Drab to Fab Bench Makeover

At The Weathered Door, Reeves shares a makeover that brought a little excitement into the life of a hum-drum piece of furniture. “This little bench was given to be by some family friends,” she explained. Once used as a vanity bench, it had stayed in the safety zone of bland neutrals.

Reeves knew she could change all that with a little paint and fabric. She painted over the wood finish with navy blue. The formerly drab upholstery was removed, and Reeves covered the seat with a cheerful floral print from Ikea. You’d never guess it was the same stool!

See more pictures of this bench at The Weathered Door.

July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

Keeping Clutter at Bay with a Furniture Makeover

At Names on the Jersey Shore, Susan discovered one disadvantage when she upgraded to a flat screen TV on the wall. “The table we had the old tv on was quickly becoming a clutter spot,” she notes. “It’s that spot that everyone dumps everything. Obviously we needed a piece of furniture that was smaller but still had room for the Fios box & the Wii, etc.”

When Susan saw on Craigslist that a nearby house was giving things away for free, she went over to check out what was available. There, she found the {free} solution to her cluttered troubles, a small bedside table. It was in bad shape, but Susan dealt with it. She removed the drawers and the drawer tracks. She spray painted the outside of the piece with Painter’s Touch Kona Brown. A leftover paint sample provided the pretty mint green for the interior. The result is a lovely spot with just enough room for necessary electronics, and no room for unnecessary clutter.

Learn more about this makeover at Names on the Jersey Shore.

July 30, 2013July 30, 2013

This Accessory Holder Came Out of the Gutter-Literally!

Sheila is so good at rescues, she can pull something from the gutter and give it a successful makeover! No, seriously, over at Plum Doodles, Sheila has some great ideas for reusing scraps of gutter screen. This particular project even made use of an old framed mirror, as well.

She started out this project by carefully removing the glass and hooks from the old framed mirror. She refreshed the frame with a coat of white paint (Rustoleum’s Heirloom White). Next, she added some new hooks to the front of the frame to replace the old ones that she didn’t love. Sheila attached the gutter screen to two of the openings in the fram that didn’t have mirrors. The result is a pretty place to hang her earrings and check out how they look in the mirror. Brilliant!

Get all the details on this makeover at Plum Doodles.

July 30, 2013July 30, 2013

The Key to This Rescue Was Paint

At Remodelando la Casa, Cristina has been having some fun experimenting with chalk paint. She tried out Annie Sloan’s Duck Egg on this little tray, and loved the color. But the plain, blue tray still seemed like it needed something else to complete the transformation.

“Looking at the thin lines the tray has on its sides gave me the idea of painting something with little lines on the surface of the tray,” Cristina tells us. “What better way to do it than with a Greek Key design!” She taped off her lines using Washi tape, then painted over them using Annie Sloan in Old White. After a coat of clear wax was applied, Cristina had a beautifully finished tray that certainly looks like it came from a high end boutique!

Get all the details on how Christina taped off the lovely Greek key design at Remodelando la Casa.

July 29, 2013July 29, 2013

What to Do If Your Accessories are Taking Over

Beth blogs at Through the Eyes of the Mrs. Her rescue project was inspired by a genuine problem in her home. She explains, “We were in desperate need for some organization in the hair accessory department.”

The solution was creating a way for the girls to be able to both see and store all of their hair accessories. Beth managed this by upcycling some metal food tins and thrifted candlesticks. She spray painted both the tins and candlesticks with Krylon’s Coral Isle. She glue the candlesticks to the bottom of each tin, stacking them from largest to smallest. The end result is similar to a pretty cake stand, but with the additional storage capacity offered by the higher sides of the tins. Genius!

Click on over to Through the Eyes of the Mrs. to learn more.

July 29, 2013July 29, 2013

A Pirate’s Life for This Side Table

Yo-ho, yo-ho, another roadkill rescue for me! As you may have guessed, this one has a nautical theme…and it’s gorgeous! Jodi of Enhanced Home Decor started with this roadside find: a small, hexagon shaped side table.

She wasn’t quite sure how she wanted to refinish this table until she took an image transfer class. Right away, she was inspired to give this table a little seafaring flair with the addition of a sailor’s compass graphic. After painting the body of the table in a creamy white chalk paint, Jodi used alternating shades of dark and light wax to bring out the beautiful woodtones of the six triangles that make up the tabletop. Then she added the vintage graphic as a finishing touch. Shiver me timbers, it’s stunning!

Get all the details on how Jodi transferred the compass image onto this side table at Enhanced Home Decor.

July 28, 2013July 28, 2013

Brand Name Headboard Rescue

“Our complex has a big trash enclosure where people tend to leave furniture they no longer want,” explains Sarah at This Sarah Loves. “My husband calls this ‘donating to the universe’. Last week I found a West Elm Stria Headboard that had been donated to the universe!”

Sarah and her husband lugged the heavy headboard back to their home, and looked it over. It was filthy, and required a good scrub down, but once clean the wood tones really showed through. “After little googling and measuring we realized it was the headboard piece of the West Elm Stria Bed and it was a queen size – exactly what we need for the guest room!” Sarah happily notes. Talk about a lucky find!

You can read more about this headboard rescue at This Sarah Loves.

By Kimm | Filed under Beds, Furniture | Tags: curbside find, curbside finds, dumpster dive, dumpster diving, hand me down, headboard, recycled, refab, refabbed, repurpose, repurposed, revamp, roadside rescue, secondhand find, thrift store, trash to treasure, trash to treasures, upcycle, upcycled, west elm, west elm stria headboard

July 28, 2013July 28, 2013

Shirt Upcycled to Ombre Lampshade

Kiri over at I Like That Lamp says, “I had a gorgeous ombre pink silk blouse that never really fit that well. Not being able to stand the thought of throwing or giving it away, I did what any normal person would do…. made it into a lampshade!”

To do that, she purchased a lampshade kit which-get this-lets you turn any piece of natural fiber into a lampshade. “That means a ‘past it’ piece of clothing could potentially be upcycled into a lampshade,” Kiri notes. She cut up the silk blouse and followed the kit directions to make a gorgeious lampshade that has a beautiful rosy glow when the lamp is on. The ombre effect is particularly gorgeous on this.

See some great pictures to go along with tutorial for this lampshade over at I Like That Lamp.