Junky Cabinet Shifts Continents for a Completely New Look

Deb blogs at India Pied-a-Terre. This little cabinet was a contribution to their household from her husband’s bachelor days. “I’ve hated this Danish style cabinet and was ready it get rid of it and replace it. The cabinet shook when you opened and closed the doors and the doors were always crooked. Plus it was boring!” she exclaims.

What Deb hoped to replace the cabinet with was an antique Chinese sideboard, but that was pricey! Instead of forking out all that money, she decided to see what she could do with the cabinet they already had, first. To make the old cabinet a bit more substantial, Deb covered the particle board with plywood. She applied a print of Chinese wallpaper purchased from a museum shop to the doors and painted the cabinet with a custom mix of Bayberry Green and Driftwood from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company. The finishing touch was finding reproduction “antique” Chinese hardware for the cabinet pulls. The results are amazing! Deb says, “I got the Chinese cabinet I always wanted! It’s staying with me forever now!”

Deb provides a detailed tutorial for how she remade this cabinet at India Pied-a-Terre.

September 30, 2013September 30, 2013

Beat Up Dining Set Goes Glam

At Art is Beauty, Karin got a call from a relative saying another relative was clearing out all the old furniture in his basement. She scored a couple of good freebies, and she also got this dining set that had seen better days. The table and chairs were in such bad shape that Karin didn’t work on it right away.

“Much like Humpty Dumpty, I had to put them back together again,” Karin laughs. “This ended up being a 4 chair set, because I need parts from 2 of the chairs to fix 4 of the chairs.” After making structural repairs to chairs and table, the painting began. She used three colors of CeCe Caldwell Chalk Paint to create a warm, weathered look for the tabletop. For the chairs and the table base, Karin chose a creamy yellow color. She recovered the seats with a pretty, new fabric. You’d never guess now that this table was almost a throw-away!

Learn more about this dining set rescue at Art is Beauty.

By Kimm | Filed under Chairs, Furniture, Tables | Tags: CeCe Caldwell chalk paint, chalk paint, curbside find, curbside finds, dining chair, dining set, dining table, 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

September 29, 2013September 29, 2013

Sport a Trend This Fall With Ombre Pumpkins!

Last year, Karen of A Stylish Interior bought some craft pumpkins and had some fun painting them with turquoise stripes. As you know, craft pumpkins stick around for a while, so this year Karen decided to give hers a new look.

Instead of bright stripes this year, she went with a muted ombre effect. To get this look, Karen used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg, Old White, and a mixture of both. She painted the classic shaded look onto her pumpkins by layering the colors. What a fun way to give a nod to a favorite trend via seasonal decor!

You can find out more about this project at A Stylish Interior.

By Kimm | Filed under Decor | Tags: ASCP Duck Egg, ASCP Old White, chalk paint, curbside find, curbside finds, dumpster dive, dumpster diving, fall decor, hand me down, ombre, painted pumpkins, recycled, refab, refabbed, repurpose, repurposed, revamp, roadside rescue, secondhand find, thrift store, trash to treasure, trash to treasures, upcycle, upcycled

September 29, 2013September 29, 2013

Switching Up the Look of a Cloche with Chalkboard Paint

Over at Cherished Bliss, Ashley had a little cloche that she’d picked up at a thrift store a while ago, but hadn’t figured out how to use it, yet. She decided that since she gets excited about decorating for different seasons, she should turn this cloche into something that would work for a number of different seasons, holidays, and occasions.

This project turned out to be really simple, and Ashley gives credit to Plaid’s new FolkArt Multi Surface Paint and Plaid’s Chalk Anything paint for that. She was able to use the same paint for both the wood and the glass cover. Both surfaces were turned into chalkboards, with the glass getting just a stenciled banner for its chalk friendly surface. Isn’t that fun? I’m thinking this idea would be super fun for displaying and labeling cheeses or other treats at a tasting party!

Find out how Ashley applied a stencil to glass for this project over at Cherished Bliss.

By Kimm | Filed under Decor | Tags: chalkboard, chalkboard paint, cheese tray, cloche, 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

September 28, 2013September 28, 2013

Old Shutter Makes a Pretty Jewelry Organizer

“I found a pile of shutters on the side of the road, and gleefully chucked them into my car (no doubt at the surprise of my neighbours),” Tara from Suburble tells us.

Tara realized their were dozens of things a DIYer with a little imagination could do with these shutters, so she was glad to be the one to find them. For her first shutter project, she started by sanding one of the long shutters. Knowing she wouldn’t need a large quantity of paint for this, she purchased a test pot of Martha Stewart Living’s “Tailor’s Chalk”, and painted the shutter. After the paint dried and she’d distressed it a bit, Tara added some pretty knobs to one length of the shutter and hung it horizontally in her daughter’s bedroom. Now it serves as a pretty place to hang jewelry and display pictures!

Find out more about this shutter rescue at Suburble.

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

September 28, 2013September 28, 2013

Turning an Old Cabinet Door Into Useful Office Furniture

“I went to buy a monitor shelf a couple of weeks ago and was surprised at the cost, ” says Rhonda from Obsessive and Creative. Desperately needing the desk space that a platform shelf would offer, she decided to make one of her own.

Looking around in her garage, Rhonda was able to find an old cabinet door that she realized would be perfect for this project. She added some short legs (leftovers from another project) to the underside of the door to raise it up and offer extra stability. Rhonda painted the little desk riser in a fun shade of turquoise and added some pretty rope trim to it. It was the perfect solution for helping her to become better organized!

Learn more about how to make a desktop riser like this one at Obsessive and Creative.

By Kimm | Filed under Desks, Furniture | Tags: cabinet door upcycle, curbside find, curbside finds, dumpster dive, dumpster diving, hand me down, office storage, office upcyle, recycled, refab, refabbed, repurpose, repurposed, revamp, roadside rescue, secondhand find, thrift store, trash to treasure, trash to treasures, upcycle, upcycled

September 27, 2013September 27, 2013

Industrial Cart Goes from Frumpy to Fab

When Anne of Circus Berry saw this old metal cart on the curb, she was initially hesitant to take it. Once she did, she got some flack from her family because the cart sat in her garage for a while.

Then, thanks to Ikea, inspiration struck. Anne saw Ikea’s PS 2012 coffee table styled after vintage AV carts-which is painted bright blue-and realized she could do something similar with her cart! She spray painted it blue. Then, to add a little extra pizzazz, she added a border around the tabletop in white and gold stripes. Now, it functions beautifully in her living room as an accent table!

Find out more about this metal cart makeover at Circus Berry.

By Kimm | Filed under Furniture, Tables | Tags: AV cart, curbside find, curbside finds, dumpster dive, dumpster diving, hand me down, metal cart, recycled, refab, refabbed, repurpose, repurposed, revamp, roadside rescue, secondhand find, thrift store, trash to treasure, trash to treasures, upcycle, upcycled, wheeled table

September 27, 2013September 27, 2013

Broken Dresser Becomes a Colorful Entertainment Center

“I just feel the need to ‘save’ all the discarded pieces of furniture,” confesses Sherry, the Upcycle Addict. That’s why she brought home this dresser with a broken door and damaged top.

Since it was one of the upper drawers that was broken, Sherry decided that the best course of action would be to remove another drawer from across the top and turn this dresser into an entertainment center. She built a shelf where the drawers had been. The top was fixed and stained a dark ebony. Sherry painted the dresser base in a bright, buttercup yellow that she toned down by distressing it with ebony stain. Now it functions perfectly as an entertainment center!

Learn more about how Sherry switched this dresser into an entertainment center at Upcycle Addict.