applied the newspapers to her ceiling at The Space Between.